Why I choose to continue to teach Kundalini Yoga
Updated: Mar 28, 2020
A little less than a month ago, several Kundalini Yoga organizations sent out a letter revealing that credible allegations of sexual misconduct by Yogi Bhajan (the man who brought Kundalini Yoga to the West) have come forward. When I first heard this news, tears immediately began sliding down my face, and I was filled with such sadness. I was a little surprised by this, because I don’t usually cry so easily. And, this was not the first time I heard such allegations.
But I realized that since these prominent organizations were declaring the allegations to be credible, it felt heavier than when I was doing random searches online about Kundalini Yoga and reading about unverifiable accusations and opinions of people who said that Kudalini Yoga was a cult and that Yogi Bhajan was participating in sexual misconduct. And I also realized that I was tapping into a collective sadness and grieving of the community, and of the many women who’d had similar experiences.
Not long after I began my Kundalini Yoga practice, the word cult came up, and I immediately started doing my research. I’d had very traumatic experiences as a kid when it came to organized religion, so I shut down to anything spiritual for a long time, until the Universe very loudly told me that it was time to connect again. And when I first started that journey, I wanted to find a squeaky clean organization/religion where everyone practiced what was preached. Haha. More about that journey in the future.
Back to now. Right away, even without going into meditation and asking, I got a very clear message that what was happening with the current Yogi Bhajan sexual misconduct investigations was not going to stop me from teaching Kundalini Yoga. But at the same time, I was feeling uneasy. I wasn’t sure what it was that I needed to feel peaceful while teaching.
The answer came to me with what is happening with Covid-19. I find myself leaning on my practice so hard right now to stay grounded and centered. This practice of Kundalini Yoga changed my life, and that’s why I wanted to teach – to share the tools and practices that helped strengthen my immune system and nervous system and helped me to heal wounds and patterns that no longer served me.
It’s about the yoga. It’s about the tools and the practices, which connect each individual to their inner teacher, to their unique, true expression of the Universe.