Kundalini yoga is a sacred technology that combines asana (postures), pranayama (breathing), sound, mantra (chanting) and meditation to activate health, happiness, and a profound understanding of who (and what!) we really are.

As there are more than 8.4 million kriyas or exercise sets, and an infinite combination of these, every class or workshop is completely unique, and works on a different aspect of our physicality and psyche.

What is a kundalini yoga kriya?

Among a multitude of emotional, physical and mental benefits, kundalini yoga kriyas are geared towards raising the kundalini energy. This energy remains dormant for most of us, but a lucky few get to experience it awakening. Kundalini energy harbours your infinite potential as a human being—it is the sum total of us, all that we were born to be. By awakening and raising this energy safely through kundalini yoga, we are projected into new heights of awareness and infinite possibility to live our best life and be the best version of ourself. As we continue to practise kundalini yoga, we untangle the knots of our subconscious, interrogate ingrained behavioural patterns and forge new, healthy neural pathways.

What is the difference between kundalini yoga and hatha?

There are 22 original types of yoga. Hatha yoga (the style known most commonly in the Western yoga studios) uses physical postures, laya uses rhythm, naad (or nada) uses sound, bhakti is devotional, raj is meditational. All of these types of yoga exercise an aspect of the whole yogic philosophy, and they all aspire to a common goal; union of the finite to the infinite, which is one of the Sanskrit meanings of the word ‘yoga’. Kundalini yoga is a raj or royal yoga that combines aspects of all these types of yoga.

Kundalini yoga has a strong emphasis on meditation to achieve an awareness of our true essence, an understanding of who we are. It’s mostly practiced with the eyes closed. It leans heartily on physical movement and mantra, which are highly effective ways to realise our true nature.