edward averill et al (2002) kundalini yoga

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Final Full Text of Article for the Fall 2002 Issue-Point of Light Magazine of 11

Kundalini Yoga

Edward Averill et al

I don't know how Kundalini Yoga works any more than scientists know what

causes gravity or magnetism to work the way they do. And as someone who was

scientifically trained, my mind would often try to grapple with the effects that my

practice of Kundalini Yoga was having on my body, my emotions and my psyche.

The difficulty I am in is that although I know that Kundalini Yoga does work and

have witnessed its good––at times, amazing––effects on fellow students, I also know it

works a bit differently for everyone who attends our classes. I sense that there is a

spectrum of differences in what Kundalini Yoga does for each one of us. However, there

are some things that we all agree on, such as the fact that we all experience an upbeat

energy at the end of our Tuesday night class and we all are captivated by specific, (but

different), mantras that we chant in original Sanskrit and Gurmukhi (which is based on

Sanskrit) during our class sessions. Yet, I cannot help thinking of a conversation that I

had with a skeptical, but very dear friend of mine, when I buoyantly told him what I did

on Tuesday nights.

"So you do Kundalini Yoga?"

I said, "Well … Yes."

"Okay, but what do you get out of it?" He had a doubtful look on his face, and

was pointing his index finger at me in a way that made me feel uncomfortable.




On the defensive, I said, "We all experience subtle changes that we come to

value."

His attitude bothered me and he was looking at me in a suspicious way. I added,

"'We' includes the others who attend our classes regularly."

Not quite knowing what to say, I repeated, "Well, you know, it is a bit different

for each of us. We all come at it from different places––different states-of-being if you

like…."

I could have told him that Kundalini is a 4000-year-old Sanskrit word for the

yogic life-force that is held to lie at the base of the spine in all human beings. And that

Kundalini Yoga practice works to raise that life-force energy up the spine to reach the top

of the head, where it facilitates entry into a much more alive and aware state-of-being.

However, chastened by recalling how my friend had reacted, I decided to ask

other regulars at our classes to add their experiences of Kundalini Yoga (KY) to mine,

and then to leave the whole matter there.

What brought me to KY was a deep inner prompting, and ironically enough for

the first six months I battled significant external discomfort while putting my arms, legs,

and hands in positions they were not used to. Beside the physical discomfort, my mind

kept up a constant barrage telling me that these movements were not natural and asking

me what I thought I was doing. Being pushed from deep within, I kept showing up

knowing that what I get out of any venture depends more on what I put into it than

anything else. Gradually, I experienced a shift away from bodily discomfort and mind




clamor. I came to realize that the discomfort was from the beliefs that I held and the

emotional state I was in, rather than my physical posture. There were subtle changes in

my state of wellbeing––little steps of becoming free from limiting beliefs and emotional

blocks that were an essential part of the prison that I had no idea I was in. What keeps

me a serious practicing student of KY is the gradual and careful––even loving––release

from being held by beliefs and emotions that are not part of my true self; hence, attending

the sessions has become for me a journey of discovering who I really am.

My sister of more than seventy years told me after 18 months of KY practice that

she could not understand how I could have changed so quickly, having become a much

nicer, more loving person. I cannot say that I noticed that, but I do notice a steady

increase in being spontaneous and experiencing a joy I never before knew existed.

For Joy, one of my fellow students, her journey toward practicing KY started at

one of the most challenging points of her life. Her marriage of 30 years was at its lowest

ebb and her emotions were in turmoil. She was diagnosed with a pre-cancerous lesion in

her esophagus. After visiting "numerous doctors, trying countless remedies, and

undergoing counseling to gain insight, all to no avail," in desperation she "cried out to the

Universe for help." For the next few weeks she found that, "the topic of Kundalini Yoga

was popping up everywhere."

Joy discovered that, "within weeks of enrolling in our class my life started to

smooth out and in working with the intention to seek release from my predicament, the

things that were not good for me melted away like butter." Each morning at sunrise, she

faithfully performed the homework that our teacher had specifically tailored to her needs.




This daily practice "brought much release and many cleansing tears." After the practice

of KY postures and mantras––sitting quietly in easy pose with her mind at rest––she took

time meditating. The meditation following the practice "brought peace and enabled me

to tap into and hear my inner voice, which, of course, had always been there but I was

now taking the time to listen." This led to her understanding that "all that had happened

in my life to date, came from my own choices. With my eyes closed in meditation, I saw

clearly for the first time that everything––no matter how I perceived it––was for my

benefit and I had a feeling of being greatly blessed." She was left with the realization

that what we need to do when we are in pain and difficulty is to ask sincerely and listen

within ourselves, and the practice of KY helped her profoundly with this process.

After foot surgery in 1997, Beth, another fellow student, was immobilized for

several months. "It seemed like years––I’d imagined recuperation would be like a

vacation. Instead, it was like being in jail. It took me an hour to feed the cat!” As her foot

healed, Beth rediscovered the joy of physical movement. She found, “as is so often the

case, that my external circumstances were mirroring my interior life. I was ready to relate

to my body as a gateway to experience rather than as a problem I had to solve.”

Hence, Beth became a KY practitioner. "I didn’t know anything about it, but I

knew Ingrid, and trusted her as a teacher. I expected it to be physically challenging of

course, but I didn’t realize that the physical benefits brought emotional and spiritual

breakthroughs too.” Working with her breath, for example, brought up feelings of panic,

of drowning “of facing my fear of death, and not having enough.” Beth remembers a

vivid moment during a long exercise in which the instruction was to keep the arms raised,

fingers extended, “and not identify with the pain. I didn’t think I could do it, but I did. I




opened my eyes and saw that everyone else was struggling just like I was. I thought,

‘they’re just like me. What have I been so afraid of, all these years?’” When Beth’s father

died, "it was so hard to let go. We did a special chant in class, designed to support my

dad’s soul on his journey.” Beth was able to sob out her grief, and to everyone’s surprise

a swarm of bees settled outside the window and stayed for the duration of the class. “We

learned later that bees are known as spiritual messengers. I consider myself to be really

rather ordinary, so I’ve had to conclude that these small miracles must be ‘ordinary’ too,

in the context of KY.”

Some six years ago Roland was invited by his Martial Arts instructor to attend the

KY class that took place within the Martial Arts premises. It was Roland's first actual

experience of KY––although he had read about it––and he reports that he felt "energized,

calm, more alert, and perceived a changed state-of-being within himself, as well as a

nurturing experience that was non-competitive." He was then drawn to attend weekly

classes, which he found to be "relaxing and stimulating." He liked the healthful effect on

his body, the "notion of the Kriya sets of exercises, and the emphasis on correct

breathing," which tied into his martial arts.

When his marriage and family life broke up he felt "a basic dissatisfaction with

my life's value system, the bottom was falling out of my life; there was both a major issue

of feeling fear" and a recognition that his need to exert control was based upon that fear.

"My life felt out of control––I was a failure––and bad things would happen to me."

When he moved to Pittsburgh he looked around for another KY teacher, which

led him to our class. He found it "serious and powerful" and he liked his response to it––




"feeling more expanded, open, and being able to look at my fear without feeling

overwhelmed." The class stimulated him to become more serious about his practice,

which led him to do extensive reading on KY's Eastern origins.

What keeps Roland continuing with his KY practice, is the way it "dissolves

anxieties, releases me from feelings of powerlessness and fear." The KY practice stirs up

these subconscious issues in a way that appears to him to be completely opposite and at

the same time an essential complement to any intellectual approach of psychotherapy.

"The practice gave me the courage to deal with the unknown––it enabled me to feel that I

would be okay." Through it Roland reports becoming more and more sensitive to his

own feelings and the feelings of others. He discovered that the specific movements of the

exercises, the breathwork and the chanting of mantras all provide a powerful means to

enhance the well-being of his body, through which to discover a connection with his soul

that he had not achieved through his intellect.

David, who is an artist and musician, discovered KY four years ago. He was

immediately attracted by the rhythmic movements which he felt connected him to a

primal sense of rhythm; "the repetitious movements of KY connect one to deep

subconscious childhood memories of being gently rocked to sleep and being carried in

the womb."

For David "KY made a profound change in my life. It connected my mind and

body to my soul." However, he "had only practiced KY 6 times or so before going to

New Mexico and participating in a10-day KY Intensive. My initiation was quick and

very powerful. He "experienced a oneness or God consciousness," and this reminded




him of the effect that psychedelic drugs had had on him many years ago. "Oddly enough,

it was those psychedelic experiences which broke me away from conventional thinking

and started me on a spiritual path." However, this association with psychedelic drug

highs made him wary of practicing KY. "Hence, I practiced in moderation."

Since then, KY has deepened the relationship between his creative life and his

spiritual life by revealing truths that he had been seeking as an artist. He now sees that

the creative energy of the universe and an individual's creative energy come from a

higher source as a very natural gift.

He very much likes the group energy of our KY class. "My experience is that

practice in a group is much more effective and much more powerful." He is "seeking for

and finding a balance" that is much more than just experiencing highs. The goal for his

KY practice is unfolding "through a heart-centered path" that leads him to the experience

of "greater compassion and self-acceptance." This goal includes "the finding of self-

love" based upon an evolving recognition of an inner true self that is part of infinite

consciousness.

Amanda was invited to attend our KY classes through a small group of close

friends. However at first, she found herself scared and intimidated by the fact that she

knew nothing about KY, yet everyone else seemed to be getting on splendidly. She felt

uncomfortable about the experience, but our teacher helped her to gain a greater

awareness from which she saw for herself the value of the practice, "I obtained a greater

perspective that led to a deeper meaning for my life." The experience of KY resulted in

her obtaining a more balanced appreciation of the situations within the current




relationships in her life. "I learned not to take what was happening so personally, and the

KY meditations and mantras enabled me to see my relationships with others more

realistically." She found that she put people in authority on a pedestal in a way that made

her "mad at the world, impatient (with what was happening around her), and generally

short tempered."

However, after KY practice "I experienced being in a good place." But if she

went too soon to her place of work, she found the work environment "too difficult to

handle," because she felt "disconnected and thrown off balance" by not being able to

relate to what was happening around her. The difference in environment seemed so

foreign and unnatural after the place of peace she had just left. What keeps Amanda

coming back to KY practice is "obtaining an increasing awareness" that gradually

introduces "positive changes and values into my life."

Another member of the class first heard of Kundalini Yoga at a talk by Yogi

Bhajan in Pittsburgh in 1977, who caught her attention by suggesting that she eat certain

fruits to help her with pregnancy. She was not pregnant at the time, but became so soon

after. She was drawn to KY but the white turbans and the white clothing that some of its

practitioners wore felt cult-like and put her off. She overcame her resistance when a local

teacher of Kundalini Yoga spoke at John Spiegel's class on meditation. A neighbor told

her of Ingrid Mundari's class around the same time and she started attending her classes

regularly. She found the Kundalini Yoga frustrating at first because it was very different

from the Hatha Yoga she had already been practicing for some years. Her mind rebelled

at the vigorous repetitions and fast pace of some of the exercises, since she was used to

the slower more languorous approach of Hatha Yoga. She was also unaccustomed to




chanting and although she found herself liking some of the mantras, she felt

uncomfortable with others. The frequent references to Guru Ram Das and to God felt

like idol worship to her and set off deep conflicts within. "What kept me coming back

was the effect that coming to the classes had on me. Eventually I was able to take what

worked for me and to ignore what did not work for me." She enjoyed and valued a

feeling of being elevated while doing class exercises, which helped her to see past her

initial fears of idol worship.

Later her husband became very ill and his hospital stay and medication did not

restore him to health. So she brought him to our KY teacher Ingrid's Sunday evening Sat

Nam Rasayan session. Sat Nam Rasayan is a healing practice within the lineage of

Kundalini Yoga, in which the attendee, first as a patient, then as a healer, enters the

'Sacred Space of Healing.' What impressed her greatly was that over a period of not too

many weeks later her husband's health improved very significantly.

Then there was the occasion when she personally experienced the healing energy

when she was in a very distraught state. Ingrid had the Kundalini class work on her and

she had an amazing experience of receiving Sat Nam Rasayan healing that completely

restored her. She felt an "incredible feeling of energy unlike anything she had ever

experienced" and "an awesome feeling of gratitude for the deep support received." She

finds KY and Sat Nam Rasayan practice to be very powerful techniques for Healing.

They target and deal with particular issues and emotional states, in which specific

mantras and movements can be felt to focus the generated energy to foster release from

specific dysfunctional states.




Peggy, a Shiatsu massage professional, became aware of the physical reality of

the Chakra centers of energy while doing massage work. But it was practicing KY and

attending lectures on the Chakras that "stimulated my intuition and enabled me to

translate what I received into pictures that gave me significant leads concerning my

clients' energy flows and patterns." During my KY practice "I could feel the energy

flows through my body that, at first, were a bit overwhelming." However, regular

commitment to KY practice brought "a balance to how I responded to the way KY

energized me."

It was her experience that KY practice broke her out of her comfort zone, and

"opened up issues which challenged me to deal with old emotions and their baggage."

What keeps Peggy coming to KY practice is experiencing "more balance in my emotional

life," the value of having "weaknesses brought to the surface," and feeling more grounded

with a "deeper connection to spiritual values."

Mary is someone who has struggled with addiction for over twenty years. In her

desperate search to work her way out of her problem she attended a KY class and on her

first day experienced "an instant sense of being grounded," together with "an incredible

spiritual awakening." She found that KY practice complimented her Twelve Step

program and that "both together were extremely beneficial." As a matter of fact KY was

a powerful enough experience for her that even throughout chronic relapses she kept

coming back––"KY enabled me to get in greater touch with the reality of myself, opening

me to the reality of being as opposed to the illusion of being." The Twelve Step program

and the KY practice keep "working me toward my goal of staying free from addiction."




Although the experience of Kundalini Yoga is different for everyone, most agree

that the Kundalini energy is the life-force energy that drives human beings to become the

multi-cellular organisms that they are. Further, what serious practitioners of KY also

agree on is that the practice directly affects and changes their state-of-being––using that

term to include state-of-bodily-health and state-of-mind. How changes to the state-of-

being manifest is most influenced by the motivation of the practitioner; hence, KY

practice is for those who wish to achieve a positive state-of-being from which to live a

fuller and more complete life.

It is wise to select a teacher who knows more than just the exercises and mantras,

because KY practice can have side effects which may take you out of your comfort zone.

The difference is that under wise leadership, KY practice can facilitate a deep healing and

a harmonious balancing of the body, mind and spirit.

What keeps my scientifically trained mind attuned to doing my KY practice is

that I believe KY enables those attracted to it to achieve the state-of-being they need to

best fulfill their particular mission in life. To me it is analogous to the training that

astronauts have to go through to exist in space. Each astronaut has his or her own

mission that is also part of a greater mission. Their connecting to Mission Control is akin

to our inner connection with our higher self. And as my teacher has said time and again,

"the practice of Kundalini Yoga enables the finite consciousness to deeply and lovingly

connect with the Infinite."

edward averill et al (2002) kundalini yoga

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