I dutifully read every article Sally Kempton writes for Yoga Journal because I love her clear logic and practical application for problems of the mind, so I was very excited to find that her succinct class was just as accessible and useful.  Sally focused on defining emotions that create deep grooves in our consciousness (dubbed samskaras by yogis and neural grooves by scientists) or the "mind dragons":  Anger, grief, desire and fear. 

They are called dragons because of the historical symbolism this flying reptile ignites: dragons are powerful, misunderstood creatures that some traditions want to slay in order to win the treasure and other traditions want to befriend as a protector and spiritual boon.  Taking either interpretation into account, dragons are powerful as they can drag us into mental entanglement.  This power can be dangerous and incite fear, but if handled correctly, as Sally explains through Tantric tradition, they can be used for growth.

 First, we were told to pick an event that ignited the emotion in question.  I chose anger, but others chose grief.  Then, we were to write a brief story recalling the events leading to that emotion.

Next, we circled the emotional words: angry, afraid, frustrated, rejected, etc. and wrote them on a separate page.  We then wrote the opposite of each word next to the troublesome emotion so we could start to feel the difference even in thinking these words. 

Finally, Sally instructed us through a meditation where we felt the emotion, brought it back up and noticed were it physically lodged.  Mine was in the throat, but others mentioned the heart or solar plexus.  After sitting with it, we dissolved that feeling; physically imagining it breaking apart with hands or as a galaxy--whatever worked.  We then repeated this step, and I was surprised to find that it was already much easier to dissolve the second time.  Pretty neat.

The class flew by, but we also had a chance to do a meditation on desire; the main idea of Tantra being that desires are natural and not to be suppressed.  Rather, we focused on the feeling of fulfillment and came to many different, though all profound realizations.  Oftentimes we seek that feeling of fulfillment, and we then have a chance to realize we already have everything we could ever desire;  I left this class with a new sense of peace.