BIKRAM + KUNDALINI PAIRING - YOUR SUN AND YOUR MOON PRACTICE

Submitted by Annie Peterson, currently on her way to Nashville to teach Kundalini paired with an Advanced Bikram Yoga Class.

As this workshop came together, I really thought about how these two practices fit together for me. The expressive hatha practice feels amazing in my body - the physicality, the process of alchemy that you undergo in the room, the confrontation of self and ego in the mirror. It still works for me and I've been practicing consistently for 10 years.

5 years ago I found Kundalini yoga and added it to my Bikram practice. As they say "All Roads Lead to Rome" and so the union, energy balance, mental clarity, meditation and awakening of the body's systems are all present in both, as well as other yogic and non-yogic practices. Anything humans do with mindfulness and intention can lead to self-realization, self-mastery and growth.

That said, to get to Rome (i.e. the self, potential, realization, to "come home") you must choose one road, or a few, as the case may be.

The road to Rome for me has been a balancing of the hot and unheated practices of Bikram and Kundalini yoga - Kundalini mirrors the hatha practice: the room isn't (intentionally) heated, often we close our eyes, and so it invites an experience of the self, body and consciousness from a different, yet equal, angle.

When I've stacked these practices back-to-back, the combined effect for me has been profoundly positive -- that is, on the rare occasions I can do three hours of yoga in one day!

So, as Bre and I continued talking and brainstorming what we wanted this to be, we continued on our own paths and this concept emerged as an offering to students to experience a deeper hatha practice & learn about another set of tools to compliment whatever practice you already have...

I can only speak for myself, but I find these two lineages to be fascinating, and they've each brought so much to my life. I'm looking forward to serving and engaging with this community this weekend!