Ed

The sheepskins should have been a giveaway. In desperate need of a yoga workout, I attended a Kundalini class Saturday morning. One of the first things I noticed on entering the class was that nobody had props - then I noticed that nobody even had a sticky mat: people were sitting on blankets or on white sheepskins. And... people were fully dressed: long pants, even one guy in jeans and a flannel shirt. And the median age was around seventy. By the time all this registered, it would have been impolite to leave.

The entire class was conducted sitting down, except for a brief Cobra. Swastikasana, Dandasana, Paschimotanasana, most of the action involved Breath of Fire, which has nothing to do with my garlic stir-fry. Breath of Fire is a sort of Lamaze breathing, chuff-chuff-chuff for several minutes accompanied by arm motions or mild twists and commentary on how this is good for your digestion, or your magnetic fields, or your energy whatsis. (No mention of chakras).

In a nutshell: if you're an Iyengar person, Kundalini might not be for you.