What is Kundalini Yoga?
By: Anna Franklin
After practicing and mainly teaching this yoga for the last several years, I’ve noticed that there is a high barrier to entry, perhaps more than anything else I’ve encountered in the yoga world. Kundalini Yoga isn’t as well known or commonly practiced as Hatha Yoga; it can give off mysterious vibes and doesn’t as easily lend itself to Instagram's “glamour” shots.
My mission is to make this yoga accessible, fun and can do. It’s wild and wonderful, just like my home state of West Virginia. It’s also admittedly weird. But IT WORKS. Because of that, I got you once you’re in the door.
How? By engaging your whole self—mind, body, breath, and spirit (not to mention our gaze or dristi, how we hold our hands in a particular way mudra, or my personal favorite: chanting!)—you cannot help but be present.
Isn’t that part of why we do yoga anyway? As my late beloved teacher, Ram Dass, instructed with love and fierce grace, To Be Here Now.
We all know how easy it is to move through life—and even the spectacular Sun Salutations this ancient and sacred tradition has gifted us with—and have our minds and hearts elsewhere.
As rough as the last couple of years have been, Yoga, and I believe Kundalini Yoga in particular, can give us the tools to deal with our boats sailing on rocky waters. We may shake, doubt, and fear, but we won’t capsize (and even if we do, we’ll be able to hoist ourselves out of the water and back onto the boat). Others may even shipwreck next to us, or as another of my teachers wisely says: “we uplift ourselves so that we can uplift others.”
If boat metaphors aren’t your thing, maybe science is! ;)
In Kundalini Yoga, we move our body in repeated patterns, breathe in specific ways, and even chant particular sounds to achieve an intended effect—both physical and metaphysical. Moving cells around make us feel better. Doing something for an extended period (a minute or several) can affect our neural pathways and help us build new patterns. Studies at the highest levels have shown that Yoga—including yes, Kundalini Yoga—can profoundly reduce stress, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and more.
Think of it as another tool in your toolbox—in addition to therapy, medication, other life-giving forms of physical activity, creativity, and beyond—as you see fit.
In the midst of some of the most serious depression I’ve dealt with, I found myself unknowingly (at first) deep-diving into Kundalini Yoga.
I participated in a week-long training intensive, Y.O.G.A. for Youth, (started by the great Krishna Kaur in the 90s as a response to California’s three-strikes rule) out of my desire to learn to bring yoga I was already teaching to young people dealing with both serious and everyday issues--particularly those who were living in juvenile detention centers, or were otherwise experiencing incarceration.
I didn’t realize how much I would learn about Kundalini Yoga. By spending minutes, hours, days in uncomfortable poses or kriyas, long breathwork, and chanting meditations, I found I could not escape. I had to deal with my crap. At the same time, I was reminded of our connection to one another and the God of our understanding—(Kundalini Yoga can also be an overtly spiritual practice which also drew me in)—I also felt singularly alone.
This paradox may sound a bit depressing in and of itself, but it’s pretty emblematic of the contrasts this practice throws at us. Calming breath with invigorating poses and vice versa. More stuff than you can handle at once (but you can!)
Further, that experience I had with Krishna at Y.O.G.A. for Youth helped me eventually get to the other side—to ask for the help I needed within, and at the same time further open my eyes to what was around me: the mass incarceration state we live in. We heard from both young and older men who shared the impact of yoga and meditation on their lives while in detention centers or prison. Of being cared for in this way while incarcerated. Having a lifeline and some tools to deal with life on life’s terms as the Al-Anon Community so wisely shares.
Yoga helps us see what we need to see and do what we need to do. For ourselves, for others, even when it is difficult, especially when it is difficult.
The best way to learn about Kundalini Yoga is by simply doing it. I promise there will be jokes, cool music, and that you’ll feel different than when you came in. And it will be wild, wonderful, and weird.
--You can find Anna at 905 U Street Monday nights at 6 pm for Kundalini Yoga (no prior experience needed!); Tuesday nights at 715pm for All Levels Flow, and you can even join her for an amazing retreat in Italy this June! Connect with Anna on IG or her website learn more about her work with individuals and organizations dealing with Burnout.
