Kundalini Yoga
What is Kundalini Yoga?
Kundalini Yoga is a way to exercise your mind, body and spirit. It enables you to reach a higher state of awareness, emotional stability, and strength by using several techniques. These Include pranayama (breathing exercises), kriyas (exercise sets), meditation, bhandas (body locks), mudras (gestures), mantras (chanting words) and visualization. These Kundalini Yoga techniques raise the apana (energy you give out) to connect to the prana (energy you take ln) in order to align your chakras (points of energy centers). This allows you to reach a higher consciousness and understanding, while being fit and healthy. In Kundalini Yoga you are consciously breathing, this helps align your heart and mind. All of these techniques will allow you to think clearer, and be emotionally ready to start, and finish your day. You will start feeling more secure with yourself, and your life. You will be healthier, find you have more time in the day, feel less stressed, and sleep better at night. You will benefit from doing any Yoga, but Kundalini Yoga gives you a faster result. Be committed to feeling happier, being stronger both inside and out, and be emotionally secure.
Kundalini Benefits for Athletes
Kundalini Yoga ls a multi-faceted workout that exercises underdeveloped muscles, improves balance, and increases athletes’ awareness of their physical and mental state. Sustained postures and stretching exercises, or “asana”, build core strength, improve range of motion, and Increase circulation. Each asana incorporates breathing exercises, or ‘pranayama,” to build stamina, improving endurance. These techniques, together with controlled meditations and mantras, teach athletes to control their heart rate and maintain mental acuity under strain.
Kundalini yoga ls millenias-old study which, when combined with modern training and practice routines, may significantly improve the abilities of athletes across any physical discipline.
What is Pranayam?
Pranayam is the science of breathing techniques, that allows you to control and manage the prana (Life force). When you have learned to control your breath, you will have control over your mind.
Most of us don’t realize that we are breathing incorrectly. As a result we are more stressed, we don’t sleep well, cannot relax or even think clear. By applying the wide range of pranayam techniques to your daily life, you can manage the energies (emotional, health and consciousness) that flow in and around you.
Thus helping to modify habits and bring momentum to yourself. You will live a higher quality of life and extend your life span when applying correct breathing techniques (pranayam).
What are Mantras?
Mantras are formulas to help alter the chemistry of the brain by using the creative projection of sound. The mantras that we chant, in Kundalini Yoga, are spoken in Gurmukhi, the language of the sound current. When chanting, your tongue will flick the roof of your mouth, hitting one or more of the 84 meridian points. This action of chanting will start a chemical change in the brain, causing glands and parts of the brain to secrete. Through this secretion and vibration of the Naad (vibrational harmony), you will tune your consciousness into awareness and elevation. Enabling you to conquer depression, opening your self to compassion, and heightening your intuition and intelligence.
What is Kundalini Energy?
Kundalini energy resides in the base of your spine. lt lays dormant in all of us until we awaken lt by doing certain breathing and physical exercises, known as Kundalini Yoga. Yogi Bhajan said that, “Kundalini is the creative potential of the human being”. When we raise that Kundalini energy we become more aware and therefore can live a healthier and happier life.
Shavasana
Every course, class, and workshop includes this deep relaxation, shavasana. Corpse pose is a time to rest, and allow all the energy we have built up to integrate into the body. This restful space is healing, and rejuvenating, you may notice that it is more restful than a nights sleep. For some it is what they look forward to the most, because it is a time when you are the quietest internally, and physically.
Meditations
Please remember to tune in with the Adi Mantra before starting your meditation.
Wearing your hair up in a bun/knot on the top of your head, and covering your head with a shaw/hat aids in meditation, as well has many benefits.
Find a quiet place and sit with a tall spine. Allow your mind and body to relax. Let go of any tension in your face. Drop your shoulders down, and roll them back. Let your abdomen expand with every inhale. Bringing the air up to the diaphragm all the way to the clavicle. Exhale, releasing the air from the clavicle down towards the navel, and pulling your center in towards the spine. Feel heavy in your sit bones, as you let go of all tension in your legs, thighs, and knees. Breath here for a moment…. and then begin.