Kundalini yoga is an ancient discipline with a focus on awareness. According to tradition, kundalini energy sits within everyone, regardless of creed, as a serpent coiled around the base of the spine, and by meditating and performing postures or asanas, it is possible to release this energy. Kundalini yoga has spanned the centuries, and is as relevant today as it was in the 8th century.
Ancient India
Kundalini yoga can be traced back to the time of the Mahasiddhas -- ancient yoga practitioners who are thought to have had magical powers. They lived between the 8th and 12th century, according to Kurt Keutzer, writing for the University of Southern California in 1996. Famed amongst them were Matsyenranath, Gorakshanath, Jalandhara and Krishnacarya, and both Hindu and Buddhist Tantric schools still revere them all.
Yoga Literature
A series of brief texts still exist on the subject of kundalini yoga, including the Yoga Upanishads, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Gorakshashatakam, Shiva Samhita and Gherandha Samhita. Everything known today about kundalini yoga has been taken from these texts.
The Sikh Masters
For perhaps thousands of years though, yoga students learned techniques from their masters, and over the past 500 years, the practice has been passed down through a lineage of Sikhs, from Guru Nanak and Guru Ram Das to Guru Gobind Singh, per Yogi Bhajan.
To the West
In 1969, Yogi Bhajan came to the United States, "not to collect students," Bhajan says, "but to train teachers." By 1971, he had completed his teacher training certificate and formed the Kundalini Research Institute. Yoga teachers all over the world are now trained to teach the Yogi Bhajan way, either in the United States or abroad. Hubs include Vancouver, Toronto, Singapore, Bangkok, Shanghai, London, Munich and Madrid.
Contemporary Yoga
When Yogi Bhajan moved to the United States, he set up the 3HO Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that brings together yoga teachers and students alike. Kundalini yoga is now practiced in church halls, community centers and gyms across the nation, and you rarely have to go far to find a class.
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