Mindful Happiness

Anthony Quintiliani, Ph.D, LADC

  • Home
  • Dr. Anthony Quintiliani
    • About
  • Mindful Happiness
  • Mindful Expressions Meditation CD
  • Contact

January 6, 2016 By Admin

Brief Kirtan Kriya Meditation and Research

 A Practice To  Help Prevent Alzheimer Disease

Kirtan Kriya meditation is part of the ancient Kundalini yoga tradition.  Current clinical research dealing with prevention of Alzheimer disease supports its use in medical meditation.  As G. Harrison (The Beatles fame) noted: As you move attention beyond yourself, you may find peace of mind is there.  Sanskrit root words for kundalini include meanings such as spiraled or MindfulHappiness-Meditationcoiled, earth (or single cell), bestows perpetual consciousness expressing beginning and end. Sanskrit translations for Kirtan Kriya include such things as sound with movement to balance mind-body emotions/energies to a higher self and true essence. The sounds used come from Sat Nam, which are interpreted as my true essence. Kundalini practices like Kirtan Kriya open up our experience to the inner and outer life forces.  Some refer to this experience as spiritual uplift. Since the Kirtan Kriya meditation requires ONLY 12 minutes to do, there is NO EXCUSE about not having time to practice.  Today neuroscientists suggest that the hands, fingers, and finger tips have much larger representation (the homunculus) within the power and functions of the human brain. Apparently, like so many other ancient meditation and yogic traditions, early practitioners were quite advanced regarding their understanding of mind-body-brain interactions.

Current Research Finding regarding Kirtan Kriya Meditation

According to research (multiple studies) completed by the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation, the 12 minute Kirtan Kriya meditation improves memory loss, sleep quality, inflammation (down regulates AlzheimersResearchFoundationinflammatory genes), psychological well-being, spiritual well-being, telomerase level (enzyme that slows cell aging), energy level, and stress response. Furthermore, there were no negative side effects using kirtan kriya meditation; in some people emotional emergence or Kundalini crisis can be experienced as highly uncomfortable.     Instructions appear below.

Kirtan Kriya Meditation in Kundalini Yoga

Preliminary Instructions

  1. You will sit in meditation position (pillow or chair) with your back straight and eyes closed.
  2. You will breathe naturally and remain calm.
  3. You will place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth (84 acupuncture points influencing blood flow, motor-sensory, and occipital parts of the brain).
  4. You will be saying the sounds of: Saa, Taa, Naa, Maa. This will be like gentle singing.
  5. You will be saying these sounds in various ways (silent, out loud, etc.).
  6. As you say the sounds, you will be touching specific finger tips to the tip of your thumb (mudra).
  7. As you say the sounds, you will imagine/visulaize the energy coming into the top of your head, descending into the midbrain, and leaving your head via the mid-forehead (third eye area). This is the important L-Form.
  8. At the end of the 12 minutes meditation, you will inhale very deeply, move arms/hands up over your head, then exhale fully and move arms in a sweeping motion back down.

You may want to review these steps before actually doing the meditation as noted below.

Operational Instructions for Kirtan Kriya Meditation

Kirtan-Kriya-Meditation_MindfulHappiness

1) Sit with your back straight and your eyes closed.

2) Breathe naturally without manipulation of the breath.

3) Gently place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth, and keep it there.

4) Bring your visual imagery to “see” the L-Form.

5) For two minutes say out loud  Saa, Taa, Naa, Maa with these formats. Touch tip of thumb with the tip of the index finger for Saa; touch thumb tip with middle finger tip for Taa; touch thumb tip with ring finger tip for Naa; and, touch thumb tip with small finger tip for Maa. Remember to visualize energy flow via the L-Form.

6) Repeat the same process for two minutes (sounds and touching thumb tip with finger tips), for but this time whisper the four sounds.  Visualize the L-Form.

7)  Repeat the same process for four minutes as you touch thumb tip with finger tips, but this time say the four sounds silently to yourself. Remember the L-Form.

8) Repeat for two minutes whispering the four sounds while touching finger tips with thumb tip. Use the L-Form.

9) Repeat for two minutes out loud, including the same hand mudra steps while visualizing the L-Form.

10) Inhale very deeply and raise your hands/arms over your head.

11) Exhale fully and with a sweeping motion move hands/arms back down.

12) Simply sit quietly for about one minute.  Reflect on your experience.

For more information refer to Dharma Singh Khalsa (2014).  A White Paper: Yoga and Medical Meditation as Alzheimer’s Prevention Medicine. Tucson, AZ: Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation.

By Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, VermontChiYinYang_EleanorRLiebmanCenter

Author of Mindful Happiness  

CLICK HERE  or any image below to Order 

Mindful Happiness cover designs.indd

MindfulHappiness_Amazon           mindful-happiness_barnes_and_noble

Filed Under: Benefits of Meditation, Benefits of Mindfulness, Featured, Kirtan Kriya, Spiriuality, Yoga Tagged With: ALZHEIMERS PREVENTION, KIRTAN KRIYA, KUNDALINI YOGA, MEDITATION, MINDFULNESS, PRACTICE

Twitter

Mindful Happiness -Currently in Production

Mindful Happiness Posts

Mindful Happiness:   Joy is Within Reach – It is Up to You to Choose It! We all live in a very troubled world with lots of greed, hate, warfare, and danger. Many of us use distractions (addictions, cell phone habits, eating, gathering, games, etc.) to make it through the days. This is true!  However, […]

Healing Meditations for Destructive Emotions Based on the mountain of research supporting the use of regular meditation practices and yoga, it is safe to say that Buddhism and its practices have merged with modern scientific investigation. From the early days of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (the MBSR of Jon Kabat-Zinn) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (the DBT […]

Effective Clinical Supervision Perhaps other than the mental health status of the therapist and her/his ethical clinical skills, there is no more important variable in successful clinical work than effective CLINICAL supervision.  I emphasize “clinical’ because in today’s bureaucratic systems, so much supervision tends to be about required procedures like utilization level, reporting requirements, and documentation for services […]

Mindfulness Expands the Art of Journal Writing T. Merton, J. Kerouc, I. Progoff, J. Upton, and others have helped to expand the art or journal writing practice.  This type of practice can become your mindfulness practice.  You will need to write on a daily basis (even if briefly), and you will need to be highly […]

Psychological Research on the Dangers of Smartphone Abuse There is no doubt that smartphone technology bring us a great deal of advanced technological access to a world of information and communication. There is a downside. Recent research published by The American Psychological Association in March, 2017, and opinions in The Atlantic warn of potential and actual biopsychosocial […]

Using Your Compassionate Mind in Psychotherapy For you to become a more compassionate therapist, follow the details noted below. These preconditions, skills, and practices are required as a baseline for  compassionate practice. You need the ability to access calmness in an environment of emotional suffering, chaos, or conflict.  Most people do this by breathing in […]

Liberate Yourself with Spiritual Energy Cultivating authentic inner and outer peace is the only way to a happy and good future. Learn to use your spiritual higher self to let go of self-centerednesss, greed, and entitlement. Work to free yourself from the endless grasping for material “things.”  Does it really matter what kind of car […]

Spiritual Mantras from Buddhism Spiritual Mantras:  Mantra practice is certainly not informal Buddhism, nor is it a way to apply practical mindfulness skills to life.  The path of mantra practice is much deeper than the psychological applications for good health. Mantra practice is a highly important part of formal Buddhist practice, especially on the spiritual […]

Mind Training Over Our Impulses Mindful awareness of our impulses is a very important pathway to improved emotion regulation and, perhaps, more happiness in life. It can be unusually helpful to people suffering from anxiety, depression, and substance misuse. Vedana refers to the feeling tone in our body.  It is one of the foundations of mindfulness […]

Your  Regular  Practice:   Impact  on  Yourself  From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, Vermont Compassion Training:  Here is a quick self-assessment process to see if your regular compassion practice has had positive effects on you.  Review the questions below and decide  what  your  answers are. I hope you have noted pleasant […]

Gurdjieff’s The Fourth Way to Consciousness: Background A core teachings is that there are three ways of being: the fakir (master of the physical body); the monk (master of faith and feeling); and, the yogi (master of mind development).  A key goal is to KNOW yourself at the deepest levels.  To KNOW is to be, […]

Tonglen Meditation or Giving and Taking I have added various posts about many compassion practice.  Earlier posts have covered a range of practices – from super-easy to more demanding. Here, I will add a more advanced practice.  This Tibetan compassion meditation practice has been taught often in the Vajrayana school of Buddhism.  In my opinion […]

Winnicott’s Ideas – Best Possible Clinical Alliance To develop and maintain a strong clinical alliance it is best to follow some of the well-known clinical advice on this topic.  Rogers, Kohut, Winnicott and many others have suggested just how to do so.  Here are some general clinical recommendations for enhancing the clinical alliance. Develop authentic […]

Are You Happier Yet? Use Practical Mindfulness Skills   Two recent books offer sound advice about YOU becoming a happier person. L. Cypers Kamen (2017) Are You Happy Yet: Eight Keys to Unlocking a Joyful Life. New York: MFJ Books and D. Altman (2016) Cleansing Emotional Clutter… New York: MFJ Books offer practical ways to improve your personal level of happiness. […]

Improving Client/Patient Collaboration  in Treatment To improve collaboration between you and your clients/patients, simply practice the following behaviors as your norms.  See the list below, and practice, practice, practice. Present with an attitude of helpfulness and authentic caring. Empathy and authentic concern are required. Recognize the reality that clients/patients are at different levels of readiness […]

Practice Approaches to for Mindful and  Enhanced Emotion Regulation Brought to us by way of  The Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, Vermont Mindful Approaches for Enhanced Emotion Regulation; here are some approaches to practice. 1)In some ways you could understand the progression from auto-pilot mind to greater stability and equanimity of […]

What The Buddha Taught About Metta In the Metta Sutta (Anguttara Nikaya, 11:16) The Buddha said that we should seek the following characteristics in how we live our lives: Wholesome goodness; Gentle speech; Human Humility; Personal contentment; Personal calmness; and, Pure-heartedness in all we think, say, and do. By living this way we would be […]

Vipassana Meditation and Introduction Vipassana meditation, as taught by S. N. Goenka, has been practiced in India, Europe, the United States and in many other parts of the world. There are various claims for effectiveness when used as a form of meditative treatment with various populations (often correctional and substance using populations); however, there is […]

The Reality of Experience What is deep mindfulness?  Deep mindfulness is the concentrated awareness of all experiences, preferably without evaluating as pleasant or unpleasant. Deep mindfulness is pure awareness as it becomes part of personal consciousness. We humans, however, are always evaluating our experiences and phenomena as pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant – often getting hooked […]

Using Creativity in Clinical Supervision Effective clinical supervision is a combination of hearable direction about clinical practice, gentle-direct leadership, clinical “Know-How,” evidence-based skills, complex psychodynamics, and the willingness to work with others on their developmental processes. There are risks involved. I have provided clinical supervision and consultation to other clinicians for 43 years without a […]

Mindful Happiness Tags

SELF ENLIGHTENMENT MINDFUL BRAIN COMPASSION TRAUMA MINDFUL TRAINING SELF COMPASSION MEDITATION THICH NHAT HANH BUDDHISM COVID-19 MBSR VIPASSANA CONSCIOUSNESS ELEANOR R LIEBMAN CENTER EMPTINESS MINDFUL HAPPINESS MINDFULNESS MINDFUL MEDITATION BREATHING ACTIVITIES JOURNALING TRAINING PRACTICE THERAPY. HAPPINESS ACTIVITY WISE MIND EXERCISES SELF CARE MINDFULNESS TRAINING DR ANTHONY QUINTILIANI PRACTICES CLINICAL SUPERVISION MEDITATION PRACTICE SELF MEDICATION PSYCHOTHERAPY SUFFERING WALKING MEDITATION ANTHONY QUINTILIANI ADDICTION VERMONT SELF ESTEEM VIPASSANA MEDITATION

Mindful Categories

Mindful Happiness Pages

  • About
  • Contact
  • Dr. Anthony Quintiliani
  • Mindful Expressions Meditation CD
  • Mindful Happiness
  • Site Map

Copyright © 2021 · Mindful Happiness