The Chakras are seven areas physical energy which exist within the mind, body and spirit. This Bodywise Kundalini yoga class focusses on what actions are necessary to rebalance the body’s chakras to optimise a sense of individual wellbeing.
KUNDALINI YOGA
At one level Kundalini Yoga is one of the most ancient forms Yoga in itself is a word that means ‘to unite’ the individual consciousness with the Universal Consciousness and create a perfect harmony between mind, body and nature.
At another level a Kundalini Yoga class is a serious workout that involves a combination of meditative moments, chanting, and elements that can best be described as HIIT (high intensity interval training). It’s fascinating, and at Bodywise it’s an hour where you really feel you’re investing in your mind, body and spirit. Whilst it’s mostly followed by women, in fact it’s a very ‘warrior’ style of yoga that’s perfect for men.
Kundalini yoga is a serious workout and a very ‘warrior style’ of yoga.
THE WHAT AND THE WHY OF KUNDALINI YOGA
Kundalini yoga focuses on breathwork, meditation, and chanting to awaken spiritual energy. These are parts of both the discipline and the process. But process without focus never gets you very far. The focus of all the Kundalini yoga activity revolves around balancing the seven chakras, or energy centres, of the mind, body and spirit.
- Root Chakra (Muladhara): Located at the base of the spine the Root Chakra is associated with feelings of safety, security, and being grounded.
- Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana): Located in the pelvic area the Sacral Chakra relates to creativity, sexual energy, and emotions.
- Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura): Here Kundalini yoga focusses on the upper abdomen, to support personal power, confidence, and self-control.
- Heart Chakra (Anahata): Centred on the chest we’re not surprisingly talking love, compassion, harmony, and relationships.
- Throat Chakra (Vishuddha): Focussed around the neck and throat, this is the chakra of communication, self-expression, and truth.
- Third Eye Chakra (Ajna): Situated in the forehead, between the eyes, the ‘third eye’ speaks to intuition, insight, wisdom, and spiritual awareness.
- Crown Chakra (Sahasrara): the final chakra is located at the top of the head., and deals with spirituality, enlightenment, and a deep connection to the divine.
THE KUNDALINI YOGA CHAKRAS & KARMA PRACTICE – A MEDITATION, CHANTING & HIIT WORKOUT FOR WARRIORS
Throughout history, in every great tradition, warriors needed to be not only physically strong but spiritually strong. To be fit and active, but at the same time meditative. The strength not only came from muscular development of the body but also of intellectual and spiritual strength of the mind.
So here’s the thing – today’s modern world is no different. Whether woman or man we need to be fit and prepared both physically and emotionally to fight our daily battles and come out smiling. A Kundalini yoga class, with its unique blend of stillness and explosive expression can be the perfect preparation for the vicissitudes life throws at you.
There are moments of deep meditation when you close your eyes and focus on breathing. Then there are moments of dynamic action worthy of a HIIT (high intensity intervale training) class – explosive activity with arms, legs and core. During these sessions of extreme activity the Bodywise teacher, Suzy, is an absolute cardio ‘machine’ – luckily it’s not a competition to keep up with her! As with all Bodywise classes the mantra is ‘you do you’.
CHANTING IN CONCERT
The one thing everybody does do together during the intense activity is chant – something that really helps focus the breathing. Breathe in, pump the arms, work the body, chant, repeat! And chant as loud as you like – it’s very liberating. It’s a particularly good class on a Friday if you’ve had a tricky week!
A COMPLETE, INDIVIDUAL AND INTROSPECTIVE, 360° MIND, BODY, SPRIT EXPERIENCE
Suzy runs through exercises designed to enable all seven chakras to relax and coalesce. The final 10 minutes of the session is about stillness and connection – either on the floor or on chairs for those who don’t find floor work so comfortable. It’s a time to be introspective, to go within yourself, reset, rebalance and come out stronger. Finally a ‘light gong’ brings students back to the here and now. The 60 minutes fly by.
PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS
Knowing what I know now I think this is a class for which I should have prepared more. At one level it’s introspective, cerebral and quite emotive. At another it’s physically quite demanding – I felt pleasantly tired after. Upon consideration I would have got more from it had I spent even 15 minutes mentally preparing before the session. My challenges post-heart surgery have been documented elsewhere, but this class, whilst more static than say Dance in Joy, was really helpful for finding my balance and grounding my feet.
WHAT MAKES THIS CLASS DIFFERENT AND WHO IS IT FOR?
It’s a particularly good class on a Friday if you’ve had a tricky week
Most group classes tend to be about group energy. This class is much more self-centric and introspective rather than exuberant. It makes demands on your mind as well as on your body and there’s a sort of classical Eastern mystique to it that makes you question and want to find out more. Essentially it has different cultural references that make the outcomes individually focussed. Afterwards I had the sense that everyone in the class took away something personal of value.
By Al Campbell, The Bodywise Member and Author