All Kundalini Yoga courses follow a similar pattern, but differ greatly, including the length of the course and the number of days per session; the location where the classes are held; the team of trainers - from two to many lecturing and accompanying teachers; the atmosphere, the message and the price - with all costs worth counting: classes, materials, accommodations, travel and food - and their quality.
The main difference is the KRI (Kundalini Research Institute, USA) certification or lack thereof. The status of the lead trainers - are they all accredited by the KRI. This raises the price slightly because of the licences and fees to the „Source”. Not everyone values this. We look at it as the actual source - without KRI there would not be the teachings and materials that everyone uses. The integrity of a yogi requires that this be recognised, or not used. In addition, the structure of the KRI provides opportunities for development as a teacher trainer. Much can be blamed on ladders for climbing, but even these evolve into international groups of yogis supporting each other at different stages. I personally appreciate this very much and feel that through their diversity they breathe more freshness than local communities.
Some courses are very condensed in time: 3 week-long conventions and you can fit the required 220 h of programme into them. Only will you benefit and remember, assimilate and digest it into life experience in such a short time? Most courses in PL take place over several months, with conventions of 4-5 days at a time. Leaving aside the time availability on weekdays - for some this is a beneficial intensification and for others it is overwhelming and a survival mode.
Many years of experience have shown that the longer duration of the course allows you to better assimilate the vast amount of knowledge, experience and information provided by the team of trainers, to go through a careful personal transformation in selected areas of your personality, to adapt the course requirements to your own life by integrating them gradually and, in addition to the certificate, to gain a deep and consistent basis for further development, and a truly established competence to teach others.
Another difference is the venue. The pleasant side of away meetings is the communal existence: sleeping, meals, conversations and walks... But is a real dimension of togetherness achieved in the conditions of Polish workshop centres? It is not possible to experience there the very important aspect of yogic education which is seva - selfless service. Rather, they are dominated by the hotel and conference character. That is why our course includes a trip to the Ashram in Portugal to see the place and the people, who have been functioning on a yogic community basis for years and on a daily basis, and to take part in this.
We have introduced the team of trainers on the main information page of the course, but if you don't already know them then these somewhat dry facts are not very different from other descriptions. Here I want to talk about them in the context of the atmosphere and delivery of the teachings that is characteristic of the teachers trained directly by Yogi Bhajan - Mata Mandir Singh and Shiv Charan Singh, and then passed on by Shiv Charan to the other trainers and enriched by his life's work of studying numbers in terms of Kundalini Yoga and Sikh Dharma. It is impossible to describe everything, but if you are interested in immersing yourself in the wisdom of centuries of cultures, traditions and spiritual transmissions, you can seek it on many different paths from the Far East to the „Wild West”. - the essence is precisely this immersion and the profound sense of Truth that permeates them all. You will not see this pearl by floating on the surface here and there. You won't find that Fern Blossom without stepping into a dark forest. One such River of Wisdom, flowing through the lineage of the 10 Sikh Gurus we have received given with the teachings of Kundalini Yoga as an aspect of Bhakti (which is not to be confused with religion as we know it today) in addition to its Shakti - Power and Gyan - Knowledge.
If we strip Kundalini Yoga of this aspect, it no longer holds this threefold balance. Body-work techniques, meditation techniques and even mantras treated like music - will give you energy, but not enough where you don't know what to do with yourself, who to be and where to go.
That's why this team of Guides, in addition to techniques that are widely available anyway, will show you the way of the holy warriors. Although times have changed (apparently) still the world needs them, and you can be someone who will build that calibre within you. Who is a holy warrior/warrior? Someone who confronts their habits, addictions, inclinations and tendencies - in behaviour, emotions, thoughts, words and deeds. He or she becomes independent in choices, steadfast in spirit and gentle in demeanour, „holding flight for infinity” as Witkacy wrote 😉 In times of increasing illusion of a sense of security based on material prosperity, the holy warrior/warrioress sings with his or her whole being a song praising the perfection of Creation.
Mata Mandir Singh - you only have to listen to the love in the timbre of his voice to be taken back to the days of the „Children of Flowers” and the true delight of the East in the West. These are wonderful times for music, from Nina Simone to the Rolling Stons to mantra chanting! Mata Mandir has the rock jam and vibe of an Angel, yet he never stars - always in service, that's how he chose to be.
Contact with the other coaches will give you a sense that each/each of you can embark on a path of self-transformation towards yourself. Remove the veils of insecurity, emotional confusion, assumptions and illusions to stand in the strength and vulnerability of your potential. I wish you this very much.
I invite you to get in touch and have a chat if you are considering our course.