By Guruka Singh We live in a difficult age. There is constant distraction. In our 21st century culture of acquisition and consumerism, television, movies, newspapers, magazines, and books constantly fill our mind with stimulating images. Our minds constantly fantasize, and we spend much of our time living in our fantasies. The most basic teaching of Raj Yoga is that the mind makes a powerful servant, but it makes a lousy master. When we let our mind roam free, it takes us wherever it wishes to go—and there’s always someplace interesting to go! Through the self-discipline of daily meditation we can train…

In the yogic scriptures it says, “Even a glance from the eyes of a holy man can cure mental and physical imbalances.” Once in a very great while there is a picture that has a transcendent quality of neutrality that allows the person gazing at it to go through it and into their higher consciousness. This is a form of meditation called Tratakum. Years ago, a photograph was taken of Yogi Bhajan which had such a quality, and it has been used ever since by students as a link to their teacher and their inner consciousness. It is called simply,…

 By Sat Purkh Kaur Khalsa “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”  I was never one to make a list of New Year’s resolutions—but sometimes one is just compelled to; so I would end up generating something like a list. But I would wait until January 6th or 7th, just to take some of the pressure off! In my experience, when I created resolutions that were to begin on the 1st, I had usually broken them by the 3rd—exasperating and not a little self-defeating! Eventually, I just quit making them at all and began living my life in the…

By Shakta Kaur When we are insecure we are afraid. When we are insecure we begin to compromise. When we are insecure we just want to survive. We’re thinking short-term, not long-term. When we are insecure there is no vastness, no connection with divinity nor a feeling of oneness with God or each other. “The only purpose of life is not to be scared of insecurity. Insecurity does nothing but scare a person,” said Yogi Bhajan. “It’s a scarecrow.”[1] And, instead of recognizing our power and reality as spiritual beings we allow this scarecrow to stop opportunity and grace from coming…

by Shakta Khalsa Our heads are logical and want “proof” about everything, which means they cannot understand anything that is outside of the limits of the mind. Our hearts can understand and intuit what the head does not know, yet our emotional heart can create a ball of confusion that clouds our judgement. With head and heart able to go haywire at at moment, it can seem that we don’t know anything clearly. But what if they can work together? What if there is a lovely line to walk where the head and heart complement and balance each other? That…

Kundalini Yoga teachers often get drilled on the relation between Breath of Fire and hyperventilation. In this video I explain why Breath of Fire is not hyperventilation, and it also the physiology of hyperventilation and what it really is. Pranayama will induce sensations that may be new for students, but these experiences need not be feared. We are adventuring into realms of consciousness expanded beyond the everyday. And any fear sensations themselves can be observed and that awareness be utilized to transform this Vata energy into pure Prana. People often hyperventilate when they panic. And the breath just tends to…

Kundalini Yoga: The Healthy, Happy, Holy Breath Originally taught by Yogi Bhajan on July 10, 1975   This meditation uses the power of the breath to enhance the depth of the effects of the mantra Healthy am I, Happy am I, Holy am I. When practiced correctly, the breath will slow to two and a half breaths per minute. This shift from the normal 12-15 breaths per minute is significant. Once the breath rate is slower than four breaths per minute, the central brain starts functioning more intensely. The pineal and pituitary glands shift their relationship to each other. In this…