Yoga - Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini Yoga is a technology to access your own creative potential. This energy, referred to as Shakti, the feminine creative power, lies dormant at the lower end of the spine, sometimes depicted as a curled up sleeping snake (kundalini means coiled). The practice of Kundalini Yoga awakens this energy, giving the student an expanded level of consciousness.

Kundalini Yoga achieves this through the utilization of kriyas, which are a dynamic set of exercises, or postures, (asanas), which have a particular projection. These postures are combined with breathing techniques (pranayama), hand and finger positions (mudras), sound (chanting mantras), visualizations and meditation to create specific effects. These kriyas can be to strengthen the glandular system, reinforce the nervous system, detox, restore restful sleep, balance emotional swings, open and align the chakras and much more.

The objective of all yoga is to unite and balance the body, mind and soul. The word yoga means union or yoke, man (the finite) with the infinite. I like to think of it as a moving into stillness. Kundalini Yoga’s unique blend of breathing, movement, stretching and inner focus will transport you to new levels in your yoga and fitness and help you reshape your body and your life.

Kundalini Yoga is not an ascetic yogi tradition practiced by swamis or monks, but rather a yoga for people who stay engaged in life, facing the daily pressures of balancing jobs and raising families. It is a yoga for the “householder”, for the person who chooses to spiritually evolve in this lifetime, but who at the same time lives in our modern fast paced society.

Kundalini Yoga works on a deep and subtle level to relieve the stress of everyday life and break the habits of the mind that are often the cause of mental, emotional or physical dis-ease. Your Kundalini Yoga classes will teach you the art of relaxation, self-healing and elevation. Kundalini Yoga is suitable for all persons, young or old, stiff or flexible. No previous experience is needed in yoga to achieve results with your very first class.

Mantras and Naad Yoga

In Kundalini Yoga there is a sound intonation, called a mantra, that is used to begin the yoga practice. The word mantra comes from the Sanskrit and can be broken into two parts “man” meaning mind, and “tra” meaning guiding, wave or projection. The definition of mantras according to Yogi Bhajan is the creative projection of the mind through sound. The power of the mantra is in its sound vibration so it is not necessary that we actually understand the meaning of the sound or not. It will work anyhow. The basic nature of everything in the universe is composed of vibration consisting in sound, light and energy. When chanting a mantra, every one of your cells begins to vibrate at a similar energy frequency in the same way as when you strike a note on a musical instrument a second one in the room will begin to also vibrate the same note. Happiness, fulfilment, joy, serenity, peace, love all vibrate at a high frequency. Hate, jealousy, revenge all vibrate at a low frequency. The Naam says what we vibrate we become.

The essential goal of Naad Yoga is to create harmony in the mind and body so the AAD, the infinte, can be experienced by using primal sounds. Naad Yoga is the chanting of basic sounds that are considered central to all human language through all time. The best known of these primal sounds is OM and AUM. In Kundalini Yoga the mantra used is the plural creative form of Om: ONG. Each yoga class begins with the tuning in with ONG NAMO GURU DEV NAMO, meaning I bow to my teacher within.

The ancient science of Naad Yoga harmonizes the function of endocrine system and stimulates the hypothalamus to change the chemistry of the brain through vibration caused by chanting. This chanting with the use of the tongue rubbing against the upper palate stimulates the reflex points, subtly invigorating the meridian energy points upon which the reflex points lie. These points are like a keyboard input into a computer. These adjustments in the metabolism create a neutrally balanced mind and strengthen the immune system.