Kundalini Yoga is a merger of three kinds of Yoga: Bhakti (devotion and chanting), Raja (mediation or mental and physical control) and, Shakti (manifestation of power and energy). If you attend a Kundalini Yoga class, it feels like having therapy or engaging in a fulfilling workout in the gym. Kundalini Yoga provides a means where you can attain utmost creative potential and throw away Karma (supposedly irreversible effects of previous actions) and realize your purpose in life. Kundalini Yoga’s founder is Yogi Bhajan.

Guru of all Times

Yogi Bhajan was born on August 26, 1929 as Harbhajan Singh Puri in a portion of India that became Pakistan in 1948. His father was a medical doctor. Bhajan spent his youth in exclusive private schools and his summer vacations in the Dalhousie mountain region of Himachal Pradesh. He even attended a Catholic convent school in his younger years. Yogi Bhajan changed his name lawfully to Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji when he gained American citizenship in 1976.

The popular and respected Yoga teacher started Yogic training when he was only eight years of age under a liberal mentor, Sant Hazara Singh who proclaimed Bhajan as Master of Kundalini Yoga at 16 years old. At a young age of 18, he led 7,000 villagers from their settlement (today known as Lahore, Pakistan) to safety during the turbulence of separation in 1947. They walked 325 miles just to reach New Delhi, India.

Yogi Bhajan’s sole possession was the clothes he wore. The refugees were given decent houses in India and Bhajan was able to pursue his education at Punjab University where he excelled in debate and emerged as star athlete. He played hockey and soccer and earned the moniker, “China Wall” from his rivals.

Understanding the Concept of Kundalini Yoga

The Sanskrit term Kundal which means “circular”. The feminine Kundalī could be a ring, bracelet, or loop of rope. Kundalini was adopted in Hatha yoga during the 15th century and used in the Yoga Upanishads or Sanskrit text. Kundalini refers to “spiritual energy or life force at the base of the spinal column,” often interpreted as a coiled snake or serpent.

Kundalini Yoga is meant to awaken the sleeping Kundalini Shakti from its base by means of the six chakras along the spine, and in the course of the seventh chakra, or crown. Chakras mean wheels or centers of energy where the prana travels like an expressway to spread energy all over your body.

Today, Kundalini Yoga is construed as a fusion of multiple traditions. Kriyas or meditations in Kundalini Yoga are aimed at raising absolute body awareness for preparing the mind, body, and nervous system to cope with the force of Kundalini rising. Almost all of the physical positions can trigger or stimulate the spine and navel as well as crucial points of pressure or energy (acupuncture) pathways. Through Pranayama (breathing) and use of Yogic locks, you can achieve discharge, direction, and regulation of the surge of Kundalini energy.