Harbhajan Singh Khalsa aka Yogi Bhajan
Kundalini Yoga in the tradition of Yogi Bhajan, who brought the style of Yoga to the West in 1969, focuses on the controlled release of kundalini energy, thought to reside at the base of the spine.
This style of Yoga pays particular attention to breathwork, which aims to get energy moving quickly, but it also involves classic poses, coordination of breath and movement, and meditation.
Kundalini yoga is based on kriyas, or a specially formulated set of movements. The movements are targeted to specifically ‘benefit’ and work on the aspects of yourself that you need at the current time. Any amount of time spent practicing - whether 3 minutes a day or 60 minutes a day are said to produce significant benefits, and in turn, motivate the student to dedicate more time to practice.
Practicing Kundalini Yoga claims to keep the body in shape and train the mind to be strong and flexible in the face of stress, challenge and change. It is said to increase oxygen capacity, increase blood flow, balance the endocrine system (hormones), strengthen the nervous system, and reduce stress-induced toxins such as adrenaline and cortisol.
The result is a heightened sense of self-awareness and energy that allows the individual to embrace their mental and emotional self.
Those who practice Kundalini have said they feel more in control of themselves, peace of mind, concentration, a deep sense of calm and increased self-confidence. No matter the age or physical capacity, Kundalini Yoga and meditation are reported to have immediate and long-lasting benefits.
Kundalini is not without its controversy as Yogi Bhajan and his 3HO empire became the subject of sexual misconduct, abuse, greed and so much more.
This story really bummed me out because I really did enjoy hearing Yogi Bhajan speak on YouTube video’s and I often created memes with his wonderful quotes. Once a fellow yoga teacher enlightened me on this story, I took all of the Yogi Bhajan memes off the pages and have not listened to any of this videos again.
Honestly, with so much masquerading, lying, cheating and sexual trysts, I don’t if I can believe that Kundalini is a real practice since Yogi Bhajan created it out of thin air himself.
Here is the link to an article regarding the Yogi Bhajan sexual misconduct and more.
I never did practice Kundalini, but I enjoyed hearing him speak. Kundalini just wasn’t my thing, although I did have a yoga experience 22 years ago that turned out to be a Kundalini ‘kryia’. That experience still has me baffled with no one to really share it with and make sense out of it.
I did take a couple of 6 week series of Kundalini classes but just could not get into it. Kundalini was hard for me to process as yoga because the movements (kryia’s) were unlike the yoga I was use to. It just wasn’t my jam.