Customer Reviews

Kundalini Yoga With Gurmukh

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

She also kicks my butt. By the end of my first session, I was gasping for air and sweating profusely. But after I settled down, I realized that I felt more awake, more present, and more centered than I have in a very long time. Don't get me wrong, I still love my Hatha Yoga, but this program is a wonderful complement. The energy released is more intense and profound.

To many westerners, Gurmukh may seem a bit odd, but I found her refreshing, funny, down-to-earth, supportive, and very genuine. At the time of filming she was 58, but looks more like 38, and her soft, airy voice sounds more like 18. Makes you want to give this Kundalini thing a try, doesn't it? I pray that I am in such incredible shape as this woman when I'm "middle-aged."

I strongly disagree with the reviewers who think that this program is too strenuous, or even "dangerous." Not once did I feel that this routine put my body in a position it couldn't handle, and I am a relative newcomer to Yoga. Of course you should respect your body's limits and realize that your flexibility and stamina will increase with practice. Any Yoga video worth watching is going to challenge you, or soon you'll be bored of it. Just go a little slower at first, make the movements a little smaller until you build strength. If you feel like you're going to pass out (like I did when I first started), just pause the DVD, catch your breath, and move on when you're ready. Soon enough you'll be able to jam through the whole program without stopping, and you'll feel an energy and awakening that you may never have known before.

If you're a beginner to Kundalini or Yoga in general, don't be intimidated. This program is challenging, but very "doable" for all fitness levels and belief systems. Gurmukh warmly welcomes people of all faiths, and gives encouragement and inspiration that everyone can relate to.

Thank you so much, Gurmukh! I'm so glad I found your Kundalini Yoga video.

I got the VHS version years ago & enjoyed it. Gurmukh has a very calm, sweet style to her, very encouraging & she's well-known with celebrities even (though that shouldn't be important). She's more down to earth then Ravi & Anna Brett kundalini yoga dvds which are more stylish/Hollywood, though I have to admit I love their choice of music. She's in her 50s but she looks 30s. She does the workout with you as well at least a few times especially even ones I had difficulty doing & I'm in my late 20s.
It's very hard to do with a lot of aerobic feel. There is also a lot of fast twisting that you may get a little dizzy from if you're not careful. But I always felt great after, I felt increase of energy & much more flexible.
In the meditation after, I am so tired, I sometimes do actually trance out while she plays the gong & they chant. I always feel wonderful after.
If you're into aerobics mood one day & sick of 80s style that doesn't uplift you & make you more body aware, then this is the yoga style for you.
1/2008 - I wrote this review years ago when I fatigued often from dietary issues. I took off one star because I was frustrated with my own inability. There aren't many kundalini yoga dvds out there & Gurmukh Kaur & Gurutej Kaur (names they are giving in yogi/religious training & Kaur is name all females get) are the most spiritual/uplifting to remind you you have the poewr to make your life more loving/positive.

Gaiam com makes this dvd & if you go to their site, they have a PREVIEW there that's FIVE MINUTES long so you can see for yourself. There are also some clips of her & her lectures on youtube.

My first introduction to this type of yoga was Ana Brett & Ravi Singhs Yoga Beauty Body which I ordered along with Dance the Chakras. I had never done anything like these before and LOVED them!
I immediately purchased 4 more (all excellent) as well as trying out other Kundalini Yoga instructors.

This is the best of the non-Ravi & Ana Kundalini Yoga DVDs. I would prefer to have more breath of fire, and alignment pointers, like in the Ana & Ravi ones but it is very vigorous which I like, in fact, it is so energetic it has a little bit of a dread factor for me. You will sweat and feel amazing afterwards!

Gurmuhk is said to be over 60 and looks pretty good. She is a very inspirational teacher who seems very commited to her message.

If you have never done Kundalini Yoga, this DVD may not be the best to start with - but definitely worth having in your collection.

2009 was a hell year for me. My mother died, my nephew committed suicide and I lost two pets. I didn't have a job for a while nor a place to live. I felt that the universe was giving me a beating. I had no idea why. Everyday was a struggle. I started doing this a few months ago along w/ daily private mediations. The transformation has been amazing for me. I wake up at 5, do kundalini yoga w/ this DVD, meditate and then off to work. My job leaves much to be desired but this work out contributes to helping me keep my cool at work.

I have tried a couple of the RaviAnna DVDs and I like them but I prefer this for a few reasons. The breath of fire is effortless in this workout. Rather than telling you to "okay start breath of fire now while you're doing this exercise", you just follow gurmukh's lead and the breath of fire comes naturally. The scenery is very peaceful. Listening to the chimes along w/ the birds chirping while doing the final meditation is soothing.

My attitude has definitely changed for the better as a result of doing this yoga routine daily. I am grateful that I stumbled upon it at such a dire and critical time in my life.

I am 61 years old and this is the best yoga dvd I own. I do the full program 4 times a week. At first it was hard, a real challange. You will break out in a cleansing sweat but keep at it and you will find your body becoming firmer. Your legs will be much stronger as will your shoulders. I started out weighing 185 and after 2 months still weigh 185 but have lost 2 inches off my waist and have greatly improved muscle tone.

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.

I tried this dvd because a friend told me he lost 40 lbs in less than a year w/ the help of kundalini yoga, and i just wanted to lose a few lbs. It really works! I used the dvd every other day at night after work (before dinner), and saw results after only 2 weeks - it looked and felt like I had burned some fat already, and all parts of my body felt firmer. I also noticed that 1. my metabolism is higher for about 24 hrs after i do the dvd each time 2. my appetite decreased - normally after a workout i'd be famished, but after this workout i'd feel somewhat hungry or not at all 3. if i had a big, heavy meal or overate (which i do quite often, so i'm familiar w/ what it makes me feel like and does to my stomache), i would NOT feel completely bloated and uncomfortable and digesting very slowly like i normally would, i would still feel fine. my friend who's a yoga teacher says those things are because this yoga activates and releases certain tangible and intangible things that allows users to reap many benefits (it won't be the same ones for everybody).
If the fast twisting motions in the beginning of the dvd makes you dizzy the first few times as it did to me, it's ok, after a few times i got used to it and felt perfectly fine. keep your eyes closed when you do that, as Gurmukh instructs, because with your eyes open you'll be even dizzier. Overall, i highly recommend this dvd for anyone who is looking to lose weight, tone up and get sleek/lean limbs, have more energy on a daily basis, and/or have a higher stamina. It's one of the best purchases i've ever made, worth much more than what it costs.

I have purchased about 20 different Yoga videos over the past year and now I have finally found the perfect one! It's a moderately-paced workout that is great for beginners or intermediates. It has also really helped to improve my chronic upper/lower back pain.

The instructor is amazing, as well. Her voice is very calming and she relays many positive thoughts throughout the entire video. She's very inspiring as a person and an instructor.

Overall, if you are looking for a yoga video that keeps you on your toes with a very cool instructor--BUY THIS VIDEO!

This was my first introduction ever to Kundalini yoga, almost 10 years ago back when I still lived in Chicago. While it is certainly vigorous (though not compared to the Warrior Set!) I still find it to be deeply healing and soothing. The sections are divided nicely so you can do the entire thing or just a the first section or two if you are pressed for time. Ladies, keep in mind if you generally need a jogbra for running, wear one. There is a section where you are bouncing up and down in a boxer shuffle and I generally go without the heavy support for yoga but you'll need it for this one. I also love the gong meditation at the end, which isn't as powerful as being there in person obviously, but I still get a vibrational benefit from it.

My only issues with this DVD are minor technical ones;
- when tuning in, Gurmukh has you chant "Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo" only once, rather than doing it three times as I have been taught by every instructor I've ever had (including students of YB, like Gurmukh). I like to keep it pure and exact myself. Once is nice, three times feels better.

- I noticed that during the spinal flexes in the beginning, students are reaching their chins up towards the sky when they flex their solar plexus forward and that defeats the entire purpose. The whole point of the exercise is to isolate the movement by keeping the hips and the head still while the spine does all of the flexing. I'm not sure why she doesn't correct that but after going through teacher's training where we did so many variations and sets, I've never seen a single person allow that much head movement during a spinal flex. It diminishes the benefit.

Again, minor things but Kundalini is the science of angles, so a seemingly small thing like keeping the chin level has a tremendous impact on the efficacy of the yoga.

But Gurmukh is ageless, glorious, fierce, loving and inspiring. She's old enough to be my mother and she floats effortlessly through the toughest sections, always maintaining her light-as-air, girlish voice and ebullience. She's more fit and lean and strong now than she was in her 20s. Her adamant declaration in the introduction "You never have to grow old" is true, and she is a living embodiment of that truth.

I had a friend who was new to Kundalini do this with me at home and he found it taxing and anything but relaxing. I think it might be best to introduce someone new (including yourself) with something more low-key like Ana Brett and Ravi Singh's lighter sets, Yoga Beauty Body or Yoga Bliss Hips. But this is a MUST for anyone who wants to experience the best of Kundalini yoga and is up for a challenge. But this is also one of those sets that delivers you into a state of relaxation and freedom you can only obtain when you work this hard first. A tonic for the nervous system.

The first time I tried this Kundalini workout I was at a friend's house. After doing about 20 minutes of this video I got tired and stopped. Even after only 20 minutes I felt a high level of energy I've never felt before. Now I crave the feeling this workout gives me. I feel floaty, happy and energized after I do this workout. It's hard to explain, but exercise has never made me feel like this before. I can't make it to my friend's house regularly enough to work out with her, so now I'm buying my own Kuhndalini DVD.

I strongly disagree with the reviews saying this video is dangerous. I'm a total beginner to yoga and also have minor back problems. I had no problem doing this video, although I still haven't been able to do it all at full intensity. You have to use common sense and if something hurts, don't do it. The amazing teacher in this video talks about different workouts with different intensities so everyone can enjoy it. If you use common sense and start slowly, there is nothing dangerous about this video. Don't expect to be able to do the whole thing at first if you're not in shape. It's pretty intense. Even doing it for 20 minutes will make a huge difference in how you feel, mentally and physically. Give it a try.