Kundalini Yoga as I was taught and trained weaves together elements of breath, movement, meditation, mantra, sound, vibration and the foundational lessons that hold these intentional practices. These lessons were rooted in ancient, time-tested wisdoms of yoga and the stories of the natural world and spiritual figures who embodied these wisdoms. The transformational effect of kundalini yoga and meditation changed my life. As I continue to practice and teach regularly, I am able to delve deeper and heal and expand......and find yet another level of inner peace.
In 2020, first in January then in August, this peace was disrupted for an intense re-evaluation of the practice. Its founder -the one credited with bringing the practice to the West- was discovered to "more likely than not" have engaged in predatory behaviors and created a cult-like community. Dread.
Certainly it will be an ongoing process of truth-seeking for how this practice can continue to serve. Paradoxically, this practice itself shows me how to trust in my own wisdom. Having built my proverbial muscles to soothe my nerves, tap into my parasympathetic nervous system, expand my protective energy field, release negative energy, stimulate my intuition, circulate and heal the cells in my body, and open my heart center, this process of sorting through the global muck which came to light for this community has been.....easier, not to minimize its trauma.
And so, Yogi Bhajan becomes yet another patriarchal leader that had become full of himself and beyond-toxic, to say the least, and unfortunately allowed to carry on in his manipulating, warped ways long enough to do definitive harm to members of his community. (He was a master manipulator, it seems). It was in fact this pedestal on which he was placed/placed himself higher and higher that perhaps ensured such a huge fall from grace. Thankfully, I had never regarded him quite like that, as a recovering judgment-filled, fear-based Christian from my own upbringing. I'd already sworn off anyone who held themselves to be some sort of God-connection through which I had to dogmatically serve in order to elevate my own soul and by which I had to follow any set of rules or be damned or, because of their differing beliefs, other good people were considered "wrong". No thank you.
All of this news in the time of Covid, along with important current events that call on deep self-discovery of our own understanding of true historical and ancestral events, is a macro alarm for the world and for this country......and ultimately for our own Souls. It is an opportunity to shine a light on subtle and blatant shadows within and around us. So I go back to my first paragraph above..... of the transformational effects of this practice......and I delve deeper..... and I keep digging.... and, through the work of clean pain with the help of the ancient wisdoms & practice to help me feel centered, intuitive and safe, I take the steps however they will look, for me.
If I may be of service to help you shine your own light, from wherever you enter this journey-- a wish to seek more of who you truly are --I will be humbled and grateful to be a part of that.
In 2020, first in January then in August, this peace was disrupted for an intense re-evaluation of the practice. Its founder -the one credited with bringing the practice to the West- was discovered to "more likely than not" have engaged in predatory behaviors and created a cult-like community. Dread.
Certainly it will be an ongoing process of truth-seeking for how this practice can continue to serve. Paradoxically, this practice itself shows me how to trust in my own wisdom. Having built my proverbial muscles to soothe my nerves, tap into my parasympathetic nervous system, expand my protective energy field, release negative energy, stimulate my intuition, circulate and heal the cells in my body, and open my heart center, this process of sorting through the global muck which came to light for this community has been.....easier, not to minimize its trauma.
And so, Yogi Bhajan becomes yet another patriarchal leader that had become full of himself and beyond-toxic, to say the least, and unfortunately allowed to carry on in his manipulating, warped ways long enough to do definitive harm to members of his community. (He was a master manipulator, it seems). It was in fact this pedestal on which he was placed/placed himself higher and higher that perhaps ensured such a huge fall from grace. Thankfully, I had never regarded him quite like that, as a recovering judgment-filled, fear-based Christian from my own upbringing. I'd already sworn off anyone who held themselves to be some sort of God-connection through which I had to dogmatically serve in order to elevate my own soul and by which I had to follow any set of rules or be damned or, because of their differing beliefs, other good people were considered "wrong". No thank you.
All of this news in the time of Covid, along with important current events that call on deep self-discovery of our own understanding of true historical and ancestral events, is a macro alarm for the world and for this country......and ultimately for our own Souls. It is an opportunity to shine a light on subtle and blatant shadows within and around us. So I go back to my first paragraph above..... of the transformational effects of this practice......and I delve deeper..... and I keep digging.... and, through the work of clean pain with the help of the ancient wisdoms & practice to help me feel centered, intuitive and safe, I take the steps however they will look, for me.
If I may be of service to help you shine your own light, from wherever you enter this journey-- a wish to seek more of who you truly are --I will be humbled and grateful to be a part of that.