A good reason to try Kundalini Yoga

Bring your energy up to speed with Kundalini yoga to unlock your inner reserves of power with a comprehensive workout.

For all intents and purposes, yoga is an excellent stress buster that also gives one an enviable body with regular practice. Most people are drawn to yoga for the fitness it provides, while others are enamoured of the peace of mind it gives. Most practitioners do yoga and meditation daily for healthy, happy lives.

But while the usual asanas and chants may work for you, there comes a point when you need to challenge yourself still further. When you reach this point, it is probably a good time to try Kundalini yoga. Do check with your yoga teacher if you are ready to do it just yet.

Why do Kundalini yoga?

It is a way to kick-start the residual energy in your body into high gear. Each of us has hidden reserves of power. These are said to reside at the base of the spine or the pelvis, and can be summoned and unlocked to magnificent effect. This burst of energy is energising and uplifting, and it provides tremendous impetus to perform one’s tasks in a more energetic fashion.

Practice of Kundalini yoga is also said to eliminate the chances of burnout due to overwork and exhaustion. However, learning it requires an experienced teacher who can take the student through the different stages of the process properly. If the student is not ready for it, the teacher must defer the practice of Kundalini yoga for another time.

How to do it?

It is the most complete form of yoga, encompassing every technique of practice known to man such as mantra chanting, meditation, specialised and focussed breathing, and asanas. All of these are combined in Kundalini yoga to give a ‘hot body workout’, i.e. it elevates the body’s temperature by warming up the muscles. At its very core, it is aimed at making the practitioner completely self-aware while practicing the various components therein. One must be able to feel connected with every part of the body while also concentrating on breathing and mantras.

There are six components in it: Adi mantra (opening chant), Pranayama (breathing to warm up), Kriya (asanas), Relaxation to cool down, Meditation to connect with the inner being and Closing mantra.

Like Hatha yoga, Kundalini yoga also practices a confluence of the mind and body, but it encourages one to stay rooted to the Earth instead of withdrawing from it. Unlike other forms of yoga, it is entrenched in practical living and hence, it teaches the yogi how to balance his duties as a householder with his spiritual connection to the universe.