The ancient yoginis understood the concept of time and cycles they called yugas. Presently, we are living in a time of great intensity: the Kali Yuga. The Kali Yuga is a period of hundreds of thousands of years, and it shows a progressive decline in true spiritual connection. We see this readily in many yogic myths where the feminine (Shakti) embodied consciousness is repeatedly disrespected and, as a result, leaves her human form. When she goes away, the demons take over the world creating environmental degradation as they pillage the Earth without a care or sense of responsibility. The world falls apart; the oceans fill with plastic; the air is unbreathable, and the respect for fellow humans is diminished. While the Gods plead for her earthly return to restore balance, she first demands respect.
If we are to call the Divine Feminine back into her body, we must confront our own shadow. A call to the feminine is a call to healing internal wounding where our ego believes it’s in charge of life. When our attention focuses solely on the physical, we lose sight of the unifying star matter we are all made of.
We are at an exciting precipice where consciousness is evolving. For example, we see more people taking up yoga, meditation and Indigenous earth-based rituals that reconnect us to the essence in all things. In meditation, we have access to the healing energy hidden behind our scars, wounds and conditioning. It’s here that we begin to heal the memories of shame, fear, insecurity, doubt and inhibition. This is a necessary confrontation to make something more beautiful with our lives.
The great masters of the Tantric tradition understood that we could experience immense healing through an authentic path of Initiatory Mantra Meditation — a practice that literally raises the vibrational frequency within the body and mind. Over time, we go from a thickened, dense, contractive condition to a higher vibrational joy-filled experience of life. As a result, we tap more readily into our gifts, talents and capacities. This has enormous potential not only for healing our own pain, but to add a positive contribution to healing our planet.
The dawning of a new era and a progressive time of awakening is becoming more apparent as we watch financial structures collapse and top-down leadership fall apart. COVID-19 has stopped us in our tracks and driven us home. Home is the metaphor for our central channel, where-in deep states of meditative absorption, we alchemically shift our trauma into empowerment. If the Kali Yuga has been an era of progressive decline, the Sat Yuga spins the pendulum back towards more light, creativity and beauty where humans will once again express reverence for life.
Presently, we are experiencing more collaborative efforts to eliminate differences of color, race and gender. Backyard gardening, walking barefoot, outdoor activities and women’s organizations are exploding worldwide as we lean into the call to heal the feminine. While these exciting shifts are taking place, transitions are rarely smooth. It will take a daily commitment into our core where the masculine and feminine dance as one pulsing energy.
It’s here, inside ourselves, that we remain steadfast to working for the generations to come, to the upliftment of our planet and the evolution of humans towards a brighter, more awakened existence.
Photo by Ava Sol.
Originally published in the Winter + Spring 2021-21 issue of CO YOGA + Life Magazine.
Jeanie Manchester founder of Anjaneya Yoga Shala in Boulder, Colorado, is a master yoga and meditation instructor with over 30 years of dedicated practice. She is an Acharya of Neelakantha Meditation and initiates people into this potent mantra practice. Jeanie’s path of the divine feminine and awakening of kundalini Shakti has given rise to new inspiration in her life and all of those she trains. She is the creator of the Shakti Sisterhood, Goddess Guidance and The Planetary Awakening Summit. Jeanie offers teacher training, meditation guidance, spiritual and business mentoring, as well as retreats and immersions around the globe.
