Kundalini Yoga With Gurmukh

The first time I encountered this workout was 9 years ago or so; I was in my early twenties and experimenting with different health routines, exercises, herbal medicine and the like, but not really serious about my health. At 22, I was in great health rather effortlessly and took it for granted, but I remember how much of an impact Gurmukh had on me. Her sort of "airy fairy" thing was a little off-putting at first, but her voice, as other reviewers have said, is very soothing and helps you stay with it. Most importantly, the movements had an instant effect; even at that young age in which I weighed probably 130 lb wet (5'7" tall), the exercise was tough and the mental and physical clarity I felt was almost instantanous. I did the workout a few times and the VHS got lost in the shuffle somewhere. Fast forward to the present day; I haven't taken very good care of my body at all. After fifteen years of smoking, several years of college and single motherhood, and all the exorbant amounts of coffee and junk food for fast energy, and all the late nights of studying and stress...let's just say I'm in bad shape. I gained fifty pounds in four years of college, was constantly fatigued and depressed, and just generally didn't feel good...ever. The first exericse routine I thought of was Gurmuhk and her Kundalini Yoga; after so many years, I still remembered how vigorous the practice was and how good I felt after doing it. I sought it out on Amazon last year, doing the routine here and there when I could squeeze it in between classes, work, children, and late-night study marathons, but it's taken some time to make real changes. Since my graduation a few weeks ago, I have gotten very serious about my health and have created a routine for myself: I cut out all the bad food and am on a fairly strict diet regimen, cut the cigarettes, added vitamins and supplements, and I do this video 5-7 days a week. I also do Pilates 2-3 days a week, with a wierdo instructor that can't seem to keep his hands off of the model demonstrating pelvic thrusts. (Can't remember the guy's name right now) The guy creeps me out but I do the video because it works. I also do Jillian Michael's 30-day shred 3-5 days a week. I find her highly abrasive, most of her commentary annoying, and I generally don't like her, but I do her video because it works. In contrast, once you get past her rather radical appearance and approach (at least for many Americans) Gurmukh is a life saver. I have gotten to the point where my day doesn't feel complete unless I do this round of yoga. She is calm, very positive and encouraging, and the movements are to me unique and challenging without being overwhelming. At first, it is enormously difficult to do the video beginning to end. I found myself gasping for breath, every muscle in my body burning, and my heart thudding in my chest; sometimes I'd curse her with her calm manner and voice while I was working so hard; the models in the video are annoyingly calm and never seem to even exhale from their mouths, which I find maddening. This yoga routine is the foundation of my whole regimen; the breathing exercises and focusing have helped me sharpen my resolve and my focus, on my health but also on my family and career life; I am calmer, less anxious, slower to anger, and have 1000% more mental clarity. I'm sure it was all the espressos and junk food I was consuming also, but I have to give Gurmukh credit; if I had to rely on Jillian Michaels or the creepy Pilates guy alone, I think I might have given up already. Don't entertain any illusions; this routine is hard; it took me until only a day or so ago to be able to get through the whole video; you won't be able to do the whole thing at first; you will have to stop, catch your breath and sometimes stop before the video is over, but if you keep with it and push yourself little by little, it will pay off. The best thing about it is, even if you can only get through a few minutes at a time in the beginning, it still has a profound effect on your energy levels and sense of well being. Buy this video!!! Read more

The exercises in this video will really raise your energy, give you more mental alertness, and help you deal with stress. Highly recommended. This is not your grandmother's yoga. This is a different set of movements that you won't see in regular yoga classes. But the bottom line is they really work. Read more

I thought it was over rated so many other 5 star reviews...just by having a few Yoga DVDs I didn't think this was possible-but I bought it anyway and I'm so glad! I've attended a lot of Kundalini classes in LA. But when I'm away I resort to my own means-well not anymore. Gurmukh's voice and personality are very captivating, deeply spiritual you experience a profound yoga experience, a real union. I'm reading her book and she is the real deal. She's done dozens of journeys to India's Golden Temple and been teaching for more than three decades. I highly recommend her book. Even if you don't believe in anything or do have a religion and you are looking for Yoga because you've heard all the amazing benefits and are ready to try and see for yourself this is it! These exercises are ancient, mystical, magical and extremely practical. If you have been doing yoga poses for years but are curious about the spiritual side...this is it ... yoga that has fast results with minimal effort.. I remember when I started this yoga over a year ago and right away I knew I was home I didn't need to "look" anymore (I still read different books and meditate and have questions like everyone else but the sense of peace is unlike anything else). Your gratitude and compassion, awareness inner and physical strength will transform you day to day you will never be the old you. This is really a gift. I love it. Read more

I am a veteran of vinyasa flow, power yoga, jivamukti etc. You name it, I've probably tried it (but mostly vinyasa). I shied away from kundalini for a long time because it's so different from other forms of yoga, and the one video I tried a long time ago left me feeling lightheaded and exhausted in a bad way. I don't think I was really ready to give it a fair chance. Recently I was having some problems with anxiety and stress, and my typical yoga routine wasn't making a dent in it (so I know I was in a state!) Restorative yoga helped, but I was looking for something more cleansing and invigorating. I got this DVD from Netflix first to try it out, and I really love it. I have been with friends who have seen the DVD and have been wary of Gurmukh simply based on her appearance. They're afraid of dabbling in something overly "mystical" or "new agey". Well, aside from Gurmukh being of the Sikh faith (hence the turban), she's not much different from most yoga instructors. Actually, she's a lot better. She has an incredibly calming voice, and manages to motivate without coming across like an aerobics instructor (I seem to encounter a lot of aerobics-like yoga instructors in my studio travels. You know: "Go on, feel the BURN! VINYASA!" Anyway, my advice on this DVD is to listen to your body. Gurmukh advises you to keep pushing past your point of resistance while doing the routine . My experience was that I need to keep working at this DVD to really keep up some of the movements the entire time. An important concept in yoga is to listen to your body. Shiva Rea calls it "going to your intelligent edge". In other words, you don't give up merely because you experience mental resistance, but pain isn't productive either. I had to back off some of the extended arm motions in here, as I pulled a muscle in my neck doing them the first time. Motivated by Gurmukh's urging and a bit of ego, I pushed myself a too far. So, listen to yourself :) For veterans of Kundalini, most of these are familiar exercises. I love how invigorated I feel doing this style of yoga. I also get an intense workout and feel that delicious soreness the next day, so I think I'll be sticking with it. I almost forgot- Gurmukh leads you in a great shavasana with a gong at the very end, and it's uniquely peaceful. Read more