SKY is a type of yoga that’s a bit different to what most people understand.
Newly graduated Shamanic Kundalini Yoga (SKY) teacher Karen Lovell popped into the studio last Wednesday during my Wellness segment to talk about the benefits of her practice.
This type of yoga is a bit different to what most people understand – it’s not the bendy-stretchy exercise-focussed type that many are used to, but rather a more fundamental practice linked to our energy.
I practice SKY when I can, but have previously been frustrated by not having anyone local to do this with – and have been told by my husband that I’m doing too much already and don’t have the time to take anything else on!
Karen spoke on Lichfield Radio about what Kundalini actually is, telling us:
We are all born with Kundalini energy – you only have to look at a baby growing up to a toddler to see it. How much is that baby in love with life and with themselves? That is all Kundalini, as they make their connection with their family and the larger world.
The act of giving birth itself is Kundalini energy. But what happens is that energy subsides as the world makes its mark… as that child starts going to school and growing up. Kundalini recedes to the base of the spine, waiting there patiently. Certain things do spark it – such as being in awe of something, listening or seeing something beautiful, as well as fear, goosebumps and intimate energy. This is all Kundalini rising and then subsiding once more.
SKY is designed to awaken that energy, and to clear the energy centres so that Kundalini can rise through the chakras in your body through to your crown, bringing with it peace and calm. A magic thing about it is that it helps to regulate your endocrine system, helping to produce the feel-good hormones such as serotonin, dopamine and endorphins, while at the same time minimising the production of cortisol and adrenaline.
Core movements strengthen the vagal tone, all part of the vagus nerve. A strong vagal tone improves your reaction to stress – you relax away from stress more quickly. In fact, at the end of our half hour, Karen was saying how she thinks that SKY is a good replacement for HRT. She thinks that Kundalini energy in middle-aged woman just coalesces in the body, and if not expressed, expresses itself by accumulating water and fat. But if you allow yourself to express it upwards through your spine, then this is a good counter balance. This is all her own personal thoughts, not backed by science here!
Karen also drums before her classes and uses this beat as a route to relaxation. Both drumming and Kundalini yoga allow brain waves to slow from beta to alpha, and possibly further into theta, making a transition from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system.
Karen practices online every Monday night and carries out classes over at Deanslade Gym for events such as the Summer Solstice and the Equinoxes. She also sometimes runs classes on Monday lunchtimes.
Karen will soon be able to be found on her website, fallinlovewithyourself.com. You can contact her at skykaren@fallinlovewithyourself.com, and find her Substack page here.
To find out more about Sally and her services, visit: https://www.sallywagstaff.co.uk.
I have taken part in Kundalini sessions at a festival; it’s truly energising! I’m glad to hear if the opportunity to practise locally.