Elle Tries…Kundalini Yoga
Hi you all! I’ve been at my desk for most of the day, but I had a few minutes to spend outside, and blessedly I got some sunshine! I thought my mental health had been pretty steady despite bleak winter weather, but I felt such a lift in my mood today after I got a few minutes of blue skies and golden rays. I hope you got to enjoy the same sometime in the past few days!
My back is still twingy so I’ve had to table most kinds of movement beyond walking and stretching. It occurred to me that this might be the moment to try out Kundalini Yoga! I’d heard of it a while back, but in relation to an awful teacher who abused his power, and that deterred me from looking into it anymore. Kundalini kept popping up in my world though, so I took a second look, and learned that this abuser didn’t invent Kundalini yoga, he was just a shitty man who popularized it in the west and weaponized his influence. I’m not going to write any more about his sorry ass here, but you can easily google it if you’re curious.
I’ve heard really good things about developing a Kundalini practice, so I figured I shouldn’t let an errant abuser ruin a whole ancient practice for us. Let’s get into it!
What’s Kundalini Yoga?
“Kundalini” is Sanksrit for “coiled snake.” Practitioners believe that each of us has a coiled spiral of energy sitting at the base of our spines, dormant until awakened by Kundalini Yoga. The idea is to activate the energy and bring it up through the seven chakras.
It’s practiced around the world, but the origin is unclear. It was, however, mentioned in ancient Vedic texts from around 1000 BC, so it’s been around for a while! In its early stages, Kundalini was a study of energy and spiritual philosophy.
Kundalini is a particularly spiritual branch of yoga. Unlike Vinyasa or Hatha Yoga, it’s much less focused on physical movement and poses. Kundalini is more focused on spiritual healing and expansion through precise, repetitive exercises.
There are a few different aspects to a Kundalini practice:
Breath work: this piece may not be suitable if you’re pregnant, fyi! The exhales are meant to be very sharp, and driven by snapping your abdominal muscles back towards the spine.
Mantras: repeated phrases or sounds meant to raise your state of mind.
Mudras: precise hand positions. Thousands of years ago, Yogis recorded hand positions and their connection to different parts of the brain and body. Finger placement is meant to activate certain types of energy, such as expansion or calmness
Kriyas: breath, posture and sounds together; means “action.”
Meditation.
You may hear practitioners refer to a “Kundalini Awakening,” which is an expanded consciousness that occurs after you bring that coiled energy up through each of the chakras, all the way to the top of the head. Some accounts include energy ripples felt throughout your body, visions, and profound insights.
What’s the Benefit?
Accounts of Kundalini awakenings are anecdotal, but there’s also decent research on more measurable impacts: a Kundalini yoga practice is beneficial for stress relief, reduced anxiety levels, and body positivity.
The Verdict
I’ve followed a handful of guided sessions now and my favorite was this one. All in all, I’m digging it! It works well within my physical constraints (back injury and chronic illness) because it’s so gentle. The breath work was both relaxing and energizing. The mantras felt good, and whether or not the phrases are particularly magical, I’d hazard a guess that the gentle vocalization stimulates the vagus nerve. I find meditation to generally be mystical and mysterious, so I vibed with that part too!
It’s definitely not for people who do yoga for exercise, but I definitely felt a mood lift, more connection to my body, and a sense of relaxation, flow, and rejuvenation. No mystical awakenings yet, but hey, there’s time! Based on my experience, and the abundance of free resources online for beginners, I’m happy to shout from the rooftops about Kundalini Yoga as a tool to improve your wellbeing. Have you tried it? Anyone have a magical experience? Ya know that’s the stuff I live for, so let me know!
Xoxo,
Elle