Review of a Kundalini Yoga class with Lea on 10.30.09

When I arrived in class on Friday, a beautiful mantra sung by Snatam Kaur was playing, “Aadays Tisai Adays / Aad aneel anaad anaahat, jug jug ayko vays” which translates as “I salute Thee, the Primal One, pure in the beginning, through all time, through all ages—the one.” It comes from Snatam’s album, “Meditations for Transformation” and is also aline in the famed Kundalini text, Jap Ji.
Lea began with announcements. There will be a one hour meditation every Friday after Kundalini and it’s by donation. Lea is also bringing her handmade malas for sale next week and Bhagavan Das is coming in January to have kirtan in the main hall downstairs.
Lea talked a bit about “shakti” before beginning the navel point kriya or nabhi kriya. Shakti is a feminine power, a wonderful, expressive energy that goes on ceaselessly expressing herself. It can’t be suppressed but it can be shaped and directed.
We warmed up with juicy hip circles and Sun Salutations.
The first pose was Janu Sirsasana on the left and right with breath of fire followed by a 2 minute Savasana.
Then we lifted our legs to 90 degrees and kicked our buttocks. There were two breath options: either breath of fire or inhale lift, exhale kick.
There was brief rest before moving onto leg pistons, exhaling sharply as the legs extended out.
Plank pose was held for several minutes with the most intense variation being tops of feet on floor and coming onto the fingertips with of course a breath of fire.
Stretch pose was then held for a couple of minutes before coming into Sukhasana holding the arms out wide then slowly pulling the fists into the chest. Finally we folded forward in Sukhasana, third eye to the floor.
Then Savasana.
To reinvigorate everyone for the meditation, Lea had us rock from plough pose to Pascimottanasana then eventually rocking from plough pose to standing.
In the seated meditation we were instructed to have our right hand face the heavens while our left hand faced the floor with elbows bent. We chanted “Aad such, jugaad such, haibhee such, naanak hosee bhee such” which translates as “True in the beginning, true throughout the ages, true at this moment, Nanaak says this Truth shall ever be.”

—Marie Carter