Kundalini
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.