As is now well known by my travels and work as a teacher of Kundalini Yoga, as taught by the great Sikh sage Yogi Bhajan, my passion is the sharing of this incredible, and interspiritual, yoga technology with the world. Kundalini Yoga, known as a “Raja Yoga”, that is, a Yoga of “Direct Path” combines all the elements of our globe’s yogic traditions—kriya, asana, mudra, chant, meditation, and much much more. It is interspiritual in its comprehensiveness, in no small part because the Sikh tradition’s sacred writings are interfaith to the core, combining the elements of many cultures and backgrounds from across the Indian subcontinent and through the Middle East (the “Holy Land” of so many world religions).
I always introduce myself as a devoted mother, daughter, sister, friend and teacher, and try to bring my own unique brand of compassion, enthusiasm and pure joy to every Kundalini Yoga practice. In fact, in Sanskrit my name means “Compassion”. Based in Boulder, Colorado in the USA, I teach daily group yoga classes and private lessons, lead weekend intensives on varying themes including relationships, women’s issues and mastering challenges. I also lead retreats internationally and, in recent years, have been presenting at events across the world, including at the United Nations, the annual Science and Nonduality Conference, and tours with groups like The Interspiritual Network, Forum 21 Institute and Ken Wilber’s Integral Community.
I am an Associate Level Trainer in the Aquarian Trainer Academy and arrange Level One teacher training programs and Level Two teacher training modules in conjunction with Lead Teachers from the Kundalini Research Institute headquartered near Yogi Bhajan’s home and resting place, in New Mexico USA. In addition, I offer guided health cleanses and classes, and organize special events featuring world-renowned Kundalini Yoga teachers, artists and musicians.
I am certified in teaching yoga to children, teenagers and prenatal moms, and have taught for the Santa Monica/Malibu school system in California, leading classes for second and fourth graders, as well as high school students. In 2015 I became a Yoga Spokesperson for Patheos.com the international website on the Future of Faith.
I have come to this work from an interesting background, as a classically trained actress and former Ford model. My path to self discovery began long before I ever took her first Kundalini class. While studying at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in England, I began teaching yoga professionally to actors, classmates, and private referrals. I later helped develop The Life Centre’s yoga program in London. As the actor, Anthony Hopkins, once said to me, “You have to find yourself to be yourself.”
His words to me were quite a calling. I continued to find more of myself as I studied Hinduism, Buddhism, and the Lakota Sioux healing tradition. As my exploration of spiritual practices continued to deepen, I attended a Kundalini yoga class in Los Angeles taught by Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa.
Immediately, I was captivated by this amazing technology—unlike any other yoga I had experienced—in which posture, breath, mantra and meditation blend into a rich whole. Gurmukh invited me to apprentice with her, and this was a great honor, as Gurmukh was personally trained by Yogi Bhajan, whose teachings are the foundation of Kundalini Yoga in the western world.
Karuna hosting a group of spiritual leaders in Colorado
Today, I am privileged to share these treasured teachings with Kundalini yoga students from Boulder to all over the world (www.lightonkundalini.com). True to my spiritual name, which means “compassion,” I try to be a coach who helps students push beyond self-imposed limits. I try to fill my classes are with humor, music and the spirit of transformation. And Anthony Hopkins would be happy to know that I continue to find myself more and more every day, in each of my students’ faces. I look forward to sharing all this with the 1God.com community. Thank you for welcoming me.
