Kundalini Cambodia 1 of 6
Some thing different, exciting, relaxing…
I have been practicing yoga, on and off, almost all my life, on five continents, in classrooms and privately, sometimes quite successfully and sometimes not, but I always got something out of the experience. So, when I moved to Phnom Penh, almost two years ago, one of the first thing I looked for on EAS was yoga classes. I found the address for the Kundalini Yoga House and very shyly pushed the door. Hanneke welcomed me with a smile and a cup of tea, and introduced me to Kundalini yoga. It seemed different from what I was used to, a mixture of breathing, meditation, mantra chanting and physical exercises. She invited me to come to class the next day, and I couldn’t refuse.
My first Kundalini teacher was Georgie, and for my first class, I was the only student there, which to me was a relief, as in the past I had to fight myself to stay in a class full of thin, young, flexible women doing things I would never be able to do, even with the best intentions. Throughout the lesson, Georgie encouraged me with soothing, caring words and made me feel for the first time in a long time, beautiful. Georgie has left now, and other teachers have come and gone, but the spirit stays the same. Each class has more or less the same structure, uses Kundalini yoga music and songs, and each teacher has his own favourite set of exercises called Kriya and I love it all. I will never be a yogi, I will never give up coffee or alcohol or have the healthy diet that I should, but I will always remember Kanika’s favourite saying in class: “and if you cannot reach, it’s never mind.” Practitioners call Kundalini yoga, the yoga of awareness because they claim it directly affects human consciousness, develops intuition, increases self knowledge, and unleashes the unlimited creative potential that exists within every human being. All I can say is that it has helped me with breathing, flexibility, and balance, and moving through very stressful and emotional times, and I have developed muscles I didn’t even know I had!
But I also have made many friends, with fellow students and the teachers. The Kundalini Yoga House has welcomed me with open arms and accepted me the way I am, and for that I will be forever grateful.
Kundalini yoga House is not just about yoga classes, they also provide yoga teacher training, meditation weekends, reiki healing workshops and have incredible Outreach projects in and around Phnom Penh. And they are planning a yoga retreat soon.
So whether you are looking at building muscles, mastering the back bend, relaxing to soothing music, meeting new people, helping out with one of the Outreach projects or experiencing something new and exciting, pass by the Kundalini Yoga House and have a chat and a cup of yogi tea. There are people around most mornings.
The Kundalini Yoga House is at #204ZB in Street 322.
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