In Food as Medicine, the first step is clearing the noise. Warm lunch does it at midday, when the noise is loudest. Sadhana does it at the start, so you begin from your own signal before the day fills you with everything else’s.
Repeating one practice for 40 days lets us notice what changes when the return becomes part of the architecture instead of another decision we renegotiate every day.
This round, we’re working with Kirtan Kriya.
It comes from the Kundalini Yoga tradition, and it’s also one of the most studied meditations in clinical research on memory and brain health. Studies have shown increased blood flow and activity in the brain regions that govern memory and attention, including in people with early memory loss (Alzheimer’s Research & Prevention Foundation).
In the Kundalini Yoga tradition, it’s known for something more: removing enmeshed external energy, emotional residue, and the subconscious projections of others. In other words, it clears your electromagnetic field, also called the aura or 8th chakra.
The research and the tradition describe it differently. To me they point the same way. When less of other people’s energy is running through you, there’s room to hear yourself again, and that’s where Food as Medicine begins.
In clinical studies, Kirtan Kriya is typically practiced for 12 minutes. In this 40-day practice, we’re doing it for 18.
The mantra:
Sa Ta Na Ma
This is Sat Nam divided into four primal sounds.
Sat means truth, reality, that which is unchanging.
Nam is name, identity, presence.
Together, Sa Ta Na ma represents the continuation of creation, life, and existence.
Sa = Infinity (Source)
Ta = Life (existence, creativity, manifestation into form)
Na = Death (transformation, change, shedding of the old)
Ma = Rebirth (resurrection, renewal, the joy of regeneration)
The full practice, the mudra, and the recording are for Huddle members. If you’re clearing the noise and want company while you do it, the Huddle meets every weekday morning at 6 central.
The Huddle runs on annual membership, because the practice is a year of mornings, not a month. When you join, pick the annual option.