“The beauty of White Tantric Yoga is that it is subtle, it is exalting, and it works to give you the mastery of life.”
~Yogi Bhajan

In 1971 Yogi Bhajan offered the first White Tantric Yoga course in Los Angeles. Until 1986 he traveled throughout the world presenting as many as thirty White Tantric Yoga courses each year to thousands of students. In 1987, using his unique abilities as a Master, together with modern technology, he began to present White Tantric Yoga as a video series.

The authority to be the Mahan Tantric (Master of White Tantric Yoga) was bestowed on Yogi Bhajan in 1971, when the presiding Mahan Tantric, Lama Lilan Po of Tibet, passed from his body. There can be only one Mahan Tantric at any given time. White Tantric Yoga is a tradition passed on from teacher to student in a mystical and selective way. As a pioneer of this Age, Yogi Bhajan opened the experience of White Tantric Yoga to anyone who wanted this powerful experience.

Yogi Bhajan on The Mahan Tantric and the Subtle Body

(Summer Solstice, 1988)

“The Subtle Body of the Mahan Tantric lives as an everlasting factual fact. Why is it so? It is a privilege to tune into it. It is surprising to me that people do not understand the simple formula of how the Subtle Body works. The Subtle Body gives the opportunity to understand and master the subtlety of life. It can help you to understand what is going on around you. Basically you have to understand that electricity is created by rotation and cross-rotation of the electromagnetic field, and this field works from one place to another. It means there is no distance. That’s the principle behind wireless telephones.

“That is why, within my lifetime I am trying to educate you—because there can only be one Mahan Tantric, and God knows on whom this crown shall be bestowed—or whether it will be or not. To protect you, to save you, and make you understand, I am using a very attained power of mine as Mahan Tantric and Master of Kundalini yoga. I am mixing both. Because ordinarily, Kundalini Yoga could not be taught openly and freely to all people all the time. A person had to qualify, initiate himself, come out to perfection—and then come to meet the Master. If the Master qualified him, then he gave him the kriya or sadhana to practice. But I openly taught it and survived, so I feel God is very kind and merciful to me, and He wants the mission to be complete.

“Understanding the nature of the Subtle Body gave us the thought about the nature of the tantric energy. We cannot stop the tantric energy; we want to enrich ourselves; we want to grow; and we want to progress. That’s why we started using the wireless telephone method—through the video courses.

“Whenever you will come to these courses, through the television you’ll go through the energy, but your Subtle Body will tune in with my Subtle Body. So death for that purpose will, never, ever mean a thing. But those who will believe that I am dead, I shall be dead for them. And those who shall believe that I live, I shall live a hundred times more powerfully, stronger in them than they have ever experienced.

“With these words I would like to tell you that we have an everlasting, loving, beautiful relationship, here, hereafter, unto Infinity, and even beyond that. Believe me. Even if you can’t believe it, it is true.”

© The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan

Solstice Sadhana is a call to prayer for peace and positive change. The quintessence of good company is Sadh Sangat, the company of the devotees and people willing to share a life of value and discipline.

As a long time student of Yogi Bhajan, I learned very early on the power of good company. Every six months since 1972 my husband and I have taken the opportunity to cleanse our bodies and purify our psyches at Winter and Summer Solstice Sadhanas and White Tantric Yoga.

The eight days of Amrit Vela morning Sadhana, the purifying diet, the daily chanting in the Gurdwara and the electromagnetic field of the company of 2,000 meditatively focused people is something very special. I would be challenged to describe the good feeling of being in a space totally transformed by the power of intended goodness of the people in this gathering—everyone committing to leave behind their neuroses and monkey minds and to regulate their values and dedicate themselves to simran, seva, bani, and bana (meditation, service, recitation of the sound current, and graceful expansive attire).

Solstice Sadhana is a call to prayer for peace and positive change. It is the place where one can truly learn what it is to be human. As Yogi Bhajan taught, “Come be”—Healthy Happy and Holy in service to the evolution of peace and harmony for this world in which we live.

SatKirin Kaur Khalsa teaches the power of Naad and Shabd Guru, and leads Kirtans with the Mantra Jam Band in her home town, New York City, and around the world. She has produced thirteen Kirtan CD’s available from ITUNES and Spirit Voyage.com. She can be reached at www.satkirin.com and facebook.

“Go forth my friend as a musician of the soul and tune the hearts of all to the Divine harmony.”  Inayat Khan

Register for Winter Solstice

Back in 2003, my girlfriend, Kia, and I decided to go to Maui to celebrate my 36^th birthday. We had been together for 3 years, long enough to know we had something special. We had spoken about the possibility of getting married someday, but I was quite happy to continue on as things were. The convention of marriage, as I had witnessed from my parents and most of the adults I had known, was fraught with difficulty and challenge. It was painful and in some cases, ruinous. When occasionally I would meet two people who seemed to be doing well together, I relegated them to a special group of Human Beings who were blessed, but whose lives I could not understand.

Our week in Hawaii was magical and blissful, unusually so for me. I could not remember a time where I had felt so free of concern. On one of the last days of the trip, I was overcome by a profound sense of love for Kia and I suddenly asked her if she would marry me. Our wedding took place only two weeks later in Yosemite Valley. At the beginning of the ceremony, Kia walked radiant and smiling through a beautiful meadow toward a life with me. My heart cracked open. For that day and many days thereafter, I knew no fear, no worry and no concern. Then, sometime later, when life returned to normal and things were not feeling quite so clear and carefree, I remembered the old adage, “Any fool can have a successful wedding.” Kia and I had taken a big leap of faith and would certainly support each other, but I didn’t yet know how to have a successful marriage. We were going to need help to make it work.

Two years later, I am facing Kia seated on the floor of a structure known as “The Tantric Shelter” on a piece of land known as Ram Das Puri in New Mexico. I am dressed in white clothing and my head is wrapped in a white turban that is so poorly conceived by me that the word “turban” really does not apply. I am appallingly tired from the past several days of early morning Sadhana. I am in a straight line of men, also seated and dressed similarly, who are facing a line of women. Looking across “the tape,” I see the smiling face of my wife, Kia. Our knees are almost touching. Our eyes are about 3 feet apart. This is our first day of White Tantric Yoga. For the next 10 hours or so we will be engaged in 31 and 62 minute meditations that are physically and mentally challenging. The main questions running through my head are: What are we going to be asked to do? Will I be able to keep up? How did it come to this?

The promise of White Tantric Yoga is compelling! It would have to be. It is my understanding that, simply put, through this extremely powerful and difficult practice you cleanse your subconscious at the deepest level of all insecurity and childhood trauma. Who doesn’t need a little bit of that?

Staring into your partner’s eyes for hours on end as you perform difficult Kriyas is an intense experience. Whatever comes up for either of you becomes a part of the experience for both of you. Many times throughout the day, I would nod off during a set. I was trying so hard to stay awake, but after a certain point I just couldn’t help it. My eyes would roll back for a few seconds and when I came around, Kia would be glaring at me with frustration. With her eyes she kept telling me to “pull it together,” but the harder I tried the worse it got. Finally, we came to this particular Kriya where we placed our palms against our partner’s palms and alternately pushed one hand forward and one hand back. I was now getting frustrated with Kia because I thought she was pushing too hard. Of course, she was frustrated with me because I was not pushing the way she wanted me to push. So there we were one minute into a 62 minute kriya and I am thinking, “This could be the longest hour of my life.” And it was! We were yelling at each other using only our eyes and facial expressions. It must have been quite a sight.

When the Kriya was over, Kia and I noticed that we were not the only couple for whom this exercise had been challenging. In fact, several couples were very riled up.

What had happened? Issues such as power, control, compassion, patience, and tolerance all came up in this Kriya. You might say it was made to bring up those issues. Some were affected by it, others less so. I had never seen Kia demonstrate intolerance or a lack of compassion toward me. And Kia had never heard me call her a “stubborn goat” before, either. I remember looking at the enormous photo of Yogi Bhajan on the stage and feeling like he was laughing at me.

Kia and I came through our first day of Tantric feeling like two embattled pugilists. We apologized to each other and committed to do better. The next day, Kia was much warmer, more understanding. I was more patient and more present. One Kriya, in particular, had us interlocking fingers with our partner with our arms up at a 45-degree angle toward each other. I felt that to make it all the way through without lowering our arms would be impossible, but was determined to give it a try. I would support Kia’s arms and she would support mine. As the 62 minutes passed, a plethora of internal voices rose up and demanded that I lower my arms, but I would not. Kia was right there with me! When the Kriya was finished, we had completed something that had previously seemed impossible. The power of achieving something that you think you cannot do is transformative. That very experience lies at the heart of White Tantric Yoga for me.

Many people have asked me what effect White Tantric Yoga has had on my life. I explain it like this…

Have you ever been in a place where there was some kind of background “white noise,” such as from an air conditioner or fan, which was suddenly turned off? You might have spent days or months or years living in that noise, but you barely even noticed it. Now that it is gone, however, the relief you experience is just huge. It feels as if you have taken your first deep breath in a very long time. A terrible annoyance has been removed. You remark, “My God, I’m glad that stopped! How could I possibly have endured living with that horrible noise for all that time?”

The garbage of my subconscious, which used to drive so many thoughts and decisions, was removed so that I could have better thoughts and make better decisions. My marriage with Kia has gotten better every year because my relationship with my highest self has been able to develop. White Tantric Yoga has made that possible.

Tommy Rosen is certified to teach both Kundalini Yoga and Vinyasa Flow. He is a leading authority on addiction and recovery with 20 years experience helping others to overcome addictions of every kind. He is one of the pioneers in the relatively new field of Yoga and Recovery, which utilizes yoga and meditation to help people to move beyond addiction and build fulfilling lives. His blogs have appeared in The Huffington Post, The Daily Love, Yoga Earth, Yoga Mint and Intent.com. He has also published articles in LA Yoga, Yogi Times and Aquarian Times. Tommy lives in love and gratitude with his wife, noted yoga instructor, Kia Miller, in Venice, CA. www.tommyrosen.com/yoga/

Remember the Solstice Sadhana wake up song? Rise Up, Rise Up, Sweet Family Dear by Guru Singh Khalsa

Lyrics:

Rise up, rise up, sweet family dear
A time of the Lord and rememberin’
Love is here
Love, love is all you’ll say
If you’ll awake and rise up right away
Hey, hey
If you’ll awake and rise up right away

Lord will bless you so many ways
If you will rise up right now
Sing His praise!

On December 14th, 2011, I still had my ticket booked from Toronto to New York City. My plan was to visit friends and family, see the Radio City Christmas show, a Broadway show, catch some jazz, go to Golden Bridge for some yoga, and eat latkes with my Mum’s extended family. The holiday season is difficult since Mum died five years ago of lung cancer. She was Jewish, but my Dad is Catholic, so we’d celebrate “Christmakah,” which basically consisted of visiting friends and family, skiing, and eating non-stop for about ten days. Her absence is so prevalent, so I thought I’d fill some of that emptiness with the energy and exuberance of New York.

The week before, I’d been sorting through boxes filled with journals and momentos, some of which belonged to Mum. In one box, I found a journal I had written when I was taking care of her the December before she died: “…tomorrow is winter solstice…I pray for Mum to be feeling better.” After reading, I paused and thought about Solstice Sadhana in Florida, wishing I were going there instead of to New York. I was harboring some subconscious grief and heaviness, and knew that I would be using New York as a distraction. I pushed the thought aside and told myself that my decision was already made: New York it was.

On the morning of the 14th I awoke with a bit of anxiety and had some trepidation about my trip. I tried to shrug it off, citing grief as its source, and continued my daily routine of sadhana and taking my dog for a walk along the shore of Georgian Bay in Ontario Canada, where I live. It was during the walk that I had a flash of insight. It was more like panic, but something from the depths of me was prodding me to change my plans: Don’t go to New York. Go to Solstice instead.

I hemmed and hawed about losing $160 for the change of flight fee, coupled with having to pay for taxis and shuttles from the airports, but then I heard Mum’s voice inside my head, “It’s only money, Sarah.” I then heard Yogiji’s common phrase echoing her sentiments, “It’s no big deal.” I thought if people cancel weddings, which have been booked and already cost a fortune, it’s “no big deal” for me to cancel a flight.

And so, the next morning I cancelled my flight to New York and booked a flight to Orlando. The morning I left there was no traffic, which was unprecedented for Toronto and the drive to the airport was a breeze. I had braced myself for holiday travel chaos in the terminal, and had stocked up my Ipod with mantras to help me stay centered. However, the check-in was speedy, I cleared security quickly, and made it to my gate with an hour to spare, which left me ample time to do some stretches and my 90-day meditation. Once I arrived in Florida, I lay in the sun outside the airport, basking in the Vitamin D. The loud speaker made announcements in Spanish; I was in heaven. My community of 9000 people north of Toronto is made up of mostly Caucasians, with the exception of the one Ojibwe woman I saw at the library last month. The cultural and linguistic diversity in Orlando was refreshing and a much needed change. I met my friend, Laura, and her husband for lunch, who just happened to be in Orlando that day (I noted again the flow). When we had finished, I got a call from my friend Gitanjali. We met and her friend picked us up in her van and took us to the Ranch. Perfect timing.

The orange groves that line the road where Circle F Dude Ranch is welcomed me, and once again, I knew I had made the right decision. It was about 4:00 pm when we arrived, and the sun was still warm and bright as we set up our tent, just outside of the women’s cabin and shower area. That evening we attended the kirtan in the Air Tent and immediately the vibration was set for the week to come. Music woke us from reverie the next morning; beautiful chanting outside our tent. I am thinking about patenting an alarm clock that can mimic that sound. I went to my first group sadhana in a very long time, and felt a sense of unity within this group of strangers.

The first day consisted of several workshops whereby I was introduced to new beautiful music (of Harnam), learned about invoking prosperity, and more about Ayurveda, which I have been studying in India and Canada. I was getting exactly what I needed, and the sensation of gratitude was profound. That night in the café I met my amigo Nirmal Singh from Toronto, who introduced me to several kirtan musicians; it was decided I’d play a set the following night. An hour later I was chatting with my new friend, Fateh Singh, who told me he’d be able to find someone to play with me if I liked. Yes, I liked! I’d only been there for a day and already had a gig and a manager: not too shabby.

The next morning I had a true sense of Solstice’s message: “Where Me Becomes We,” with the Shakti Dance facilitated by Dharma Kaur. Every morning at home, I make sure that I spend at least 15 minutes dancing like nobody’s watching (because there really is nobody in my living room), and I usually integrate some dance into the classes I teach. It was amazing to dance with many kindred spirits. The charismatic and playful Harijwan facilitated the next workshop and his teaching style was received with laughter. His analogy of the efficacy of the teachings and cocaine made me crack up: “The key is to keep it pure.”

I was looking forward to the afternoon workshop on, “The Lunar Woman, The Solar Man,” which I knew would be a yogic “Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars”; I’m always intrigued to learn more about the opposite sex. My last relationship proved that I clearly still had much to learn when it comes to relationships. (Note to fellow yoginis: Be careful if you fall in love with a man in India; no matter how spiritual and lovely you are, his mom will probably arrange a marriage for him with an Indian woman…more on that at another time.)

The Tantric Burger Brigade

That night, I chanted with the amazing drummer, Ghansham Fergus Singh from Austin, and background vocals were sung by Satya Kaur, a fellow Canuck from Vancouver. Hari Ram Singh, yet another Canadian, performed after me and I had the spontaneous honor of harmonizing. During the days of Tantric, I had more Canuck connections with So Purkh of Ottawa as our Tantric Burger team leader, and his pal James. At first, I was disappointed that I’d miss Sadhana, but each morning we had our own personal serenade by several musicians (including Satya Kaur) who chanted over our burger making. I may hire mantra musicians in my home to preside over me preparing for a dinner party. What a lovely way to prepare food.

All of the Tantric days were unique but common insofar as they were beautiful, terrible, easy, difficult, and every other polarity one can imagine. My partners were exactly what I needed, and I was grateful to them for sharing their experiences and being a source of support and encouragement. A highlight for me was at the end of the third day; the DJ pumped up the tunes and we danced like nobody’s business for an hour amidst the tantric energy. Already I felt lighter and knew that much garbage had been swept away.

On the last night I slept in the Air Tent to partake in the Rensabhai, which was a sacred sound sleepover with music from the Gurdwara. The stars were still bright in the early morning, and I decided to continue dancing; I left the tent and danced to the sadhana music for a little while, and looked up at the stars. I could feel Mum’s presence strongly, and she praised me for following my instincts in coming to Florida. “This is what you needed,” she seemed to say.

Shortly after sadhana, I headed back to pack up the rest of my things and as flow would have it, I found out my Ottawa mates were heading to the airport at the same time, and so I could hitch a ride with them. This sense of ease and being in the flow was a huge part of my Solstice experience. I realized profoundly that Kundalini Yoga has cultivated my sense of intuition, and helped to foster my sense of Self. I look forward to my next Solstice experience, and give reverence to Yogiji, and to all who are carrying on his legacy. Sat Nam.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDKzgAHCqI8