KUNDALINI YOGA - Understanding the Basics

Understand The Basics

Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini Yoga, also called the Yoga of Awareness, consists of simple yogic techniques that can be practiced by everyone. Positive effects can often be noticed right away. It keeps the body in shape and trains the mind to be strong and flexible in the face of stress and change. Oxygen capacity is increased along with blood flow to the glands, resulting in heightened awareness and vitality. Through breathing techniques and meditation, peace of mind can be obtained.
Getting Started

As a beginning student, participate at a pace that suits your flexibility and endurance. Wear loose, comfortable clothing, preferably made of cotton or other natural, breathable fiber. It is best to remove your socks to help stimulate the approximately 72,000 nerve endings in your feet. Wait two to three hours after eating before you practice yoga and meditation. This will help you gain the maximum benefits, plus it is easier to exercise on an empty stomach. If you must eat, have something very light, such as fruit.
"Tuning In"

Each Kundalini Yoga class begins with "tuning in" with the mantra Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo. This mantra means "I bow to the Creator, to the Divine Teacher within." "Tuning in" sets and calms the mind to be open to guidance, and calls on the Masters of Kundalini Yoga through the ages for protection and guidance during the yoga practice. This is called The Golden Chain. It links students and teachers and protects you in the etheric realms as you set aside everthing else for this period of time to be with your Self.

Before you "tune in," take note of your state of being. This will heighten your self-awareness for observing effects you may experience from your Kundalini Yoga class. It is possible to notice changes in your thoughts and in the way your body feels with just one Kundalini Yoga exercise.
Pranayama (Breathing)

Prana means life force or breath, yama is that which controls it. When you control your breath you control your life - like using the phrase "slow down and take a deep breath" to calm someone. Our lungs are our largest bodily organ, but most people use only 1/10th of their lung capacity. Unless told otherwise, breathing is done through the nose. This stimulates the meridian points in the nasel cavity, filters the air and warms and humidifies it. Breath is central to getting the correct effects from Kundalini Yoga, and it is essential to learn the two basic breaths.

Long deep breathing is actually your natural breathing mechanism. Inhale first by relaxing the belly outward, then filling the chest (keeping the belly relaxed), finally filling the upper chest as the shoulders relax and drop back slightly. To exhale begin from the top, empty the chest, then pull in the navel all the way to expel the last bits of breath. Long Deep Breathing builds endurance and patience.

A frequent and distict signature of Kundalini Yoga, Breath of Fire is a very balanced rapid breath pattern that cleanses the blood and releases old toxins from the lungs, mucous lining, blood vessels and cells. It is an energizing breath that creates alertness and expands lung capacity quickly. Breath of Fire is a rapid (120-240 per minute) breath, equal on the inhale and exhale, powered from the navel point and solar plexus. The chest stays lifted and still, the movement is from the diaphragm muscule, and it sounds like "sniffing".

Mudras (Hand Positions)

Mudra means hand position. The ancient yogis mapped out the areas of the hand and identified the part of the body or brain associated with each area. Each area of the hand also represents different emotions or behaviors. Curling, crossing, stretching or touching the fingers or finger tips in specific configurations is a yogic technique for communicating with the body and mind.

Asanas (Yoga Postures)

Asana means yoga posture. Kundalini Yoga is known as the yoga of angles and triangles. The use of angles in Kundalini Yoga postures, in combination with pranayama, mantras, and mudras, is one of main reasons that Kundalini Yoga works as quickly as it does. The angles put pressure on the glands to secrete. When a posture is released and the body is held still, the glandular secretions that have been stimulated have an opportunity to circulate freely. The result is a balanced glandular system that has a definite effect on your emotional stability through the chemistry of your body.

Mantras (Sounds)

Mantras are sounds or words that control the mind. Man means mind. Tra[ng] is the wave or movement of the mind. Mantra is a wave, a repetition of sound and rhythm that directs or controls the mind. When you recite a mantra you have impact through its meaning, through its pattern of energy, through its rhythm, through its naad - its energetic shape in time, and through the meridian points it pressurizes in the mouth. When recited correctly, a mantra will activate areas of the nervous system and brain and allow you to shift your state and the perceptual vision or energetic ability associated with it. The following page lists examples and translations of some mantras frequently used during a class.

Closing

Every Kundalini Yoga class finishes with the song "Long Time Sun." This song of blessing helps to ground you, integrate the benefits of the yoga and prepare you to resume the activities of everyday life.

May the long time sun shine upon you,
All love surround you,
And the pure light within you,
Guide your way on.
Sat Nam.

Kundalini Yoga Mantras

SAT NAM - Sat means "truth". Nam means "name or identity". "Truth is your identity: God's name is truth". Often used in a greeting or farewell, as you are acknowledging the divine truth within the other person.

WAHE GURU - "Ecstasy of union with God. Beyond words is this wisdom." Or "Wow, God is great." It expresses the indescribable experience of going from the darkness to the light. WA - Infinity, HE - Identity, GURU - from darkness to light.

ONG NAMO GURU DEV NAMO - "I salute the creative power within; I salute the divine teacher within." This is the mantra we "tune in" with.

EK ONG KAR SAT NAM SIRI WAHE GURU - "There exists one Creator throughout creation, Truth is his name, Greatest is the ecstasy of that supreme wisdom."

GURU GURU WAHE GURU GURU RAM DAS GURU - This mantra vibrates the ecstasy of union with God and calls upon Guru Ram Das for guidance and protection. Guru Ram Das was a spiritual teacher in the 16th century who inspired and uplifted all who knew him. Chanting the name and praises of this saint brings comfort to the soul, clarity to the mind, and miracles to the world.

GOBINDAY, MUKANDAY, UDHARAY, APARAY, HARIANG, KARIANG, NIRNAMAY, AKAMAY - "Sustainer, Liberator, Enlightener, Infinite, Destroyer, Creator, Nameless, Desireless." These are the eight aspects or names of the Godhead.

SA TA NA MA - "Infinity, Life, Death, Rebirth" Or "I am that balance between sun, moon, earth and ether, that totality of infinity is Thou, I am Thou."

RA MA DA SA, SA SAY SO HUNG - "Sun, Moon, Earth, Infinity; Infinity, that which embraces everything, I am Thou." This mantra is very powerful for healing by balancing the elements.

Yogi Bhajan and 3HO

Yogi Bhajan, Master of Kundalini Yoga, left his home in India over thirty years ago to come to America. He recognized the disenchantment and spiritual yearning that was felt by Western youth during the tumult of the 60's and began to teach them the technology of Kundalini Yoga and meditation.

Previously, the practice of Kundalini Yoga had never been taught publicly. Traditionally, in India, its methods were passed on in secrecy from Master to chosen disciple. Yogi Bhajan perceived such a great need for this yogic knowledge that he challenged the ancient Kundalini Yoga standard of secrecy.

From his first lecture in Los Angeles in January 1969, he offered the technology of Kundalini Yoga as a way to deeply understand and experience what it means to be a human being.

That same year, Yogi Bhajan also founded 3HO, the Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization. Since that time, thousands of people around the world have embraced the practice and lifestyle teachings of Kundalini Yoga as a technology to transform their lives and to experience the excellence and fulfillment that comes with touching one's own soul.

"Kundalini Yoga teaches you the techniques and awareness to stay healthy. You gain strong immune, glandular and nervous systems. This foundation gives you energy and lets you deal with the mental and spiritual facets of your life."

—Yogi Bhajan

What is Kundalini Yoga

KUNGALINI YOGA - An simple explanation

Kundalini Yoga is considered to be the "raj" - or king of all yogas. It integrates the whole repertoire of yogic teaching all at once into the first class in such a way that a novice can easily follow along and benefit while an advanced practitioner goes deeper at the same time. One way of thinking about the yogic teachings is to relate to them as a tree. From this view, there are eight primary limbs to the tree.

1. Samadhi: awakening and absorption in spirit
2. Dhyana: deep meditation
3. Dharana: one-pointed concentration
4. Pratyhara: synchronization of senses and thoughts
5. Pranayama: control of life force
6. Asana: postures for health and meditation
7. Niyama: five disciplines
• Shauca: purity
• Santosha: contentment
• Tapas: purification and zeal
• Svadhyaya: study
• Ishvara pranidhana: devotion and surrender
8. Yama: five restraints
• Ahimsa: no hurting
• Satya: no lying
• Asteya: no stealing
• Brahmacharya: sensory control
• Aparigraha: no possessiveness and nor greediness

Most forms of yoga offered in the West focus on the asanas or physical postures. Some include instruction on Pranayama or breathing techniques. The rest of the limbs are ignored. With Kundalini Yoga there is at least the attempt to integrate and teach all of these inclusive as a whole.

Another interesting differentiation with Kundalini Yoga and other forms is that Kundalini Yoga is intended for people who live in the world, have families and businesses. It maximizes time to get the greatest impact in the least amount of time. It is grounding in its sound current frequencies such that your worldly possessions don’t have a tendency leave you or break. It emphasizes eating foods that stimulate sexual energy and put it to good use as oppose to avoiding them so as not to have to deal with sexual energy.

In terms of relating to other forms of yoga and how there are taught, some simple statements can be made about Kundalini Yoga classes. There is a strong focus on breathing techniques and how to breathe properly in general. Movement and breath are often integrated. While Kundalini Yoga can be taught in a physically rigorous manner, it is often pretty low impact physically using postures that rarely if ever cause injury or require great flexibility. However, if you want to know what it can be like the other way and you have the opportunity to attend one of Gurmukh’s classes, she will kick your ass.

Kundalini Yoga is also thought of as the yoga of awareness. When some of the finer qualities of teachings are put to use, the practitioner develops a sense of body awareness that eventually expands to greater and greater external territory. Or another way of putting it is that as Kundalini, the creative potential of a human being awakens, the energy of the glandular system combines with the nervous system to create such a sensitivity that the brain in its totality receives signals and integrates them. A new clarity accompanies perception, thought and intuition. This allows for a greater understanding of effect and impact at the beginning of a sequence of action and reaction. The opportunity for choice to take action or not based on intuition becomes stronger. In this way, a person becomes totally aware.

Kundalini Yoga of Rockledge

KUNDALINI YOGA CLASS FORMAT

As a beginning Kundalini Yoga student, you should go at a pace that suits your flexibility and endurance. Practice at home- a one-hour morning practice will prepare you for your day. If you can practice at the same time each day, you will find that you improve rapidly. Take one to three yoga classes a week and one workshop a month to establish a firm foundation for an effective program that fits your needs, goals, capacity and lifestyle.

Wear loose comfortable clothes to class, preferably of cotton or other natural fiber. Bring an exercise mat or towel to sit on if you desire.

It is very important to make sure you go to the bathroom before class, and not during. Getting up in the middle of class is very disrupting to the group energy. Don’t forget to turn off your cell phone. It is also important to try to stay still and not fidget during class, i.e., drink water, roll neck, etc., especially during meditation and when the teacher is speaking. This helps you to stay present and have a deeper experience. It also demonstrates respect for the teacher.

The format of most Kundalini classes is as follows:

Ø Class starts on time.

Ø The class “tunes in” by chanting this mantra 3 times:

ONG	NAMO	GURU	DEV	NAMO
Infinite Creator	I call on that	Transforming Wisdom	Subtle energy	I call on that energy

Mantra is vibration. Energy vibrates. There’s a particular vibratory frequency corresponding to every sound in the universe. By vibrating a particular combination of sounds (syllables), you tune-in to various levels of intelligence or consciousness.

The mantra translated above can be read as: “I open myself to the experience beyond my limited self. Let my unlimited spirit and consciousness guide me. I call on the subtle knowledge of my own highest mind to uplift me with what I learn” or “I bow to the Creator, to the Divine Teacher Within”

Ø A theme or topic is introduced. Yoga has collected many practical guidelines to keep your life vital. Nutrition, exercise, proper sleep, meditation, breathing, body awareness, and the relationship you have with your emotions are some of the bases of these teachings.

Ø Warm-up exercises for 5 to 20 minutes usually are next.

Ø The main “kriya”, or exercise series, begins. A kriya is a specially designed sequence of yoga exercises, each lasting from one to three minutes. This series will “work out” a certain component of your mind and body system – be it your glandular system, your nervous system, your organs or your muscular system. At the end of the series, you will be consolidated in a new physical and mental state.

Ø Now we do a meditation. Your body will be transformed as a result of the kriya; your mind and emotions will now be made calm and clear by directing the attention. You will sense and develop your quiet mind, your ability to concentrate and project.

The meditation is either silent or chanted, sometimes accompanied with music. It can last from five to eleven minutes in a beginner class; eleven to thirty-one minutes in an advanced class.

Ø Deep relaxation follows. It is just as important to relax as to exercise vigorously. The exercises and meditation will allow you to attain a deeper healing relaxation than usual. It is an antidote for stress. Let your body become light and beautiful. Let your mind become open and imaginative. Feel free and joyous.

Ø Class ends with a group projection. After raising our energy and spirits, we project that feeling to the whole world and to all those we love and care for. To do this we sing a song:

“May the long time sun shine upon you

all love surround you

and the pure light within you

guide your way on.”

BREATH OF FIRE: This is a commonly used breath done in Kundalini Yoga. It is done by pumping the navel point in and out while breathing rapidly through the nose. On the exhale, the navel is pulled in. At first it is easier to focus on the exhale and start at a slow rhythm. Eventually you want to have a rapid, equal and consistant breath. This breath strengthens the nervous system, purifies the blood and energizes the body.

MUL BANDH (ROOT LOCK): This frequently used practice closes off the lower 3 chakras and allows the kundalini energy to rise. You do this by contracting the muscles of the rectum, the sex organs and the navel point – pulling in and up on the navel.

LEARN, LOVE AND EXCEL WITH KUNDALINI YOGA