The Yoga Lineages series continued in August with its third lineage and the first woman in the series so far (!), with Kundalini Yoga and its head Pritpal Kaur Khalsa. In this series with Yoga Alliance, Kim hosts the heads or presumptive heads of the world's main modern global yoga lineages. Each month features two webinars hosted by Kim: 1) a discussion on the origins and modern-day story of that lineage and 2) a master class taught by the lineage head. The series has become so popular that Yoga Alliance has increased the time of all sessions to 75 minutes.

Pritpal Kaur Khalsa is a teacher of Kundalini meditation and yogic lifestyle and is the CEO of the 3HO Foundation, which stands for Healthy, Happy, and Holy Organization and is a global association of Kundalini Yoga Teachers. Pritpal has been teaching since 1971, and her robust resume also includes being the founder of the Inner Works Wellness Center of Southern California, an author, and a Certified Pilates Instructor. 

In An Introduction to Kundalini Yoga, Kim had a very in-depth discussion with Pritpal. Kundalini Yoga is practiced all over the world today and has roots (Pritpal said that some say going back to 500 BC) in the practice of “raj” or “king” yoga, how to build radiance; “naad” or “the essence of all sound” yoga; “karma” or “selfless service” yoga; and “hatha” or “sun and moon” yoga. Yogi Bhajan, who brought his version of Kundalini Yoga to the U.S., was known primarily for studying hatha yoga.

Kundalini is life force energy that lives at the base of the spine in the root chakra. Kundalini Yoga works to awaken this flow of energy and help it rise through the spine into the conscious experience. Each action taken in Kundalini Yoga is in the service of cultivating this process.

A Kundalini Yoga class is a blend of postures, pranayama (or breath), mantra (or chanting), and movement. Classes start with a tune-in to center students, and it features breath, sound, and drishti (or mental focus). Practitioners chant “ong” instead of the “om” that many yoga students know. Pritpal explained that this is because “ong” activates the creative energy of the universe, the kundalini energy. The heart of the class is the kriya (or action), which consists of asana (and movement within an asana), breath, and possibly a mantra that is silently repeated during each posture. Notably, Kundalini yoga practitioners don’t use the Sanskrit names of poses because they want the practice to feel accessible to everyone. 

There are several other things about Kundalini Yoga that are unique. Kundalini Yoga teachers and practitioners often wear white clothing because white represents the sattvic, or harmonious, state of evenness. They also encourage vegetarianism and service; many teacher training programs even include a service project. Finally, Kundalini Yoga has aspects of Hindu philosophy in it, and a lot of the mantras practitioners use come from Sikhism. Yet Pritpal stressed that you do not have to be either Hindu or Sikh to practice Kundalini Yoga. 

I didn’t know much about Kundalini Yoga, and I learned a lot in this session. Pritpal was very informative and passionate about her lineage, which made the webinar particularly fun to watch. I found it a little difficult to follow the descriptions of Kundalini energy, how it rises, and how it can get stuck. However, I loved her descriptions of how we can learn to be non-judgemental of emotions that surface and how we can strengthen the nervous system to stay strong as things change around us.

In the second event, Kundalini Yoga Practice, Pritpal Kaur Khalsa led a Kundalini Yoga class, and Shama Kaur demonstrated. The class started with the tune-in described in the first webinar, and we chanted to help recognize the teacher within each of us. The class also included drishki, mudra, asana, and movement in the asanas. Pritpal chose to teach the kriya for elevation since it shows a sample of a lot of different postures practiced in Kundalini Yoga. 

I enjoyed the Kundalini Yoga class, despite feeling a little overwhelmed in the beginning by the newness of it. I really liked the movement in the asanas, which was different from how I usually practice. Despite practicing pranayama regularly, I found the pranayam section of the class to be the most challenging. We did one sequence of inhaling for 15 seconds and exhaling for 15 seconds. I found the former to be almost impossible! Yet overall, this was such a great class, and Pritpal was an amazing teacher. 

You can learn more about all of the lineages discussed so far and take a master class in each of these lineages through our Yoga Lineages page. You can also find the recordings of some additional events, including an Instagram Live conversation with Kim and Pritpal! Don’t miss the next two events in the series in which Kim discusses Iyengar Yoga with Patricia Walden and Joan White!

-Alyssa Yeroshefsky