How To Begin Kundalini Yoga

Long Deep Breathing is the most common breath employed in Kundalini Yoga, and it involves breathing slowly and deeply in and out via the nose while expanding and compressing the stomach on the inhale and exhale.

To assist develop or release specific energy, each meditation and kriya has a certain breath and posture. Breath of Fire is one of Kundalini Yoga's most popular and well-liked breathwork techniques. Breathing fast equal parts in and out through the nose while pumping your stomach to create oxygen in your blood and charge your electromagnetic field is known as breath of fire. When you're anxious or overloaded, breathwork is a wonderful technique to have. To relieve anxiety, we employ Long Deep Breathing with our left hand over our heart and right hand over our stomach.

Mantras

Mantras aren't as scary or woo-woo as they appear! Chants and sound, often known as mantras, have the ability to trigger a chemical reaction in the brain and body, thereby improving your mood. The emotions we experience, such as happiness, joy, and sadness, all have an unique frequency. We may channel the good force of a mantra by reciting it, whether it's for peace, wealth, or prosperity.

Chanting a mantra causes your body to vibrate at that frequency, raising your mood to higher vibrations and resulting in a more prosperous and high-vibe state of mind. You don't have to be sitting in meditation to use mantras; you may say them while sleeping or driving, and the energy of the sacred tones and sounds will fill your environment, drawing that energy into reality. We enjoy chanting “har” (sounds like “HUD”) for prosperity as a mantra for success and wealth.

Kriyas

You have a kriya—or a sequence of exercises—when you combine breath, posture, and sounds. Kriya is the Sanskrit word for “activity,” and manifestation can begin with a specific set of acts and devotion. Kriyas act on all levels of your mind, body, and spirit to help you live a healthy, abundant, and vital life. The Kriya for Balancing the Aura, which works fast and efficiently to defend your energy field, develop physical stamina, and elevate your vitality, is one kriya you can do today.

Mudras

Mudras are hand positions that lock and route energy into various areas of the brain. Thousands of years ago, yogis used specific hand positioning to map out the hands and how they are connected to different sections of the brain and body. To activate the energy, we always use a finger-to-finger placement and press down.

The gyan mudra, which uses the thumb and index fingers to stimulate understanding, is the most popular mudra in Kundalini yoga. This mudra is made by pressing the thumb and index finger together firmly, which stimulates the tips of the fingers. Jupiter, which represents expansion, is related with the index finger. You will feel receptivity and peacefulness in this mudra. Unless another active form is given, we use this passive yet powerful form.

Another popular and powerful mudra is one that opens communication blockages, which can be useful in a variety of situations, from a first date to a nerve-wracking business meeting. For one minute, press the pad of the thumb against the Mercury (pinky) finger's nail. This enables you to get the inner courage to communicate what you require. After that, gently press your thumb on your pinky finger to align your communication energy with your ego.

Kundalini meditations

Kundalini Yoga meditations have a releasing and healing effect. The energy you're releasing or creating during meditation can make you feel completely woken, heightened, and moved. Kundalini yoga meditations are done at varying lengths to produce different benefits. A 3-minute meditation has an effect on the body's electromagnetic field and blood circulation, while an 11-minute meditation begins to affect the nervous and glandular systems. A 31-minute meditation has an impact on all cells, body rhythms, and the subconscious mind.

The following is a short and easy meditation that you can do on your own to get a sense of how Kundalini might affect your mind, body, and emotions. This meditation provides you a surge of energy, making it a fantastic exercise for when you first get up in the morning or if you're feeling spent and depleted in the middle of the day. This meditation can revitalize your attention, coordination, and spirit by bringing in new, lively energy. If you're fatigued, try this meditation followed by a short Savasana (Corpse Pose).

A step-by-step Kundalini meditation:

• Sit with your legs crossed and your spine straight in a comfortable position. Place your palms together, fingers pointing up, in prayer stance at the center of your chest.
• Close your eyes and focus your sight on the brow point, which is the region between your eyebrows and up a bit, where your third eye or 6th chakra is located.
• After taking four equal breaths in, hold the breath for a few seconds and then exhale, breaking the outgoing breath into four equal pieces again and holding out for a few seconds.
• Pull your navel point toward your spine with each inhale and exhale. It takes roughly 7–8 seconds for each breath cycle to complete.

This meditation should be done for 3–5 minutes at a time. We like to include the mantra Sa Ta Na Ma in this meditation, and we recommend that you do so if your mind is racing or your ideas are distracting you. “Infinity, Life, Death, and Rebirth” is what Sa Ta Na Ma signifies. This mantra will assist you in concentrating your thoughts and ultimately connect you to your highest and most authentic self.

Can a beginner do Kundalini Yoga?

While anyone can practice Kundalini yoga (unless they have a pre-existing medical problem), this kind of yoga is especially beneficial for those who want to combine a spiritual practice with a physical workout.

Although Kundalini yoga is a demanding practice, its physical and mental benefits make it an excellent choice for both beginners and seasoned yogis. There's a reason the discipline has exploded in popularity, attracting everyone from yoga aficionados to celebrities.

How is Kundalini activated?

When attempting to awaken Kundalini, the spiritual teacher Meher Baba underlined the importance of working with a master:

Kundalini is a power that lies dormant in the higher body. It pierces through six chakras, or functioning centers, when woken, and activates them. The awakening of the kundalini without the guidance of a master will not carry anyone very far on the Path; and such indiscriminate or premature awakening is loaded with the perils of self-deception and power abuse. The kundalini allows man to cross the lower planes consciously, and it eventually combines with the universal cosmic power of which it is a part, and which is also referred to as kundalini… The crucial aspect to remember is that the awakened kundalini is only useful up to a point, after which it can no longer guarantee further advancement. It can't make up for the need for a Perfect Master's grace.

Shiv R. Jhawar writes in his book Building a Noble World about his Shaktipat experience during Muktananda's public presentation at Lake Point Tower in Chicago on September 16, 1974:

‘Today's subject is meditation,' Babahad said at the start of his speech. ‘What do we meditate on?' is the essence of the question. Continuing his speech, Baba stated, “When one says Om Namah Shivaya, Kundalini begins to dance.” Hearing this, I mentally repeated the chant and became aware of my breathing becoming heavier. I was suddenly struck by the force of a surging energy within me. My body lifted up a little and dropped flat into the aisle as the strength of the rising kundalini force was so great that my spectacles flew off. I could see a constant fountain of dazzling white lights exploding within me while I lay there with my eyes closed. These lights shone brighter than the sun, but they didn't emit any heat. I was in the thoughtless condition of “I am,” comprehending that “I” had always been everlasting and would continue to be. While experiencing the pure “I am,” a state of absolute ecstasy, I was totally alert and aware. ‘I didn't do anything,' Baba exclaimed joyfully from his platform at that particular moment. Someone has been apprehended by the Energy.' Baba saw that my tremendous kundalini awakening alarmed some people in the crowd. ‘As a result, do not be alarmed,' he said. Depending on a person's personality type, kundalini can be awakened in this way.'

How many times a week should you do Kundalini Yoga?

Is it necessary for me to practice Kundalini yoga on a regular basis? The greater the number, the better. It is recommended that you practice Kundalini for at least a few minutes each day. For the fastest development and to maintain good shifts in your consciousness, we recommend attending sessions 3-4 times per week if at all possible.

What are the symptoms of a kundalini awakening?

Kundalini awakening is characterized by the following characteristics. The energy is too strong or uncomfortable to tolerate, and it is frequently accompanied by shaking, jerking, or spasms. Adoption of yoga poses or mudras (hand gestures) on the spur of the moment, even if the experiencer has never done so before.

Is Kundalini Yoga hard?

Much of Kundalini Yoga is both difficult and soothing in equal measure. Chemical responses in the body are triggered by the practice's fundamental science, resulting in palpable, dramatic transformations in your thinking, physical health, and daily life.

Do you have to wear white to Kundalini Yoga?

When wearing white clothing while doing Kundalini is encouraged for greater results, it is not needed.

Yogi Bhajan is a Kundalini Yoga instructor who introduced the discipline to the United States in 1968. He lectured about the impact of wearing various hues of clothing.

White light has a unique and profound effect on our conscious and subconscious thoughts since it is a blend of all colors.

Consider the amount of energy you associate with each hue. All of the colors are available to encourage and enhance meditation when you wear white clothing.

How is Kundalini Yoga different from other yoga?

Physical activities are still used, but they aren't the main focus. This is not the same as hatha or vinyasa yoga, which are both based on physical positions.

Kundalini yoga is also more precise and repetitious than other forms of yoga. Unlike other forms of yoga, Kundalini yoga incorporates chanting, singing, motions, and breathing into particular rhythms.

What religion is Kundalini Yoga?

Kundalini yoga (kualin-yoga) is derived from kundalini, which is defined in Vedantic culture as dormant energy at the base of the spine that is activated (by yoga, blunt force trauma, breath work, or psychological trauma leading to spiritual awakening) and channeled upward through the chakras in the process of spiritual perfection. Kundalini is thought to be a power related with Shakti, the divine feminine. Shaktism and Tantra schools of Hinduism have inspired Kundalini yoga as a yoga school. It gets its name from a concentration on kundalini energy awakening through frequent mantra, tantra, yantra, yoga, or meditation practice.

Can Kundalini awaken naturally?

To be honest, there isn't a single answer to this question. After years of establishing a spiritual practice, practising Kundalini yoga, meditating, and so on, some people experience a Kundalini awakening. But it can also happen on its own, without any prior training.

“The Kundalini rising is an automatic process that happens—and it can happen under any form of spiritual discipline, any style of yoga,” says Krishna Kaur, a Kundalini yoga teacher.

You may eventually become so neutral and balanced “that you know you've reached a place of total awakened-ness” through the practice of enriching your spirituality and inner world, Kaur notes, adding that she does not teach people to raise their Kundalini energy with an awakening as the goal—and does not believe people should attempt it.

What is the difference between spiritual awakening and Kundalini awakening?

Spiritual awakening (also known as “spiritual ascension”) is usually an emotional and psychological experience. Kundalini awakening, on the other hand, is an energetic surge that can be mild and progressive or rapid and strong.

While kundalini awakening normally occurs after a spiritual awakening, it is not always the case. Kundalini can erupt quickly in response to psychedelic drug experiences, sexual encounters, or even tragic ones, as previously indicated.

Another difference is that kundalini energy is felt extremely physically, whereas spiritual awakening is typically more focused on the mind and emotions. While powerful vibrations and heat may be felt in the body during kundalini rising, there is a soulful element of deep questioning, understanding, and transfiguration during spiritual awakening (some refer to this as spiritual alchemy).

Is it possible to have both spiritual and kundalini awakenings at the same time? Without a doubt. And it's for this reason that both can lead to the Dark Night of the Soul (or the inevitable after-effect of feeling as if you've lost touch with the Divine). In the end, they're just two sides of the same coin.