Using the
Entire Body as an Expression of Love
Kundalini
Yoga & Bhangra Dance
Kundalini
Yoga Boston
Theresa
Powers
5 October
2012
CSOCS 3452
Yoga: Theory, Culture and Practice
I took a trip to Inman Square for
the experience of expressing my love with my whole entire body, only I didn’t
know that at the time. I went in to this class blind, which probably wasn’t the
best idea, but I almost didn’t want to know what to expect. I was drawn to the
class because the title included “Indian Dance,” and I thought that would be
fun and different. Really, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
What is
Kundalini Yoga?
Kundalini
Yoga is the yoga of awareness. “Kundalini” itself means “the curl of the lock
of the hair of the beloved,” which serves as a metaphor that we as humans have
all the energy already inside of us and helps us to connect with our universal
Self. Kundalini Yoga is for everyone because everyone has their own inner
energy (prana) to awaken (Kundalini Research Institute 2009).
Kundalini
was brought to the U.S. in 1971 when Yogi Bhajan founded the Kundalini Research
Institute after completing his teacher training in 1970. He came to America the
previous year and founded a non-profit organization called 3HO (Healthy Happy
Holy Organization) which strives to improve physical and mental well-being
through the teachings of Kundalini Yoga. Kundalini has been passed down for
hundreds of years from Master to student, and Yogi Bhajan was declared a Master
of Kundalini at age 16 ½. He was the first to teach Kundalini publicly in the
U.S, and said he came here ‘to create teachers, not to gain students.’
(Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association 2011).
Kundalini
Yoga is the most formalized style of yoga taught in the world (Kundalini
Research Institute). Any class attended, one can expect to start with a
chanting mantra, move onto warm-up/pranayama, then kriya (postures),
relaxation, meditation, and finally the closing blessing song “May the Long
Time Sun Shine Upon You.” The Kundalini Research Institute claims that
Kundalini Yoga is unique because of its efficiency and effectiveness. “The
changes you want to affect in your life happen much more quickly with Kundalini
Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan than many other styles of yoga” (Kundalini
Research Institute 2009). Because this branch of yoga heightens awareness of
oneself, it is a proven path to the Self and the Soul.
“It is your
birthright to be healthy, happy and holy.” – Yogi Bhajan
What is
Bhangra Indian Dance?
Bhangra
comes from the Punjab, an area shared by northern India and northeastern
Pakistan. The area was occupied by many religions and races throughout history,
so conflict and war was bound to happen. While Harmeet Singh (the instructor of
the class I attended) says that Bhangra stems from a long time ago in history
when the warriors would “dance with swords,” because one had to work to kill
someone (it wasn’t respectable to just stab them, you had to work for it),
Punjab Online (n.d.) says that it comes from the Punjabi wheat farmers passing
time during the harvest. Today, Bhangra dance has evolved to dance
competitions, and songs have been remixed to become popular. Traditional
Bhangra dancing is done at weddings New Year’s parties, and other important
events (Punjab Online, n.d.). Type Bhangra dance into YouTube and you’ll find
everything from Bhangra Fusion competitions to wedding dances to “how-to”
videos. The culture of Bhangra has changed, clearly, because in my research I
didn’t find anything about spirituality and Bhangra. Harmeet uses Bhangra as an
expression of happiness and love to the outside world, and to oneself.
“As we are sitting here in meditation, I want you all to smile to
yourselves. The biggest smile you have. If
there is one thing you will take away from this class, it is happiness. Bring
that happiness outside to the rest of the world.” – Harmeet Singh, Bhangra
Instructor
My
Experience
I
was looking for yoga studios in the area, and I just happened to click on this
one’s website. They looked interesting, so I just decided to go for it. I took
my friend Laura with me, because I was hesitant to go by myself. I chose to
take a Friday night class called “Friday Night Kundalini Yoga and Bhangra Indian
Dance” with Harmeet Singh. I don’t really know what I was expecting, because
honestly, I didn’t do any research before I went. I liked the idea of going in
not knowing what to expect, even if that was a little scary. I was ready to be
out of my comfort zone, because I have never taken a yoga class outside of
Lesley before. I knew it was going to be interesting, but I didn’t anticipate
the degree of interesting.
Laura
and I walked into the studio, and it was dark and quiet. At first we thought
they weren’t open, but then someone came out and said there was a class going
on and we needed to be quiet, please. There was a man in the corner of the room
on a cushion (who I would late learn to be Harmeet) meditating, and Laura and I
checked in at the desk. The receptionist led us to a back room to change and
put our things away, and then we waited to go into the room where our class
would be held.
There
were only seven of us attending the class, which is less than I would have
expected. I assumed that I was probably the youngest there, and it seemed like
there was someone from every age group. The only two males were Harmeet, the
instructor, and another man who chose to practice in the outside room. I’m
unsure as to why he wouldn’t join us (he mentioned something to me at the start
of class about how people think he’s crazy, I didn’t really know how to
interpret that), but he didn’t. The rest of us were females, most of us dressed
in the usual Americanized yoga clothes, but both Harmeet and another woman were
dressed in loose white clothing and had their heads wrapped. After some extra
research I learned that the white clothes reflect and radiate light, helping to
expand the aura of the self (Spirit Voyage Blog, 2012).
Just
like my research said, we started class with a chanting mantra. I’m not
completely sure if it was the one used by all Kundalini instructors, because I
know for me it was very hard and complicated to follow. After this chanting, we
moved on to the pranayama, which comes next in the structure of Kundalini Yoga.
Harmeet said that this breathing was meant to loosen up our bodies and really
feel all of our energy from within. This is where the Kundalini structure
ended, and turned into something else. Harmeet instructed us to smile, and then
he instructed us to laugh. He was laughing so loudly, and we all were expected
to join in with him. In my mind, all I could think was “What did I get myself
into?!!” Once I forced myself to laugh, it started to come naturally. I turned
the awkwardness into hilarity, and I was finally able to let go and laugh so
hysterically I was crying. After laughing while sitting, he had us stand up and
laugh. I’m assuming that the smiling and laughter have to do with Bhangra and
bringing our happiness out into the world, but I’m not really sure about it.
After
the laughing, we finally got into the Bhangra dancing. Harmeet instructed us to
keep a smile on our face at all times, and to really connect with our partners
so they could feel our happiness. The dancing was just so goofy to me, with the
shoulders bobbing up and down, the head shaking back and forth, I couldn’t help
but laugh. In doing my research on Bhangra dancing, I didn’t find anything
about it being a spiritual practice, or any connection to happiness and smiles.
I only read about the history of wars and farming, and then how it evolved into
being mainstream and westernized. In looking at Harmeet’s teacher bio on KYB’s
website, it mentions that he was born in India and brought up using Bhangra as
“a way of life to express and share happiness (Kundalini Yoga Boston). I wonder
if this is personal to him, or if many people who practice Bhangra feel the
same way.
We
closed the class with a relaxation and gong meditation, and my first thoughts
were “Oh my gosh, the Universe is swallowing me up.” The sound of the gong was
just very eerie to me, and I know that’s not the point. I think that by going
to KYB, I have learned that Kundalini probably isn’t for me. Maybe I will try
out another class, but most likely, I won’t.
Theory,
Culture & Practice
I
feel as though my experience at KYB was probably very different than others who
have been there and taken different classes. I would assume that their classes
were more structured, and that they did the physical yoga poses and maybe they
didn’t have a laughing session. After doing research, I definitely made
connections between Kundalini practice and the class that I took with Harmeet.
I think that he was aiming for a fusion of Kundalini and Bhangra, and he
achieved it. I am a little confused with the Bhangra, though. In all my
research, I saw that Bhangra had become westernized and mainstream, rather than
focused on its original roots. I guess I could say that Harmeet used both of
these aspects of the Bhangra. He told us the history of how the dancing came to
be, but then when we were dancing, the music was to remixed Indian pop songs
(which I thought was very funny). In the end, the dancing did make me happy and
gave me a great work out… I just wish that I could have experienced a more
traditional side of it! Compared to other styles of yoga, I would say that
Kundalini is one of the lesser Americanized. Kundalini has stayed true to its
tradition of being the yoga practice of awareness, and the Bhangra dancing did
help me to become aware of my inner self. If going to KYB taught me one thing,
it is definitely to keep an open mind. I had a lot of thoughts directly after
the class, but the more I think about it, the more beneficial the experience
was to me. I can now safely say that laughter is the best medicine, even if
it’s really weird at first, and that your happiness should be spread throughout
the world.
References
Kaur,
R. (2011). The Kundalini Yoga Guide to
Yoga Clothes. Spirit Voyage Blog. Retrieved from http://www.spiritvoyage.com/blog/index.php/the-kundalini-yoga-guide-to- yoga-clothes/
Kelly, C. & Thind, J. (n.d.). History of Bhangra. Punjab Online.
Retrieved from http://www.punjabonline.com/servlet/library.history?Action=Bhangra
Kundalini
Research Institute. (2009). What is
Kundalini Yoga? The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan.
Retrieved from http://www.kundaliniresearchinstitute.org/What%20is%20KY.htm
Kundalini
Yoga Boston. (n.d.). Welcome to Kundalini
Yoga Boston. Retrieved from http://www.kundaliniyogaboston.com/
Kundalini
Yoga Teachers Association. (2011). About
Yogi Bhajan. Retrieved from http://kundaliniyoga.org.uk/information/about-yogi-bhajan
Thank you for making the effort and spreading this information with all of us. It was indeed very useful and informative while being straight forward and to the point.
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