IBADA KAMILI

“The Complete Ritual”

Rituals are a part of African spiritual traditions around the world, and are used to manifest desired realities, show honor and gratitude, commune with the Divine Source, and more. The meditative practice of Kamili Yoga® is Ibada Kamili, which is KiSwahili for “the complete ritual.” This ritual is a structured meditative practice that brings you into deeper connection with Spirit, ancestors, and your own inner divinity. Another translation for Ibada Kamili is “perfect worship,” which speaks to the essence of the practice.

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The Five Components of Ibada Kamili

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Takatifu

Honor the Sacred

The ritual begins by inviting in Spirit and connecting to the Divine Source through an altar. For Ibada Kamili, anything can be an altar: a personal shrine, a single sacred item, or even our own body. Consecration of the ritual is marked by blessing the space with a prayerful affirmation, along with an action such as lighting a candle, ringing a bell, burning herbs or incense, etc. It is here that we also set our inner intention and make a soulful offering to Spirit.

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Pumzi

Deepen the Breath

To heighten connection to Spirit, ancestors, and our own sacred being, we center our breath and slow our inhales and exhales. Conscious controlled breathing relaxes our body, calms our emotions, clears our mind, and opens our spirit. This brings us to a state of inner peace and keeps us in the present with Spirit. Deepening the breath is essential in Ibada Kamili, as the breath guides the flow of both inner energy and outer motion.

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Nguvu

Amplify Your Energy

At this stage in Ibada Kamili, we focus on increasing our awareness of divine energy to feel the infinite life force that permeates all of existence. We concentrate on expanding our own sacred power throughout every dimension of our Soul Self: physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and universal. Through techniques of visualization and sensation, we open and allow ourselves to become absorbed in experiencing the omnipresent energy of Spirit.

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Mwendo

Flow through Motion

With our energy awareness amplified, we expand the ritual into physical motion. Our motion is a free-form bodily expression of union with the sacred and a celebration of our divinity. Movement is connected to conscious deep breathing and the flow of transcendent energy, and is a space of personal freedom. While yogic poses are a commonly chosen form of motion in Ibada Kamili, other forms of Africentric movement such as dancing and drumming are welcome.

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Kutafakari

Listen in Meditation

Once we feel our time for motion has come to an end, Ibada Kamili concludes with quiet contemplation. We use this time to reflect upon the experience of the ritual. We observe how we feel on all dimension, and we meditate on any guidance we may have received from Spirit and ancestors. It is an important time of stillness and rest, which allows the fullness of the healing and enlightenment effects of the ritual to take root within us.

Upon completion, we close the ritual with a prayer of gratitude to Spirit. Handwritten or video journaling your practice is highly recommended to help keep a record of the benefits gained and to remember our ritual experiences and revelations.

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