Awakening the Spirit: Exploring the Power of Kundalini Yoga in 2024

Did you know that yoga has a mystical side to it that can help you rise higher on the spiritual plane? What is this specific form called, and how do you practice it? Is it relevant in 2024?

Through answers to these questions, we’ll introduce you to Kundalini yoga and provide you with helpful tips to get started with this ancient spiritual technique.

Caution is advised; this should only be performed under the guidance of a mentor. Self-arousal of the Kundalini is harmful.

Kundalini yoga has its roots in the Hindu Tantric and Shakti traditions. It focuses on awakening the dormant kundalini energy, believed to be lying dormant at the root chakra near the base of the spine. The term kundalini is derived from the Sanskrit word kundala, meaning circular, and is commonly visualized as a coiled serpent.

Through kundalini yoga, you can raise the dormant life energy from the root chakra to the higher chakras through energy channels, or nadis. The ultimate goal here is to get the kundalini energy to rise to the crown chakra and penetrate it. The nadis through which it is considered to flow are the three main channels of life energy in the body: pingala (right), ida (left), and sushuma (central).

Now that you have an overview of this practice, let’s get to the next part: what exactly is kundalini yoga made up of?

Kundalini yoga shares similarities with other forms of yoga, such as hatha and vinyasa yoga, as it also includes body movements and breathing patterns. However, it differs in the sense that it focuses on the spiritual aspect while the others focus on the physical or mental aspect of your wellness.

Kundalini yoga involves the following:

It helps to calm the mind and increases the flow of life energy, or prana. For kundalini yoga, you may follow the long breathing, breath of fire, or alternate nostril breathing technique.

Kundalini yoga often employs yoga postures like the lotus pose (padmasana), archer pose (akarna dhanurasana), and cobra pose (bhujangasana). Asanas are practiced to improve organ functions and unblock the energy channels in your body.

Mudras allow you to direct the flow of life energy into your body by creating energy pathways and sending specific signals to the brain. Some kundalini yoga mudras that you can explore include the pranam mudra (prayer gesture), the buddhi mudra (gesture for the clarity of the mind), the shuni mudra (gesture for patience), and the ravi mudra (gesture of life).

Mantras can influence the vibrations of your body and surroundings and are a key component of kundalini yoga. They help to orient your concentration and shift the frequency of your thoughts, eventually influencing your experiences.

While the eyes are generally kept closed during kundalini yoga, drishti implies turning your focus inward to specific points like the center of the forehead, the tip of the chin, or the top of the head. Some eye-focus gestures are also done with the eyes kept partially open, such as focusing at the nose’s tip.

They are used to turn life energy in the opposite direction by constricting its flow at certain locations, called the granthis (psychic knots). The bandhas included in kundalini yoga are the moola bandha (root lock), the uddiyana bandha (diaphragm lock), the jalandhara bandh (neck lock), and the maha bandha (the great lock), with the last being the combination of the first three locks.

Combining all these components of kundalini yoga into a sequence forms a kriya. Are you planning to learn Kundalini yoga? What are its benefits? Keep reading to find out.

Though an ancient practice, kundalini yoga offers multiple benefits that can make it a good complementary therapy in modern times. It can be helpful for a variety of reasons, as covered below:

Kundalini yoga can be used for overcoming trauma as it can help heal the body, clear the mind, and reconnect you to the spiritual world.

A South African study demonstrated the effectiveness of kundalini yoga in promoting post-traumatic growth among survivors of trauma. The participants experienced spiritual changes, an increased sense of gratitude, better handling of relationships, and the ability to recognize opportunities.

The form of kundalini yoga developed by Yogi Bhajan is claimed to improve a variety of psychological problems, including:

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Addiction
• Depression
• Learning disorders
• Sleep problems
• Phobias

Different kundalini meditation techniques are recommended for these conditions.

According to a Cambridge University Press study, people over the age of 55 who have mild cognitive impairment can benefit from kundalini yoga by developing resilience, reducing depression, and improving executive functioning and memory. Executive functioning refers to the basic abilities of self-control, staying focused, and planning to achieve your goals.

It can also help with anxiety disorder, as concluded through an eight-week kundalini yoga program focusing on females aged 24-75.

A study on 159 individuals suffering from chronic lower back and neck pain indicated that kundalini yoga and strength training can help reduce sickness absenteeism among the working population.

How do you practice kundalini yoga? Keep reading to find out.

We have listed here the various steps that you need to follow for a kundalini yoga kriya:

1. Sit in a comfortable position with your legs crossed and back straight.
2. Bring your hands into the prayer pose and touch your breastbone with your thumbs.
3. Close your eyes and say the Adi Mantra three times: Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo, meaning “I bow to the divine wisdom, I bow to the teacher within me.”
4. Lie down on your back and lift your head and legs about half a foot from the ground. With your arms straight, gaze at your toes, and do the breath-of-fire exercise.
5. Lift your lower body further, and try to tuck your knees into your chest. Repeat the breath-of-fire pattern.
6. Get back to the prayer pose. Lift your arms, making a sixty-degree angle from the torso. Stick up the thumbs with the fingers curled. Hold this pose and do the breath of fire pranayama.
7. Spread your legs wide and raise your arms while inhaling. Try to touch your left toes with your hands as you exhale. Repeat this for the right toes.
8. Get to the cross-legged position and grab your shins with your hands. Bend your back forward as you inhale and backward as you exhale.
9. Sit on your knees with your hands placed on your thighs. Repeat the breathwork and back exercise from the last step while focusing on the third eye chakra.
10. Place your hands on your shoulders with arms parallel to the floor. Twist your upper body to the left while inhaling and to the right while exhaling.
11. Interlock your fingers with your hands in the Venus mudra. Inhale and raise your arms over your head. Exhale and lower them.
12. Place your palms on the knees. Inhale and raise the left shoulder while lowering the right one. Exhale and repeat the same exhale on the right shoulder.
13. Raise both shoulders together as you exhale, and drop them together as you exhale.
14. Sit relaxed with your hands resting on your knees. Inhale and turn your head to the left. Exhale and turn it to the right.
15. Get into the squat position and balance yourself with your heels together, raised from the ground, and fingers spread out, touching the ground. Inhale and straighten your legs with your finger still touching the floor. Return to the squat position as you exhale.
16. Sit relaxed with your wrists on your knees and hands in the gyan mudra. Chant the mantra Ek Ong Kar and perform the mool bandha. Chant the mantra and do kundalini meditation for about ten minutes.
17. Conclude the kriya by lying down flat on the mat and meditating for a short while.

Precautions: Avoid step 4 if you are pregnant, and skip breath retention under step 5 if you are pregnant or menstruating.

You may have heard that kundalini awakening while being transformative can sometimes be dangerous if done the wrong way. Let’s explore that in more detail.

Traditionally, it is believed that the kundalini energy should be awakened gradually under the guidance of a teacher who has experienced it. If not done this way, it may result in negative side effects, sometimes confused with mental illness. These adverse effects may include:

• Frequent mood swings
• Irrational behavior
• Fear of death or going mad
• Hallucinations
• Confusion

This makes it important to approach an experienced practitioner before starting with kundalini yoga. Also, consult your doctor if you have any medical conditions, as some of the postures and breathing exercises may not be suitable for you. Keeping these things in mind, you can safely set out on a transformative journey through the means of kundalini yoga