Kundalini Yoga

The science of Kundalini Yoga and meditation was developed over 50,000 years ago by rishis in India and Tibet, who systematically tested and perfected the precise movements, postures, sounds and breathing that activate different parts of the body and brain to produce specific results.

These sacred and hitherto secret teachings were brought to the West in 1969, and presented to the public for the first time by Yogi Bhajan. Not only was this the first time they had ever been taught publicly, it was also the first time they had been written down and made available to all who desired to practice, rather than to a very select band of initiates. It was his belief that the knowledge belongs to everyone.

Now, thanks our sponsors, Yoga Technology, we are able to bring these teachings to the whole world, using the medium of the Internet.

Kundalini Yoga is the science, art and technology enabling one to access and utilize his or her own creative power for elevation of consciousness, healing and other purposes beyond reproduction. This power, (shakti), is thought to lie dormant in the lower end of the spine, and is often pictured as a coiled, sleeping serpent (kundalini means coiled), until it is awakened, either spontaneously or by yogic techniques, and arises to unite with the Universal Energy (prana), empowering the individual with awareness beyond ordinary perception and powers (siddhis) beyond ordinary ability.

Kundalini Yoga is one of the few yogic paths to actually allow sex. Not only that, regular practice can greatly increase your levels of sexual energy leading to a wonderfully enhanced sex life.

Kundalini Yoga is the most powerful and inclusive of all yogas. Although sharing the same goal as Hatha Yoga - union with the Universal, Divine Source, or God, it can give results up to 16 times faster. It is also easier to practice and takes less time. You may know that Hatha Yoga postures tend to be quite difficult and you have to maintain a pose for a long time. Many people simply cannot do those poses.

KY on the other hand does not rely on difficult poses. It consists of exercises or postures (Asanas) combined with special breathing (Pranayama), hand and finger gestures (Mudras), body locks (Bhandas), chanting (Mantras) and Meditation. (See section - Components of Kundalini Yoga). These are done together, or in sequence to create exact, specific effects.

A Kriya is an exercise or group of them, with one or more of the other components, whose total impact is greater than the sum of its parts. Kundalini Yoga sets are kriyas, rather than simply calisthenic series.

So Kundalini Yoga is much more "concentrated" than other yogas. It is also safe to practice on your own since the postures are not dangerous for beginners.

Kundalini Yoga is addictive! Once the results are experienced, we want more! There are thousands of sets and meditations, an abundance covering every phase of human and super-human experience.

Preparing for and Concluding a Kundalini Yoga Session


To Begin

Sit quietly and be with your breath. Consciously slow down the breath and breathe from the belly. Be with the sensations in your body. Tune into your own rhythm. Allow a few minutes to calm down, center yourself and create your own space.

Tuning In

Before beginning Kundalini Yoga practice, always "tune in" by chanting the ADI MANTRA as follows:
Sit in easy pose, or any meditation posture that you find most comfortable, with a straight spine and center yourself with long, deep breathing. Then place the palms together in Prayer Mudra at the Heart Center, fingers pointed up at 60º, base of thumbs pressing against the sternum.

Inhale, focusing at the 3rd Eye Point and the heart and chant,
"ONG NA MO"
("I call on Infinite Creative Consciousness")
while exhaling. The Ong is vibrated in the back of the throat, the cranium and nasal passages. Properly done, it stimulates the pituitary and pineal glands which automatically tunes us into higher consciousness. Ooooooong is long,(o as in oh) Na is short, Moooo (o as in oh) is extended.

This mantra is chanted either on one deep breath, or if you need to you can take a sip of air from the mouth, but do not breathe through the nose between the two parts of the mantra.

"GURU DEV NA MO"
("I call on Divine Wisdom")
Gu and Ru are short. Deeeeeev is extended. Na is short. And Mooo finishes up the breath.


Tuning In

Music for Ong Na Mo

Inhale deeply through the nose before you repeat the mantra. Repeat 2 or more times. The purpose of this mantra is "to tune in." So chant it as many times as you feel you need to get connected. This chant protects and connects us with our higher selves. It also links us with the "Golden Chain" of teachers who brought Kundalini yoga to the world. In other words, our teachers are with us in suble body guiding and helping us.

Ong means Creator, Namo means to call upon, or to greet, Guru is the Teacher or the energy that brings light and dispells the darkness. Dev means transparent or nonphysical.

CLICK HERE for a Real Audio clip of the mantra, courtesy *Sat Jiwan Singh
(you will need RealAudio player installed on your system to listen to this)
*from Song of the Sacred Gong - available from Yoga Technology online store.

Concluding a Set

After a long relaxation, particularly one that follows a series of exercises, you will find that doing the concluding exercises below helps to ground you and bring you back to reality:

1) On your back, begin rotating your feet and bands In small circles. Continue in one direction for 30 seconds, then in the other direction for another 30 seconds.

2) Cat Stretch: Keeping both shoulders and the left leg flat on the ground, bring the right arm back behind the head and the right knee over the left leg till it touches the floor on the far side of the body. Switch legs and arms and repeat the exercise.

3) Still on your back, bring the knees up and to the sides, and rub the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands together briskly, creating a sensation of heat. Continue for I minute.

4) Clasping knees to chest with both hands, begin rolling on the spine. Roll all the way back till the feet touch the ground behind the head, and all the way forward till you're sitting up. Do this 3 or 4 times at least.

(5) Sit up in easy pose, palms together in prayer mudra at the heart center. Eyes are closed. Inhale completely and say a prayer of thanks. Exhale and let the thought go.

(6) A happy conclusion is to sing this song: "May the long time sun shine upon you, all love surround you, and the pure light within you, guide your way on". Repeat.

Repeat if you wish. Then chant 3 long Sat Nam's. Saaaaaaaaaat is long and Nam

Article source : http://www.kundaliniyoga.org/prep.html

Deep Breathing

The problem with improper breathing is that we do not breathe deeply enough to inhale sufficient oxygen and subsequently we do not exhale all the carbon dioxide from our bodies. Therefore, carbon dioxide will accumulate in our bodies resulting in some serious ailments including high blood pressure. Breathing carbon dioxide filled air can result in fainting and dizziness because your body won’t get the needed oxygen.

With an increment in the effort you exert, your demand for deeper breathing expands. For example, your breath while performing vigorous exercises is deeper than that of normal breathing. Through breathing strength training you can learn how to put more power in your muscles by breathing in the proper way. The human body has a tendency to cease breathing while exerting effort, but this may cause a serious increase in blood pressure. So, you need to learn how to breathe properly while exercising.

In vigorous exercises like weight lifting, you need to learn proper breathing weight lifting techniques. Through practicing yoga, you will be able to know the proper breathing techniques that can help you perform your exercises.

The yoga principle of proper breathing is the usage of the whole capacity of the lung in breathing, Most people use half or two thirds of their total lung capacity. The simple technique of proper breathing is to exhale air during the power phase of your exercise and inhale in the low power phase of the exercise.

Breathing during lifting will give you more power and help you perform more reps in every set. Learning yoga breathing principles will give you the golden chance to master your breathing technique during exercise. Learn the basic pranayama techniques and you will find that your overall health status has changed drastically. The more oxygen you inhale the more toxins you will get rid of.

Article Source : http://www.yogawiz.com/