The Being Yoga Conference at the Omega Institute, just one week ago, offered many outstanding teachers. One of my favorites is Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa. She is a Kundalini yoga master. She studied with Yogi Bhajan her Spiritual Teacher since 1970. He gave her her spiritual name, which means “one who helps thousands of people across the world ocean.” For over three decades Gurmukh has traveled the world to teach, inspire and fulfill her namesake.

Her classes in Kundalini yoga, meditation and pre and postnatal training are phenomenal and are highly sought after in the yoga world. She has a center in Los Angeles, The Golden Bridge, with many classes and offerings and you can study with her at a number of workshops offered throughout the country.

Yoga means to yoke the person’s own consciousness and the universal consciousness. Kundalini yoga is comprehensive in it approach as it integrates yoga, meditation prayer and physical practice and breathing exercises. *”Kundalini” literally means “the curl of the lock of hair of the beloved.” This poetic metaphor alludes to the flow of energy and consciousness that exists within each of us.” The Upanishads, Hindu’s sacred scriptures that date back to the fifth century B.C., describe Kundalini, although the oral tradition reaches back even further into history. For thousands of years, this sacred science and technology was veiled in secrecy, passed along verbally from master to chosen disciple. Yogi Bhajan broke with this long-held tradition of silence and gave up a government job to spread the philosophy of yoga in the United States.

At Being Yoga, I participated in Gurmukh’s workshop centered on moving from karma to dharma. In English words, it means to move from reaction to action. Gurmukh points out that in our modern world we are stuck in a way of living that resides in gossip, lies, slander and infatuation. She even referenced Desperate Housewives as a show that exemplifies the paradox of American culture.

When we choose to step out of this vicious cycle we can listen to what our intuition is saying and choose a different way. We can open our hearts and send others love. This act of reacting differently will set up the gradual effect of changing the self. This is something that will need to be practiced daily to develop new behaviors and ways of thinking and acting, we also teach this here at TotallyZen.com, in many ways.

When we have a daily practice; we have an outlet to accumulate good energy and intention. Eventually this kinder, universal mindset will become your way of interacting with people and the world. You will then see profound changes in our life and relationships.

When we operate from the lower energy centers we are in the “me” phase which express the actions of run, fight and procreate. When we move to the higher energy centers we focus on the “us” and we have more loving kindness and compassion for others.

Fascinatingly, usually when we react to another person negatively it probably doesn’t have anything to do with them but with the past. It is likely that these problems are issues or behavior patterns that were established previously in our lives. Breaking these patterns is one of the highest benefits of yoga because if we do not get past these issues we may not become enlightened.

Stepping into the light or walking on the path towards light takes tremendous courage, requires strength, perseverance and discipline. It is a true challenge to live and work from this place in our existence.

Try yoga, as a way to collect the skills, energy and practice you will need to support the process of change!

]]> http://www.totallyzen.com/gurmukh-kaur-khalsa-moving-from-karma-to-dharma.html/feed 2