According to the Kundalini Research Institute, the organization that regulates the Level One Aquarian Teacher Training Program, over 40,000 people worldwide have graduated from their training academy. If the Age of Aquarius is truly going to be a time when humanity claims its rightful heritage and destiny – one of expanded consciousness – the effort is going to be a collective one led by a group of spiritual seekers authentically and lovingly sharing methods for enlightenment. Kundalini is certainly not the only path to samadhi but it has proven to be a lineage that leads to transformation. 

If you relate to the above and feel called to be a part of the elevation of human consciousness, this post is for you. Below are the Top 6 Reasons To Do A Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training (of which there are cross over reasons to get out there and teach if you’re trained and are not yet instructing). The time is now!

#1 – To Deepen Your Own Spiritual Practice

The #1 reason to do a kundalini yoga (KY) teacher training is to deepen your own understanding of the practice, this especially due to the fact that this particular lineage of yoga can be so esoteric and mysterious. Because the training offers a deep dive into clearing the unconscious mind and samskaras (psychological imprints) the one thing graduates claim is that practitioners are healed through the trainings. You will gain insight, applications, tools and wisdom and from overcoming your shadows you will, in many cases, overcome your own confusion, pain, and paralyzation and as such you will claim the rightful title of something called an ‘Acharya,’ a person who leads by example and shares through life experience. 

If you’re avidly practicing (or if you’re a graduate of KY teacher training), you are undoubtedly already inspiring others by the big changes you have made in your life. As such, a teaching certification is arguably less about the qualification and more about a commitment to your own personal work and healing and the inspiration you have in your circles. 

#2 – The International Spiritual Community

The ‘Western’ kundalini sangat has grown considerably since it began in the late 1960’s in Los Angeles, California. As I write this, I have been teaching for 10 years and I have kundalini sisters and brothers around the world from the United States to Mexico to Russia to Germany to the United Kingdom to Chile to Canada to The Netherlands to Switzerland to Australia and beyond. The values, lifestyle, rituals and practice provide you with shared experiences and conscious methods for relating to other souls from different cultures and the special events and annual festivals are opportunities to either teach or receive the teachings in a highly amplified group and setting. 

For anyone who grew up with a strong community, the kundalini sangat is an unparalleled, sacred and invaluable resource to extend into one’s adulthood, rich in spiritual brother and sisterhood, family and kinship.

#3 – You Can Teach And Still Keep Your Day Job

You don’t have to quit your day job (if it’s one you love) or start calling yourself a yoga teacher (if you don’t want to) in order to instruct kundalini in a multitude of settings albeit friend & family groups, children’s schools, university study groups, corporate settings, supporting couples on their wedding day, at retreats and weekend getaways, in women’s and/or men’s circles, on a monthly new or full moon, on an equinox and solstice, through volunteering with recovery groups, women’s safe/halfway houses, homeless shelters or prisons or in a traditional yoga studio setting.

Instructing kundalini yoga does not require that you teach full time and it does not mean that you have to quit your career. Quite the contrary! Kundalini yoga has long been called a ‘householder’s’ yoga designed for individuals ‘with families, social roles and worldly concerns.’ You can get creative about sharing with your circles and communities. All you need to do beyond graduating from a Level 1 training is teach the same tools that provided you with your personal transformation and in doing so you will create a ripple effect of change.

#4 – Anyone Can Practice Kundalini Yoga

Pain and disease are the two biggest obstacles to people doing yoga. But kundalini yoga is unique in that zero experience is necessary and a practitioner can always modify. The KY practice is also adaptable for any body type, degree of flexibility, age, and level of health. 

Modifications are always allowed – even skipping postures all together is permitted. In fact, if students are limited in their mobility, currently nurturing an injury or illness, recovering from surgery, in a grief process, or just plain exhausted, they can still attend class and receive the benefits. Moreover, with group practice, the happiness of one person can mix with the sorrow of another. As a result, the entire group finds harmony as its energy is directed into the activity of the yoga practice itself. I’ve seen older or injured individuals practice in chairs. I’ve seen amputees in classes. I have been to homeless shelters where over 25 people were swaying their bodies and breathing in unison. The point is inclusivity. Anyone and everyone is welcome and there are benefits for all.

#5 – You Can Truly Make A Difference

The applications inside kundalini yoga are not the common alignment-based poses that you see on Instagram. I often explain to beginners of the practice that KY gives practitioners permission to tap into their primitive self through breath patterns and also through the practice of body trembling which encompasses shaking the body for extended periods of time. In addition to tapping into our innate desire to express emotions wildly (like children do), KY also gives students the authorization to embody our childlike selves through organic dancing, singing, and rolling which can lead to uncontrollable laughter, just like we had when we were kids.

This is a yoga practice that targets and alleviates ailments such as low back pain, poor circulation, toxic build up, brain fog, loneliness, burn out, insecurity, anger issues, fear that’s causing anxiety and hundreds more conditions from which millions are suffering. More still, these common afflictions are the warning signs of the beginning stages of imbalances in someone’s system. By simply teaching someone how to regulate their stress response and breathe properly again, you can activate a chain of positive shifts in someone’s entire system and you can be in the business of advocating for prevention through supportive habits.

#6 – You’ll Always Find More Layers of the Practice