Kundalini Yoga @ Life Yoga Center

As many couples celebrate Valentines this February, I’m quite sure that many would do their annual routine of making reservations in their favorite restaurants, perhaps spending a day or two in a cozy room of the nearest hotel, or spending a weekend getaway in an out-of-town trip. For some who are more concerned about their diet, many also are into physical activities to shed some extra pounds together.

Kundalini Yoga Expert Ms. Rosan Cruz

Last week, my wife and I decided to celebrate Valentines a little different this year. We spent a morning session of Kundalini Yoga for couples where two people perform yoga exercises together. The venue was at Life Yoga, a center in Bonifacio Global City that offers Kundalini Yoga facilitated by Yoga Expert and Life Coach Ms. Rosan Cruz.
 

Guru Rosan helping us balance a pose...

Ms. Cruz, a proficient yoga practitioner since 1995 and who has been teaching other forms of yoga such as Vinyasa and Bikram, feels a much closer affinity with Kundalini. According to her, Kundalini offers more access to one's spirituality as well as give benefits to a person’s relationships with other people and with the rest of his environment. Such wisdom was passed on to her by some of the great names in the yoga community, such as Guru Das, Guru Mukh and Guru Charos.  

"Carry the yoke of one another"

One thing that is quite different from other yoga exercises, Kundalini focuses on the inner issues that revolve between couples. One of the sessions requires stretching the hands and arms to stimulate the life nerves and the Thymus gland, which closely affect the heart. The poses couples performed together harness energy that releases the tension of pride, anger, misunderstanding towards each other and gathers positive force that binds the two even more stronger.

Deep relaxation with gong sounds...

The session starts with preliminary stretching and relaxation to set the bodies in its proper mood and stance. After which, couples are instructed to connect the palms together to get the balance of energy that requires to support each other. If one is limited in flexibility, one partner can compensate and counter balance, so that the pose will be stable.

Stretching exercises...

Another exercise that is quite exceptional from other yoga sessions I attended before was the deep relaxation session. This time, all of us was instructed to lie down on our backs with our eyes closed. As we relaxed and meditated on the soft background music, Ms. Cruz played a gong in various rhythms and amplification while she goes around her students.

With fellow yoga-mates...

After the session, she evaluated our experience over a healthy and sumptuous lunch at Vibe Cafe located at the ground floor of Life Yoga center. Surprisingly, among the group, I was the only one who had a unique feeling on the gong part. While others were so relaxed by the monotonous sound of the gong, my experience was quite the opposite.

Channeling the release of anger and grudges...

Somehow, the gong for me was a distracting experience and I never felt relaxed at all. Rosan assured me that my experience was normal for first timers. According to her, uneasiness may be brought by some emotional baggage I refuse to put down or anxiety or negative emotions that I can’t let go. Hmm…that made me think for a while and I guess I need another session of that “gong” relaxation thingy.

Happy Kundalini Valentines to everyone!

Over all, the Kundalini class was a good experience because I was able to do the yoga poses with my wife, Ruth (you can read her Kundalini blog post here), which bound us much closer together. Indeed, it was a unique Valentines Date for the two of us.

Note: Photos courtesy of Lace Llanora