My kundalini experiment

[Lissa]

Originally Posted by tigerbaby

Yes, I experienced great results with kundalini and I kick myself all the time for stopping.

Back in 2007, I was strictly doing Turbo Jam for roughly 5-6 months and I got great results. I added in some classical stretch and Squeeze around month 4 and got more results. Then I started doing Ravi/Ana's Fat Free Yoga dvd and that's when I really started dropping more weight and fast to the point that people were asking me what I was doing. Now granted, I only lost roughly 15 pounds in all during my whole 6 months of exercising (which is all I was trying to lose) but kundalini yoga really was the switch that expedited that process. Most of my weight when I started kundalini seemed more like a loss of body fat than anything else, because while I didn't drop much in weight on the scale, maybe a couple pounds, I really shrunk down in size.

Pretty much what everyone has said about kundalini is true. You will gain some great flexibility, arm strength, leg strength, lose weight, your appetitie will naturally suppress, your sugar/food cravings will diminish, any other cravings or addictions will diminish (smoking cigarettes, etc...) and you will gain a mental and physical awareness that is wonderful.

Another added bonus is the great cardio effect on your lungs from all that breath of fire. When I first started, I would cough and my lungs would burn because they were so unconditioned for that kind of breathing. But eventually, I got stronger. My normal daily breathing was less shallow, with deep, slow belly breathing which equaled more oxygen in my body and less stress.

I was doing anywhere from 20-60 minutes a day of mostly fat free yoga (have them all) depending on what my time permitted and ultimately dropped my other forms of exercise to do strictly kundalini. It's a wonderful form of yoga and definitely worth a shot, if for nothing else than to see for yourself how it will benefit you. I would give it a go for one month just to see what changes you experience.

I'm trying to remember way back when what Ana said about the order of things should you incorporate other stuff in there. It was either kundalini first, then your other workout, or vice versa. I can't remember but maybe someone else will chime in. In the meantime, I'll see if I can find the answer to that.

ETA: I would try for one month doing daily kundalini and walking outside if the weather permits. The stress relief alone those 2 forms of exercise provide would help you lose weight and balance metabolism, hormone levels, etc...

Thanks for your post! Love all the information! I will give it a try. I'm all about experimenting for a month to see what happens. I love the feeling I get from kundalini yoga. The breath of fire does take some getting used to.

Thanks for your inspiration!
~Lissa

[tigerbaby]

Originally Posted by Lissa

Thanks for your post! Love all the information! I will give it a try. I'm all about experimenting for a month to see what happens. I love the feeling I get from kundalini yoga. The breath of fire does take some getting used to.

Thanks for your inspiration!
~Lissa

You're very welcome!!! I believe very strongly in kundalini yoga. I know that people really want to make weight loss as simple as calories in/calories out but sometimes, it's more complex than that.

As human beings in this day and age, we are running on fumes with so many stresses in life. Most people have suffered great losses such as a loved one or pet, loss of job, home, divorce, etc...this is all taxing on the adrenals. At some point in a person's life, they will suffer some bout of adrenal fatigue due merely to stress. Kundalini yoga addresses this beautifully by balancing out hormones, metabolism, and bringing much needed relief to the adrenal glands. Focusing solely on kundalini yoga for a time will help prep your body and get all these functions back on line so to speak so that when you incorporate other forms of exercise, it won't work against you and you will reap the benefits.

I found on Raviana's site a brief note about kundalini and weightloss wherein they mention cardio, such as brisk walking BEFORE your yoga session and to achieve quicker results by mixing up the dvds daily. Here is the link to that: weight loss.

Now I have to ask myself why in the heck am I not back to doing this myself! I think I'm starting tomorrow...

[MomOf2Gremlins]

Wonderful thread as I just recently started digging out my RaviAnas again myself and intend to doing it daily for at least ~15-20 minutes.
I'm still quite a newbie to KY yoga, so the BOF is still hard for me and holding my breath for a longer period of time or sucking in in quick breaths is something I have yet to master!..
I'd join a check-in with you all as well if you're having/doing one?

[in paris]

Watching this thread as I'm thinking about giving Kundalini another go.

My issue with it was time commitment as I found the longer workouts clicked with me better than the short Raviana ones. Actually, I didn't get on well at all with the few Ravianas had and gave up trying (I just could't get into them).

A dear friend picked up Dance With the Chakras for me, knowing that I had always wanted to try that one, so I'll give them a go again... Mind you, I have no idea why I seem to be one of the lone people who didn't click with them

Yet I really clicked with Maya, which again kind of baffles me (especially her Journey through the Chakras for the base chakra). She is so not my style and yet I was involved completely... This practice is perfect for the morning, but too long unless I find a way to do it quietly.

As for afternoon workouts, again the one that captured me was another longish one: Kundalini Yoga With Gurmukh. A pretty vigorous practice that, again, managed to capture me completely.

I guess that's the thing: Raviana did not engage me... Here's hoping Dance the Chakras changes that up and/or I can find something of a shorter length that does (I believe kundalini is best when practiced daily).

Sorry to ramble... I am just sorely in need of this right now.

[eam531]

Originally Posted by in paris

Watching this thread as I'm thinking about giving Kundalini another go.

My issue with it was time commitment as I found the longer workouts clicked with me better than the short Raviana ones.

I know that what Ravi and Ana are doing (pre-mixes, slicing and dicing yoga sets) is very popular here, and I don't mean to sound like I am dissing them. They have done a lot to get kundalini yoga out in front of a much larger audience and they are really good teachers. However, certainly Ravi would be the first to tell you, as one of Yoga Bhajan's early students, that kundalini yoga sets were designed to be done as an integrated whole, and that is how they are done in live classes, and on DVDs from "old-school" kundalini yoga teachers like Nirvair Singh, Sat Jivan Singh and Gurmukh. Perhaps that is why you clicked more with the longer yoga sets--maybe something in you responded to doing the sets as they were originally designed.

This might be anathema on a video fitness site, but there are lots of books that have kundalini yoga sets in them. You can use your own music and work at your own pace, and choose yoga sets that don't have as many exercises so that you can do one that fits your schedule, or shorten to amount of time for each exercise in a longer set. Nirvair has a book of yoga sets--I have used it when I teach and like it a whole lot. Another good one is Shakta Kaur Khalsa's kundalini yoga book. Another teacher named Guru Rattana has a series of books that are used by every kundalini yoga teacher I have seen. They are very "old hippie" in feel--she is an old timer who was a student of Yogi Bhajan's from the very early days. "Transitions to a heart-centered world" and 'Relax and renew" are her most popular books with teachers, in my experience.

I have some Ravi and Ana DVDs, and when I do one, I do the whole thing. Because of the length, I don't do them on a daily basis; I do a lot more kundalini yoga sets on my own. On work days, I select shorter sets; weekends, I have time to do much longer yoga sets.

Whatever the length of the set, though, it's great that so many people find kundalini yoga to be so beneficial!

[megananne]

Wow, so great to have company in wanting to do some kundalini I guess it only makes sense to move this to a check-in thread. I've got a busy morning (my 11 yo daughter has her first ever violin recital) so I don't have time to start a check-in thread right now...but I will be glad to do it later this afternoon, or if someone else wants to start one, that will be great too!! Just please post the link here so I get the right check-in

Looking forward to sharing our KY experiences together!!!

[hotncmom]

I have invested in one Raviana DVD, Yoga Beauty Body. Do you guys think it would be more beneficial to do one segment a day every day or to do the entire thing 2-3 times a week? My main goals are weight loss and better sleep. I'll be doing mainly walking and some other yoga/barre/sculpt workouts as well.

[in paris]

Originally Posted by eam531

I know that what Ravi and Ana are doing (pre-mixes, slicing and dicing yoga sets) is very popular here, and I don't mean to sound like I am dissing them. They have done a lot to get kundalini yoga out in front of a much larger audience and they are really good teachers. However, certainly Ravi would be the first to tell you, as one of Yoga Bhajan's early students, that kundalini yoga sets were designed to be done as an integrated whole, and that is how they are done in live classes, and on DVDs from "old-school" kundalini yoga teachers like Nirvair Singh, Sat Jivan Singh and Gurmukh. Perhaps that is why you clicked more with the longer yoga sets--maybe something in you responded to doing the sets as they were originally designed.

This might be anathema on a video fitness site, but there are lots of books that have kundalini yoga sets in them. You can use your own music and work at your own pace, and choose yoga sets that don't have as many exercises so that you can do one that fits your schedule, or shorten to amount of time for each exercise in a longer set. Nirvair has a book of yoga sets--I have used it when I teach and like it a whole lot. Another good one is Shakta Kaur Khalsa's kundalini yoga book. Another teacher named Guru Rattana has a series of books that are used by every kundalini yoga teacher I have seen. They are very "old hippie" in feel--she is an old timer who was a student of Yogi Bhajan's from the very early days. "Transitions to a heart-centered world" and 'Relax and renew" are her most popular books with teachers, in my experience.

I have some Ravi and Ana DVDs, and when I do one, I do the whole thing. Because of the length, I don't do them on a daily basis; I do a lot more kundalini yoga sets on my own. On work days, I select shorter sets; weekends, I have time to do much longer yoga sets.

Whatever the length of the set, though, it's great that so many people find kundalini yoga to be so beneficial!

Thank you, Betsy, for understanding

I don't feel quite so bad about not clicking with Ravi and Ana now... I think I may be an old hippie at heart (if not quite age)

I will look into your book recommendations and the old-school DVDs because I do think they will be the ones that resonate with me. A combination of need and want, if you will... I guess because I've felt it, I take the workouts as more than workouts. Does that make sense?

I think I have to learn more, though, before I ever feel comfortable with making shorter practices on my own, though. At this point, I do need the guidance

(And, as for adding my own music, lol! I'm really not all that fond of that type of music so I have none of my own. To be honest, out of context, it irritates me to no end... And I just can't see doing yoga and meditations to Iggy Pop )

[missmomus]

I think Yoga Beauty Body runs about an hour. If you have time to do the whole thing, I would as it's a pretty comprehensive set. Some of their dvds are closer to an hour and a half and those are the ones I find difficult to do in whole. I understand one may lose benefits by not doing an entire set, but I think some kundalini is almost always better than none. I generally do a premix or shorter set (< an hour) during the week and a longer one on the weekend when I can.

I sometimes wonder how much better your results would be if you did everything as Yogi Bhajan prescribed...wearing a turban, not skipping poses and "keeping up" for the entire time, practicing before dawn, etc. I guess I gravitate to Ravi and Ana because they are rebels and I find their new school ways work much better for me. They also seem to be the only ones that offer modifications or much in the way of form instruction.

[laurajhawk]

I have been doing kundalini yoga for 5 or 6 years now and in addition to Ravi & Ana, Maya, and other DVDs, I've had the opportunity to take live workshops locally and a couple of workshops with Gurmukh at the Estes Park Yoga Journal conferences. I am a big believer in KY.

I agree with others' estimation of its effects on appetite - when I have done KY regularly (every couple of days at least) I find myself eating better and less. I also believe it decreases stress levels which can help decrease "stress eating" and may also help weight loss directly - I keep reading that people who are stressed "hang onto" weight or gain more weight...

The biggest problem I have fitting it in is that I also want to do "regular" yoga. I'm very flexible, and kundalini doesn't really give me a very good stretch. I like the mild stretching effect and the mild-to-considerable cardio (hey, Gurmukh's DVD is a cardio workout for me!), but I still want to do regular strength work and cardio and vinyasa yoga as well as kundalini ... I try to fit in some yoga practice in the evenings, so I think I'll go back to alternating kundalini with other yoga during that timeslot, as this thread has reminded me how much it really does help me.