It was one of my favourite kundalini yoga teachers, Sat Dharam Kaur, who inspired me to try a 2.5 hour Kirtan Kriya. This was her first ever taste of kundalini yoga (insert wide-eyed emoji!), and I love the way she talks about it here.
Kirtan Kriya, AKA the SA TA NA MA meditation, is a powerful tantric technique that’s said to clear the subconscious, balance the mind and emotions, strengthen the nerves, activate dormant neural pathways in the brain and cleanse the aura and arc line, specifically from old relationships – i.e. it’s a total and utter inside-out reset. Google Kirtan Kriya, and your feed will be bulging with scientific journals hailing it as a bit of a hero. And 2.5 hours of it will irrevocably change the psyche. Wowzas – powerful juju and worth a bit of sitting, I’d say.
150 minutes after starting my SA TA NA MAs, and I didn’t experience Sat Dharam Kaur’s infusion of divine light. But there was a profoundly beautiful sense of clearing, opening, purifying – deep subconscious work. And, I have to say, I did find this to be one of the easier 2.5 meditations I’ve done. In fact, I really enjoyed it! And I encourage you to give it a go if you haven’t tried it already. (Do I need to repeat here that 2.5 hours will irrevocably change your psyche?!)
So, some helpful tips on how to get through a 2.5 hour Kirtan Kriya meditation showdown:
1. Phone a friend
Do it with a group or a fellow yogi, even if that means you agree on a time to do it together while in your own homes. If you are doing it solo, and hit a point of struggle, imagine a group of yogis meditating with you and wrap yourself up in the support of an imaginary sangat – rest assured, out of the seven billion or so people on this planet, you’re not the only one meditating, or even doing a 2.5 hour Kirtan Kriya!
2. Play a recording of the gong
If I’m on a solo kundalini meditation marathon without the support of a fellow yogi, I find it’s really helpful to use a gong soundtrack (I like Olaf Nixon’s ones). It helps to hold the space. Some yogis like to play a recording of the mantra (although there isn’t one that long for Kirtan Kriya, but you could just play Richard Brookens’ SA TA NA MA on repeat if that works for you). I prefer the gong as it allows me to find my own pace of chanting and holds the space strongly enough to prevent me from disappearing into oblivion.
3. Set the alarm for 4am
The earlier I start, the better. If I do a 2.5 hour meditation after 7am, I find that time takes on a totally different quality of sluggishness! I always start a 2.5 hour meditation between 4 and 4:30am and this really, really, really helps!
4. Get the timings right
Here are the timings for a 2.5 hour Kirtan Kriya:
25 mins chant out loud
25 mins whisper
50 mins chant in head
25 mins whisper
25 mins chant out loud
5. Do it on a Sunday morning
It takes some recalibrating after such an intense journey, so it’s really luscious to have a full day afterwards to chill and integrate all your hard work.