Lately, I’ve been working on some home renovation projects. Don’t worry: I know much more about yoga than home renovations! I promise this post will be about yoga if you stick with me for just a minute.

We hired a contractor to completely replace our staircase banister. I committed to prep, stain, and seal the wood myself because I wanted to save a little money and because I also enjoy that part of this project.

Yesterday, I filled in all the nail holes, imperfections, and knots with wood putty. Even though I did my best to keep the putty to a minimum, I still ended up with thick layers once it hardened. I needed to sand away the excess before I could move on to the next step.

At first I was using 220 grit sandpaper and sanding it by hand. 220 is intended to gently sand intricate details. After about 20 minutes, I was starting to get discouraged and frustrated. The only noticeable difference was that my arm was starting to hurt! It’s been a while since I’ve done a wood working project, so it took a few minutes before the light bulb turned on. I finally realized I needed to switch over to sandpaper with more grit. I also fired up my electric sander. The entire sanding project was completed in only a few minutes after making these changes!

This experience reminded me of something one of my yoga teacher trainers, Dr. Siri Atma Singh Khalsa, taught me. With literally thousands of meditations and Kriyas to select from, which are the best ones to practice when we are first starting? Every person will have a unique experience. Your intuition will also be a helpful guide to you in the selection process. While I hope to not over-ride either of those truths, I would like to pass on Dr. Siri Atma’s wisdom for your own consideration.

We complete the transformation in wood-working projects faster when we use the correct grit of sandpaper. Similarly, some meditations simply “carve us out” in more noticeable ways than starting with a meditation or Kriya that will have much more subtle effects.

After removing the chunks of wood putty and before I applied the wood stain, I went back over the entire banister with 220 grit sandpaper. With the excess putty removed, I was able to really smooth over every nook and cranny. My fine-grit sandpaper made a noticeable difference at that point because the big stuff was already gone. Similarly, we will be more sensitive to the subtleties of “fine-tooth-comb” type meditations and Kriyas later on by using these “carving out” meditations first.

Here is the list of the 3 meditations that Dr. Siri Atma shared with me (+ 1 of my own addition):

1. Long Ek Ong Kar (“Morning chant”):

This is a beautiful meditation that uses a powerful mantra. Ek Ong Kar is the mantra that will carry us through the Aquarian Age. It reminds us that we are continually connected to our Creator—-the One who lends us our breath. You can find instructions to this meditation here. My favorite recording to chant along with is by Gurucharan Singh Khalsa and Gurusangat Singh.

2. Sat Kriya:

Sat Kriya is another all-around incredible meditation. All of the internal organs are massaged. It also works with the parts of our body associated with basic survival instincts, re-directing the energy into creativity and healing for the body. This is also a gold-star meditation for any phobias around sexuality as well as sexual impulses.

3. Kirtan Kriya:

Mukta says, “If meditations were vitamins, Kirtan Kriya would be a multi-vitamin!” Kirtan Kirya is an interactive, multi-sensory experience, and so it’s effective at bringing an overall balance to the brain and rewiring to the nervous system. Additionally, Kirtan Kriya has been the subject of multiple studies with impressive findings linked to reversing memory loss, easing depression, decreasing inflammatory genes while increasing healthy ones, and changing the PTSD brain.

4. Meditation for Habituation:

Finally, if you are looking for a practice that will bolster your efforts to break negative habits and behavioral patterns, this might be the meditation for you! When the pineal area in the brain is imbalanced, it makes it seem like our habits and patterns are impossible to break. The pressure exerted by the thumbs in the meditation targets the pineal area in the brain, which brings a balance that ripples out into the entire glandular system via the pituitary gland. It’s effective in helping break our “obviously” negative habits such as the misuse of substances, but it can also help with habits that may not even been in our awareness yet such as misusing our relationships or our emotional patterning (and beyond!). By practicing this meditation for 40 days, I was able to finally stop biting my nails—-a habit I have tried to stop my whole life.

In Conclusion:

Again, these meditations may or may not be the best starting place for you personally. Maybe you have practiced each one already, and you are looking for something else. We have our free e-book “Meditations for Times of Crisis.” It’s a great place to look if you are interested in a broader selection of meditations. Each meditation can help support you through these challenging times.

As always, we look forward to being with you and introducing you to even more meditations and Kriyas at an upcoming event or our SuperHealth Immersion Training!

Siri Dharma Kaur

lives in Northern Utah with her husband and their 4 energetic children. She spends most of her time as a homeschooling mamma. She is certified in over 1000 hours of Yoga Teacher Trainings including: Kundalini, SuperHealth, Hatha Yoga, Yin Yoga, Karma Kids Yoga, and Khalsa Way Prenatal Yoga. She loves reading, anything in nature that includes bodies of water, and good music.

Top 4 Meditations

1. Long Ek Ong Kar (“Morning chant”):

2. Sat Kriya:

3. Kirtan Kriya:

4. Meditation for Habituation:

In Conclusion: