Holistic Healing: There’s More than Yoga Going on at the Groove

Yoga is a great physical workout. If you’re looking to improve flexibility, build strength, recover from injury, or even build cardiovascular health, yoga’s got you covered. But the offerings at Delta Groove Yoga, one of the longest-running yoga studios in Memphis, go far beyond tending to the physical body.

The yoga traditions say that the body actually has five layers, or sheaths, called the koshas. For optimal health, it’s recommended that you tend to all five layers. In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the Delta Groove services, workshops, and offerings that tend to the other parts of the body through the lens of the koshas.

What are the koshas?

The koshas are the layers of our being. They start at the outside with the densest layer, and they go inward as they become more subtle. Although they are divided into these five sheaths, it’s important to remember that they are interconnected and even build on each other. What you feel and think and are on one level projects to other layers as well. From external to internal, or gross to subtle, the five koshas are:

Annamaya Kosha

This is the physical layer of your body. It’s made up of and fueled by the food we eat. This is also the most easily identifiable layer of the body because it’s the one most associated with the senses and our ability to move, be active, and get things done. But there’s so much more to us.

Pranamaya Kosha

This is the layer of the body made up of the vital life force of prana. It’s our energetic body, how we project into the world, our aura. It’s fueled by the prana we take in through our breath and food and through the way we interact with the cosmic energy of everything that surrounds us. 

Manomaya Kosha

This is the mental layer of the body, and it’s made up of our thoughts and emotions and how they project outward through the way we physically show up in the world and the energy we bring to our relationships and life situations. 

Vijnanamaya Kosha

This is the intuitive or inherent wisdom layer of the body. When you receive messages in your gut about whether or not to take that trip or new job, or when you’re called to (or pushed away from!) a certain person, this is your vijnanamaya kosha talking. This layer of wisdom is interconnected with the cosmos and contains more knowledge than we know. It’s all accessible to us though, just by tuning in.

Anandamaya Kosha

The most subtle layer of the body is the bliss body. At this level of our body, we are free from mental thoughts and emotions, existing only in this moment. This is the part of our body that knows joy and contains our highest truth, our soul. 

Holistic Healing for the Entire Body

So now that we understand more about the different layers of the body, let’s talk about how to work with them here at Delta Groove! 

Working on the Physical Body: Yoga, Thai Massage & Amethyst BioMat

When it comes to working on the physical body, one of the most direct ways to tune up, tune in, and transform is through our yoga classes. Delta Groove offers a variety of yoga classes in Memphis that give you a great physical workout and start to help you tune in to the other, more subtle areas of the body as well.

Yoga Classes

Check out our full description of yoga classes for more info on gentle yoga, kundalini yoga, vinyasa yoga, and much more. Of course, the best way to learn more about yoga and what it can do for your physical body is to attend a class. Delta Groove offers a special deal for new students that allows you to try out unlimited classes for two weeks for just $22. Since every teacher puts their own spin on class, trying a variety of classes is the best way to find what works for you. 

Private Yoga Lessons

If you’re looking for more one-on-one attention, Delta Groove also offers private yoga lessons from our highly trained teachers. In a private lesson, you can expect direct attention in lessons customized for your goals. You can choose to work on a specific body part, goal (like improving posture, for example), or getting up to speed on the different poses, or asana, that you might encounter in yoga classes. 

Thai Massage

We also offer Thai massage sessions, which is another way to connect with your physical body. Sometimes called "assisted asana," Thai massage combines compression, acupressure, and passive stretching. This modality can contribute to an increased range of motion in your joints and muscles, which can improve your posture and relieve back pain. 

Amethyst BioMat

A unique healing modality that Delta Groove offers are Amethyst BioMat sessions. Lie on our full-length BioMat Professional, and instantly feel the warmth of the infrared rays deeply penetrating your body as the negative ions deliver healing signals to your body. The BioMat’s unique technology penetrates at the cellular level, addressing a wide range of health issues and offering physical relaxation. Many people feel immediate improvements to levels of pain and discomfort and a deep feeling of relaxation.

Working on the Energetic Body: Reiki, Crystals, Sound Healing & Breathwork

One of the ways you work with the energetic body is by strengthening it. A strong and healthy aura projects your energy into the world and is related to a strong and healthy nervous system. It’s your ability to regulate yourself when times are tough, your ability to bounce back from adversity, and to overcome challenges. Strengthening the physical body is one way to strengthen the energetic body, and there are also other complementary modalities that work with the energetic body. 

Reiki Energy Healing

In a reiki healing session, the practitioner harnesses the universal life force energy that exists in everything around us and uses it to heal, balance chakras, and smooth the aura. Reiki is a complementary health approach in which practitioners place their hands lightly on or just above a person, with the goal of facilitating the person’s own healing response and a return to a natural state of wholeness. Recipients of reiki report feelings of relaxation, well-being, reduction of pain and stress, and often a greater connection to their own inner spirit.

Crystal Healing

Crystals and crystal healing is a powerful way to balance the energy centers, known as chakras, in your body. Crystal healing sessions ease tense muscles and provide a feeling of deep relaxation, which can help with stress, anxiety, body pain, and sleeping problems. And on an emotional and spiritual level, crystals can help enhance self-esteem, encourage clarity, and inspire a sense of peace and centeredness. In addition to offering crystal healing sessions, the crystal enthusiasts at Delta Groove can also help you identify crystals in our gem boutique that suit your personal vibration for your own self-healing or spiritual practice.

Sound Healing

Vibrational sound healing has been shown to help reduce stress, promote restful sleep, and relax tension in the body by producing a specific resonance and tone. During Delta Groove sound bath sessions in Memphis, healers use a combination of crystal singing bowls and handheld practitioner bowls, which are tuned to specific chakras. Some healers also incorporate the didgeridoo and gong.

Breathwork

At Delta Groove Yoga in Midtown Memphis, we incorporate breathwork into all of our yoga classes. Pranayama is an integral part of yoga, so if you attend a yoga class at Delta Groove, odds are, you’ll encounter one or more of these breathing techniques. In addition to our kundalini, vinyasa, ashtanga, and gentle yoga classes, we also offer class styles that focus more explicitly on pranayama:

• Meditation, Mantra, and Pranayama: Using Kundalini Yoga Meditations, Mantras, and Pranayama, you’ll cultivate energy balance to create inner peace so as to project outer peace. 

• Breathwork Class: A guided meditation/relaxation is followed by a guided visualization journey where you can connect with different versions of you, your guides, past loved ones or any messages you might receive.

• Breathwork and Sound Healing: A guided meditation is followed by a transformative breathwork journey and ends with a beautiful layer of sound healing to ground you back into your body and being. 

In private breathwork sessions through our Healing Arts Center, breathwork is used as an active meditation that gets you out of your head and into your body and heart. Each session is individualized and tailored to your personal needs. Using two-part pranayama breath done through the mouth while laying down, and complemented with music and essential oils, participants are guided through a somatic journey of emotional release and healing followed by a reflective rest period to integrate your session.

Working on the Mental Body: Meditation Classes and Training & Creative Writing

Our thoughts and emotions influence the energy we project and even the way we physically show up in the world. Think about someone overcome by constant stress or fear: their shoulders might be hunched, their hips might be tense, and their energy might be jumpy or overly protective or confrontational. This is just one example of how these different body sheaths work together. The body and the mind are in a constant feedback loop with each other. By calming the body, you can calm the mind and vice versa. 

Meditation Classes

There are plenty of articles, books, and videos that can help you learn to meditate. But you also don’t have to go it alone. At Delta Groove, meditation is built into many of our yoga classes, whether it’s referred to as “centering” at the start of a vinyasa class or an explicit mantra meditation during a kundalini class. We also offer two classes specifically for those looking to bring more meditation into their lives.

Meditation, Mantra, and Pranayama uses specific seated postures, angles, and breathing sequences to cultivate balance and create inner peace so as to project outer peace. This class is rooted in the Kundalini yoga tradition and is suitable for students of any experience level and any mobility. 

Mindfulness Meditation uses a variety of mindfulness practices and simple meditation techniques in a supportive space where you can share the experience with others. Whether you’re new to mindfulness or seeking to deepen your practice, this class offers a welcoming environment to explore how meditation can help you find greater peace, clarity, and self-compassion.

Meditation Consultation

For those looking to go deeper, Delta Groove also offers one-on-one meditation lessons taught by experienced teachers. You’ll learn tools and resources to help you develop a personal meditation practice that fits your needs. 

• Learn breathing techniques to bring mind and body together in the present moment

• Practice mantra to uplift your mood and reprogram your old patterns

• Experience several approaches, including mindfulness, Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, and Kundalini Yoga

• Develop a more intimate relationship with yourself so you can live a more authentic, serene, and empowered life

Creative Writing Workshops

Working on your mental body isn’t just about meditating and keeping your journey inward. It’s also about giving your mind the chance to express itself. At Delta Groove, we offer creative writing workshops that we treat as sacred circles. An experienced facilitator guides the group through writing prompts followed by opportunities to share what you’ve written in a supportive and confidential environment. These workshops are offered periodically throughout the year. Stay tuned to our workshops and events page or sign up for our newsletter on our homepage for more info.  

Working on the Wisdom Body: Cacao Ceremonies, Akashic Record Sessions, Past-Life Regression, & Dharma Quest

The Wisdom Body is sometimes referred to as “the mind beyond the mind.” It’s the seat of your intuition, where you have access to a deeper level of understanding that transcends what you can consciously be aware of with your thinking mind, or intellect. This level of the body can be thought of as pure awareness without preconceived notions or habitual thoughts or actions. 

Cacao Ceremonies

In cacao ceremonies, you’re invited to work with the spirit of cacao, a feminine, heart-opening plant medicine long-revered in indigenous cultures around the world. Ceremonies are conducted in a sacred circle space and can be paired with guided meditation, medicine songs, journaling, breathwork, and dance. Participants often feel a deeper connection to themselves and spirit, receiving healing downloads and messages in this ritual space. Stay tuned to our workshops and events page or sign up for our newsletter on our homepage for more info.  

Akashic Record Readings

The Akashic records have been referred to as “God’s Book of Remembrance.” They can be thought of as a metaphysical super computer containing the details of every person’s life, every location’s existence, every event great and small. During an Akashic records reading, the practitioner connects to your energy frequency as a neutral channel for your higher self and any of your guides and delivers the messages channeled through these communications to you.  

Past-Life Regression

The more knowledge and understanding you have of your past experiences and how they affect your reactions to people, places and events, the nearer you are to true freedom. During a past-life regression session, participants are led into deep relaxation to allow access to your subconscious mind, who remembers everything. The practitioner prompts you with questions specifically designed to bring your journey to life. The experience remains entirely your own and you are conscious throughout. After, there's time to discuss, integrate, and if needed, help interpret the guidance you received from your past selves. 

Dharma Quest

Your dharma is your mission in life, the reason you’re here in this incarnation in this lifetime. Meaning is to our soul what air, food, and shelter are to our bodies. Without it, our failures look like total collapse and our victories do not satisfy us. Discovering your purpose in life gives you the energy, focus, and guidance you need to make the changes you want. Dharma quest sessions draw inspiration from the ideas of visionaries like Edgar Cayce and Carl Jung to:

• Clarify your core value, your personal spiritual ideal

• Take inventory of your talents, abilities, and strengths, the touchstones of your purpose in life

• Choose the words that express your mission statement, the gift you have to offer the world in order to move it forward

• View your life path from a broader perspective that you can always rely on to empower you and not be discouraged by hardship

Working with the Bliss Body: Yogic Numerology, Ecstatic Dance & Yoga and Wellness Retreats

The innermost and most subtle layer of the body is the bliss body. The bliss body represents the essence of our souls, where there is no separateness perceived from the normal trappings of this body, this mind, this lifetime. Connecting with this layer of the body involves developing a spiritual practice that helps you go deep within to a point of forgetting your ego, transcending your karma, and tapping into the joyous heart of existence. 

Yogic Numerology

Yogic numerology sessions are based on Tantric Numerology from the Kundalini Yoga system and are a great tool in developing a daily spiritual practice. Using the numbers from your birth date, the practitioner helps you look at where your strengths and weaknesses tend to ebb and flow in your life. The goal is to help you become aware of and direct these qualities toward your higher purpose. From your numerological information, you work with the practitioner to develop a personal Kundalini Yoga and Meditation practice to use as a consistent tool for the development of your spiritual practice. This consultation is a great way to set a daily discipline for yourself, as it includes a full yoga practice and a recommended mantra and/or breath meditation. It's these daily disciplined practices that will show you the most transformative and healing results.

Ecstatic Dance

Ecstatic dance uses free-form movement to reach a state of ecstasy or heightened awareness that transcends the ego. At Delta Groove, we pair dance with cacao ceremonies, live music, and guided meditations, among other activities. Read our recent blog post to learn more about how dance can propel you into a state of bliss. And stay tuned to our workshops and events page or sign up for our newsletter on our homepage for more info.  

Yoga Retreats

Sometimes, the thing that’s needed to break out of your habitual thought patterns and activities is to literally break away. Yoga retreats provide the opportunity to revitalize your spirit, learn in community, integrate new practices, and experience personal growth. Delta Groove retreats provide participants with the opportunity to come together in Kundalini Yoga, meditation, sacred ceremonies, dancing, and deep connection with nature, spirit, and each other. The goal is to channel the wisdom that resides inside you to integrate magic into your daily life, fostering wholeness, authenticity, balance, creativity, and a liberated spirit. Our next yoga retreat is June 2025 in Tulum, Mexico. 

Find Holistic Healing in Memphis

Complete wellness is about more than just developing the physical body and getting a “good workout.” It’s about going deeper to explore the inner workings of your energetic body, your mind, your emotions, even your soul. Delta Groove provides healing opportunities on all levels and a welcoming community where you can be your authentic self among others on the same journey. 

Shake It for Shakti - From Elvis to Samadhi

by Dr. Valentine Leonard, Ph.D

"We shake to enter the vibrations that create, perpetuate, and move life" - Bradford Keeney

"People say that what we are all seeking is a meaning of life. I dont think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we are really seeking is an experience of being alive." - Joseph Campbell

In my longtime personal and professional practice of Kundalini Yoga and improvisational dance, I have been exposed to Shaking often, be it intentional (e.g., at the end of a powerful kriya in Kundalini Yoga it is often instructed to shake) or spontaneous (I often find myself “trembling” when I relax). Also, when I fully surrender to the high vibe rhythm of a dance, I’ve noticed that I can raise my vibration into ecstatic bliss by shaking wildly every part of my body–a bit like Elvis Presley. 

Elvis’s Shake took over the world like wildfire in 1954 with That’s All Right, and has been credited with marking the birth of Rock’n Roll. We know he got his shake, and the ecstatic delight that came with it, from Black Pentecostal church services in his native Mississippi. What is less known is that Shaking is one of the oldest medicines on Earth, as witnessed by the ancient shamanic traditions still alive today among the Bushmen of the Kalahari–the oldest living culture in the world. 

Zest Rather Than Rest

We know that relaxation and rest help us heal–a paradigm that Harvard Medical School Dr Herbert Benson calls “the relaxation response” (Keeney, 3). What is less known is the other half of the picture: that the complement to relaxation is arousal. We could call that, “the arousal response.” We are suggesting that heightened arousal, whether through wild dancing, spontaneous jumping up and down, or body shaking, is as valuable a healing and transformational practice as sitting quietly in lotus position. When we look closer at the Shaking traditions from Africa, the Caribbean, and North America, it becomes clear that the most powerful form of healing and well-being comes when BOTH hyperarousal and deep relaxation are cycled together. When we shake ourselves to the fullest height of ecstatic expression, and then fall into the deepest state of quiet, we set the stage for a powerful realignment and evolution of our whole being (Keeney, 4). 

Western scholars have too easily dismissed shaking and quaking as signs of mental distress, neurological disorder, psychopathology, or possession by spirits. We in the West have cultivated a reverence toward “being in control” and a fear or avoidance of experiences that feel “out of control.”  The paradox being, of course, that the more we try to control ourselves, or others, or our environments, the more out of control everything becomes. But what if we were in fact born to shake, to be fully excited about our aliveness, just as we were born to have moments of rest and quiet stillness?

When I feel the biggest joy and delight life has to offer, I cannot avoid to start trembling, quaking, and shaking with happiness–or relief. I have felt it in love-making, in praying, and in dancing; on sweaty picnic grounds in the Mississippi Delta and in the cool shade of Italian cathedrals; on the streets of New Orleans and in the jungles of Mexico. Because this divine bliss of fully realizing the fact of being alive, and as such of being one with every other being, visible and invisible–this bliss is available to everyone on the planet, rich and poor, well and sick, educated or illiterate. Call it the Big Love, the Grace of God, Nirvana, Samadhi. In any case, it appears that shaking and the holiest experiences are inseparable. 

In these realms of experience we are attuned, calibrated, freshly inspired, converted to a mission, and reborn anew. It is that which we most deeply long for when we feel something is missing in our lives. Shaking is the skeleton key that opens the doors to the wild–a place where vision and imagination run free. This place has many names–the unconscious, the collective unconscious–a matrix of infinite patterns of never ending elaboration and collaboration, evolution and devolution, death and rebirth.

It is no accident that traditions that seek wild experience also honor the wild in nature. The devoted observation of ecological truths and sensuous experience of nature in its wild splendor opens a portal into the inner wild: the raw, naked mind. In the wild we more readily lose ourselves to find ourselves. We surrender to the wild’s higher wisdom. We are cooked–i.e., shaken and baked–to become fully integrated parts of the greater community of all living beings. (Keeney, 8). 

According to depth psychology, this kind of psychic integration is essential for the process of individuation, of becoming our fully realized authentic self. It is, in short, the key to optimal mental and spiritual health. 

In Shaking Medicine, Bradford Keeney gives numerous examples of cures attributable to the proper use of Shaking medicine–be it in the desert of the Kalahari, the fishing villages of Japan, or the plains of Minnesota. He describes the cure that a properly guided Shaking medicine brought about for a young gymnast who could no longer compete after a knee surgery and all traditional orthopedic medicine had failed to help her recover. In her first session, Keeney gently shook her knee and showed her an exercise that would bring spontaneous movement into her body. The movement immediately brought tingling sensations, as well as the image of a box her grandmother had given her. The next night she dreamed of a voice telling her to open the box. She continued shaking the body, and her dreams continued to provide her with guidance, until with Keeney’s help she constructed a sentence gathering the insights into a personal affirmation. She agreed to focus on her affirmation immediately before performing her gymnastics routine, and for the first time in three years she was able to perform, and lead her team to first place (Keeney, 19).

The word cure usually refers to remedies and treatments that help make us healthy: It refers to a transformational process. When we say we are cured, we mean that our health has become stronger, more enduring, and more usable in everyday life. Shaking medicine cures us in that regard: it stimulates health and it transforms us to be more capable of full-spirited participation in life (Keeney, 20). 

Shaking Your Shakti

Gopi Krishna taught that the extraordinary ecstatic experiences of the Christian mystics, yoga adepts, expert shamans, and Sufi masters were essentially the same. He saw them as examples of psychological transformation brought forth by Kundalini. These sages of the ages were well experienced with the vibrations, jerks, quakes and shakes that transform one’s entire being, bringing untold spiritual gifts along the way.  

The Sanskrit word “Kundalini” literally means “she who is coiled,” and is often visually represented by a snake. According to the tantra yoga tradition, Kundalini contains a power, an  energy called Shakti–the creative force of the Universe. This force is said to lie coiled like a snake at the base of the spine, mostly dormant until awakened (through meditation and yoga practices, or other devotional experiences). Once awakened, Kundalini can progressively rise up the spine through the chakras or energy centers, activating specific gifts and potentials at each stage. Ultimately, when Kundalini reaches the top chakra at the crown of the head, it can find expression in the form of mystical visions, psychic powers, and enlightenment.  

As a long-time practitioner and teacher of Kundalini Yoga, I am struck by the similarities between Shaking and Shakti, both in the theoretical descriptions and the experiential effects in my body and spirit. Both practices bring about a sense of integration, balance, arousal, aliveness, fulfillment, and heightened awareness that converge in ecstasy. 

I didn’t know what to call it then, and it’s only in the last few years that I realized that that’s what “it” was: a Kundalini awakening. I had not yet discovered Kundalini Yoga and I prided myself on an extreme Nietzchean world view in which all religion and spirituality were seen as moralizing and life-denying–thus to be avoided at all costs.

It’s August in Senatobia, Mississippi, at Othar Turner’s (locally) famous Memorial Day picnic. Every great blues musician in the Mississippi Delta is here, sitting on rickety chairs on the crumbling porch of a shack. A whole goat is being roasted, the smoke adding to the sweltering heat of August in the South. Behind the shack there are pigs happily rolling in the mud. The small mixed crowd–neighbors with their whole families, old folks and kids included, hipsters from Memphis, Japanese Blues aficionados–all bouncing and swaying in the dirt like one big paleolithic animal to the irresistible riffs of the shrieking guitars and cicadas. As it gets dark the lightning bugs sparkle in the thick air. Suddenly, the chant of a fife, like the snake charmers play in Bombay. The drums, telluric, make my feet pound the earth. The small crowd peals open to let through a marching band, only 5 or 6 of them. Old Othar Turner walks in the front playing his fife. His 10 year old granddaughter Shardé keeps in step with him. Behind them a small percussion section–a very large black man on the bass drum, a snare drummer, a couple of tambourines. They snake their way through the dirt. The crowd folds itself back over the band. Magnetized by the drums I elbow my way through, half delirious already from the heat and the groove and the cheap beer. This is before cell phones but there are a few cameras there–the Japanese folks especially. People are clapping and dancing and hooting, Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! I feel the shake coming on like a Mustang, and I decide to let go of the reins. My spine arches and flexes, my feet stomp on the ground, the dirt feels soft and safe, I see fireflies or maybe it’s sparkles from the fire pit, sweat dripping off black foreheads, my neck and head are starting to feel unattached to the rest of my body. Now I can see the whole scene from above and yet I am more alive in my body than I have ever been. The bass drummer stumbles in the uneven grass and falls to his knees. He keeps playing. Someone pushes me and somehow I find myself astride the drummer’s broad back. My spine keeps shaking and flexing like a mad boa. The music, the drummer, and I become one. I ride him like a rodeo until the end of the tune. For the rest of the night I’m electrified. I dance with everyone who comes near, twirl from one partner to another, completely unashamed of the proximity, the sweat, the lust, the totally unapologetic rapture I share with every dancer and musician there. This is God, I thought. I am God. 

The Physical Body as a Vehicle to Spiritual Enlightenment

Harvard Trained Physician Mauro Zappaterra has dedicated his research to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). He explains that the CSF bathes our brain and spinal cord all the way down to the sacrum, providing buoyancy to the brain. 

He observed that in an embryo, the tiny developing brain was surrounded by a lot of “empty space” and upon further inquiry he realized that that “space” was filled with CSF. He then asked, why so much CSF? What does the CSF provide to the developing brain? He found that the CSF informs and instructs stem cells to proliferate and differentiate into neurons. He compared these findings with his parallel experience with Tibetan Buddhism and Kundalini Yoga, which describe a hollow canal in the center of the spinal cord where the Kundalini rises. In Yogic scriptures this central channel is called Shushumna Nadi, and culminates at the third eye–the cave of Brahma, the eye of the Soul–i.e, the third ventricle of the brain where the CSF is being produced, held between the pineal and pituitary glands. 

Now, Zappaterra continues, CSF is a fluid. We know that fluids are able to store and transmit energy, light, vibration, and flow. And the CSF can do this without the mediation of any synapses since it bathes the whole brain, going to all control centers of the brain at once and thus having this whole synchronized effect, producing a sense of beingness, of “I am” so familiar to meditators. 

As Zappaterra puts it, we know that Melatonin, synthesized by the pineal gland when the sun goes down, induces a state of sleep (i.e., an altered state of consciousness). Melatonin then goes into the CSF and the CSF distributes it to the brain so we fall asleep. Couldn’t the CSF, then, store Source energy from our conception and transmit that energy to our self, allowing for that sense of pure beingness within us, or other altered states of consciousness, such as heightened creativity and vitality, nonlocal vision, or instantaneous healing? In other words, could the CSF be the biological basis of spiritual enlightenment–the medium of the Spirit?

If that is the case, then I would like to suggest that activities of heightened arousal like Shaking or Kundalini Yoga are particularly efficient at leveraging CSF so it may rise up the spine and lead to the rapturous, mind and heart expanding experiences that the Bushman Shamans, the Rock Stars, the Christian Mystics, the Ecstatic Poets, the Saints and Sages of the ages and the Ecstatic Dancers around the world can induce. And what’s more, I’ll conclude with Robert Keeney, this kind of vibrating encounter is a strong form of medicine because it cures through tuning into the highest frequencies that affect the soul. These frequencies, in turn, recalibrate the mind and body (Keeney, 201) so we may fully embrace the stupendous experience of being alive.

References

Bradford Keeney, Shaking Medicine (Destiny Books, Vermont, 2007). 

Gopi Krishna, Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man (Shambala, 1997).

Mauro Zappaterra, “Cerebrospinal Fluid, Medium of the Spirit”

https://youtu.be/55QythvgRRk?si=4JYJ3aKFSkfQcqFR

Othar Turner and the Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band - Shimmy She Wobble

https://youtu.be/RDar1ymGbjg?si=Jl0hmvy945Ca4DQP

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Meditation in Memphis: Begin or Deepen Your Meditation Practice at Delta Groove

Meditation and yoga go together like peas and carrots, or being that we’re in Memphis, maybe “like peanut butter and bananas” is a better comparison. 

In fact, the first recorded references to meditation are found in the Upanishads, yogic philosophy source texts dating to somewhere around 800 BCE. Roughly 1,000 years later, Patanjali defined yoga in the Yoga Sutras as “citta vritti nirodha,” which roughly translates as “to still the fluctuations of the mind.”  

Stilling the fluctuations of the mind is easier said than done though. Our thoughts naturally flit from one impression to the next, cycling between to-do lists and memories and that song we heard on the radio earlier and the input from our senses.

It’s no wonder that for thousands of years people have been trying to get a handle on this monkey mind. Yoga is a great physical exercise, but the true aim of yoga, Patanjali tells us, is to use it to quiet the mind. In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the many benefits of meditations, talk about different types of meditation, and give you tips for starting your own meditation practice right here in Memphis. 

What is meditation?

Let’s start by talking about what meditation is — and isn’t. When I was first introduced to meditation, I thought it was just sitting with your eyes closed and not thinking. I’d sit, close my eyes, clear my head, and within seconds, my mind would start to wander to that conversation with my boss earlier or what I was going to have for dinner or how I was going to cover rent that month or any other number of things. After trying a few times, I gave up and thought, “Meditation just isn’t for me. I can’t do it.” I had it in my head that 1. Meditation was completely emptying your head. And 2. That there were some people who could meditate and some people who couldn’t. I was way off base.

Humans evolved to the top of the food chain because of our overactive brains and imaginations. We are able to take in a lot of sensory input in order to scan our environment, keep us safe, and find our next meal. Our imaginations are constantly working on overdrive in order to anticipate what might happen next and formulate a lightning-fast response. These qualities keep us safe and help us thrive. 

But in our modern world, when we have so much to think about, so many inputs, so many perceived threats every day, the same brains that keep us safe can also overwhelm us and send us into hyperarousal. That feeling of never being able to “turn off” is what turns many people on to meditation. All of that’s to say: If you think, “I can’t meditate, my brain doesn’t work like that,” you are not alone. 

Meditation isn’t about just clearing your head of thoughts and then having an empty head. Really, meditation is about training your mind to focus, to not wander uncontrolled. And meditation trains us to do that by giving us something to focus on. What we focus on helps define the type of meditation. 

What are the types of meditation?

So what are the different types of meditation? Using the types of brainwaves produced during meditation, scientists have divided meditation into three main categories: 

• Focused-attention meditation keeps attention focused on a specific object, idea, or goal. 

• Open-monitoring meditation keeps attention widely focused on the monitoring process. 

• Automatic self-transcending meditation uses techniques designed to transcend their own activity.

Now let’s break all of that down.  

In focused attention, you return your attention over and over to the object of focus. You try to let the object of focus capture your entire attention. I had a teacher compare focused-attention meditation as the kind of attention you give a baby. You watch with wonder and awe, amazed at everything they do. 

Focused-attention meditation includes techniques like:

• Gazing at a lit candle

• Counting your breaths

• Counting mala beads

• Physical meditation, where you focus on specific movements or postures (like in yoga class!) 

• Focusing on a goal like spreading loving-kindness 

• Focusing on a part of the body, like a body part or a chakra

• Focusing on objects like the moon or crystals 

In open-monitoring meditation, the idea is to create a non-reactive, non-judgmental awareness of anything that occurs in the present moment. You observe what comes up in your sensations, your thoughts, and your emotions, but you do so without attachment or judgment. This is more about observing the processes of your mind and body than analyzing or focusing on anything that comes up. So for example, you might note, “I feel a fluttering in my belly,” but you don’t try to connect that to a reason or fixate on it. Instead, you just observe and then let it go. 

The letting go part can be difficult, especially for beginners. The natural impulse is to hop on the identification train and go for a ride, letting your brain start explaining what’s going on and why. And that takes you out of the present moment. So learning to let go of whatever comes up and return attention to what you’re experiencing right now is key. 

In automatic self-transcending meditation, you employ mantras that are spoken out loud or repeated in your head. They can range from slowly chanting “Om,” to repeating a word or phrase that has meaning to you, to employing any number of mantra meditation practices and kriyas. 

At Delta Groove Yoga, one of the reasons we love kundalini yoga is for its use of mantra during meditation. Some of the meditation styles also employ hand movements or positions, called mudras, as well. An example is Kirtan Kriya, which involves visualization, mudra, and chanting “Sa Ta Na Ma.” According to the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation, meditating for 12 minutes a day using Kirtan Kriya is shown to improve cognition and activate parts of the brain that are central to memory. 

What are the benefits of meditation? 

In fact, meditation has been shown to lead to widespread changes in the brain, helping us get rid of maladaptive thoughts and even restructure neural pathways. Just a few of the benefits of meditation include:

• Lower blood pressure

• Reduced stress

• Better sleep

• Improved emotional regulation

• Increased focus

• Enhanced mood

• Reduced aggression

• Greater adaptability

• Healthier aging process

• A greater sense of empathy and connection with others

Research says that meditation quiets our brain’s default mode network, which is the part of our brain that wants to categorize our impressions and experiences. It’s the part of our brain that keeps us thinking we’re separate from others and from life, and it’s necessary in order to operate in our daily lives. But it also stands in the way of experiencing things the way they truly are by filtering what we see, experience, and feel — our perceptions of reality itself — through the lens of habit and past experiences, our “default.” 

Interestingly, it turns out that while meditation quiets the default mode network, sitting quietly with our eyes closed actually has the possibility to heighten our default mode network, according to research in Psychology Today. So especially for those who might be new to meditation, what seems like “meditating” could actually just be sitting quietly with your eyes closed. This gives the default mode network the opportunity to start ruminating, analyzing, classifying, and, in short, over thinking. 

Learning about the effect meditation can have on the brain’s default mode network reminded me of my early attempts to meditate. Perhaps I was just sitting with my eyes closed rather than “meditating.” Luckily, there are lots of ways to learn to meditate today.

Learn to meditate in Memphis

Learning to meditate doesn’t have to be difficult or lonely, and research says that even meditating for a few minutes a day can show benefits. Learning any new skill (like beginning a yoga practice) begins with taking small steps and going easy on yourself. Even committing to meditating for 3 minutes a day to begin is a step in the right direction, and over time, you can build on your practice. 

There are plenty of articles, books, and videos that can help you learn to meditate. But you also don’t have to go it alone. At Delta Groove, meditation is built into many of our yoga classes, whether it’s referred to as “centering” at the start of a vinyasa class or an explicit mantra meditation during a kundalini class. We also offer two classes specifically for those looking to bring more meditation into their lives.

Meditation, Mantra, and Pranayama

This is a class to develop your meditation practice using Kundalini Yoga Meditations, Mantras, and Pranayama. Using specific seated postures, angles, and breathing sequences, you’ll cultivate energy balance to create inner peace so as to project outer peace. This class is suitable for students of any experience level and any mobility. 

Mindfulness Meditation

In this class, participants are guided through a variety of mindfulness practices and learn simple meditation techniques in a supportive space where they can share the experience with others. Whether you’re new to mindfulness or seeking to deepen your practice, this class offers a welcoming environment to explore how meditation can help you find greater peace, clarity, and self-compassion.

If you’re ready to start meditating in Memphis, we welcome you to join us. Check out the full class schedule to see everything the Groove has to offer. See you on the mat!