WE RISE Claiming Clarity

a daily group practice of pranayama + meditation

January 21st - February 18th

6-7am PST

9-10am EST

10-11am AST 

2-3pm GMT

3-4pm CET

Welcome to WE RISE Claiming Clarity

For two and a half years, our international group of meditators has been gathering and growing - through meditation - both as individuals and as a community. Our primary orientation is toward Vishoka Meditation, a spiritually oriented, traditional approach to meditation which marries systematic technique with a joy affirming world view and practice of contemplation.

We meet every day, for 28-days, to practice in a supportive, uplifting community. Our commitment is to each other, as much as it is to ourselves. The practices last one hour each day and consist of recitation of the daily prayers of our tradition, pranayama, meditation, and reflection.

This month's practice is focused on a series of Pranayama techniques developed by the Himalayan Institute as a means for further developing and refining our experience of Vishoka Meditation®. These techniques play an incredible role in moving us toward self-mastery and helping us claim our mind's innate peace and clarity.

As always, I will do my best to make the practices accessible and applicable for all level of practitioner. If you have been meditating with me for a couple of years already, this month's practice will further beautify and intensify your intimate relationship with Prana. If you are new to meditation, or Vishoka Meditation® specifically, these techniques will introduce you to Prana, the intelligent force which will guide you to the very center of your being. There you will experience the purpose of life : ultimate freedom and lasting fulfillment.

Prana is the tangible, perceptible expression of the Divine unifying energy that pervades the universe.  Pranayama is the category of practice which allows us to be in direct relationship with this energy. The Yoga Sutra tells us that through Pranayama we attenuate the veil of avidya, the dense cloud of confusion and  illusion that keeps us from recognizing and remembering our true nature, and the true nature of reality.

Through a combination of pranayama and meditation, our daily practice with WE RISE will systematically burn through the layers of deception that keep us mired in suffering. They will increase our capacity to see ourselves, and the wondrous nature of reality more clearly.

A preparation for Vishoka Meditation®

Imagine a life free from pain and sorrow—infused with joy and tranquility.

The ancient yogis called this state vishoka, and insisted that we all can reach it. The key is a precise set of meditative techniques designed to unite mind and breath, and turn them inward.

Our relationship with our breath, and specifically with Prana, the intelligence which governs and guides our breath (and much more) is the key to a meaningful experience of Vishoka Meditation®, and - one could argue - all Tantric Yoga methodologies.

Vishoka Meditation® is a living practice supported by a rich body of wisdom, refined over countless generations for thousands of years. It is a technique that is spiritually-grounded, yet highly systematic and experiential. This system helps us to train our breath, then refine the experience of our breath to develop sensitivity to the more subtle, yet potent, element of the breath, prana.

The Himalayan Tradition

The techniques guided in WE REST are oriented toward Vishoka Meditation®. They have been preserved and passed down through the Himalayan Tradition and made accessible to this generation through the writing and teaching of Pandit Rajmani Tigunait. I practice and study Vishoka Meditation® with Pandit Tigunait and the senior teachers of the Himalayan Institute. Simultaneously simple and profound, Vishoka Meditation® is accessible for all levels of practitioner. Its impact, effectiveness, and depth develop exponentially with devotion to practice.

Natalie Backman, Certified Vishoka Meditation® Teacher

Devoted to the Divine Mother, Natalie shares yoga and meditation through her own direct experience.

Endeavoring to represent the Tradition with integrity, she also brings her own unique humanity to her teaching. Natalie guides experiences of yoga asana, pranayama, yoga nidra, Vishoka Meditation®, and Yoga Sutra based practices of contemplation and self-inquiry – all with the aim of facilitating a life of greater fulfillment and freedom. Natalie offers mentorship to those craving a one-on-one source of nourishment and support, particularly around deepening the intimacy of one's practice, personalizing one's approach to teaching, and applying the wisdom of yoga to one's daily life. Imperfect as it may be, Natalie's life is an offering to the Divine. May it be received in the spirit with which it is offered.

Jai Maa

Certified Vishoka Meditation Teacher