Kundalini Yoga Boston

Gaby Zlocki

For the midterm project, I attended a class at the Kundalini Yoga Center in Inman Square. I had heard about the positive effects of Kundalini Yoga in talks by one of my favorite teachers, Ram Dass, who refers to it as a tool for increasing consciousness. Kundalini Yoga is a form of yoga that focuses on the seven chakras (centers of energy in the body), the arc line (the sixth chakra, or third eye), and the aura. Kundalini Yoga is meant to extend consciousness, teach practitioners how to have a wider understanding of their relationships to the universe, and connect those who practice to the infinite. It differs from other forms of yoga, in that it works specifically on activating and controlling the kundalini energy, which is "the essence of human consciousness" according to Yogi Bhajan.

Kundalini Yoga was brought to America by Yogi Bhajan (whose quotes you can find on the teabags of Yogi tea). Yogi Bhajan became a master of Kundalini Yoga at 16. He left India with the goal of bringing Kundalini Yoga to the West, and gave his first lecture in a Los Angeles high school gym in 1969 at age 39. He focused his attention on the drug culture of the sixties, and attracted masses of individuals who came to him looking for an alternative to the spiritual experience of drugs like LSD (popularized by former Harvard professors Ram Dass, and Timothy Leary). He generated teachings, trained certified Kundalini Yoga teachers himself, and created 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization) centers across the country, which aim to create a global community of Kundalini Yoga practitioners.

Located in Inman Square in Cambridge, MA, Kundalini Yoga Boston is attached to a small art gallery and holistic boutique. I noticed the studio by the lotus flower in the window when I drove by in my car. "Kundalini Yoga Boston offers yoga classes, gong meditations, workshops, private lessons, small classes, Aquarian Sadhana, experienced teachers, and live music" (Kundalini Yoga Boston). The entrance and lounge were bright, sunny, and full of beautiful, colorful art. The dressing rooms were clean and spacious, and the cashier accepting money for classes was turbaned, smiling and polite. According to the Kundalini Yoga website, "We’ve set up a cozy spiritual space with you in mind, so that your mind, body and soul may have the divine opportunity to unify and become One." It certainly was beautiful! I also appreciated that the woman who I paid for the class with gave me a tour, and provided free mats and towels (a rara avis in the yoga world.) The class was sixteen dollars, but the class was small with only four women.

According to the Kundalini Yoga Boston website, Kundalini Yoga Boston was founded by Cindy Ludlam and Siri Ram Kaur. Cindy Ludlam/Siri Bani Kaur has practiced yoga for over 12 years in many different styles, and is also an art teacher with an MFA from Boston University. She currently exhibits artwork across the world, and teaches at the Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School, a post-graduate college preparatory program. Her co-founder Siri Ram Kaur "served in the secretariat of Sikh Dharma for twenty five years and worked for eight years as the Editor in Chief of Aquarian Times Magazine" (Kundalini Yoga Boston). She is a certified K.R.I. Kundalini Yoga teacher, and was one of the first White Tantric Yoga teachers to be chosen by Yogi Bhajan. She also has a background in art. She received her BA in Art at Simmons College as well as the Thomas J. Wallace Memorial Award in Studio Art. She is taking time off from her graduate degree at Simmons to focus more fully on the studio and gallery. Their combined history in art explains the combined yoga studio/art gallery.

The link between yoga and creativity is being researched by some academics, including Jeff Davis, faculty member at Western Connecticut State University, who published the book The Journey from the Center to the Page: Yoga Practices and Principles as Muse for Authentic Writing in 2004. Davis states, "Yoga won’t make writing easy, because, well, writing is difficult. But Yoga is helping thousands of writers to facilitate and design their own creative process - rather than to be at the whim of random flashes of ‘inspiration,’ moods, or energy peaks" (Lifestyle News, 2007). Davis recently performed a study on the effects of regular yoga practice on the creativity of MFA Writing students, and has traveled to speak to other MFA programs on the positive effects of yoga on creativity. Yogi Bhajan was not unfamiliar with the connection between creativity and yogic practice. He claimed, "When the artist is acting sensitively, as a channel for the life force passing through him, his art... touches the essence of creation. In this sense, all art is the worship of God." Kundalini itself is referred to by Yogi Bhajan as "your creative potential" (Bhajan). People can experience kundalini, and become completely present and alert "when the energy of the glandular system combines with the energy of the nervous system to create such a sensitivity that the totality of the brain receives signals and integrates them" (Bhajan).

Although I didn't attempt to utilize my creativity after leaving Kundalini Yoga Boston so that I could experiment with Jeff Davis's theory, I left definitely feeling relaxed. The class, as well as most classes, was ninety minutes long, and meant to cater to the mind, body and spirit. Classes consist of "yoga kriya (a sequence of postures, breath and sound integrated to allow the manifestation of a particular state), pranayam (breathwork), relaxation and meditation" (Kundalini Yoga Boston). During the practice, time is spent in the following way: five to ten minutes are spent to warm up; thirty to forty minutes are spent on yoga kriya; and ten to thirty minutes are spent in meditation. During classes, there is usually recorded or live music, or a gong meditation. I experienced the gong meditation, and it was very relaxing and soothing.

Although there were an abundant amount of positives about my experience, it was not without its negatives. My teacher was a bit strict, and reminded me of my childhood ballet teacher, except in a white turban sipping tea. I was confused and annoyed at times with the situation, having never done this particular yoga practice before. The chanting was either too long for me to remember or so loud that my voice cracked. I have asthma, and the quick breathing and heaving of the chest was too fast. I felt myself and the other beginner lagging behind the teacher and the two experienced yogis in the class. Also, I split my pants.The class was a comedy of errors, and at times I wondered what kind of person I was for bringing myself to this class and making myself sit through it.

But afterwards, I was on top of the world. I'm not sure whether it was because I had made it through an unpleasant experience, whether it was because I loved the gong, or whether it was because I had given myself the gift of sitting still and appreciating my body, my mind, and my spirituality for an hour and half. But I felt good. Really good. Those invincible "I can make it through anything" waves I felt once I left the yoga studio caused me to wonder why I was hesitant about returning. Was it because I ripped my pants? No, I know how to sew, and they were falling down anyway. What made me throw out the schedule when I got home even though I had felt the beneficial results of the yoga practice?

Scientific research has supported the connection between yogic practice and meditation and the benefits its supporters claim. Benson, and Jon Kabat-Zinn have performed research in mind-body medicine, and made some interesting discoveries. Benson and his colleagues researched the meditative practice of Tibetan monks called tum-mo, which is done in a very cold environment, to see if the monks can increase their body temperature and wet a sheet draped over their body with perspiration. Benson et al. found that the practice resulted in lowered blood pressure, oxygen consumption, heart rate, and metabolic rate, which implied a state of relaxation (Chaoul & Cohen, 2010). Kabat-Zinn created a program of mindfulness meditation, yoga postures, and body scan for populations with chronic pain, which is now known as Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction, and has been found to be useful for reducing psychological and physical effects of some chronic illnesses, as well as changing brain activity and biological practices (Chaoul & Cohen, 2010).

I liked the product, but I didn't like the packaging. The practice was just what I needed, but the way it was presented seemed inaccessible to me. It didn't seem like I could come as I was, and be accepted just showing up occasionally. Practitioners of Kundalini Yoga emphasize that to feel the full effect of Kundalini Yoga, and to create transformation, a regular practice is necessary, not an occasional practice. Also, the population of the studio consisted completely of white women, some of them in turbans. The turbans were intimidating. Would I have to wear a turban eventually with this practice? The reason for the turbans, according to Yogi Bhajan, is to create optimum energy by regulating the kundalini flow through the sun energy that enters the body through the hair, which is encouraged to be kept uncut and tied on top of the head in a covering. Head coverings are intended to allow the wearer to better command the sixth chakra, or third eye, and create a focus on the circuit between the hemispheres of the brain, and tunes the neurological system (Bhajan).

More of the teachings of Yogi Bhajan can be found on the tea bags of Yogi Tea. I've drank Yogi Tea, and I found Yogi Bhajan's teachings on the tea bags inspiring. My roommate even put them up in our kitchen. Yogi Tea was founded by followers of Yogi Bhajan, who would make a chai tea for his students after his classes, which he called "yogi tea." Yogi Tea seems to be a symptom of a spiritual syndrome in the West, where if you buy more--lessons, classes, teas, workshops, turbans, conferences, bra-tops--you will receive more spiritual and health benefits. There are so many different methods of increasing consciousness, but none of them want anything to do with one another, and it is unacceptable to be a member of more than one. These spiritual traveling groups might have more to benefit one another than they realize, but they choose to remain separate at risk of losing their existence, validity or cash flow. Although I can appreciate the teachings of Yogi Bhajan, and I can understand how he has become the treasured guru of others, I'm not sure if he is my guru, which makes frequenting Kundalini Yoga difficult for me. If I can accept Yogi Bhajan as just another teacher along the path, and Kundalini Yogi as just another path, I might be able to come to practice at Kundalini Yoga Boston occasionally. But I'm still a bit questionable about the turbans.

Sources

Bhajan, Y. (n.d.). Kundalini yoga faq. Retrieved from http:// k.b5z.net/i/u/2175232/i/Kundalini_FAQs_revised.pdf

Chaoul, M. A. & Cohen, L. (2010, June). Rethinking yoga and the application of yoga in modern medicine. Cross Currents, 60(2), 144-167,286

Kundalini Yoga Boston. (n.d.). A spiritual place where mind, body, and soul become one. Retrieved from http://www.kundaliniyogaboston.com

Lifestyle News. (2007, October 19). The next wave of yoga research: creativity?. Retrieved from http://www.prleap.com/pr/98937/