There was nothing in your original essay that was offensive or disparaging in any way to those who benefitted from the Kundalini brand of Yoga. While you may have found this exercise beneficial, your original was perfect.
Thank you, Laura. I really appreciate your positive feedback -- especially since it comes on the same day that I received some pretty horrible hate mail to my physical address about that very essay! Of course without a name or reply address. Can't please everyone, I guess. ;-)
I have studied 'kundalini yoga' in four different traditions and found great value in all of them because I kept clear boundaries and knew when to split the scene.
I started with Sivananda's Kundalini yoga in 1971 with Swami Vishnu-devananda. I met Yogi Bhajan in NYC when he first came to the USA and have studied with some of his teachers. Some of his methods and techniques are very good. For many years I was involved in Siddha Yoga with Swami Muktananda, and his successor, Swami Nityananda.
I also trained in Kundalini Maha Yoga with Shri Dhyanyogi and Shri Anandi Ma for many years. What initially seems to happen is the focus is on the practices and philosophy ...and then very subtly the focus shifts to the teacher, religious beliefs systems, cultic programming and group think. We get sucked into their 'reality tunnel.'
The question we need to keep asking ourselves with all teachings and teachers is what are we really up to??? What do we really want? And why???
There is spiritual materialism everywhere. Caveat emptor!
There was nothing in your original essay that was offensive or disparaging in any way to those who benefitted from the Kundalini brand of Yoga. While you may have found this exercise beneficial, your original was perfect.
Thank you, Laura. I really appreciate your positive feedback -- especially since it comes on the same day that I received some pretty horrible hate mail to my physical address about that very essay! Of course without a name or reply address. Can't please everyone, I guess. ;-)
Yikes! I am so sorry that happened. It's a wild, wild world these days. Thank goodness we have the depths of Yoga. Best to you!
Discernment is the highest and most direct yoga.
I have studied 'kundalini yoga' in four different traditions and found great value in all of them because I kept clear boundaries and knew when to split the scene.
I started with Sivananda's Kundalini yoga in 1971 with Swami Vishnu-devananda. I met Yogi Bhajan in NYC when he first came to the USA and have studied with some of his teachers. Some of his methods and techniques are very good. For many years I was involved in Siddha Yoga with Swami Muktananda, and his successor, Swami Nityananda.
I also trained in Kundalini Maha Yoga with Shri Dhyanyogi and Shri Anandi Ma for many years. What initially seems to happen is the focus is on the practices and philosophy ...and then very subtly the focus shifts to the teacher, religious beliefs systems, cultic programming and group think. We get sucked into their 'reality tunnel.'
The question we need to keep asking ourselves with all teachings and teachers is what are we really up to??? What do we really want? And why???
There is spiritual materialism everywhere. Caveat emptor!
Thank you for this comment and for the re-stack, Tom. It's refreshing to see someone resonate with discernment being the highest form of yoga. :)