How to Lead Morning Sadhana

Have you ever wanted to lead morning Aquarian Sadhana for a group?  I encourage you to try it! It is an awesome experience and you should jump at the chance when you get it.  Here are some suggestions for a successful experience leading sadhana:

• Like all Kundalini Yoga practice, start Aquarian Sadhana by tuning-in.
• Leading early morning sadhana is not like teaching a class. If you know the set well, there may be no reason why you can’t do the yoga yourself while leading others. Study the set you plan to lead thoroughly so that there are no long pauses between exercises.
• Regardless of the number of years you have been teaching and practicing, describe the exercises as they are in the manuals – no extraneous talking, promotions, or little stories. Keeping the talking to a minimum.
• If you have new people joining the sadhana who may not know how to do the exercises and pranayam, then give some instructions and keep all details to the least possible. If most people present have done sadhana for some years then minimize all talking and direction.
• Choose yoga sets that are somewhat challenging.Generally a yoga set would be from 35-50 minutes – leaving 5-10 minutes for deep relaxation depending on the intensity of the set and the amount of time you have. It is okay to cut down the times of a yoga set to fit it into the allotted time that you have. Do so mostly proportionately, so that a powerful and balanced experience is still had by all.
• Make sure to project your voice loudly enough so all can hear you, and keep the tone of your voice cordial. It is okay to provide some encouragement or input such as: “Keep Up,” or “Last 30 seconds,” but don’t be excessive.
• When leading the Aquarian Sadhana chants, do your best to sit up straight and chant the mantras clearly. At any point in time, do not lie down to rest, put your head down or go to sleep. If you need to rest, find a replacement, who can alertly hold the space to lead.
• Make sure that any who are not familiar with the Aquarian Sadhana chants have access to a mantra sheet that has the transliteration and meaning of the chants. Make sure lighting is adequate for them to be able to read the mantra sheet.

        Excerpted and summarized from: Jot Singh Khalsa – “The Essential Element” For more information about the chants, visit Aquarian Sadhana, at 3HO.org! Or get the classic sadhana manual “Kundalini Yoga Sadhana Guidelines”

Teacher