Want To Gain Mastery Over Your Life? Try This.
For those of you who are old enough to remember Seinfeld, you probably recall the “Master of Your Domain” episode where George, Jerry, Kramer, and Elaine had a bet to see who could, ahem, keep their hands off of themselves the longest. “Are you Master of your Domain?” they asked each other as the days went by.
Even now, thirty years later, the phrase “Master of Your Domain” brings giggles to the bellies of even the most serious of my friends. So, you might imagine, when I came across a Kundalini Yoga kriya to “Master Your Domain,” I snickered to myself and wondered what benefits I would uncover from practicing it.
In case you haven’t heard of Kundalini, it’s a potent form of yoga that combines repetitive movements, powerful breaths, sound vibrations, and meditation. Each kriya (complete set of actions) is designed to remove energy blockers and unleash specific desired effects in the body, mind, and spirit.
A fellow Kundalini teacher suggested that I try the “Kriya to Master Your Domain” to help me overcome procrastination. “Why not?” I thought. Exercise and a cure for procrastination in 45 minutes? I’m in! What happened next was entirely unexpected.
After the first day, I felt an amazing surge of energy and found myself cleaning out my closets. Mind you, this is not a regular activity in my house. I was curious if the kriya had motivated my purging, so I practiced it the next day, and I felt compelled to clean out my shed. I decided to practice it on a third and a fourth day. Similar energy flow and actions followed. I took care of things that had been hanging over my head for weeks, motivated by an unseen force to clean up my life.
After four days, I thought, “Maybe I should adopt this as a 40-day kriya.” It’s a thing in Kundalini where you really dive into one kriya to remove blockers that hold you back from experiencing the full expansive benefits of the kriya. So I put together a 40-day tracking sheet, checked off the first four days, and hung it on my fridge.
For the next month and a half, I did this kriya every morning. And let me tell you, it’s not easy. It has 5 minutes of double leg lifts, 52 frogs (like full squats, but with heels together and balancing on your toes...yeah...it’s fun), 5 minutes of moving your arms above your head in a particular fashion etc.
To get through the kriya, I needed to discipline my mind to work through the thoughts of, “I can’t do it. It’s too much. I’ll just take a little break.” This discipline during the kriya translated into discipline off the mat too. I found myself powering through work tasks that felt really challenging. I was gaining mastery over my mind’s self-imposed limitations.
And on day 21, it got really interesting. I experienced the breakdown many people experience when practicing a kriya for 40 days. The explanation for this breakdown is that you’ve chipped away at the energy blockers for so long that they wash away, and you feel a big release. It can feel confusing, upsetting, and very emotional, but I was excited about it. “What’s on the other side of this?” I wondered.
And then it happened. I saw a whole new side of what Mastering my Domain could mean. My domain was no longer my physical space. It expanded to my life’s purpose. What contribution did I want to make in the world? How would I do that? How could I master my life?
The next couple of weeks were filled with exploration and insights as I continued to practice the kriya. On day 40, I felt a little sad saying goodbye to my new “friend,” who had prompted such curiosity, vibrancy, and action in my life, but it was time to move on to other kriyas... like “Kriya to Empower Your Voice,” “Kriya to Release Fear,” “Kriya for Energy.”
“There’s a kriya for everything,” Kundalini yogis say. So if you find yourself feeling stuck in any part of your life, give Kundalini yoga a shot. You just might find the energy and focus you’ve been looking for to tackle whatever challenge you face, whether it’s a silly bet with your friends or something more meaningful, like your life’s work.
Nancy Belmont will be holding an all-level “Mastering Your Domain” workshop at Mind the Mat Yoga on September 25. She’ll help you explore what you want to master in your life, break down the postures of the kriya, and set you up with an accountability partner if you want to try a 40-day practice.
