Reiki and Kundalini Yoga

The process of self-healing is the privilege of every being. – Yogi Bhajan

A few years ago, I became a certified Kundalini Yoga and Meditation Instructor and now teach classes at Seventh Chakra Yoga. In all the best ways, this beautiful practice of Kundalini Yoga has completely transformed my life.

Combined with my Reiki practice, Kundalini catapulted my spiritual growth and evolution. When it came time to take the test at the end of my Level I Kundalini training, I kept tearing up the entire time because I was so very grateful to have the supreme luck to be exposed to this incredible science and technology.

The only reason I (and any of us) are able to practice Kundalini Yoga is thanks to the courage, bravery and determination of one man…

Yoga Bhajan, the man who brought Kundalini Yoga to the Western world.

Just like how Dr. Mikao Usui knew the practice of Reiki wasn’t meant to be kept secret in Japan for a select few but rather shared with the world, Yogi Bhajan knew the same about Kundalini Yoga.

Before Yogi Ji came to the U.S., Kundalini was a raj yoga, which means it was a royal yoga only practiced by Indian royalty and a lucky few. But now, we can all avail ourselves of this yogic technology that embodies what the word yoga truly means, a union of mind, body and spirit.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall.

How does Reiki tie in with Kundalini?

While the practice of Reiki involves harnessing and channeling the energy around us, Kundalini yoga works more on raising the energy inside us that lies dormant at the base of our spine unless activated.

Reiki and Kundalini both allow us to access that one universal energy we’re made of and that makes up everything, though. Just like when we practice Reiki, the science of Kundalini yoga links us up to that one universal consciousness.

Your power (as a healer) is in your sight, in your touch, in your word. You are a channel of God, you are a channel of divinity. – Yogi Bhajan

Hmmm, being a channel, that sounds kind of familiar for some reason… : )

We can use Kundalini to strengthen our ability to send Reiki, since Kundalini kriyas (exercise sets) open up our energetic pathways so more Reiki energy can flow through them.

According to Yogi Bhajan, we should laugh every single day. We should sweat too.

For example, if you are feeling low on a particular day, you can practice a kriya designed to uplift and elevate you. There is a Kundalini kriya for virtually everything! Kriyas change our energy field and how we feel very quickly. Just like Reiki, Kundalini raises our vibration so we can live in our natural state of feeling good.

With a regular Kundalini practice, we become so strong and centered within ourselves that our ability to flow healing energy to others through our bodies and positively influence their energy fields is greatly enhanced.

Yogi Bhajan said that in these times, there will be so many people in need of healing that all we will have time to do is uplift them by our presence alone. There’s no time for anything else.

So, ask yourself, “What can I do to raise my vibration today?” Perhaps that will mean doing a Kundalini set or taking a walk or dancing to your favorite song. Just like practicing Reiki, practicing Kundalini is something you do for yourself, a gift to your soul.

The beauty is that as you raise your core frequency through Reiki and Kundalini, you elevate humanity and everyone around you as well.

Part of Sat Nam Rasayan, the Kundalini healing technique, is acceptance of what is and loving the ‘issue’ or area that needs healing. This concept, of course, applies when we send Reiki as well.

Using Kundalini Mantras in Your Reiki Practice

The word mantra literally means “to direct the mind.” When we listen to mantras, we use sound to control the vibrations of our mind. Sound is an extremely powerful healing tool; it has the power to bypass the logical mind and go straight to the area that most needs the healing. As Yogi Bhajan said, “With mantra, the mind behaves.”

All power comes from prayer or mantras, not from you. – Yogi Bhajan

When we practice Kundalini, we always start by chanting the Adi Mantra (Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo) to tune in to all those who have come before us (and after, too!) We also chant the Mangala Charan Mantra (Aad Guray Nameh Jugad Guray Nameh, Sat Guray Nameh, Siri Guru Davay Nameh) for protection.

You can chant these or any other Kundalini mantras before you start a Reiki session. Doing so will only deepen your ability to be a channel for the healing Reiki energy.

the light of my soul

Ways to incorporate mantras into your Reiki sessions:

Have a healing mantra playing in the background during a Reiki session.
Mentally sing a mantra to yourself as you offer Reiki to another.
Chant your mantra of choice out loud when you send Reiki to yourself.
Use the Power symbol to ‘power up’ and add even more energy to a mantra.
Set the intention that the Reiki flowing through you is infused with a healing mantra.

Kundalini Mantras for Healing

The Siri Gaitri Mantra

Ra Ma Da Sa

Sa Se So Hung

The Siri Gaitri Mantra tunes the Soul into the same frequency as Reiki, i.e. that spiritually-directed universal life force energy that is completely pure and vibrates at the highest possible rate.

Since we are all part of the multi-verse, we all have the ability to vibrate at the same rapid rate it does. But, because of energetic blockages caused by life experiences, relationships gone sour, false beliefs about ourselves, etc. as well as “past-life” impressions and patterns we bring into this lifetime (known as samskaras in yogic terminology,) our vibration as human beings inevitably begins to slow down.

Ra means Sun energy, Ma is Moon energy, Da is Earth energy, and Sa is Universal energy. Se So Hung means that we are made up of those energies, those energies are us. Another translation of this mantra is that “The service of God is within me.”

The Pran Bandha Mantra

Pavan Pavan Pavan Pavan

Par Para Pavan Guru

Pavan Guru, Wahe Guru

Wahe Guru, Pavan Guru

The Pran Bandha mantra increases the life force energy within us. Since as Reiki practitioners we let spiritually-directed universal life force energy flow through us, it stands to reason that chanting the Pran Bandha mantra increases our ability to be that channel and have more energy move and flow through us.

This mantra creates a connection between our energetic field and the universal energetic field, so that we embody Universal Consciousness. Yogi Bhajan said that, “Whoever chants this mantra becomes God in action. There is no better healing than this.”

The Miracle Mantra of Guru Ram Das

Guru Guru Wahe Guru, Guru Ram Das Guru (chanted five times in one breath)

The Miracle Mantra opens the heart and creates vitality. A deeply healing mantra, the Miracle Mantra of Guru Ram Das attunes us to the healing capabilities and kindness of Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh guru who gave us Kundalini Yoga. According to Yogi Bhajan, “This is a mantra of relaxation, self-healing and emotional relief.”

I have found that chanting the Miracle Mantra with my hands over my heart chakra as I send Reiki to myself to be profoundly healing indeed.

A Couple Mantras in English from Yogi Bhajan

I, my God and my Universe are the Partners.

God and me, me and God, are One.

Bountiful am I, blissful am I, beautiful am I.

Yes. You are.

Use of Pranayama and the Breath with Reiki

As a healer, the first thing to tell every patient is to breathe deeply. – Yogi Bhajan

Yogi Bhajan said one of the best ways we can channel energy is through pranayama, which means to alter and control our breath to produce specific results. (As a fun aside, the word prana means universal life force energy, just like the word ki in Reiki. Anyone who has practiced long, deep breathing for as little as three minutes knows its profoundly relaxing effects. Deep breathing automatically brings us into the present moment.

You can breathe deeply before a Reiki session to center yourself or teach clients a pranayama they can take with them. One easy to remember healing pranayama is the 4 part in – 1 part out breath. Breath in four times in four equal parts through the nose, then breathe out with one long, slow breath.

A healer has nothing of self but prayer. A healer is a living prayer. A human is a living light. – Yogi Bhajan

The Five Sutras for the Aquarian Age

In Reiki we have the Five Reiki Principles to work with and live by. In Kundalini Yoga, Yogi Bhajan taught us the Five Sutras for the Aquarian Age:

Recognize the other person is you.
There is a way through every block.
Understand with compassion or you will misunderstand the times.
When the pressure is on, start and the pressure will be off.
Vibrate the cosmos, the cosmos shall clear the path.

Sutras and principles are the same- complex spiritual concepts reduced to one little sentence. Deceptively simple, both the five Kundalini sutras and the five Reiki principles are quite profound and give us building blocks to build our lives upon.

Looks a lot like Animal Reiki, doesn’t it?

Sutra #1: Recognize that the other person is you.

We can use this sutra as we practice Reiki to remind ourselves that we choose everyone and everything that comes into our experience. Even if it doesn’t feel that way at the time. Your soul/ Higher Self/ true self brought anyone you practice Reiki on to you for a reason. Maybe you have the chance to heal something within you, or they come as a teacher to show you something or help you grow.

Everyone is a mirror reflecting a part of ourselves back to us. If some part of you wasn’t a vibrational match vibrating at the same frequency as that person, they wouldn’t even come into your experience.

The good news is, as you help someone heal themselves through Reiki, you yourself become healed as the Reiki flows through you on the way to them.

Now, when I realize that a client on the table is working through a particular issue, I get excited because that means I have the opportunity to heal that issue (or a similar one) within me!

Sutra #2: There is a way through every block.

We as humans don’t have to know exactly what that way is or how it will look. As long as we trust that The Universe (or God, Spirit, Guru Ram Das, etc.) will take care of the block and clear the resistance, there is nothing really for us to do.

This concept, that we’re not the ones in control, is the foundation for Reiki as well. As long as we set the intention to be the channel and let the supremely intelligent Reiki energy remove the block, it will be done. Perhaps the block won’t be removed in the way or the time frame our limited minds think is best, but it will be done.

Sutra #3: When the time is on, start and the pressure will be off.

We are really, really good at doing the little things in life while never quite getting to the big ones (i.e. the things we came here to do.) We run our errands and look at our Instagram religiously while complaining we don’t have time to write that book, paint that picture or show that person our heart.

We often procrastinate because our dreams feel daunting and overwhelming. This sutra reminds us that as long as we start, we will feel good. That’s all we have to do. The true joy comes along the way as we achieve our goal anyway, not in the ultimate fulfillment of it.

So start whatever it is your soul longs to do. When we work through our fears and start, we realize that the famous saying is so true: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now. – Goethe

Sutra #4: Understand through compassion or you will misunderstand the times.

This sutra can help us immensely, both in self-healing and helping others heal. Compassion for ourselves means not giving a Reiki session if your soul is telling you not to because you are too tired. Compassion means practicing self-care and making sure your table is set at the right height for you, not to mention adequately protecting yourself and your precious energy.

Compassion also means being easy with yourself if you’re not progressing in your healing at the rate you would like. Healing ourselves is a process that happens gradually, so be good to yourself throughout it. It’s a lifelong journey after all.

Sutra #5: Vibrate the cosmos, the cosmos shall clear the path.

This sutra offers us yet another friendly reminder that we are flowing the Cosmos through us when we send Reiki rather than us “fixing” each other or ourselves. There is nothing to change, nothing to fix, nothing to do. All we have to do is show up, be the channel, and let the Universe do the healing.

Happiness is our birthright. – Yogi Bhajan

Yogiji smiling for the kundalini reiki online class

What a smile.

Both Reiki and Kundalini are experiential arts, which means it’s our individual experience of them that expands our consciousness and helps us grow.

There’s nothing else we have to do but be there and experience the thing.

That alone often leaves us saying, Wahe Guru, (i.e. the connection with All That Is is so ecstatic, so amazing, there are just no words to describe it.)

So, yes, all we have to do is show up. That alone is more than enough.

As we sing at the end of every Kundalini Yoga and Meditation class: May the long time sun shine upon you, all love surround you, and the pure light within you, guide your way on…

Sat Nam. (I am a part of All That Is, and so are you. That oneness in everyone and everything is my essence and yours as well.)