Kundalini Yoga

Posted by Melissa Baumgart
I was rushing into my yoga class last night, "Get out of my way!  I am trying to get to yoga!" Oh, the irony.  After signing up for my beginner special at the new Kundalini Yoga studio I was trying out, I was very pleased with myself for remembering to silence my phone.  Then, at the last minute, I remembered the alarm.  It was 6:45 and I would be in class at 7:20.  That alarm goes off right through the silence button.  Could you imagine the horror if I had forgot to turn it off, and heard that duck quacking alarm right in the middle of class.  OK, well, maybe not horror, but extreme embarrassment.

August's Blue Moon, as seen from the ferry to Orcas Island.

I did not get a 7:20 photo yesterday.  I thought it would be rude to get up during the fire breathing cobra pose and snap a shot of the teacher and the one other student in class.  Instead of a photo, I will tell you that what I offer you is an invitation to go and try Kundalini Yoga for yourself.

It is like Bikram yoga's other half.  Eyes closed the whole time, chanting, focusing mostly on your inner world.  Whereas in Bikram, your eyes are open and you are acutely aware of the external world, using all your determination to not be distracted by what you see and keeping your attention on your mat.  Both are physically challenging, but in completely different ways.  Both are mentally challenging as well, a quality I appreciate very much about a yoga practice.  I feel it is so important to discipline our mind.

I can't say I like one better than the other.  They are both perfectly what they should be, and I am pleased to have both in my life right now.