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What is Kundalini Yoga?
My first introduction to Kundalini yoga occurred at a retreat in Costa Rica, atop a mountain in a room that had glass from ceiling to floor. The view was remarkable and as I followed the teacher’s lead, practicing breath of fire (sometimes known as kapalabhati breathing) while moving and twisting my torso from side to side, there were butterflies swarming outside and birds soaring over the trees with the ocean crashing below. After 20 or so minutes of repetitive and intense breathing, I was filled with a sensation of bliss that brought tears to my eyes. In this moment, I knew that everything was okay. It was as if the energy of pure joy bubbled up from the deepest part of my being and all feelings of discontent left me. That is the beauty of Kundalini yoga. It elevates the frequency of living unconsciously, or on auto-pilot, to pure untethered consciousness and connection.
First introduced to the western world in the late 70s by Yogi Bhajan, Kundalini yoga is a combination of breath, movement, and sound. It derives from the Sanskrit word kundal, which translates to “coiled energy.” The idea is that we all have energy gathered at the base of our spine and, through the practice of Kundalini, we bring that energy up our spine through the chakras, (energy centers in the body) and out the crown of our head.
