Kundalini Yoga - Aspects, Origin, And Meaning






    What Is Kundalini Yoga?



    Everything and everyone we contact with in life is full with vivid energy. Kundalini Yoga, which wakes you to the force of internal energy, ushered us into a broad spiritual awakening that impacted all area of our life. 


    • Kundalini yoga is intended to improve your consciousness and help you go beyond your ego by awakening this energy. The practice is often referred to as "yoga of awareness."
    • Chanting, singing, breathing exercises, and repeated postures are all part of Kundalini yoga.
    • Its goal is to awaken your Kundalini energy, also known as shakti. This is a spiritual force that is said to reside at the base of your spine.


    Kundalini yoga is derived from kundalini, which is described in Vedantic culture as latent energy at the base of the spine that is awakened through yoga and directed upward via the chakras in the process of spiritual perfection. 

    • Kundalini is a force connected with the divine feminine, according to devotees. 
    • Shaktism and Tantra schools of Hinduism have impacted Kundalini yoga as a yoga school. 
    • It gets its name from an emphasis on kundalini energy awakening via frequent mantra, tantra, yantra, yoga, or meditation practice.


    It's critical to understand what Kundalini is, what it does to your mind, body, and soul, and why it works in order to lead others toward living this high vibrational lifestyle.


    • We will all experience successes, victories, difficulties, and problems throughout our lives. Kundalini teaches us how to respond to life's ups and downs from a more impartial perspective. 
    • This ancient therapeutic practice was the very first yoga ever devised, and its technologies have been scientifically proved to stimulate particular areas of the brain that enhance awareness and produce more balanced control. 
    • This technique aims to strengthen the nervous system on a cellular level and raise your energy awareness via breath, precise movements, and time.




    Origins Of Kundalini Yoga



    Although Kundalini yoga is performed all throughout the globe, no one knows where it originated. 

    The idea of Kundalini energy has been around for millennia, and it was first described around 1,000 B.C. in ancient Vedic writings. 


    • Yogi Bhajan, a Pakistani yoga instructor, is best identified with Kundalini yoga. In the 1960s, he is credited with bringing the technique to Western nations.
    • “Kundalini” is derived from the Sanskrit word “kundal,” which meaning “circle.” 
    • It may also apply to a snake that is coiled. Kundalini energy, according to practitioners, is like that coiled snake: it sleeps at the base of your spine, unaroused.




    Kundalini Yoga Chakras



    Kundalini yoga is used to awaken this energy, allowing it to flow up and down your spine via the chakras.


    Chakras are the seven energy centers in your body according to yoga. 


    They are as follows:


    1. heart chakra 
    2. throat chakra 
    3. third eye chakra 
    4. crown chakra 
    5. root chakra 
    6. sacral chakra, 
    7. solar plexus


    Kundalini energy is said to help balance these chakras and contribute to spiritual health as it increases.

    • Kundalini yoga is believed to lead to spiritual enlightenment with consistent practice. It's known as a "Kundalini awakening."




    What Distinguishes It From Other Kinds Of Yoga?




    Kundalini yoga is a higher spiritual practice than other types of yoga.


    • Physical motions are still used, but they aren't the main emphasis. 
    • This is not the same as hatha or vinyasa yoga, which are both based on physical postures.
    • Kundalini yoga is also more precise and repetitious than other forms of yoga. 
    • Unlike other forms of yoga, Kundalini yoga incorporates chanting, singing, motions, and breathing into precise sequences.
    • Breathing, mantras, kriyas, and mudras are also a critical part of the practice.




    The Major Components Of Kundalini Yoga.




    • Chant to begin. 
      • An opening chant, also known as tuning in, starts each class.
    • Warm-up, also known as pranayama. 
      • You'll perform pranayama (breathing exercises) and occasionally motions to extend your spine. 
      • Pranayama is a breathing technique that teaches you how to regulate your breath.
    • Kriya
      • A kriya is a set of postures, breathing exercises, mudras (hand positions), music, and meditation exercises. 
      • Your teacher determines the duration and intensity of the kriya.
    • Relaxation
      • This enables the kriya's benefits to be absorbed by both your body and mind.
    • Meditation
      • Your teacher will lead you through meditation in order to help you develop awareness.
    • Chant till the end. 
      • A concluding chorus concludes the lesson.




    What Does Kundalini Mean?




    Kundalini means "coiled snake" in Sanskrit. 

    • "Circular, annular" is the Sanskrit adjective kundalin. 
    • In the 12th-century Rajatarangini chronicle, it appears as a noun for "a snake" in the meaning of "coiled," as in "producing ringlets." 
    • In the Mahabharata, Kunda is the name of a Naga. 
    • Kunda is a word that meaning "bowl, water-pot." 
    • The Sanskrit feminine word kundali means "ring, bracelet, coil of a rope," and it is the name of a "serpent-like" Shakti in Tantrism dating back to the 11th century, as recorded in the Saradatilaka.


    What has come to be known as "Kundalini yoga" in the twentieth century, after a technical word exclusive to this school, is really a synthesis of Bhakti Yoga devotion and chanting, Raja Yoga meditation, and Shakti Yoga strength and energy manifestation. 

    • It may, however, incorporate haha yoga methods like bandha, pranayama, and asana, Patanjali's kriya yoga, which includes self-discipline, self-study, devotion to God, dhyana, and samadhi, and tantric visualization and meditation techniques called as samsketas in laya yoga.
    • Laya may refer to yoga methods or the impact of "absorption" of the individual into the cosmic, as in Raja yoga. 
    • The Yoga-Tattva-Upanishad, the Varaha Upanishad, the Goraksha Paddhati, the Amaraugha Prabodha, and the Dattatreya Yoga Shastra all mention laya yoga, which comes from the Sanskrit word laya, which means "dissolution," "extinction," or "absorption." 


    Due to a lengthy history of syncretism, the precise boundaries between traditional yoga systems are sometimes unclear. 

    • As a result, many of the earliest texts on Kundalini originate from tantric and haha traditions books, such as the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the Shiva Samhita. 
    • To attain kundalini awakening, the trained yogi practices "the four yogas," according to the Shiva Samhita, whereas inferior pupils may rely only on one technique: 
    • "Hatha Yoga and Mantra Yoga are two types of yoga. 
    • The third is Laya Yoga. Raja Yoga is the fourth. It is devoid of dualism."

    It was formerly thought that holy energy was generated at the base of the spine in early Eastern religion. 

    • Kundalini helps to “uncoil the snake” and reconnect us to this holy force within.
    • Kundalini was once a study of energy physics and spiritual philosophy, and royalty would meet with Kundalini Masters to hear the ancient scientific teachings of Kundalini as well as spiritual visions. 
    • Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji, often known as Yogi Bhajan, is credited for introducing Kundalini to Western society.



    You may also want to read more about Kundalini Yoga here.