What Is Kundalini Yoga: How Is It Different from Other Yoga Styles?
- Claudia Walzak
- Mar 9
- 7 min read
Kundalini Yoga is a powerful, transformative practice that works on your body, mind, and energy system simultaneously. It uses a unique combination of breathwork, movement, mantra, chants and meditation to awaken your inner awareness and help you live with greater vitality, clarity, and purpose.
What Is Kundalini Yoga?
Kundalini Yoga is a holistic form of yoga that activates your full potential through breath (pranayama), sound (mantra), movement, and meditation. The term Kundalini refers to latent spiritual energy or awareness that lies dormant at the base of the spine. The practice is designed to gently awaken and raise this energy through the chakras, balancing your nervous system, glandular system, and mental state along the way.
It’s not about flexibility, perfect poses, or mastering advanced asanas. It’s about increasing awareness—of your body, your breath, your mind, and your habits.
Every class is designed as a complete energetic experience, with a specific intention, like boosting the immune system, building inner strength, calming the mind, or connecting with your intuition.
How Is It Different from Other Yoga Styles?
There are many different yoga styles, and each emphasizes a particular aspect of the whole. Some focus on physical alignment and strength (like Hatha or Vinyasa). Others highlight stillness, breath, or sound.
Kundalini Yoga is different because it is integrative and complete. Every session combines breathwork, mantra, movement, meditation, and sometimes deep relaxation. These elements work together to create a profound shift in your physical, mental, emotional, and energetic state—often in a short amount of time.
Unlike other yoga styles that are primarily posture-based, Kundalini Yoga focuses on:
Energy flow through your chakras and nervous system
Inner awareness of your breath, body, and mind
Subconscious transformation to rewire habits and patterns
Why Kundalini Yoga Works: Backed by Science
Modern research is beginning to confirm what yogis have known for centuries: the practices woven into a single Kundalini Yoga class—breathwork (pranayama), mantra meditation, mudras, movement, and deep relaxation—have powerful effects on the body and mind.
Here’s what the science says about each element:
Pranayama (Breathwork): Controlled breathing techniques can balance the autonomic nervous system, lower stress hormones, and improve focus.Example: A study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience found that slow, deep breathing can significantly reduce anxiety and regulate emotional responses Read my full article on Pranayama and its benefits for a deeper dive
Mantra Meditation: Repeating sacred sounds or words (like “Sat Nam”) has been shown to calm the mind and improve emotional regulation.
Example: MRI scans show that chanting mantras activates brain regions linked to relaxation and emotional stability, even in beginners .
Learn more in my post on how mantras work in Kundalini Yoga
Mudras (Hand Gestures): These subtle yet powerful hand positions help direct energy flow and calm the nervous system.
Example: Research published in the International Journal of Yoga suggests that mudras can enhance focus and reduce sympathetic nervous system activation, which is responsible for stress responses. Discover more about mudras and their effects
Movement & Kriyas: Kundalini Yoga kriyas combine repetitive, purposeful movement with breath and sound.
Example: Studies on dynamic yoga practices show improvements in cardiovascular health, immune response, and energy levels, especially when combined with mindfulness practices Read study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28822179/
The Power of Integration
While each of these techniques is powerful on its own, Kundalini Yoga combines them all into a single, targeted session. This creates a synergistic effect that can lead to faster, deeper, and more holistic transformation than practices that focus on only one component.
This is why even a short Kundalini Yoga class can leave you feeling energized, calm, and clear-minded—because it works on multiple levels of your being simultaneously.
This is why even a short Kundalini Yoga class can leave you feeling energized, calm, and clear-minded—because it works on multiple levels of your being simultaneously.
Movement Meets Mantra
One of the most defining features of Kundalini Yoga is that movement, breath, and mantra are often combined simultaneously. This synergy creates rapid transformation on all levels—physical, emotional, mental, and energetic. Discover why chanting mantras in Kundalini Yoga accelerates transformation
Each kriya (yoga set) has a specific focus. Some may work on the kidneys, digestion, the spine, or even your magnetic field. Likewise, the meditations have targeted intentions—such as healing, prosperity, intuition, or emotional release. Some use mantras; others are silent or breath-focused. There are thousands of meditations within the tradition.
This targeted, multi-dimensional design is one reason why Kundalini Yoga is so effective—and often feels fast-acting.
Beginner-friendly kriya suggestion
Example Kriya: Try the “Ego Eradicator”: sitting with arms raised at 60 degrees, fingers curled in, thumbs pointing at each other, breath of fire. Learn more how pranayama amplifies the effect of postures. It boosts energy and clears mental fog in 3–5 minutes.
Kundalini Means Awareness
The word Kundalini means awareness. In this system, awareness is not something to be added—it is already within you, dormant, waiting to be awakened. The practice of Kundalini Yoga is designed to gently (and sometimes powerfully) awaken this dormant energy and help you realize your full potential.
As your awareness grows, you begin to notice your patterns and habits—especially the ones running in the background. These patterns live in the subconscious and influence your thoughts, behaviors, and reactions.
Kundalini Yoga is a complete, multi-dimensional practice that combines breathwork, mantra, movement, and meditation to boost vitality, calm the mind, and rewire subconscious patterns.
The Power of Mudras in Kundalini Yoga
Mudras—specific hand positions used during practice—are an integral part of Kundalini Yoga. These gestures work like energetic circuits, directing the flow of prana (life force) and influencing specific parts of the brain and nervous system. You’ll often see them paired with mantras, breathwork, or meditation to deepen the experience and effect.
Even a simple thumb-to-index finger touch can calm the mind and stimulate clarity. Each mudra serves a unique purpose, from enhancing intuition to balancing emotions.
Rewiring the Subconscious
Kundalini Yoga works directly on the subconscious. While we can’t simply eliminate bad habits, Kundalini Yoga helps replace them with conscious, supportive ones. Through breathwork, mantra, repetition, and stillness, it rewires your brain and helps regulate your nervous system.
Kundalini Yoga can help you:
Strengthen your immune system
Balance glandular activity
Build a resilient nervous system
Improve circulation
Cultivate emotional balance and inner clarity
But the transformation goes even deeper.
Train the Mind to Keep Up
One of the most profound benefits of Kundalini Yoga is the training of mental resilience. The practice challenges you in a safe way—physically, mentally, and energetically. It teaches you how to keep up, how to stay present, and how to move through discomfort without giving up.
What you practice on the mat begins to reshape your life off the mat. As you train your mindset to persevere, new neural pathways are created, and you become better equipped to face challenges with steadiness and strength.
A Holistic Path for Real Life
Kundalini Yoga is not a one-dimensional practice. It’s a powerful, multi-layered system for modern life. Whether you're seeking physical vitality, emotional clarity, spiritual depth, or all of the above—this practice meets you where you are and activates your potential.
🌟 Ready to Experience It for Yourself?
Feel the shift in energy, focus, and clarity—join a class today or start with my free beginner-friendly YouTube sessions. Whether you come in person or practice online, you’ll experience meditations, kriyas, breathwork, and deeply grounding exercises that activate your whole system.
If you’re just getting started, my YouTube channel offers a variety of free guided classes and meditations to help you awaken your energy and calm your mind at your own pace.
👉 Book a class or explore my YouTube channel here and take the first step toward a more vibrant, balanced you.
📌 FAQ: Kundalini Yoga
What makes Kundalini Yoga different from other yoga styles?
It combines breathwork, mantra, mudra, movement, and meditation in structured kriyas, not just focusing on postures.
Why is chanting mantras effective in Kundalini Yoga?
Mantra chanting reduces stress, activates emotional-regulation brain regions, and improves heart rate variability.
Does meditation help change brain function?
Yes — brain imaging studies show distinct activation patterns in meditation practices like mantra, focused attention, and open monitoring.
Can breathwork alone influence the nervous system?
Absolutely — controlled breathing balances autonomic nervous system and lowers stress hormones.
How do kriyas enhance the benefit compared to standalone yoga poses?
Kriyas integrate multiple elements (breath, sound, movement), creating synergistic effects greater than practicing one technique in isolation.
Is Kundalini Yoga safe for beginners?
Yes — Kundalini Yoga meets you where you are at. Many classes are beginner-friendly and you always practice to your ability. Start gently, use modifications, and inform your teacher of conditions.
Can Kundalini Yoga help with anxiety or depression?
Studies suggest it reduces anxiety and depression symptoms when combined with other therapies.
Where can I find Kundalini Yoga classes in Tauranga?
You can attend classes with Frequency Guide and Certified Kundalini Yoga Teacher Claudia Walzak at 174 Waikite Road, Welcome Bay, Tauranga.
About the author:
Claudia Walzak, Frequency Guide is a Certified Vibrational Sound Practitioner and Kundalini Yoga Teacher based in Tauranga, New Zealand. She specializes in sound therapy with tuning forks, working with precise frequencies like the Solfeggio scale, the Grounding Trio, brainwave tuners and others to support physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. Claudia offers both in-person and distance sessions, helping clients worldwide reconnect with their natural state of balance and wellbeing.
Follow Claudia Walzak, Tauranga-based Frequency Guide and Sound Therapy Expert, for tips on sound healing, corporate health, and wellbeing:
Instagram: @claudia.frequencyguide Facebook: @frequencyguide
YouTube: @frequencyguide LinkedIn: Claudia Walzak|Frequency Guide
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