I have had the pleasure of taking one of Sujata’s classes. What I love about her as a teacher is her humility and grounded qualities. She has a peaceful way of teaching that quietens my soul and soothes my mind. The following were questions that I have asked her:
When did you start practicing Kundalini yoga?
I started practicing KY In 1998 in Tucson AZ. A friend recommending it so i sought it out in a local yoga studio and I was hooked. It had all the elements of a yoga practice I had been craving after trying a few other forms of yoga.
What inspired you to become a teacher?
After feeling the shifts and challenges that were arising as I was doing it on a weekly basis, I started to feel I wanted more and to go deeper with my practice. I started reading the KY Guidelines for Sadhana. Now I was really inspired and realized that this body of knowledge could keep me interested for possibly the rest of my life.
What was the path that your own journey took?
And then in 1999 I left the country to travel for a year. I did my practice off and on while traveling and did other yoga practices I found along the way.
I decided to go to Amritsar, the sacred Sikh temple in northern India since I was so inspired by Yogi Bhajan and KY. Well, I didn’t find any KY there or in those parts but I was thoroughly intoxicated by the Sacred Chants, the Divine Naad, sound current, being recited and chanted 24 hrs a day at this sacred site. Again I was hooked.
I got back to US and made transitions after being gone a year. There were rough times and my refuge was going to KY classes in what ever town i was in.
That indeed was what inspired me to become a teacher, I kept coming back to it. My Sadhana kept me sane. Finally I decided it was time to go deeper and share it with others. I went to the Ghost Ranch in Abique , NM. for the three week intensive Teacher training in 2002. And I was blessed to have classes and teachings with Yogi Bhajan, the KY Master, at the Ghost Ranch and at his Residence in Espanola, NM.
From there the journey has be off and on with KY. A year after being certified, I partially tore my rotator cuff in a building accident and couldn’t lift my arm for six months. My meditation practice went deeper and it took me a took me a couple years to get into teaching a regular class which was KY for Women in Nevada City, CA.
What is your favorite lesson or concept that you like to teach and why?
My favorite concept to teach is how to make KY sustainable in one’s life, how to have a consistent practice that is doable, How to go beyond the physical and at same time embracing the challenges of the physical.
Who inspires you?
All beings inspire me! Ram Dass(a Bhakti Yoga master and teacher not Guru Ram Dass of Sikh lineage) said once in a workshop “Everyone is the Guru if you know how to listen.” Everyone navigating though this world in these crazy times of transition, willing to look at themselves and their part in the whole. Those who can stay sane during the moments of the insane.
Great Lovers inspire me.
Right now The Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, The Radiance Sutras, translated by Lorin Roche inspires me. It is a conversation between Shiva and Shakti about how to enter more deeply into the reality of the universe.
Ram Dass
How would you describe Kundalini yoga to someone that had never experienced it before?
It is the Yoga of Awareness, balancing and cleansing our mind, body and soul. It is the most complete form of yoga I have experienced. It incorporates mantra (sacred sound currents), breath work(pranayamas), mundras (sacred hand gesture), physical asanas (body postures and movement) and Meditation to connect with our higher consciousness.
What are your favorite mantras and why?
I love them all, hard to pick but a few favorites are :
Gobinday, Mukunday, Udaaray, Apaaray,
Hareeung, Kareeung, Nirnaamay, Akaamay
Sustaining, Liberating, Enlightening, Infinite
Destroying,Creating, Nameless, Desireless
Raa Maa Daa Saa Saa Say So Hung:
Sun Moon Earth Impersonal Infinity Totality of Infinity I am the Infinite Vibrating and Real.
Wha-hay Guru:
I am in ecstasy when I experience the Indescribable Wisdom. The ecstasy of going from ignorance(unconsciousness) to true understanding(consciousness).
Favorites because they vibrate the great boundless mystery of all things and our connection to that. Good reminders and mood elevators.
How has your practice of kundalini yoga influenced your life in general?
It has kept me in touch with my true higher self and my commitment to my own growth.
What are your aspirations regarding your own practice, your teaching, and your students in the next few years?
My aspirations are to inspire and guide others to integrate a consistent, sustainable practice into their daily lives. This technology works but only IF you do it. I am always a student, so I will be learning and growing from other teachers and teachings as well.
I also want to be doing more Art and Kundalini Yoga in my own life and to share that practice with others.
Please tell me anything that you would like to here, any message or inspiration that you would like to share.
We are in the transition of the Ages(from Piscean to Aquarian) and this moment in time is why Yogi Bhajan brought these teachings to the west. He knew this technology was no longer just secret teachings for the ascetics meditating in the mountains. This is for “householders” as well, to embody and live as fully, clearly and consciously as possible during this magnificent time of change. Let’s do it together and inspire each other to be the best we can be!