KUNDALINI YOGA

A S   T A U G H T   B Y   Y O G I   B H A J A N

Kundalini Yoga is a powerful yogic technology which increases health and vitality and awakens the practitioner to their own innate personal power. Physical asanas or postures and movements are combined in specific order with breath and mental focus to bring about specific effects through your whole being, from the very physical to the most subtly energetic.  There are hundreds of Kriyas (exercise sets) with a huge range of targeted effects, but overall the practice naturally gives rise to a sense of inner balance, clarity, well-being, happiness and "switched on-ness" or aliveness.

Mantra and the use of the sound current for healing and awakening is a unique aspect of Kundalini Yoga also, as we tune in and close each class with mantra and song. Many meditations involve mantra and the bij (seed) mantra is Sat Nam - Truth I am.

Kundalini is the nerve of the soul. It is a natural force residing in every human being which can lie dormant or can be awakened. All yogas aim to raise the Kundalini, or the potential energy of the soul, so that we can become what's known as the possible human. But Kundalini Yoga gets you there faster. It is possibly also the safest form of yoga as, while your vibration and energy rises, you are at the same time conditioning your nervous system and all other systems to integrate the changes as they happen. Your life flows better, you feel more yourself, you have more conscious choice in how you relate to others and the magic of life reveals itself.

Perhaps the best thing of all is that you don't have to be young, fit or flexible to practice Kundalini Yoga and experience its benefits. Variations of poses are always offered to get the energetic benefits of the exercises. You also don't have to wear anything special or believe in anything in particular to do it. In the beginning is the experience, so come and have one and decide for yourself!

And if you are pregnant or have a baby under 1 year, I also teach Kundalini Yoga for pregnancy and the first postnatal year. Visit Small Blessings Yoga here >

YOGI BHAJAN

Yogi Bhajan, born in India, arrived in America in 1969. The practices and teachings he shared evolved into an integrative combination of ancient yoga exercises, techniques and kriyas (exercise sets), meditations and yogic teachings. The lineage of this practice includes Yogi Bhajan’s own teachers, from whom he also learned Naad yoga (yoga of sound, mantra and shabad), and reach back to Baba Siri Chand, leader of the ascetic Udasi yogis, and the joining of that lineage with the House of Guru Ram Das. Yogi Bhajan saw Guru Ram Dass, saint of the Sikh Dharma lineage, as his own spiritual teacher. Guru Ram Dass is known as a personification of love, selfless service and devotion (Bhakti), while Baba Siri Chand represents the personal power and vitality, or Shakti, that yogic practices cultivate. This is the more esoteric history of Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan - an alchemy of both Bhakti and Shakti practices in qualities, serving to cultivate these in the practitioner. Ram Dass was also a householder - married and with children, while Baba Siri Chand represents asceticism and celibacy, so Kundalini Yoga is a yoga for householders, people in life, with work and family, aspiring to live in a yogic way.

In tuning in, as we do for every Kundalini Yoga class, a link is created to this field of consciousness and wisdom with the elements that it combines. These qualities, vibrations and principles are universal and available to all, when they are called upon. This is called the Golden Chain. There are no initiations in this tradition, rather the practitioner initiates themselves and becomes a student of their own higher consciousness, or a disciple of their own soul.

Kundalini Yoga is also called a Raj (or royal) Yoga. It is to cultivate a spirit of royalty and a lived recognition of the presence of a macrocosm to our microcosm, a larger than any of us intelligence that infuses and directs all. Ek Ong Kar - creator and creation are one. Sat Naam. That truth is our identity. This is a fundamental basis of the philosophy of Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan.

Yogi Bhajan passed away in 2004, leaving the legacy of these teachings, which are now practiced by thousands all around the globe.

Edit: September 30, 2020.

In February of 2020, allegations of sexual and ethical misconduct arose (and resurfaced) against Yogi Bhajan. An independent investigation was commissioned into the allegations by the international Kundalini Yoga organisation, KRI, the resulting report from which you can find here. The report found that the alleged events more likely than not occurred. This is not totally conclusive, the report is not of a criminal investigation and we will most likely never fully know the truth, however the evidence is strong that misconduct happened that was very much in conflict with what Yogi Bhajan himself taught.

My own personal stance in relation to this is as follows:

I am thankful for all those who had the courage to speak up after all these years. May they find healing and peace. I feel glad that whatever may have been moving in the shadows has come to light, although it has for many been a difficult and painful process.

Yogi Bhajan, as he himself often stressed, was the messenger and the deliverer of ancient and timeless teachings and practices that work. He is often quoted as having said “Don’t love me; love my teachings.”

I will be forever grateful for this treasure trove that brings so much to so many. And I will always be grateful to Yogi Bhajan for bringing us Kundalini Yoga in the form he did.

I see many lessons in how things have unfolded and these events have reinforced for me the importance of reminding students: it is about YOU. Having people who can compassionately redirect you to you, if you are in the habit of looking to another for your own salvation, is priceless.

I see the dangers of idolisation of human beings. Blind faith is dangerous, while true faith is beyond any individual and is faith in Life itself. This kind of faith has its eyes wide open.

I will continue to teach and practice. I feel enthusiastic about the path ahead, and also lighter and more free. At the same time I remain humble before what remain brilliant teachings and committed to bringing consciousness and transparency to all my doings in life.

I remain committed to providing a free, open and respectful space for people to experience the great benefits this practice has to offer on so many levels.

My open hearted commitment is to absolute honesty, integrity and respect in and out of class.

Please if you have any doubts, concerns or questions, approach me. I am very happy to talk with you about this.

I am committed to agreement to the 10 rights of a Kundalini Yoga student laid out by the EPS - Ethics and Professional Standards committee, which you can read here.

Photos of Jai Ram by Emilia Gray of Onesies & Co