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Interview
with a Yogi
by Will Cottrell
| In
Tibetan, the word Kundalini translates to gTummo;
literally 'the fierce woman', a description strangely
fitting for Hove-based Julie Cuddihy. This young Kundalini
yoga instructor positively crackles with enthusiasm
for her practice. "With this form of yoga you
go totally in there with commitment, stamina, staying
power, strength, industry - there's a lot of warrior
stuff going on in class," she grins. |
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In
Tibetan, the word Kundalini translates to gTummo; literally
'the fierce woman', a description strangely fitting for
Hove-based Julie Cuddihy. This young Kundalini yoga instructor
positively crackles with enthusiasm for her practice.
"With this form of yoga you go totally in there with
commitment, stamina, staying power, strength, industry
- there's a lot of warrior stuff going on in class,"
she grins. In our age of irony and scepticism it's unusual,
if not downright disconcerting, to encounter such belief
as Cuddihy displays. Yet maybe she's right - maybe lofty
disengagement can only get us so far: many feel the world's
problems are due to the millions who simply accept the
tedious blandishments of material life and roll over back
to sleep.
Cuddihy
holds her arms in a V above her head. "We hold them
like this for eleven minutes. Eleven minutes," she
grimaces in mock struggle, "the pain - people are
drenched in sweat, but the thing is you're waking the
heart, opening it up, rebuilding the nervous system and
you're just like - wruuuuuugh - no matter what, those
arms are not coming down." Kundalini yoga has a somewhat
mysterious reputation. Whereas Hatha yoga - in particular
Iyengar - is easily assimilated into western ideas of
fitness, Kundalini requires a deeper commitment to physical,
psychological and spiritual change. It's understandable
that few people really understand it - in many ways Kundalini
throws its practitioners in at the deep end.
"It's
got every aspect," Cuddihy continues, "the postures
of Hatha, the dynamics of Ashtanga and the chantings of
Mantra yoga. It could be called the mother of all yogas;
it's like a diamond - it's got every aspect covered. You
have layers and layers - you'll be doing a posture, moving
left to right, having a breathing pattern as well as chanting."
Isn't such an intense practice going to frighten many
people off? "I try to demystify it. I'm trying to
say 'okay you felt something - why are you scared? Don't
run from it, embrace it'. I let people know that you're
playing with the power of a nuclear body, that we are
atomic beings."
There
are a staggering 8.4 million sequences within Kundalini,
each of which must be followed precisely. "They're
like symphonies," says Cuddihy, "you have to
start at the beginning, build up and come back down. You
cannot change them. You dare not because of the power
you're playing with. And these sequences are designed
for people to go through, cope with, process and come
back down to earth. It's a very technical, very meticulous
practice."
Indeed,
since taking up Kundalini, Cuddihy's life has changed.
Formerly a fashion designer, she studied martial arts
before bereavement led her to reassess her life. "Martial
arts wasn't enough. I picked up a copy of Time Out and
saw all these different forms of yoga. I thought "right
- I'm going to try them all". It proved a roller-coaster
ride. "Kundalini has come into my life, picked me
up, shaken me and put me back down. I came to a stage
where it was like - "you know this now, so what are
you going to do with it? Are you going to go on being
a fashion designer, or are you going to go and help others?"
Given her passion, understanding and commitment to Kundalini,
it seems the decision was not a hard one to make.
For
details of classes contact Julie on 01273 733 689 or 07966451292
or email siridatta@anaharta.com
copyright The Insight 2002
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