Kuṇḍalinī yoga, tantric roots and modern form

"Kundalini yoga" is one of the most searched styles of yoga, and one of the most confusing. Behind the name stand a very old idea from the tantric and hatha texts, and a modern system with its own founder, uniform and organisation. Both deserve to be known for what they are.

1. The roots: kuṇḍalinī in the hatha and tantric texts

Kuṇḍalinī means "the coiled one". In Śaiva and Śākta tantras, and then in the hatha yoga manuals, she is the power (śakti) of the Goddess asleep at the base of the central channel. The Haṭhapradīpikā calls her "the support of all the teachings of yoga" (3.1), and makes her awakening the turning point of breath practice:

कुम्भकात्कुण्डलीबोधः कुण्डलीबोधतो भवेत् । अनर्गला सुषुम्णा च हठसिद्धिश्च जायते ॥

kumbhakāt kuṇḍalī-bodhaḥ kuṇḍalī-bodhato bhavet | anargalā suṣumṇā ca haṭha-siddhiś ca jāyate ||

From breath retention comes the awakening of Kuṇḍalī. From her awakening, suṣumṇā becomes free of obstruction, and success in hatha is born.

The means it describes are advanced: long retentions (kumbhaka), seals and locks (bandhas, mudras), and "stirring the power" (śakti-cālana), always learnt from a guru. In this sense, "kuṇḍalinī yoga" is not a style but the inner goal of hatha and tantric practice. The texts, the images of the coils and the cakras, and the risks are explained on Kuṇḍalinī, what the tantric texts say, with the chakras and the nāḍīs.

2. The modern system: Yogi Bhajan and 3HO

Facts and dates

• Yogi Bhajan (Harbhajan Singh Puri, born 1929 in Punjab, died 6 October 2004 in Española, New Mexico) moved to the United States in 1968.
• 3HO, the "Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization", was founded in 1969, the year he began teaching these practices publicly in the West, according to 3HO itself.
• His style is often called "Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan". It grew alongside a Sikh-inspired community (white clothing, turbans for many practitioners, Gurmukhi mantras) and a teacher-training system run by the Kundalini Research Institute (KRI).

What a class looks like

A typical session follows a fixed shape:

The word kriyā here means a prescribed set of actions, not Patañjali's kriyā yoga or the hatha cleansings.

The 2020 report

In 2019 Pamela Saharah Dyson, his former secretary for more than twenty years, published a memoir, Premka: White Bird in a Golden Cage, describing abuse. The Siri Singh Sahib Corporation, which oversees his organisations, then commissioned an independent investigation from An Olive Branch, an organisation that handles ethical misconduct in spiritual communities. Its report, released in August 2020, concluded that much of the alleged conduct, including sexual abuse, "more likely than not" occurred (an investigator's finding, not a court ruling; he died in 2004), after hearing 299 people: 96 who reported harm, 140 supporters and 63 others (The Post, 27 August 2020). Since then, several teachers and schools have changed how they present the lineage, while others continue to teach the practices separately from the founder's person. We report these facts so that you can choose your teacher knowingly; they do not change the history of kuṇḍalinī in the older texts.

3. What the research shows

The research on Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan is small, and several studies involve researchers who are themselves teachers of the method (they declare it). Three findings can be stated, with their limits:

• Anxiety. In a randomized trial in 226 adults with generalized anxiety disorder (Simon et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2021), twelve weekly 2-hour group sessions of Kundalini yoga gave a response rate of 54% against 33% for stress education. But yoga was not shown to be as effective as cognitive behavioral therapy (71%), and the authors conclude that CBT should remain the first-line treatment.
• Insomnia. A small trial (40 adults with sleep-onset insomnia, Khalsa and Goldstein, 2021) found larger improvements in diary-reported sleep with 8 weeks of Kundalini yoga than with sleep hygiene. The sample is small, sleep was self-reported, and the lead author directs research at the Kundalini Research Institute.
• Adverse effects. A systematic review of 83 studies of meditation practices (Farias et al., 2020) found adverse events in about 8% of participants, most often anxiety and depression. The review covers meditation in general (it excluded yoga postures) and does not single out Kundalini yoga, but it is a reminder that intensive inner practices are not risk-free.

None of this shows that Kundalini yoga can awaken a power, open chakras or replace medical treatment. Talk to your doctor before using yoga for a health condition.

Who it suits, and how to begin safely

Kundalini yoga suits people who like rhythm, repetition, chanting and strong sensations, and who are comfortable with a structured class. It suits less well people who want slow, precise posture work (Iyengar yoga) or quiet stillness (yin yoga, yoga nidra).

1. Check your health against the warning at the top of this page.
2. Start with a beginners' class and tell the teacher about any condition.
3. Do the breath of fire gently or replace it with slow nasal breathing; nothing obliges you to follow the pace.
4. Ask how the teacher was trained and how the school deals with the 2020 report. A good teacher will answer plainly.
5. For a quieter way into the same territory, begin with alternate nostril breathing and mantra meditation.

To compare with the other paths, see the paths of yoga and tantra yoga.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. Haṭhayogapradīpikā of Svātmārāma, Sanskrit text (GRETIL, University of Göttingen) checked October 17, 2026
2. 3HO Foundation, About 3HO (official page: founded 1969) checked October 17, 2026
3. Janine Moodley, Yogi Bhajan sexual abuse claims likely true, The Post (IOL), 27 August 2020 checked October 17, 2026
4. Simon NM et al. Efficacy of Yoga vs Cognitive Behavioral Therapy vs Stress Education for the Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry, 2021 DOI 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.2496 PMID 32805013 checked October 17, 2026
5. Khalsa SBS, Goldstein MR. Treatment of chronic primary sleep onset insomnia with Kundalini yoga: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2021 DOI 10.5664/jcsm.9320 PMID 33928908 checked October 17, 2026
6. Farias M et al. Adverse events in meditation practices and meditation-based therapies: a systematic review. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 2020 DOI 10.1111/acps.13225 PMID 32820538 checked October 17, 2026

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