I have an impressive temper. When I get cross, I get CROSS. It’s a quick, clean kind of anger, like a bite of green chilli that cools off pretty quickly. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes I get moody for no reason. That’s an icky, simmering slow rumble that surfaces from seemingly nowhere. Which is why I decided to tackle 40 days of the Meditation To Conquer And Burn Out Inner Anger.
Anger is an impressively powerful driver. Channelled in a healthy way, it can fuel our fire to get things done. It can lead revolutions of great change. When given recognition and a healthy outlet, its flames can transform a relationship, a life path, a destiny. It can help us connect with our truth of what resonates and what doesn’t. But many of us are TERRIFIED of it. And in this fear, we compress it down into a tiny ball and squeeze it into some dark, hidden recess of our being.
Occasionally this neglected, bottled up ball erupts wildly and irrationally, unleashing volatile spittle over all who come near it, leaving everyone, including ourselves, speechless with amazement. This kind of anger is ‘old’ anger. It’s the result of old hurts and resentments that weren’t expressed or given a voice or outlet. And so many of us carry them, tucked away in the various cavities and crevices of our subconscious.
Which might be why I found the Meditation To Conquer And Burn Out Inner Anger so incredibly, frustratingly, gritted-teethedly tough. It’s only 11 minutes, but by minute seven, my arms were SCREAMING, trembling, crying in agony. Violent images would flash angrily in front of my eyes, the pain in my arms was excruciating, my breathing would become heavy and laboured. On day 20, I woke up to find an angry rash of violently itchy red bumps had erupted over my face, neck and chest – it lasted a week!
Holding my arms out to the sides never got any easier for me (sorry, folks!) BUT those sullen moods have cleared significantly (I hesitate to say completely, just in case). The fresh, hot kind of anger rears its head now and again, of course, but those simmering stews of olde have definitely cleared. Has my life changed, as promised in the comments (following the instructions below)? In a beautifully subtle way, absolutely it has. Sat nam!
Instructions for Meditation To Conquer And Burn Out Inner Anger, courtesy of Reaching Me in Me, Kundalini Yoga as Taught by Yogi Bhajan
Posture: Sit in easy pose or in a chair with a straight spine with a light neck lock.
Focus: The eyes are closed. Concentrate on your spine.
Breath: Inhale deeply through the rolled tongue (sitali) and exhale through the nose.
Mudra: Arms are stretched out straight to the sides. There is no bend in the elbows. The Jupiter (index) finger points upward and the thumb locks down the other fingers. The power of Jupiter, the knowledge, should be tough, stiff and straight.
Time: Continue for 11 minutes.
End: Inhale deeply, hold the breath for 10 seconds while you stretch your arms out to the sides as far as possible, exhale. Repeat this sequence two more times.
Comments: This meditation can be done either in the morning or the evening. If you do this 11 minutes every day, your life will change. This will give you a new life. Do this for 40 days, it will change your personality from A to Z.
“Talking is suffering. Giving is happiness.”
Yogi Bhajan
Sat nam x