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What is Kundalini Yoga?
Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan® is
considered the most comprehensive of yoga
traditions, combining meditation, mantra,
physical exercises and breathing techniques; it
is a Raj Yog, encompassing the eight limbs of
yoga into a singular practice of excellence and
ecstasy. “Kundalini” literally means “the curl
of the lock of hair of the beloved.” This poetic
metaphor alludes to the flow of energy and
consciousness that exists within each of us, and
enables us to merge with – or “yoke” – the
universal Self. Fusing individual and universal
consciousness creates a divine union, called
“yoga.” The Upanishads, dating back to the fifth
century B.C., describe the kundalini, although
the oral tradition reaches back even further
into history. For thousands of years, this
sacred science and technology was veiled in
secrecy, passed along verbally from master to
chosen disciple.
Kundalini Yoga as
taught by Yogi Bhajan® is also
known as the Yoga of Awareness;
its focus is on self-awareness
and delivering an experience of
your highest consciousness. The
technology of Kundalini Yoga as
taught by Yogi Bhajan® is a
science of the mind and body, to
elevate the spirit, which has no
boundaries, no discrimination.
Therefore it is for everyone,
universal and nondenominational.
In the ancient
tradition that is yoga,
Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi
Bhajan® is a householder path;
that is, it has always been
practiced by those with families
and jobs as opposed to a
renunciate’s path of celibacy
and removal from society, which
was the usual path of a yogi.
The primary
objective is to awaken the full
potential of human awareness in
each individual; that is,
recognize our awareness, refine
that awareness, and expand that
awareness to our unlimited Self.
Clear any inner duality, create
the power to deeply listen,
cultivate inner stillness, and
prosper and deliver excellence
in all that we do.
The focus of
Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi
Bhajan® is on one’s personal
experience and awareness through
the practice of kriya and naad.
We awaken the kundalini in order
to be able to call upon the full
potential of the nervous and
glandular systems and to balance
the subtle system of chakras and
meridians within the body.
“Kriya” is an orchestrated
pattern of movements, sound,
pranayam, mudras, concentration
and meditation that
automatically guide the energies
of the body and the mind to a
specific result or change of
consciousness.
Kundalini Yoga as
taught by Yogi Bhajan® does not
rely on any one of these
techniques per se, although we
use many. Instead, it is the
unique and tested syntax, within
the structure of each kriya as
shared by Yogi Bhajan, which
provides steady, predictable
progress and which leverages
these basic functions of the
body and the mind to create
rapid, sustainable, personal
growth and healing. In this
tradition, meditation is not
considered separate from asana
or yoga; it is integral to the
practice. The exercises in the
kriya bring the body and mind to
a state where deep meditation is
easily achieved.
Our fundamental objective is to
awaken the power of the
individual to excel—to
experience their Infinity and
fulfill their personal destiny.
Yogi Bhajan (aka
Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib
Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji)
came to the United States in
1969 and founded the 3HO
nonprofit that same year. In
1970 he completed his first
teacher’s training and the
Kundalini Research Institute was
formed in 1971 and went on to
formalize the certification and
training of teachers
internationally.
Kundalini Yoga as
a practice is a Raj Yoga and
combines all the traditional
eight limbs of Yoga. Yogi Bhajan
was the student of two Masters.
Sant Hazare Singh declared Yogi
Bhajan a Master of Kundalini
Yoga at the age of 16 ½. Guru
Ram Das, the Fourth Sikh Master,
gave Yogi Bhajan his own Gur
Mantra many years later, in the
early years of his teaching in
the West.
Kundalini Yoga
was taught from Master to
student for hundreds, perhaps
thousands, of years and
intersects with the lineage of
the Sikh Masters such as Guru
Nanak, Guru Ram Das and Guru
Gobind Singh for the past 500
years. Its sources include many
other yoga Masters of the
Northern Punjab region of India
as well as the unique
contributions of the Gurus in
the use of naad and Shabd Guru.
Guru Nanak started the Udasi
line through his son Baba Siri
Chand, a Master who served and
taught for more than 100 years.
He taught to all existing
lineages of that time and
educated several of the Sikh
Gurus in their youth. Yogi
Bhajan was the first to openly
teach Kundalini Yoga in the East
or the West. The lineage is now
held in legacy through the
technology of the Golden Chain—a
connection to the Masters
through the subtle body.
Kundalini Yoga as
taught by Yogi Bhajan® is
probably the most formalized
style of yoga currently taught
throughout the world. In any
class, anywhere in the world,
you can expect it to include six
major components: 1) tuning-in
with the Adi Mantra, 2) pranayam
or warm-up, 3) kriya, 4)
relaxation, 5) meditation and 6)
close with the blessing song,
“May the Long Time Sun Shine
Upon You”.
Kriyas are
complete sets of exercises that
are performed in the sequences
given by the Master, Yogi
Bhajan. They can be simple short
sequences or they may involve
vigorous, even strenuous
exercises, and strong breath
techniques such as Breath of
Fire, which challenge and
strengthen the nervous and
endocrine systems and test the
will of the practitioner beyond
the limitations of their ego.
The typical class
is 60-90 minutes: 5-10 minute
warm-up, 30-45 minute kriya,
5-15 minute layout, 11-31
minutes of meditation.
Kundalini Yoga as
taught by Yogi Bhajan® typically
includes pranayam and
meditation. Pranayam practices
range from One Minute Breath,
Breath of Fire, alternate
nostril breathing, Dog Breath,
Sitali Pranayam, and suspended
breath techniques, to name a
few. Meditations often involve
movement or mantra, and
generally have an eye focus (drishti)
in addition to mudra (hand
position) and asana (body
posture). Many Kundalini Yoga as
taught by Yogi Bhajan® kriyas
and meditations include mantra
and chanting. One of the first
signs of the awakening of the
kundalini is a new awareness of
the power of our words. You
begin to meditate on and develop
inner sounds using mantra and
naad. Kundalini Yoga was often
mistaken for Mantra Yoga because
of its frequent integration of
sound in its kriyas and
meditations. The use of mantra
throughout the practice of
Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi
Bhajan® is very effective in
attaining two particular goals
of the practice—expansion of the
Self and elevation of the
spirit. Mantra also supports
those new to meditation, who
find silence and absolutely
stillness very challenging. In
this way it is a ‘beginner’s
practice’ and can be used by
anyone to attain clarity,
balance and equanimity. In
addition, there are many
meditations that are silent,
practiced in a profoundly
transformative stillness called
shuniya.
Kundalini Yoga as
taught by Yogi Bhajan® is an
international school and there
are senior-level teachers and
trainers across the globe. Major
international centers include:
Munich, London, Madrid, Lisbon,
Vancouver, Toronto, Singapore,
Bangkok, Shanghai, Mexico City,
Guadalajara, Belo Horizonte, La
Paz, Cape Town, Togo; and in the
United States there are major
schools in Los Angeles, New
York, Austin, Miami, Boston,
Washington, DC, San Francisco,
Atlanta, and Phoenix.
Española, New
Mexico, where Yogi Bhajan
resided for many years, is the
home of the Kundalini Research
Institute (KRI) and the KRI
International Training Center.
The Director of Training at KRI
is Gurucharan Singh Khalsa, PhD,
who studied with Yogi Bhajan
from 1969 on, and co-founded KRI
in 1971; the CEO of KRI is
Nirvair Singh Khalsa, who taught
for 30 years at the University
of Alaska and worldwide; the
head of the Aquarian Training
Academy is Tarn Taran Singh
Khalsa who developed European
programs and continues to train
internationally; and Hari Charn
Kaur Khalsa, who directs the
Reach Out-Teach Out program,
providing scholarships and
training opportunities to
underserved populations around
the globe. These are KRIs Core
Training team and they support
the international trainers and
teachers throughout the world.
As an example of
some of our lead trainers around
the globe: Satya Singh and
Simran Kaur Khalsa (Germany),
Shiv Charan Singh Khalsa (Great
Britain and Portugal), Karta
Singh Khalsa (France and
Russia), Guru Raj Kaur Khalsa
(Vancouver, BC), Sunder Singh
Khalsa (Asia), Pritam Pal Singh
Khalsa (Mexico), Guru Sangat
Kaur Khalsa (Brazil), Nam Nidhan
Kaur Khalsa (Chile), Krishna
Kaur Khalsa (Togo and Los
Angeles, CA), Gurmukh Kaur
Khalsa (Los Angeles, CA and
Boulder, CO), Guru Singh Khalsa
(Los Angeles, CA), Sat Jiwan
Singh and Kaur Khalsa (New
York), Sangeet Kaur Khalsa
(Arizona), and Deva Kaur Khalsa
(Florida). Go to
www.kundaliniresearchinstitute.org
for a full listing of
international trainers. See also
www.ikyta.org for more
information about local
instructors in your area.
The Kundalini
Research Institute licenses
international training programs
around the world and certifies
Level One, Two and Three
Kundalini Yoga Instructors,
Practitioners and Teachers,
respectively—this program is
called the Aquarian Teacher and
is affiliated with Yoga Alliance
here in the United States. We
also have a training program for
trainers known as the Aquarian
Training Academy, which licenses
Lead, Professional, Associate
and Intern Level Trainers.
Certification as a Level One
Instructor is a 250-hour program
which includes
-
Postures,
Kriyas & Meditation.
-
Role of a
Kundalini Yoga Teacher.
-
Yogic
Philosophy & the Origin of
Kundalini Yoga.
-
Yogic &
Western Anatomy.
-
Humanology &
3HO Yogic Lifestyle.
Certification as
a Level Two Practitioner is a
250-hour program which includes
five separate modules:
-
Conscious
Communication
-
Authentic
Relationships
-
Lifestyles &
Lifecycles
-
Mind &
Meditation
-
Vitality &
Stress
Certification as
a Level Three Teacher combines
an experiential, 10-day program,
plus an individualized
community-building service
project and peer-review for
certification.
It’s efficiency
and effectiveness—its power.
Kundalini Yoga is quick. Because
it’s a system built for the
householder, the changes you
want to affect in your life
happen much more quickly with
Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi
Bhajan® than many other styles
of yoga. It’s variety of
techniques and meditations is
enormous, allowing the
instructor to tailor programs
that support the individual and
her goals. It’s a safe way to
stimulate the body’s natural
resources and become healthy,
happy, and holy—in body, mind
and spirit. It’s a proven path
to the Self and the Soul—to an
experience of your highest
destiny.
Beyond kriya and
the traditional structure of a
Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi
Bhajan® yoga class, the
Teachings of Yogi Bhajan
comprise a vast array of topics,
which he called humanology:
philosophy and Sikh Dharma,
lifestyle teachings,
communication, relationships and
marriage, nutrition, hygiene,
child-rearing, women’s and men’s
teachings, meditation and mudra,
Naad Yoga and mantra, numerology
and much more. In this way,
Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi
Bhajan® is known as a Raj Yoga
because it incorporates aspects
of all paths of yoga: service,
devotion, posture, breath,
sound, concentration, wisdom and
so on.
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