Mind-Body Yoga of Butler's August blog, by Roger Fallecker

Finding My Way Om

Two people walk into a yoga studio (I know, this sounds like the beginning to a cheesy joke, right? …but seriously…).  One is having a difficult day.  She steps onto her mat looking for a good workout.  She wants to get sweaty, go home, take a shower and relax, putting this day behind her.

The other is having a day that’s normal in most respects.  After exchanging greetings with others in the class, she steps onto her mat, and begins to slow and deepen her breathing.  She draws herself into the present moment, turns inward and purposely pays no attention to the activity around her.  For the next 60 minutes, she is focused on her breath, her body’s motion and the instructor.  She treats this class as a mental “reset switch”, grounding her and bringing her back to center from the dozens of issues she considers on any given day.

Both leave the studio happy with their hour of yoga.  They were in the same class, but each had a different experience.  Neither is a better yoga student than the other.  Each got out of the practice what they wanted.  The point is that yoga is different things to different people, and that is how it should be.

To me, yoga is (among other things) a journey.  I love that my yoga is a journey with no end in sight.  I’m excited and curious about what lies around the next bend.  For me, the next bend in my yoga journey takes me directly into the heart of Kundalini yoga.

By now, most of you know I’ll be out of the studio for the month of August.  I’ve told you this trip is for yoga teacher training.  It lasts 27 days…an “immersion” they call it.  I’ve mentioned the vegetarian-only menu.  You’ve heard about the absence of chairs to sit on, and the 3:00 a.m. wake-ups.  But I haven’t taken time to explain Kundalini yoga.

In August, 43 yogi’s and yogini’s (boy yoga people and girl yoga people) from 13 countries will converge on Espanola, New Mexico at the Kundalini Research Institute’s central training facility, known as Hacienda de Guru Ram Das.  These 27 days will forever be a nexus in our collective yoga journeys.  We range in age from 23 to 60 (yay! I’m not the oldest!).  I’m anxious to hear what brought them from as far away as Australia and Taiwan, and I plan to share some of the stories with you in the months to come.  But…back to Kundalini yoga…

The name “kundalini” refers to an energy that lies within each of us.  This energy lies at the base of our spine, coiled (like a snake) and waiting to be drawn up through our body, following a path that roughly approximates our spinal column.  Along this path, which is called the sushumna nadi, are located a number of energy centers called chakras.  Some yogic schools of thought recognize seven main chakras, Kundalini yoga recognizes eight, the eighth being your aura, the electromagnetic field that surrounds each of our bodies.  The chakras exist in our astral or subtle body, not our physical or gross body.

Before you scoff and roll your eyes, consider that historically, science never accepts something it can’t detect or quantify in some way.  Like the earth being round, instead of flat, or for that matter, the earth NOT being the center of the universe, or gravity, or that our physical world is made up of tiny little things called atoms, which is an entire school of thought that’s evolving even as you read this.  Also (for doubters), search “Kirlian photography”, for images of auras.  Search “Caduceus”, for images of the coiled snake, and “national flag of India”, for a chakra.

Swami Vivekananda is credited with introducing yoga to America in 1893 at the Parliament of Religions, in Chicago, but it wasn’t until January, 1969 that Yogi Bhajan came to America (Los Angeles) and began to share Kundalini yoga, which had been kept a secret in India until that time.  He founded 3HO (Happy, Healthy, Holy Organization), and later, with followers, started the Kundalini Research Institute.  Yogi Bhajan left this existence in 2004, but many of his original students are now instructors at the immersion training at Hacienda de Guru Ram Das…I’ll be studying only one generation removed from the master!

Those of you who know me know that I could go on and on…and on, so…

Back to yoga being different things to different people:  If all you want from your yoga is a stretch out or a workout, that’s absolutely perfect for you.  But, yoga offers more, if you are interested.  If you take yoga to its “end point”, the goal is to unite the “individual’s unit consciousness with the infinite consciousness” (italics by Yogi Bhajan).

Yoga is not a religion, but yoga, in general, is a spiritual science.  You squint your eyes and ask, “Ok, so what does that mean?”

To call something “spiritual” infers that it affects the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.  To engage in a spiritual activity can (if you wish) give you a feeling of being connected to a larger, immaterial reality.  Please note that because something has a spiritual component, it does not require that you believe in somebody else’s vision of God.  Feel free to continue to believe in your personal vision of God, or, I suppose, no God at all, if you are an atheist.

In Hatha yoga, which we practice here at Mind-Body Yoga of Butler, we could use chanting, mudras (hand gestures) and pranayama (breath control techniques), but we typically do not.  Ray Skiles and I open our practices with a chant, but we’re the exception.  If you were lucky enough to catch one of Lisa Williams’ practices, she usually included some breathing techniques.  In general, we disregard the spiritual aspect of yoga and focus on the physical activity.  In the “yoga biz”, we refer to the poses as “asana”.  Every class we do here, with the exception of Ray Skiles’ meditation class, is an asana practice of one flavor or another.  If you are interested in learning about “the rest” of yoga (asana is one of eight “limbs” of yoga as laid out in Patanjali’s “Yoga Sutras”), please let me know!

In Kundalini yoga, spirituality is interwoven throughout the practice.  It would not be possible for an instructor to strip away all spirituality from Kundalini practices, and still maintain her certification from KRI (the Kundalini Research Institute).  Again, please note that under no circumstance will I require or expect you to believe in somebody else’s vision of God.  KRI trains instructors to teach Kundalini yoga exactly as it was taught by Yogi Bhajan.  To be an instructor of Kundalini yoga “as taught by Yogi Bhajan ®”, instructors must agree (in writing!) to pass along the instruction as they are taught.  KRI has other requirements for instructors, as well.  Instructors are required to dress in white and wear a white head covering while teaching Kundalini.  I must do this…you can, if you like, but it’s not required.  Also, we will open and close each practice with a chant.  That’s not a problem for me, because I like to chant.  It will be appreciated if you chant with me, but again, I will not require you to do so.

Kundalini yoga uses mantra/chants, mudras, bandas (muscular locks) and pranayama (breath control techniques), such as “breath of fire” in nearly every practice.  Instead of Hatha style poses, Kundalini yoga practices use “kriyas”.  A kriya is a series of repetitive motions, or as “Sadhana Guidelines” puts it:  “By doing a kriya, a sequence of physical and mental events is initiated that affect the body, mind and spirit.  Each kriya makes a specific claim as to its effects, but all balance the chakras, stimulate the glandular system and strengthen the nervous system.”

There are dozens of kriyas, each for a specific purpose.  Some examples are:  Conquering sleep, for people having difficulties falling asleep, or sleeping through the night;  Nerve, navel and lower spine strength;  Abdominal strengthening;  Flexibility and the spine;  Disease resistance and heart helper…the list goes on.  So…we will have a variety of different practices, although I think we’ll develop some favorites as the months go by.  For those of you with bad knees, much of what we will do in a Kundalini practice happens in “easy pose”, sitting with legs crossed.

Some practices are extremely physical, but we will start out easy and build up to the more difficult practices.  Expect to see the first classes called “Beginner’s Kundalini Yoga”.

Is Butler, PA ready for Kundalini yoga?  The trip to New Mexico is almost certainly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, considering I will be trained by people who studied under the Master of Kundalini Yoga, Yogi Bhajan.  I love Kundalini, and I’m anxious to share it with you.  Please join me!