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The Integrative Amrit Methods: The Power of Mindful Yoga
Written by Kamini Desai

Most of us have an internal “To Do” list. We tell ourselves when we have enough money, when we lose the 10 pounds, when the kids are squared away, when the big project is done, then we will relax.

The “when” strategy for happiness depends on time. We tell ourselves one day we will arrive at relaxation for good, but the truth is, after a short respite, our internal to do list spontaneously re-populates and we find ourselves off to the races again, running and running, but never seeming to arrive for very long.

Kamini Desai teaching I AM Yoga Nidra™ certification course at Prana House, Australia

Think of your favorite food. Where is the only place you can actually enjoy it? NOW. We can work in the sphere of time, but the only place we will ever get the fulfillment and enjoyment is by showing up in the moment NOW. Yet, it’s the one place we rarely ever are! We can be so busy getting our to do list done, we could literally miss the one place our life is happening. We are so busy getting to the next thing, we never enjoy this thing.

So how do can we experience fulfillment NOW? There are two ways to clean the house, do your accounting or be with the kids. When you are cleaning the house, but resenting it or rushing through it, notice how it feels like a chore. But when you are totally absorbed in the experience of cleaning the house, it can actually become a deeply fulfilling experience.

This is mindfulness, and mindfulness is what the Amrit Method of Yoga and Yoga Nidra are designed to teach you. Whatever you do, yoga shows you how to be totally present to it, pay attention to it, be absorbed by it. It builds your capacity to attend to every detail so much so that there is no part of you outside the experience wishing it was different. When you learn to be lost in the moment, you are filled-full by it. But when divided from the moment, the intrinsic fulfillment available in it is lost.

No matter what it is, you can make anything a more nourishing and less draining experience. The next time you are worried about something, try coming back to your present moment’s surroundings. Rather than paying attention to your mind, pay attention to NOW. Notice the act of walking, sitting, speaking, breathing …and the sensations in your body while doing them. Every time you notice your mind wanting to go back to its source of worry, bring it back to what is happening NOW. Notice how this breaks the momentum of worry, calms you and allows you to have more perspective on the situation when you do come back to it.

Kamini Desai doing a variation of Tadasana or Mountain Pose. Demonstrating the Integrative Amrit Method of Yoga

The I AM Yoga is designed to help you reconnect with the power of Now – even when you don’t want “now” to be showing up the way it is. By learning to bring ourselves back from division and conflict with the moment, to harmony with the moment, we learn to experience more peace more of the time. You may find being totally where you are is less assaulting than resisting the moment and wishing you were somewhere else. The more you are present and the less divided you are, the more you will be able to be where you are with relaxation and ease.

Meditation-based I AM Yoga Nidra is comprised of a structured series of ancient mindfulness techniques including breath, body and awareness techniques which progressively drop you from the thinking, conflicted mind into feeling sensations in the body. From there, it is easy to drop into a deep and profoundly restorative state of being. Rejuvenated and restored from within, your body is in the optimal state to receive more and more moments of life with an open and relaxed stance.

Together both practices work synergistically. Yoga Nidra works from the inside out, dropping you naturally and effortlessly into a state of harmony with the present moment. The Amrit Method of Yoga is designed to help you return to harmony under pressure. In those moments when you find yourself in stress, conflict and struggle the Amrit Method of Yoga gives you the tools and the mastery to return back from reaction to harmony with Now.

For more information and resources on I AM Methods visit: www.iameducation.org or www.amrityoga.org.

Originally published online at www.kaminidesai.com on January 9, 2020

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