Kundalini Yoga for absolute beginners
Kundalini Yoga is an ancient art and science of fine tuning the human
personality for experiencing the divinity within. Even though the ultimate goal
of Kundalini Yoga is Self-realization, it can be of great help to people
interested in general well-being. Not everybody is interested in the spiritual
aspects of Kundalini Yoga but many are keen on maintaining a healthy mind and
body. The beauty and efficacy of Kundalini Yoga is that it can be used by all
for improving their lives.
Ancient Yogic texts written thousands of years ago use vocabulary that was
relevant in those days but today the same vocabulary sounds tedious and overly
complex. Because of this complexity a novice is often turned away from taking
this path. Additionally, there are dozens of practices mentioned in the books of
Yoga and it becomes a daunting task for a beginner to select appropriate set of
techniques. The remainder of this article explains the art and science of
Kundalini Yoga in simple and jargon free terms. The set of practices mentioned
here can be practiced by anybody irrespective of gender, age and geographical
location. All that is required is faith, sincerity and regularity.
Remember that the term "Kundalini Yoga" used here refers to the art and
science as taught by the ancient
Yogic traditions and texts and in no way it refers to teachings of any
particular modern day teacher or organization.
The term "Science" is used in this article in a broader sense. It
refers to a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths
systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws of that
branch. To prove the facts, truths and laws of Yogic science, one needs to undertake
personal practice of the techniques as suggested by ancient Yogis who had direct
experience of those facts and truths.
Though the explanation contained in
this article is intended for absolute beginners in Kundalini Yoga the same set
of practices can be used by a novice and an advanced practitioner. This is
because as the practitioner becomes seasoned the same practice evolves further
and further. So the same practices form the sadhana of a practitioner
for life.
Kundalini Yoga identifies five parts of human personality. In order to live a
healthy and happy life all the five parts of human personality should be devoid
of any friction. The five parts of human personality are:
- Body
- Energy
- Mind
- Intellect
- Self
Body
Human body is made up of combination of five elements namely Earth, Water,
Fire, Air and Space. Factors such as wrong diet and undisciplined lifestyle put
tremendous pressure on the bodily systems. When this pressure exceeds what body
can handle, it triggers some or the other ailment. Asanas or Yoga postures help
you to tone-up the bodily organs so that impurities accumulated in them are
dispelled restoring their healthy condition. Though Asanas are often considered
merely as a fitness exercise, they are more than that. Unlike some other fitness
exercises where concentration is rarely given any importance, Yoga postures are
performed with mind focused on the act. This not only channelizes the energy but
also hastens the recovery due to the will power and attention paid by the
practitioner. Yoga postures work on the principle of contraction and expansion.
They provide a gentle massage to the bodily systems rather than exhausting them
with rapid face or force. It is said that in all there are 84,00,000 Yoga
postures out of which 84 are more important. Of course, one need not include all
of them for daily practice. A carefully picked set of 10-12 Yoga postures along
with warm-up exercises is generally sufficient to maintain general health.
Energy
Mere physical body made of bones, flesh and veins is of no use unless life
energy is present in it. There is a large reservoir of latent energy – called
Kundalini in Yogic terms - in every human being. Unfortunately, very few know
how to unlock and use it for personal improvement. As a result lack of energy,
fatigue and tiredness are very common symptoms amongst working professionals. To
tap this potential energy, Yoga makes use of Pranayama. Outwardly Pranayama is a
breathing exercise but it has tremendous impact on bodily energy and mind. The
science of Yoga suggests several Pranayamas for variety of diseases but chief
amongst them is Nadishodhana Pranayama. A Nadi is a channel that conducts energy
from one body part to the other. There are 72,000 energy channels in the human
body out of which three are more important than others. They flow through the
left nostril, right nostril and spinal cord respectively. On the spinal cord
there are seven important Plexuses – called Chakras in Yogic terms – that
control the important bodily systems such as heart, digestion and reproduction.
The primary cause of energy deficiency is impurities in the energy channels.
Through the regular practice of Pranayama all the energy channels and plexuses
are cleansed and a balance is established in the left and right hemisphere of
the brain. Pranayama is also beneficial in disease removal due to its cleansing
and balancing qualities.
Mind
Mind is that part of human psyche that deals with emotions
and spontaneous thoughts. Most of the
people fail to have any control on their mind and as a result suffer in the
hands of dualities – pleasure and sorrow, good and bad etc. - of life. Ordinary
mind is like a piece of iron with disoriented magnetic polarities. To convert
this piece of iron into a string magnet one needs to gain control on the
thoughts and emotions. Japa or reciting certain mantra over and over again
serves this purpose. During Japa mind is focused on the mantra and its meaning
causing other thoughts to subdue. Every mantra carries a sound vibration with
itself. Bombarding mind with this sound vibration again and again causes its
disoriented energy to reorganize for higher purposes. When this happens one can
look at the various events of life in indifferent manner. Then the dualities of
life won’t be too much painful. Remember, however, that this indifference is in
no way merely drying-up of emotions. It is transformation of lower energies to
higher energies.
Intellect
Intellect is the faculty of reasoning and understanding that helps one to
decide what is good and what is bad for one’s life. In spiritual terms intellect
decides what is "real" and what is "un-real". At every juncture of life
man needs to decide on his path further. A confused mind often tries to copy
others or blindly follows the same path taken by dozen others. It is the job of
intellect to decide what one wants in his life, what success and happiness means
to him, what is the best way to attain this success and happiness and such
matters. Clearly developing this ability is important for everybody. People
often fail to arrive at a right decision because their intellect is plastered
with the coating of emotional surges. They don’t allow their intellect to take
the decision. They jump to a conclusion based on their feelings and emotional
surges. A good decision making ability requires calm, relaxed and clear mind. The practice of Ajapa or breath awareness induces great amount of
relaxation in the mind-body equipment. Regular practice of Ajapa slowly evolves
into what is known as Kundalini Pranayama or Sushumna Dhyana. Ajapa requires you to reflect on the fact
– SoHam or I am That. This reflection leads to clarity of mind as one
understands that real “I” is not body or mind but something beyond. One can then
define the idea of success and happiness without getting influenced
by others.
Self
Ancient Yogis through their rigorous practice and detachment experienced the
highest spiritual Truth – I am That. The art and science of Yoga teaches us that
this universe is manifestation of God. Yogis believe in “God became world”
rather than “God created world”. At first glance this may seem against ordinary
belief but a careful dissection will reveal that since God is infinite there
cannot be creation separate from Him because such a separate existence will
negate the infinite nature of God. We experience this world through sense organs
and we believe this world to be real. Though our definition of “real” holds true
for ordinary talking, in spiritual sense no object of this world is real because
every object has birth and death. What is real for us today is going to become
unreal tomorrow. In spite of this constant creation and destruction happening in
the world, there must be something constant that forms the very basis of this
cycle. This “something” is termed as God or Reality or Truth. The ultimate goal
of Yoga is to gain direct experience this fact. Yoga proclaims that every human
being is potentially divine. Nature of our true Self is pure bliss. Many people
experience this “connection” with the blissful Self accidently or unknowingly.
They enjoy that state but very soon the joy fades away as daily life takes
control of their mind and body. Can the same bliss be experienced at will? Can
the same blissful state become our natural state during day to day activities?
Yoga says “Yes” and suggests the path of Meditation to reveal the blissful Self.
The eyebrow center or Third Eye – called Adnya Chakra in Yoga – is the seat of
Self and at physical level influences the Pineal Gland. The practice of
Shambhavi opens the Third Eye of the practitioner so that he becomes ready to
experience the spiritual Truth.
Shaktipat
A practitioner can no doubt practice Asana, Pranayama, Japa, Ajapa and
Shambhavi on his own by reading books or listening to some talks. He may even
get success in his endeavor but since he has opted to walk the path of Yoga
without any guide, he may stumble here and there. As a result he may end up
spending more time in achieving the same results that he could have achieved
with a proper guide. Ancient Yoga texts broadly speak about three forms of a
spiritual guide – personal, subtle and divine. The personal guide is a human
being who has experienced the Truth (or at least glimpses of it) himself. A
guide in subtle form is an adapt – called Siddha in Yogic terms – who has
concurred the boundaries of physical existence and roams around the universe at
his will. A divine guide comes in the form of a deity being worshipped by the
practitioner. Whatever may be the form of a guide the primary role of a guide is
to pass on higher spiritual energy to the practitioner so as to kindle his
Kundalini. It is like using one candle to kindle another candle. This process is
called Shaktipat or Falling of energy in Yogic terms. Normally personal guide
bestows Shaktipata during a personal meeting with a practitioner through touch,
gaze, will or mantra. Shaktipat from the other forms of guides is often received
during meditation, in dream or during a sudden surge of devotion. In any case
Shaktipat awakens Kundalini of the practitioner and hastens the overall
spiritual progress. Shaktipat brings about the purification quickly. That is why
Shaktipat is given importance in ancient Yoga texts.
Kundalini Awakening
Through the practice of Asana, Pranayama, Japa, Ajapa and Shambhavi you are
preparing your body and mind for Kundalini awakening. When the Kundalini awakens
your spiritual progress will be quicker because now the awakened energy is there
to bring about the necessary transformation. Of course, the actual time of
awakening will depend on variety of factors such as your sincerity of practice
and your karmic balance. Nevertheless the practice of the aforesaid techniques
will make you energetic and capable of enjoying life in a better way even if
Kundalini awakening is yet to take place. One needs to be patient and steadfast on
the path of Yoga. It is best to look at Yoga as a way of life rather than a set
of exercises.
Basic Rules
Just like any other walk of life, the path of Yoga expects the practitioners
to follow some rules. Merely practicing Yoga techniques without following these
rules will take the practitioner nowhere. Though strict Yoga life calls for many
rules and behavioral traits, beginners should at least adhere to the following
four rules:
- Have firm faith on the path of Yoga.
- Be contented with what you get. Do not crave for material pleasures.
- Keep your body and mind clean. Bodily cleaning can be achieved through
bath and purificatory techniques such as fasting. Equally important is to
protect your mind from six enemies namely Lust, Anger, Greed, Delusion,
Pride and Envy.
- Always consume wholesome diet in moderate quantity. Imagine your
stomach to be consisting of four parts. Fill two parts with solid food, one
with liquid and keep one part empty for gas formation. Consume food items
that are easy to digest. Avoid oily, spicy, pungent and stale food.