Success Stories

I came to Kundalini yoga after years practicing in hatha/vinyasa studios. Truth be told, Kundalini actually came to me in the form of a bright, young, newly minted Kundalini teacher (Ty Smith) who was hired to teach in the entirely un-Santa-Fean time slot of 7am.

At first I honestly didn’t know what to think of Kundalini. All I could say when my fellow vinyasees asked, was that I was somehow drawn to Ty’s energy and that the practice was “DIFFERENT.” Intrigued and engaged – two senses I’ve learned to respect – I kept coming to class. More often than not as Ty’s only student. And slowly I began to understand why: Kundalini “made” me breathe.

I had long been aware that I often held my breath or at best breathed shallowly. All hatha/vinyasa teachers talk about the importance of breathing, but Kundalini required it – not as a by-product of sweaty calisthenics, but as an integral part of the practice.

Every Kundalini session is built around one or two “kriya,” which wed postures (asana), hand positions (mudra), patterns of breath (pranayama) and meditation toward specific outcomes that change with the day, the month, the year, and – of course – the intention of the practitioner. After nearly two years of near-daily practice – Kundalini continues to surprise and challenge me.

After about 3 months practicing together, both Ty and I each chose to move on from the little vinyasa studio where we met. I found my way to Yoga Santa Fe, where my practice and understanding of Kundalini has grown and significantly deepened working with the remarkable founders and lead teachers: Kirn and Guruchander, as well as their outstanding team of teachers, and the great community of yogis who practice in this very special center.

With my breathing more conscious and my physical body more flexible, I found myself increasingly aware of a parallel rigidity in my spiritual body. I also felt a growing confidence of my ability to achieve greater flexibility in that dimension as well. I’ve watched – almost as an outside observer – as the righteous anger that I have carried in my gut for almost 5 decades began, simply through my daily practice, to melt and disappear. I still have a tendency to see the proverbial glass as half-full, and I fully expect that too will shift as my practice continues.

Kundalini isn’t a religion and doesn’t seek to replace anyone’s beliefs. These facts were important to me. I have chosen to reconsider some of my own beliefs during the course of my Kundalini practice, but no one has ever suggested what I should or should not believe. That’s simply not how the practice works.

I’ve come to see my own Kundalini practice as a pathway to a sustainable, purpose-driven life, much as I’ve found that a plant-based diet is a sustainable pathway to sustenance for our times.

I encourage anyone looking for path forward in their own life to take advantage of Yoga Santa Fe’s amazing new student offer: “30 Days for $30,” and give Kundalini and the YSF community the opportunity to support you in rising above the daunting daily scrum toward a healthier, happier, and even a more holy future.

-John S. Gordon, Artist, Educator and Aspiring Yogi