An Ode to Fists of Anger
/In Kundalini Yoga, there are four recommended time periods for Sadhana (daily practice of a certain meditation) - 40 days, 90 days, 120 days, and 1000 days.*
When I did the teacher training we did several rounds of 40 days, but nothing longer. Anything beyond 40 days seemed almost egregious in its heft.
Until now.
I needed to shift my thinking about the Sadhana from a chore to a gift. Years ago, one of my TM teachers told me to approach my meditation practice as I do brushing my teeth - part of my daily routine.
I make every effort to meditate daily, but doing a Sadhana on top of that… woof, just felt insurmountable.
Until I started doing Fists of Anger with the Bean as a way to shift gears when teaching.**
Now I am almost to 40 days.
This is my roar to the world I am committing to 1000 days of Fists of Anger. Here are why FOA is such a great Sadhana. It only takes 3 minutes. You can do it on the floor with a pillow or a jacket, you don’t need a mat. All you need is free arms and a watch.
Ode to Fists of Anger
Arms pump overhead
Fists squeeze tight
Cross-eyed tightness shows her nose
As breath dries her mouth
1 minute left to go
Will this ever end?
Over, over, over,
Swing pump swing pump
and done!
IT IS ONLY THREE MINUTES
It is not fun or enjoyable. It is work. It is hard on the lungs, the arms, the shoulders, the heart. By extension it is amazing.
If I am not triggered by something when I start, I deliberately conjure up fury to help my body release it.
Think you aren’t angry and don’t want to try this? I am not even positing joining me for 1000 days, just 40 days.
Oh yeah?
You don’t think you are angry about something?
Here are a few ideas of what you could think about when your arms are pumping back over your head.
The Standard American Diet
Black Lives Matter
Plastic debris in the ocean
Bee Colony Collapse Disorder
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine
Children going to bed hungry - often
Uvalde - the latest town devastated by a school shooting
Knowing that Uvalde won’t be the last town
100 year floods happening every 2 years
On and on and on…
Anger is bitter going into your body and it is bitter coming out. But I would so much rather have it out than in.
I am going to commit to 1000 days because I want to be able to write that list without feeling my heart race, the vision tunnel, my body clench. I want to be able to face the challenges of this world not from anger but from love.
Getting angry is not a helpful modality to fix anything. Anger creates more anger. A chain reaction of anger rippling outward is not the way to address these issues. A chain reaction of love is what is needed.
If my doing 3 minutes a day contributes in any way towards such a chain. Yes please.
Yes please.
Join me.
* Thank you Satwant Singh Khalsa for your comprehensive article detailing such.
40 Days: Practice every day for 40 days straight. This will break any negative habits that block you from the expansion possible through the kriya or mantra.
90 Days: Practice every day for 90 days straight. This will establish a new habit in your conscious and subconscious minds based on the effect of the kriya or mantra. It will change you in a very deep way.
120 Days: Practice every day for 120 days straight. This will confirm the new habit of consciousness created by the kriya or mantra. The positive benefits of the kriya get integrated permanently into your psyche.
1000 Days: Practice every day for 1000 days straight. This will allow you to master the new habit of consciousness that the kriya or mantra has promised. No matter what the challenge, you can call on this new habit to serve you.
** I have been doing Fists of Anger on again and off again for months. I spoke about it as part of my prep for the Bone Marrow Transplant.
