Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini Yoga is a form of yoga geared specifically towards higher enlightenment. This style falls under the Raja yoga umbrella, which is designed to awaken and balance the inner energy forces of the body by utilizing the natural principles of one's chakras. Chakras are what Kundalini yoga practitioners believe to be the main energy centers found along the spine (7 in all).

In Kundalini yoga, more conventional yoga postures or poses may be practiced in order to prepare the body for the energy culmination along the spine. The main goal is to channel the energy from the base of the spine up through, and ultimately out of the top of the head, much like a coiled serpent springing upward.

Kundalini yoga was popularized by Yogi Bhajan, Ph.D., who brought this style of yoga to the west during the late 1960's. Kundalini yoga had never before been taught openly before, but Yogi Bhajan felt the time was necessary to counterbalance the destructive nature of the drug-laced 60's. Since then, Kundalini schools and instructors have sprung up around the globe. There is no centralized system as with Bikram yoga, so each instructor may emphasize different aspects of kundalini.

The basic components of Kundalini yoga are:

• Breathing - breathing is the source of life, both literally and in kundalini practice.

• Movement - correct breathing along with movement will stimulate the mind and energy to move more freely.

• Mantra - a chant or set of sounds believed to help the energy move up the spine and through the chakras.

• Meditation - increases creativity and centralizes the chakra forces.