Two women came in and sat in front of my class at the Santa Fe Spa. It was around 1990 and I was teaching 2-3 classes a week. On this day I was working with a warm-up set. Instead of using a fixed kriya, a warm-up set allow the teacher to work with the needs of the students. The postures are all part of the teachings and we finish with a Kundalini yoga meditation.
Not long after starting the set, one of the women broke out crying during the posture. I looked within myself and decided to let her alone to make her own experience. During the next exercise, again she broke out crying. A deep cry like that of a wounded animal. I still felt it okay to not interfere. I noticed some of the other students in the class became concerned and looked to me to see if they should react in some way. Even with their concern, I felt it best to leave her to herself. This conscious decision registered on my face and the students then relaxed and continued doing their yoga postures.
During a warm-up set, I allow my intuition to help guide what exercise might best serve the students present. Without thought, I noticed most of the postures worked on the heart center. Although unusual, I felt the trust of my intuition to continue to follow my inner guidance. The woman in the front kept crying while doing her best to do the exercises and continued throughout the meditation at the end.
When the class was over, the two women approach me and with great warmth, thanked me for the class. The woman who had been doing the crying offered a short explanation. She informed me her husband and son had been killed in a car accident a few weeks before and this was the first time she had left the house. She was grateful for the class and allowing her to make her own experience, hoping it was not too disruptive for the other students. I assured her, all was fine and she would be welcome back any time. I wished her well with the process of grieving this terrible loss. Inside I was shaking upon hearing this powerful story and humbled for the small part I could play.
None of the other students heard this conversation, but unintentionally one of the students managed to lighten the moment by declaring, “I did not know it was okay to cry in class.” From that day forward, I often announced one could cry, laugh, scream, and allow whatever expression they felt during the class. Occasionally a student would test this with a scream or loud laugh. It still happens sometimes students cry during a yoga class. Kundalini Yoga is known as the science of self-healing.
To trust our intuition means we must suspend judgment, thought, belief, logic, and even reason. It is the powerful inner voice of our intuitive self that connects us to our infinite nature. To strengthen trust in our intuition is the key to most of our success in life. Thankfully, Kundalini Yoga offers many techniques to support the development of our intuition.
