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It was direct connection with Brahman, the God-like spirit within us. But to the ancients, yoga was a sacred spirit-body connection. Today’s Western definition of yoga is limiting, describing a specific type of exercise. Kundalini Yoga is the practice of awakening our Higher Self and turning potential energy into kinetic energy. This energy is something we are born with, but we must make an effort to “uncoil the snake,” thereby putting us in direct contact with the divine. This energy was thought to be the sacred energy of creation. “Kundalini” is an ancient Sanskrit word that literally means “coiled snake.” In early Eastern religion (long before Buddhism and Hinduism) it was believed that each individual possessed a divine energy at the base of the spine. Going to a class today feels so fresh, relevant and forward thinking, you would think it was a hybrid Eastern-Western concept developed specifically for the 21st Century. Kundalini does not claim to be the way it is simply a way, one tool on each individual’s journey to personal discovery. The objective is decentralized and selfless - help people actualize their Higher Self. The pure nature of Kundalini has allowed each generation for thousands of years to find personal meaning in the practice. Unlike most ancient religious philosophies, Kundalini does not hold onto any strict rules or dogmas. There is no philosophy (physical or otherwise) that has been more durable than Kundalini Yoga. But Kundalini, perhaps more than any other yoga, has a long and fascinating history. Kundalini is known as a niche form of yoga that is growing in popularity in pockets of New York City and Los Angeles. Clear any inner duality, create the power to deeply listen, cultivate inner stillness, and prosper and deliver excellence in all that we do.” - Kundalini Research Institute
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“The primary objective is to awaken the full potential of human awareness in each individual that is, recognize our awareness, refine that awareness, and expand that awareness to our unlimited Self. If you like your physical exercise to come with a side of spiritual enlightenment, Kundalini Yoga might be for you. Kundalini class can be a good workout, but its teachers and students (often wearing white turbans) participate in each kriya with a quiet reverence more akin to a temple than a gym. Kundalini Yoga is little of both, but with an added emphasis on consciousness that activates energy centers throughout the body. Others (like Jivamukti) put an emphasis on meditation. Some yogas (like Bikram) are structured as a physical workout. Yoga has dozens of variations in philosophy and style. “Here is the greatest of altars, the living, conscious human body, and to worship at this altar is far higher than the worship of any dead symbols.” - Swami Vivekananda The spirit-body connection is the foundation of yoga (the word “yoga” itself is the Sanskrit word for “union”), and it remains the longest lasting spiritual practice in operation today. The development of yoga runs parallel with the rise of Eastern spirituality, and - prior to the centralized political power of religion we see today - was considered a method of direct connection with the divine. Among the oldest records are engravings of yogi-like figures dating over 5,000 years ago from the most thriving cities of the era, Mohenjo Daro and Harappa, in the Indus Valley Civilization (present day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran). But as far back as our records indicate, archeologists have discovered evidence of yoga as both a physical and spiritual practice. Nobody knows for certain how long yoga has been around. But yoga, in some form or another, has remained. The apple of ideas has passed from Eve to Newton to Jobs.
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Today’s polished yoga centers and Bikram studios are only the latest incarnation of a tradition that has adapted to fit changing cultures for thousands of years. The irony of yoga’s “now” status as a popular workout is that the practice is among the oldest rituals known to man. Stretching? Juice bars? Pseudo-Eastern spirituality? Tight pants on skinny girls pre-brunch? Yoga today is an urban trend, growing quickly in popularity since the turn of the 21st Century. What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word "yoga"?