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“In our Yoga practice, the act of focusing is an exact science! Together, our conscious, rhythmic breath patterns, combined with a drishti, opens a gateway to a higher state of calm-alertness.”
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Books
Dhanpal-Donna Quesada
Dhanpal-Donna Quesada teaches eastern spiritual philosophy at Santa Monica College and Kundalini Yoga at the renowned Yoga West, in Los Angeles. She is an author, healer and meditation guide. Her book, Buddha in the Classroom; Zen Wisdom to Inspire Teachers, was released by Skyhorse Publications, in 2011. Now a classic, it is scheduled for re-release in 2015, under its new title, The Inspired Teacher; Zen Advice for the Happy Teacher. Her audio CDs of guided meditations and positive affirmations feature a variety of meditation styles and reflect the way she begins all of her classes, whether teaching Yoga or eastern philosophy. Quesada has also received formal training in the Zen Buddhist tradition. She lives with her family and her beloved terrier, Marcel, in Culver City, California.
Articles and Posts
- Is There Conflict Between Zen and Kundalini Yoga? - Donna Quesada
views: 279by Donna Quesada: Zen and Kundalini Yoga: A Contradiction? I shared some of my favorite Kundalini mantra music with a Buddhist friend the other day. He loved it, but then gingerly asked whether I “consider it to be compatible with Buddhism”. He asked [...]
- Practice - Dhanpal-Donna Quesada
views: 398by Dhanpal-Donna Quesada: The Tools – Kundalini Yoga is the science of awakening the life force within us for the purpose of fulfilling ourselves as humans… The practice is centered around the Kriya. From the ancient Sanskrit, meaning “action,” a kriya [...]
- Be Neutral; Be Knowing; Be Glowing - Dhanpal-Donna Quesadaviews: 463
by Dhanpal-Donna Quesada: On occasion, I receive messages from Yogi Bhajan, who I think of as Yogiji because the ji functions as a term of endearment… Sometimes I share these messages and others, I simply tuck away into a journal, [...]
- Donna Quesada: Art Review
views: 850by Donna Quesada: My dear friend Larry Payne mentioned that he had just purchased three watercolor paintings, so I arranged a visit to this exciting new artist’s atelier…Based in Culver City, CA, Donna Quesada finds inspiration in nature. Towering over [...]
- Our True Self (And A Koan)
views: 1104by Donna Quesada: Spiritual guides often say that the end of suffering is found when the true self is realized… What is the true self, anyway, and how does it make life “better?” Before explaining further, consider this random list of everyday [...]
Quotes
- “When you catch yourself slipping into a pool of negativity, notice how it derives from nothing other than resistance to the current situation.”
- “When you blame, you open up a world of excuses, because as long as you're looking outside, you miss the opportunity to look inside, and you continue to suffer.”
- “The effects you will have on your students are infinite and currently unknown; you will possibly shape the way they proceed in their careers, the way they will vote, the way they will behave as partners and spouses, the way they will raise their kids.”
- “Courage is often associated with aggression, but instead should be seen as a willingness to act from the heart.”
- “What we can change is our perceptions, which have the effect of changing everything.”
- “You don't think your way back to joy; you open to it.”
- “Each situation is a blossom to be picked with a curious spirit.”
- “To see change is at the same time to allow change.”
- “Think of the jazz improv artist responding to the musical banter among her fellow players onstage. Aside from whatever training they've done in advance, as soon as the curtain opens, they move into unknown territory together, creating something new each time by remaining in a state of undivided presence.”
- "Don’t “personalize” the situation or the other person’s actions, since, those actions were never about you, anyway, they were always about the other—betraying their own state of consciousness."
- "Your inner glow and light, which radiates outward and is felt by all who come near you, will affect the material context in ways that others are unable to understand. It’s like a secret."
- "When we live from the heart, we are dwelling in God. And God doesn’t take things personally or get involved in drama. God doesn’t compare, judge, get wrecked by anxiety and unfulfilled expectations and certainly has nothing to prove and no sense of lack."