Most of the yoga styles that we know in the Western world can be summarized under the umbrella term of Hatha Yoga, which focuses on physical exercises (asanas). In Kundalini Yoga, asanas are also practiced, but in a different way and with a different focus.
What is Kundalini Yoga?
Kundalini Yoga was brought to the West from northern India in the late 1960s by Yogi Bhajan. This style of yoga focuses on awakening our energy, through which we gain access to deep meditation, love and higher consciousness. The goal of Kundalini Yoga is to transcend our self-created limitations and experience unity with the divine.
In order to achieve this goal, we need regular spiritual practice. Kundalini Yoga gives us the techniques for this practice in the form of exercises to cleanse and strengthen the entire mind-body system. We learn to awaken our energy and direct it in a targeted manner.
What does Kundalini Yoga actually mean?
Kundalini literally means 'the coiled one'. This refers to a sleeping snake that lies curled up in 3½ coils at the bottom of the spine. It symbolizes our slumbering energy and the creative power in humans that is waiting to be awakened to lead us on the path to enlightenment.
What are characteristics of Kundalini Yoga?
While in Hatha Yoga various exercises (asanas) are repeatedly combined into creative sequences, Kundalini Yoga is characterized by fixed series of exercises (Kriyas).
The special thing about Kundalini exercises is that they are usually carried out dynamically for several minutes each. The intense physical experience creates a strong energetic effect that is incomparable to any other style of yoga.
Another characteristic is that Kundalini Yoga practitioners usually wear white clothing and often a white turban. The turban is intended to prevent energy from escaping through the crown of the head.
What are the components of Kundalini Yoga?
The Kundalini Kriyas, which are also known as cleansing exercises, always consist of three elements:
- physical exercises (asanas),
- Breathing exercises (Pranayama)
- Meditation (Dhyana)
These are often combined with special hand positions (mudras), strengthening word repetitions (mantras) and energy guidance (bandhas). One focus is always on cleaning the energy centers (chakras) of the body.
What are the benefits of Kundalini Yoga?
The special combination of breathing, movement and meditation awakens and lifts our energy. At the same time, a deep inner peace and a feeling of lively balance arise. Practitioners often experience an intense feeling of connection with themselves and everything that exists.
Is there a difference between Kundalini Yoga and classical yoga?
Although Kundalini Yoga is related to other forms of yoga such as Hatha Yoga, many of its exercises are more dynamic because it focuses heavily on feeling one's own life energy. Breathing plays a particularly central role and is not only consciously guided throughout the entire practice, but also used specifically to direct the energy in the body. This makes the practice a dynamic meditation at the same time. In addition, each series of exercises contains in-depth mindfulness exercises that focus on internal movements of the mind and energy in the body.
The activating effect of Kundalini Yoga
The systematically structured exercises first activate the energy in the body to get it flowing. Through this flow, prana (life energy) reaches all energy centers (chakras) and flows through all energy channels (nadis). These are cleansed of blockages and strengthened by the supply of fresh energy.
How does Kundalini Yoga affect the body and mind?
From a physical point of view, our body is freed from tension and toxins through the exercises. From a subtle perspective, our energy body becomes purer and clearer, allowing access to higher levels of consciousness.
The Kriyas also serve to prepare mentally and physically for new states of consciousness, as these can develop great power.
In order to truly understand the special effect of Kundalini Yoga, it must be experienced practically. While you can probably feel the effect on the solid body from the first time, the cleansing effect on the chakras and nadis will only become apparent through regular practice.
Which parts of the body are particularly stimulated?
Kundalini Yoga affects all seven chakras , which are lined up one above the other from the lowest point in the pelvis to the crown of the head. The spine is therefore a central area that is addressed in many exercises - especially through dynamic rotations, forward and back bends.
The exercises also have a stimulating, massage-like effect on the internal organs. This stimulates our metabolism, digestion and detoxification.
What effects does Kundalini Yoga have on health?
- Refined body awareness
- Increased ability to concentrate
- Greater sensitivity to one's own well-being, which enables a better awareness of one's own capacities and limits
- Activation and strengthening of all body systems (cardiac, circulatory, nervous, immune, lymphatic and glandular systems)
- Promoting stamina, flexibility and willpower
- Resilience and balance for a more relaxed approach to everyday challenges
Who are Kundalini yoga exercises suitable for?
Basically, Kundalini Yoga is suitable for everyone. Depending on your physical and mental requirements, the exercises should be adapted individually. Pregnant women, for example, should avoid breathing exercises such as breath-fire and breath-holding.
Which Kundalini yoga exercises are particularly suitable for beginners and advanced students?
Intensive stretches and complex exercises such as headstands do not occur in Kundalini Yoga. Rather, the intensity is increased by the duration of the exercises and the active involvement of the breath. This means that the same Kriyas can be practiced by both beginners and advanced practitioners. The duration and type of execution can vary, but the order should not be changed.
Can you practice Kundalini Yoga at home as a beginner?
In order to learn the series of exercises and the correct execution, beginners should initially practice under the supervision and guidance of an experienced teacher. As soon as we feel confident enough in the exercises, it is highly recommended to carry out the practice at home in addition to the lessons.
Each exercise should be started calmly and slowly, with the support of strong breathing. Over time, the movements can become faster and more dynamic to increase the energetic effect of the exercise series. Practitioners should always pay close attention to their circulation and reduce the speed in good time if it is no longer good for them
Kundalini Yoga: These exercises stimulate the body and mind
In Kundalini Yoga there are around 50 basic exercises, from which countless other movements are derived.
What are popular series of exercises (Kriyas) in Kundalini Yoga?
Kundalini Yoga offers us a wealth of series of exercises called Kriyas. Many of them are hundreds of years old and were put together by particularly experienced yogis to produce specific healing and cleansing effects. The effect is always aimed at the energy that is to be awakened, experienced, stimulated, purified and balanced, depending on the Kriya.
Popular Kriyas include:
- Awakening to your ten bodies
- Experiencing the original you
- Purifying the self
- Stimulate your Chakra system and feel wonderful
- Balancing the aura
Some of the most important yoga poses that are part of many Kriyas:
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Sat Kriya
One of the most basic exercises that should be done every day for at least 3 minutes
Execution: Sitting on your heels, extend your arms upwards and fold your hands except for the index fingers. Practice the breath of fire for three minutes or longer.
Effect: The abdominal organs receive a rhythmic massage, causing waves of energy to circulate through the body.
-
Ego Eradicator
Execution: While sitting, stretch your arms upwards. The fingertips press on the pads of the fingers, only the thumbs are stretched towards the sky. Perform fire breathing with your eyes closed for 1-3 minutes.
Effect: Concentrate by directing mental focus to the point above the crown of the head.
-
Stretch pose
Execution: While lying on your back, lift your head and heels briefly above the floor and hold them. Focus on your toes as you stretch them away from you. Extend your arms along the sides of your body. Depending on the level, perform fire breathing for 30 seconds to 3 minutes.
Effect: Activates the Manipura Chakra, strengthens the abdominal muscles and self-confidence.
-
Archer pose
Execution: In a wide lunge, align your front foot forward and place your back foot across it. Bend the front leg while keeping the back leg straight. Extend your front arm forward while bending your back arm at the same height as if you were drawing a bow. Look purposefully over your front hand. Hold for 2-11 minutes, then switch sides.
Effect: Strengthening the leg muscles, developing courage and willpower (Manipura Chakra).
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Energy Boost
Execution: While sitting, extend your legs forward and bend your upper body forward. Hold the position for 2-11 minutes
Effect: Relieve tension on the back of the body, energetic balance and refreshment
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Eggbeater
Execution: Sitting cross-legged, raise your arms bent in front of your body. The thumbs and index fingers of your hands touch each other (Gyan Mudra). Close your eyes 9/10. Rotate your hands up and down as quickly as you can, as if in a circular path. After 11 minutes, stretch your arms above your head and breathe deeply for 1 minute.
Effect: Activating wake-up call in the morning.
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Shoulder roll
Execution: While sitting, circle your shoulders to the rhythm of your breathing. Inhale forwards and upwards, exhale backwards and downwards.
Effect: Lightness and joy by releasing physical and emotional tension in the shoulder area.
Kundalini Yoga Meditation: Unfolding inner strengths
Meditation plays a central role in Kundalini Yoga. Through the exercises we not only strengthen the body, but also the mind at the same time and develop an increasingly fine awareness of their connection. This is how we realize that our mind can only find peace if we can relax ourselves and our bodies.
What types of meditation are popular in Kundalini yoga?
There are very helpful techniques to relax the mind, some of which are very frequently used in Kundalini Yoga. These techniques are always about giving the mind a focus or an object of concentration. These can be words (mantra meditation), hand positions (mudra meditation) or even the breath (breathing meditation). The focus is often directed to certain points in the body where our energy centers (chakras) are located, e.g. B. the lowest point of the pelvis (Muladhara Chakra), the point in the middle of the chest (Anahata Chakra) or the point between the eyebrows (Ajna Chakra).
What are popular meditation exercises?
Probably the most common meditation for Kundalini is concentration on the mantra “Sat Nam”. This is repeated continuously during the Kriya in the rhythm of the breath: Sat when breathing in and Nam when breathing out. The mantra can be spoken aloud, whispered or repeated silently in your mind. The words come from the sacred Indian “holy” language Gurmukhi and mean true identity (“Sat” = truth; “Nam” = identity). The mantra is intended to remind us of who we really are.
Pranayama in Kundalini Yoga
“Prana” means energy and “Ayama” means “control”. Through our breath we absorb the life energy prana into ourselves and release old, used energy again. If we guide our breath in a certain way, we can consciously control this exchange.
Through breathing exercises, we not only learn to consciously perceive our breath again, but also to get our life energy flowing and directed to the places in the body where we particularly need it.
What does Pranayama have to do with Kundalini Yoga?
How we breathe has a direct effect on our energy level and therefore also our mood. Since the main goal of Kundalini Yoga is to activate our energy, breathing exercises play a much larger role here than in other yoga styles. We can immediately feel the effect of the breathing exercises.
What are popular Pranayama breathing exercises? (e.g. the breath of fire)
The two most important breathing techniques in Kundalini Yoga are long, deep breathing and fire breathing. The long, deep breath has a very relaxing effect and gives us a feeling of inner peace. We try to let the breath flow as long and deeply as possible.
The breath of fire has a stimulating and cleansing effect on the body and gives a lot of energy. Through intermittent exhalation, the abdominal organs experience an intensive massage, which supports detoxification processes.
How does fire breath work?
Breathing fire (Kapalabhati) involves exhaling in bursts, with the abdominal wall being actively pulled inwards each time. The inhalation occurs passively in the brief moment when we let go of the abdominal wall and it arches forward in a relaxed manner. In this way, the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm are addressed. The breath of fire can be practiced slowly and calmly or very quickly. The faster the rhythm, the more intense the activating effect.
Kundalini Yoga is a unique form of yoga with its dynamic and meditative exercises. More important than improving mobility and strength is the energetic effect on our body and mind.
Especially people who are open to spirituality find Kundalini Yoga a powerful method for self-awareness. Through regular practice we can develop a very fine feeling for our body and our energy