IV Congresso Internacional de Pedagogia Social

Abstract

KHALSA, Keval Kaur. Embodied awareness and action: kundalini yoga& meditation as a foundation for Social Education. In Proceedings of the 4th. Congresso Internacional de Pedagogia Social IV Congresso Internacional de Pedagogia Social, 2012, São Paulo (SP, Brazil) [online]. 2012 [cited 18 April 2024]. Available from: <http://www.proceedings.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=MSC0000000092012000100047&lng=en&nrm=iso> .

As we move into the 21st century, we find ourselves in an age of information overload, widespread and constant stress, lack of time, and increased social and personal demands.  Human activity is directly and negatively impacting the web of life on a global scale, and yet our consciousness as a species is still limited and self-centered.  How can we move beyond our limited ego-self, building spiritual capacity and authentic connection with others?  How do we maintain mental, emotional and physical flexibility and stamina and integrate the spiritual aspect of our life with the material and technological? How do we understand deeply the interconnectedness of all things, and act consciously and courageously from that deep understanding?  The ancient Indian practice of Kundalini Yoga& Meditation as taught by Yogi Bhajan provides a framework for an internal paradigm shift --- from "me" to "we"; from intellectual knowledge to a new relationship to intuition, emotion and instinct; from confusion to clarity; from isolation to connection; from fear and insecurity to conscious, courageous action.  This paper introduces critical elements of Kundalini Yoga practice - Pranayam, Kriya, Meditation& Mantra - and explains how this embodied spiritual practice develops awareness, consciousness, and the courage to act from the heart as spiritual warriors in this time of unprecedented planetary chaos. Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan and the liberatory educational practices of Paolo Freire share some key philosophical underpinnings: personal consciousness-raising is the key to empowerment and social change; every person has an inner teacher/innate inner wisdom that is worthy of respect; the role of the teacher is not the standard hierarchical model of power-over, but the teacher acts as a facilitator for the student to develop their own inner teacher. Ultimately, the goal of the Kundalini yogi is truth/liberation through the embodied experience of life.   Being fully present in his/her life, the yogi witnesses the flow of Spirit as it manifests in individual experience, shared interpersonal experience, and universal experience.  This ability to be a present, informed and empowered witness of one's own life, this adventure in unveiling to borrow a phrase from Paolo Freire's  Pedagogy of Hope (1992, p. 1),  is why Yogi Bhajan characterized Kundalini Yoga as the Yoga of Awareness.  Awareness gives us choices in our actions.  In this paper and through an experiential workshop, I offer this embodied technology from India as a foundation for Social Education.

Keywords : Yoga; Meditation; Social Education; Spirituality.