Kundalini Yoga Before and After

I have a very unique experience of this because for me it goes like this: Kundalini yoga after, before, and after.

Let me explain…

I was born into the practice and tradition of Kundalini yoga. I was conceived in the ashram my mother lived in on and off through the 70s and 80s. For this reason, I don’t remember a time completely “before” Kundalini yoga. As a kid, when I struggled with fears, social tensions, tantrums, or whatever else children struggle with, the solution was always a yogic technique. “Chant this mantra, breathe this way, eat this food, etc.” I experienced the kindness and levity of people in the community who felt connected to their destiny. I learned the benefits of karma yoga, and how a person’s predominant thought-forms can appear in the fascia of their face. I learned the magic of the pre-dawn hours, and what makes Winter Solstice so powerful. All of the beautiful benefits of Kundalini yoga were made apparent to me from the jump.

But, as often happens, I became a teenager/young adult and decided that Kundalini yoga wasn’t “cool” and left it in the space of my memory for many years. “That’s my mom’s thing” I would proclaim, desperate to find what “my thing” would be. I thought I wanted to be a dancer. Dance was the only thing I cared about, and I didn’t see how those two disciplines could co-exist, until later. (The joke was on me because now my entire business is centered around how those two modalities not only co-exist but originate in the same wisdom)

My life at this time, after I had my fundamental experiences with Kundalini yoga, but before I rediscovered it as a personal and meaningful daily practice, was challenging. I think all teenagers and young adults would describe those years that way. I was trying to find myself in all the wrong places, namely outside myself. I remember feeling so lost and insecure, while secretly and deeply wishing I could find some sort of deeper connection to the universe. I tried, in vain, a number of other meditative and yogic techniques, because I was so blocked around Kundalini yoga being “uncool”. I mean, let’s face it, Kundalini yoga is weird. And because I lacked confidence, I couldn’t bring myself to own up to the fact that it really did work. It wasn’t until finding a teacher who resonated with me, that I got to see a world where Kundalini could not only be cool, it could be exactly what I needed.

The benefits I receive from my daily practice are uncanny. They are not ambiguous or difficult to understand, they are simple and measurable, and clear. When I practice every day, my skin gets brighter, my confidence gets better, my limiting beliefs still pop up, but I have a little more space to decide if I want to follow them. When I practice every day, my intuition gets scary-good, there is more energy around my business, I am more patient with my family, and creative ideas flow freely. Also, this one is kinda random, but when I am practicing regularly, I always seem to attract free parking, which in LA, is all the inspiration I need.