By the Office of Ethics & Professional Standards INTRODUCTION Meditation can sometimes feel like it’s the missing ingredient in life or the answer to all problems. These days there is encouragement to meditate daily, coming from many directions. Your doctor might even recommend it to you while suggesting you get more exercise and eat more veggies. This article explores how yoga teachers everywhere can benefit from understanding the ways teaching meditation has a special ethical placement of its own. The unique context of a healthy student-teacher relationship and how meditations are taught provides a clear place for transformation and growth. The…

By Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa, Oregon, USA If you practice yoga and live a healthy, happy, and holy lifestyle, you’re pretty well covered. Yoga is without doubt the ultimate system for helping you stay balanced and joyful throughout your life. Sure, there are a lot of rules and guidelines, but it all comes down to four things to concentrate on. In the yoga world, the big four are Bana (personal behaviors), Bani (prayer), Simran (meditation), and Seva (selfless service). Our lineage of teachers has consistently ranked serving others right up there with our most important personal spiritual practices. The ten Sikh gurus were all appointed to their positions…

By Snatam Kaur I have been listening to, or reciting Kirtan Sohila my whole life. My first conscious memories of this prayer were when my stepfather, Sat Santokh, would read Kirtan Sohila to me every night before going to sleep when I was in my early teens. I am grateful beyond any words I can come up with that my stepfather did this. There was a purity and love in his offering that helped me to connect to Kirtan Sohila in a deep way. Night after night as the words were recited to me, they penetrated into my heart. It was at this time that my…

SEVA CORPS was envisioned at Khalsa Council and was born in April 2020 with the purpose of serving those who serve. That is why our motto is Serving Together. Through digital platforms we seek to value, nurture and inspire those in service through the technology of Kundalini Yoga and the legacy of Sikh Dharma in an elevated environment of listening and sharing. We also want to produce content about the path of service, give relevance to ongoing SEVA PROJECTS, and inspire new projects. Above all, we want to offer spaces for dialogue and inclusion. We are committed to sustaining our service through…

Yogic teachings suggest that women should eat carefully and lightly in order to maintain their emotional and physical balance and well-being. In general, a woman should have two meals a day and two light drinks a day. The first drink begins at breakfast. The first meal can be about four hours later; it should be the largest meal of the day. “Eat to your delight” is the motto at this mid-day meal. But when you are full, stop! The second drink of the day can be between lunch and dinner. The evening meal should be light and easily digestible and preferably eaten…

By Deg Ajeet Kaur (Janet Howard) I keep it moving. Get it done. Onto the next thing. In Kundalini Yoga and meditation, I’m learning the power of stillness. In stillness, the message finds us. The path is revealed. It doesn’t feel natural to me. I want to search for, run to and push through for the answers, for the path, for the next thing in my journey. I’m impatient. But lately, it isn’t working. I push, I run, I take control of forward movement and I feel lost—I can’t find my way. I give up. Sit down. Cry. And when all…

by Rachel Surinderjot Kaur I believe that getting sober at age 33 in 2008 was the beginning of my kundalini awakening. The doubt, fear, unexpressed grief, and years of unprocessed emotions needed to be allowed up to consciousness before my inner light could be remembered. By putting down the alcohol, cigarettes, pot, and unhealthy relationships, and embarking on a 12 Step program, I began to learn the tools of emotional healing and how to live life – and the possibility of bringing my gifts into the world was awakened. My sponsor, and regular meetings where other people shared so honestly and openly,…

Dear Kundalini Yoga Teachers,  We know that 2020 and this year have been very challenging. As teachers we have been confronted not only with a pandemic, but also a need to face and process allegations of abuse by Yogi Bhajan. For many, this has meant a deep personal and collective process–a quest for truth, answers, and meaning that requires soul searching, profound thought, and dialogue. This process is ongoing and will probably require years to heal.  On a collective level there is great diversity of thought, perspectives, and feelings around this issue and many have felt the pain of separation….

By Dr. Shanti Shanti Kaur Khalsa and Dr. Sat-Kaur Khalsa We are in a time where many of us are experiencing multiple losses: Our daily life as we have known it due to a potentially fatal disease, serious questions about our teacher whether one believes those questions or not, learning about our children’s experience with schooling in India, exposing racial injustices, and other personal losses we may experience during this tumultuous time. Because of these losses, we are individually and collectively experiencing deep and profound grief. Our intention for offering this document is to provide a guide for individuals and…

In addition to the term 'mantra,' you will also hear the word Naad in connection with Kundalini Yoga mantras. Naad means “the essence of all sound.” It is a particular vibration, a fundamental frequency that comes from one common source or sound current. It is the universal code behind language and therefore behind human communication.  Naad is the glue or medium that connects the little me, the individual, to the Big Me, the Universal Self. It is the vibrational harmony through which the Infinite can be experienced.  Naad Yoga is based on the experience of how sound vibrations affect the body, mind, and spirit through the…