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!