I stumbled on Kundalini Yoga during the pandemic. Kundalini Yoga is an ancient yoga practice, from the Tantric and Taoist traditions, combining breath, movement and sound. Sounds pretty basic, right? Well, three things surprised me about Kundalini Yoga that I did not experience in the 20 years of doing other types of yoga and one thing that I, as well as science, are still trying to understand. First, I was surprised by the discovery of silence. Yes, silence. My busy mind would immediately become silent after completing a 2-3 minute breath and movement exercise.
Second, I was surprised to discover meditation. I discovered that by sitting completely still and breathing in a particular breath pattern, called pranayama, I found myself going into a meditative state of being, where I was not competing with thinking or thoughts and I could stay in this state for as long as I wanted. This was unlike any other experience of meditation I had in the past. Wikipedia defines meditation as, “a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.” The breathing pattern, I discovered, was the pathway to meditation.
Third, I discovered deep and rich sensations in my body. Again, unlike anything I ever experienced in any other type of yoga. The sensations follow many of the 2-3 minute breath and movement exercises. They feel so intricate and so good that they call my surrender unto them. I find these sensations both in and around my body. And the more I practice Kundalini Yoga and surrender to these sensations, the more I become aware of their presence.
And lastly, in the practice of Kundalini Yoga, it is said that Kundalini energy sits at the base of the spine waiting to be awakened. That this energy travels through the 7 chakras, or energy systems, when practicing Kundalini Yoga. I have a hard time believing this idea – as it is not backed by science. In other words, science is still trying to figure out what the chakras are, if they exist, and how energy actually is created and flows through the body. Despite this debate, Kundalini Yoga has been proven to treat certain medical conditions, better than pharmaceutical drugs. For more detail on the conditions Kundalini Yoga has been proven to treat, I welcome you to review the presentation I gave titled, Kundalini Yoga: What the Research Says
I am currently about three-quarters of the way through a year-long Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training and will begin to start teaching soon. I look forward to welcoming you to my Kundalini Yoga classes!
