Kundalini Yoga: An Ancient Prescription for Longevity

by Guru Fatha Singh Khalsa

 

Life is funny, sometimes.  But other times it can be exasperating, too. On occasion we are liable to just roll our eyes at the quirky flow of happenstance. At times like this, we may say something like, “If only life had a manual that came with it. But it doesn’t.”

 

There used to be manuals, or something like manuals. In times past, there were prescriptions for living and dying based on scriptures and traditions. Some still rely on them. And today some people are finding their way back to themselves through tribal ceremonies, purifications and ancient prescriptions for longevity.

 

We live in an age of scientific discovery, leaning much less on tradition than before. But that science is changing. We are also leaving the age of half-blind science, the science that is blind to itself, blind to connectivity, blind to our shared humanity. Some of this new science isn’t even being discovered. It is being rediscovered.

 

In 1968, a man named Yogi Bhajan came from the East and taught what in India had been a secret science. It was called “Kundalini Yoga.” He also shared his vision of the dawning of a new age of holism, empowerment and connectivity. The beauty of Kundalini Yoga, as taught by Yogi Bhajan, is that it works on the premise that we were born to be healthy and happy and radiant, no less. It is also highly specific in its applications.

 

Kundalini Yoga uses a combination of body postures, breathing, inner locks, mantras, hand postures, and mental focus. Yogi Bhajan also included in his teachings the science of diet, eating particular foods for particular health-giving effects. 

 

Kundalini isn’t hot yoga or cold yoga. But the aim of every yoga is eventually to raise your kundalini and make you ultimately aware. 

 

Since we are still partly in the old paradigm, not much money goes into the scientific validation of the effects of Kundalini Yoga – or other forms of mind-body medicine. Most of the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of research grants dispensed by the National Institute of Mental Health, for instance, goes toward validating new pharmaceuticals. 

 

Even so, Kundalini Yoga provides an amazing treasure trove of remedies for all kinds of maladies and challenges of life. And the outcomes are very heartening indeed.

 

Get migraines? Don’t know what to do? A regular yoga routine, with emphasis on relaxing the neck and shoulders, can help. You might try eliminating foods that can trigger migraines, such as caffeine and wheat. There are also particular Kundalini Yoga exercises you can do to prevent or cope with the onset of a migraine headache. 

 

Kundalini Yoga for Relaxing Ovarian Stress

 

I once had a student with painful ovarian cysts. The best the doctors could suggest was to surgically cut them out. Consulting the teachings of Yogi Bhajan, I told my student to eat lots of apples because they are known to relax the ovaries, and to do a particular yoga exercise for 10 to 20 minutes each day. In the following weeks as she continued coming to class, my student was happy to report that her cysts were disappearing and that the doctors couldn’t believe it.

 

1) Tune in by chanting three or more times: “Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo,” (I acknowledge myself as creator. May I create and evolve in the light of conscience.) As you chant, sit with your spine straight, your palms pressed together with your fingers pointed up. Inhale deeply through the nose and focus your attention at your forehead. Chant the mantra either on one breath, or with a brief pause for breath after “Ong Namo” before continuing with “Guru Dev Namo.” (The “o” sounds are stretched out. “Dev” sounds like “Dave”.)

 

2) Flex your spine. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, grasp your ankles with both hands for support and leverage. Begin by pulling your chest up and slightly forward, inhaling deeply through the nose at the same time. Then exhale through the nose as you relax your spine down into a slouching position. Keep your head up straight, as though you were looking forward. Your eyelids are closed with the mental focus at your forehead. Begin slowly and gradually increase the pace, listening to the sound of your breath throughout.  Continue for a few minutes, then breathe in, breathe out, and relax for one minute.

 

3) Backward leg extension. Begin by sitting on your heels.  Extend your left leg straight behind you and bend forward, touching your forehead to the floor. Rest your arms along your sides with your palms facing upward. Relax in the pose for one or two minutes to begin with. You can build up to 10 minutes. To end, inhale and hold the breath briefly, then exhale and relax. Use your hands to help you sit up as you draw your left leg forward, sitting on your heels again. Rest a moment, then stretch you right leg behind you for an equal amount of time.         

 

Kundalini Yoga has special routines you can adopt for overcoming addictions – all kinds of them. Basically, it gets inside and reprograms the way the brain works. No longer are we helpless in the face of powerful compulsions. We can change our minds. But first we must change our brains.

 

Your eyes respond to exercise the same as your abs and biceps and memory and every other part of you. Exercising your eyes, can bring back lost vision and prevent vision loss. It works for me.

 

Kundalini Yoga for Strengthening the Immune System

 

H1N1 got you down? There are exercises that can boost the function of your thymus gland and give you a better prognosis. You don’t have to just sit there and take it. By the way, shiitake mushrooms, garlic and oregano seeds are also known immune boosters. I like to make Yogi Tea with the addition of oregano seeds for an extra boost during the flu season.

 

1) Tune in by chanting three or more times: “Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo”. As you chant, sit with your spine straight, palms pressed together with your fingers pointed up. Inhale deeply through the nose and focus your attention at your forehead. Chant the mantra either on one breath, or with a pause for breath after “Ong Namo” before continuing with “Guru Dev Namo.”

 

2) Flex your spine. If you are sitting cross-legged on the floor, grasp your ankles with both hands for support and leverage. If you are in a chair, hold your knees with your hands. Begin by pulling your chest up and slightly forward, inhaling deeply through the nose at the same time. Then exhale through the nose as you relax your spine down into a slouching position. Keep your head up straight, as though you were looking forward. Your eyelids are closed with the mental focus at your forehead. Begin slowly and gradually increase the pace, listening to the sound of your breath throughout.  Continue for a few minutes, then breathe in, breathe out, and relax for one minute.

 

3) Engage breath and mudra. Sit with your legs crossed or in a chair with your spine straight. Close your eyes and focus your attention at the middle of the forehead. Raise your left hand to shoulder level, with the left arm bent and forearm perpendicular to the ground, and facing forward. Straighten your forefinger, middle and little finger, while curling the ring finger and touching its tip to the tip of the thumb. (This hand posture engages the sun energy of the ring finger, and is called “surya mudra.”) Make your right hand into a fist with only the forefinger extended. Close off the right nostril with the right forefinger. Begin a powerful rhythmic abdominal breath called “breath of fire.” Continue for three minutes. The time may gradually be increased to five minutes, then up to a maximum of 31 minutes. 

 

4) Apply pressure. To finish, breathe in and hold your breath. At the same time, bring your hands in front of the thymus gland, just below the throat, about 10 cm (four inches) out from the chest, and interlace your fingers. Now try to pull your fingers apart. Resist and create a great tension. When you must, exhale. Repeat this sequence three more times.

 

Therapeutic Effects of Kundalini Yoga

 

Self-esteem is a huge health issue. When your self-esteem is down, it takes the immune system down with it. It can work the other way, too. Yogi Bhajan, compassionate master that he was, recognized this and gave special physiological routines to rework the brain and help develop a sunnier disposition. Sometimes we call them “medical meditations.”

 

Kundalini is known as a “shakti power,” a feminine energy. As such, there are plenty of exercises and routines to help a woman though all the phases and challenges of her life. If you are a woman, you are uniquely situated to influence the future for the best, since future generations are born through you, and mother is the first teacher and guiding influence. All the more reason to grow and excel.

 

Kundalini Yoga is a tremendously hopeful body of know-how and applications. Dr. Dharma Singh Khalsa uses his knowledge of Kundalini Yoga and other therapies at the Alzheimers Prevention and Research Foundation he founded in Tucson, Arizona. His work with thousands of clients demonstrates there is plenty that can be done to lessen the effects of mental deterioration.  

 

Dr. David Shannahoff-Khalsa at the University of California in San Diego uses Kundalini Yoga to treat psychiatric disorders. Utilizing exercise, meditation and diet, he has shown that even some very desperate cases can turn themselves around. His caseload has included people with every imaginable syndrome, including anxiety, depression, bipolar, addictions, insomnia, chronic fatigue and hyperactivity disorders.

 

The age of science has allowed us to awaken from the slumber of blind faith and superstition. Now we are finding new sciences that serve our sense of connectivity and wholeness, health and well-being. Kundalini Yoga is an ancient science that gets results in our fragmented, hurry-up culture. There is no doubt in my mind that Kundalini Yoga will play an important role in our present and future.

 

Starting Saturday, January 9, from 4 to 5:30pm, Toronto's Kundalini Yoga teachers community will present the first in a weekly series of introductory workshops on the many practical applications of Kundalini Yoga. Known as “The Academy of Life,” the series will cover a different theme each week. The first week “The Radiant Woman” will cover exercises, foods and meditations that can help any woman be and feel her best. It will be presented by Tej Kaur, a knowledgeable and inspiring yoga teacher, wife and mom. The series will be hosted by Guru Fatha Singh. For more information, visit: www.torontokundaliniyoga.com.