Time in Kundalini Yoga classes is measured both by the instructor and by the participants. The longest segment of class which features the kriya is made up of short periods of exercise from one to three minutes in duration. Three minutes, for example, is a frequently prescribed length of time for a given exercise. 94 Kendell uses a timer and measures each exercise to the second. The importance of such prescribed durations is articulated over and over within Kundalini Yoga literature, although reasons supporting the strict measurement of time are largely absent from discussions of how to perform various kriyas. In Kundalini Yoga: The Flow of Eternal Power, Shakti Parwa Kaur Khalsa cites instructions given by Yogi Bhajan “on November 18, 1991” to “Set a timer, or watch a clock, because the time is to be exact. Not less, not more.” 95 Providing more in-depth research on this issue is beyond the scope of this study, although it is possible that such measurements were given to Kundalini Yoga practitioners and Yogi Bhajan devotees as a
94 Dharam S. Khalsa and Darryl O’Keeffe, The Kundalini Experience: Bringing Body, Mind, and Spirit Together
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002).
95 Shakti Parwha Kaur Khalsa, Kundalini Yoga: The Flow of Eternal Power (New York: Penguin Putnam, 1996),
267.
While each participant begins an exercise together with the group, many exercises consist of a motion that is repeated over and over for the allotted time, and therefore can be done at varying paces. This is, in fact, one of the ideas that Kendell emphasizes on a regular basis – take your time, go at your own pace, listen to your breath. For a participant, breath marks time within each measured kriya segment, forming a different, freer kind of rhythmic element within the kriya segment which takes the place of the silent, constant movement of the seconds in each minute of the exercise. Many of the kriya movements are meant to be done in coordination with the breath. The images below show the kriya exercise called the “Frog, or the “Frog Pose,” which begins from a squatting position (see left-most image). Participants inhale as the legs are straightened (right-most image) and exhale as the knees are bent and the spine straightens as they return to the original squatting position.
Figure 6. Frog Pose 96
When this exercise is used in class, participants are told to do twenty-six repetitions. Kendell makes a point of telling the class that while twenty-six is the goal, it is acceptable for participants to do fewer repetitions. She often says if eleven, or fourteen, or some other number is your “twenty-six,” that is okay. For Frog Pose in particular, the exercise is very personal. As it is explained in Kendell’s class, it is meant to be done in your own time, with your eyes closed, at your own pace.
After having included a number of photographs meant to demonstrate elements of Kundalini Yoga in a clear and simple way, the process through which these photographs were produced deserves some explanation. In order to bypass requisite permission requests to use other people’s images, I took photographs of myself to provide visual examples of the Kundalini
Yoga practices discussed herein. While I did not think about it until after I had taken the pictures, this process of self representation was influenced by my exposure to books, websites and print advertisements about yoga, as well as my observations of other yoga participants. I chose to present myself in a minimalist setting because my aim was to demonstrate the relevant positions and shapes created with the body without telling other, unrelated contextual stories - what my home office looks like, my usual style of dress, etc. In general, my intent was to use my body as if it was not me, but just a model. To an extent, I wanted my personality and identity to remain absent from the photographs by eliminating clues like furniture, jewelry, etc. By doing this, I was essentially mirroring the style of representation used in books about yoga (as well as advertisements printed by Schoolhouse Yoga for display at each of their studio locations), which tend to display similarly minimal settings and anonymous yoga practitioners in simple, monochromatic attire. My choice to wear all black was based partly on a desire to show the positions clearly against the backdrop at hand, a light colored wall. It is interesting to note, however, that books on Kundalini Yoga advise practitioners to wear all white. Yet, none of the students at Schoolhouse Yoga adhere to this aspect of the practice – in fact, it is likely that more of them wear black clothing than white. Kendell does not dress in all white either, although she sometimes wears some white. It is possible that in my attempts to become a part of the regular group of participants at Schoolhouse Yoga, I subconsciously mimicked the other participants’ style of dress.
Despite my efforts to appear as an anonymous model, the photos inevitably convey various qualities of my personality and how I present myself on a daily basis. The way that I wear my hair, for example, and the fact that I prefer to practice yoga barefoot, even though some participants at Schoolhouse Yoga choose to wear socks, can be gathered from the photos in this
thesis. At the same time, Figure 6 still represents a private, personal experience of Kundalini Yoga in the way that my face is hidden from view. Even though taking these photographs required careful use of the “self-timer” on my camera as I pressed a button and hurriedly got into position, these images suggest that I could have been practicing Kundalini Yoga.