by MSS Krishna Kaur Khalsa & Keval Kaur Khalsa, Los Angeles, California
2024 (Second Quarter)
Everything is a Gift
Wahe Guru JI Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh!
It was about 50 years ago that around 9-10 of us Kundalini Yoga Teachers vowed to become Ministers and leaders of the growing 3HO organizations around the country and parts of the world. Look how we have grown … A couple years later, we were back in Amritsar, India at the Golden Temple, making it official for all of us. The ceremony of taking Amrit sealed it for me. I bowed deeply with every drop of the sacred water that was poured over my head and all over my white bana. Sikh Dharma’s official ordination of its Ministers was an experience I will never forget. Our understanding of what that meant continued to grow as we adjusted to the reality of that very sacred moment. Here we are … Still holding the space with deep reverence for our community and the many challenges we continue to face. AND IT’S ALL GOOD … BY HIS GRACE.
Now here we are today …. strong as steel and steady as stone … I don’t know a lot about how our Ministry has been keeping up lately with the demands Guru continues to throw at us, but to me, it just grows stronger and reminds me who we are and what our pledge to our community demands of us. I’m feeling it deeply, folks! These times are no joke … The Guru don’t play. And we often struggle with the challenges we face, yet we have to remember, everything is a gift from the Divine. Everything. Nothing is ever too much. Not for us warriors. Everything is a gift, an opportunity by His Grace. Letting go of the beliefs that cause us to feel that something is wrong, is one of our biggest challenges. And, realistically … This is nothing. We are just planting seeds. Seeds that we will one day harvest when the time is right …. all by His Grace!
Right now, our community needs us to continue seeing God in all … or we won’t be able to see God at all. We were born for this moment. And I want to let these blessings surround our every effort. I bow to us all. To our beloved Sardarni Sahiba Sat Kaur Khalsa and all those who serve this Ministry with devotion …. Wahe Guru! We thank you deeply. “We are the Khalsa …. Mighty, Mighty Khalsa! And that’s it … By His Grace … That’s it. WE asked to serve, We have been blessed to do so. Now, just do it …. and it will be done!
“Aim High … Reach far … Your aim the sky … Your goal a star … Bite off more than you can chew, and chew it. Undertake more than you can do, and do … Hitch your wagon to a star … Hold your breath … And there you are … Sat Nam!
Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh!
~ MSS Krishna Kaur Khalsa
Y.O.G.A. for Youth
When I first started teaching KY in South Central Los Angeles in the early ’70s, the neighborhood 6 – to 8-year-old youngsters were my most inquisitive, passionate, willing to try anything students. They taught me how to teach them by the questions they kept asking. I told them everything, explained everything–the deep philosophy beneath the practice, the mantras, yoga kriyas and meditations. They loved the stories, anticipated the outcomes, and were anxious to share everything with their friends and relatives a few houses down from the Broadway Ashram. There were no books at that time, no manuals–just humble notes, quotes and direct experiences. They loved it. I loved it. We all loved it. They understood everything. They taught each other and filled in language if they thought I’d forgotten something. They were amazing.
Fast forward to 1994 when California adopted the “three strikes” law, mandating that anyone convicted of three felonies would receive a sentence of 25 years to life. This new law certainly seemed like a targeted attack on young people of color. I got mad for about 20 seconds, then decided to arm young people with an effective counter offensive strategy by teaching them the tools of yoga and meditation. I put that idea of teaching underserved youth out into the Universe, and it soon came back to me through an Upward Bound Program run out of the University of Southern California. Serving high school and middle school students who needed additional skills to prepare for a college career, the Upward Bound staff and administrators were realizing that tutoring in math, science and language was not enough.
The young people they were serving faced a myriad of emotional issues. Above and beyond the issues of transitioning to adulthood that all young people face, these children from impoverished circumstances faced insecurities and instability in their home lives, gang violence, and the difficulty of focusing amidst their turbulent life circumstances. Yoga classes were first incorporated into Upward Bound through a program called “Arts & Yoga for Youth”, which combined a yoga and meditation practice with improvisational theater and rap focusing on “finding your voice.”
Y.O.G.A. for Youth incorporated as a non-profit in 1998 as “Your Own Greatness Affirmed.” Our mission: Your Own Greatness Affirmed is dedicated to empowering youth and families in underserved communities through the principles and practice of yoga. Our VISION: We envision a world in which community members, individually and collectively, will possess the emotional and spiritual tools to successfully manage life’s challenges.
Realizing the need to train adults to better serve our students and their families, we developed a specialized Y.O.G.A. for Youth teacher training course open to anyone who works with youth. Since the early 2000s, we have trained teachers around the globe. Our 46-hour training is now taught both in-person and online, making it available to even more yoga teachers, classroom educators, school personnel, counselors, and parents.
Based in Los Angeles, Y.O.G.A. for Youth currently runs programming for schools in the LA Unified School District and charter schools in LA; in the Montgomery County school system in Maryland; and in Durham Public Schools in North Carolina. Two research studies have been published on the Y.O.G.A. for Youth curriculum’s beneficial effects on students’ emotional regulation, perceived stress and resilience.
Since the seeds for Y.O.G.A. for Youth were planted in the ’70s, navigating life’s challenges has become even more precarious for children from South Central LA and other underserved communities around the world. By Guru’s Grace, Y.O.G.A. for Youth will continue to grow and bring the lifesaving tools of Kundalini Yoga to even more children and their families.
Featured Image: Y.O.G.A. for Youth teacher and students at the Watts Learning Center in LA.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
MSS Krishna Kaur Khalsa, a dynamic, heart-centered Yoga teacher, began studying yoga in 1970 and has passionately taught the art and science of Kundalini Yoga and Self Awareness for over 50 years. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from her teaching in Africa, Mexico, and inner cities throughout the United States. A master teacher trainer, she conducts workshops in Canada, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Krishna is certified by the 3HO Foundation and the Kundalini Research Institute as a Kundalini Yoga Teacher and Trainer of both Level I and II. She is the regional coordinator for 3HO Africa, which unites Kundalini Yoga in Africa. Krishna also founded and runs Y.O.G.A. for Youth, a non-profit dedicated to training yoga teachers to work with at-risk youth and creating yoga programs in schools and juvenile facilities.
Keval Kaur Khalsa, M.A., RYT-500, YACEP, is a Kundalini Research Institute-certified Level I Lead Trainer and Mentoring Coach. She has trained Kundalini Yoga teachers in North Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, California, Colorado, Michigan, and Accra, Ghana. Keval Kaur has been teaching Kundalini Yoga for over 20 years in university settings, studios and community centers in North America, South America, and Africa. She owns Kundalini Yoga Durham, a donation-based, inclusive community yoga space in Durham, NC. After meeting master yoga teacher and Y.O.G.A. for Youth founder Krishna Kaur, Keval Kaur found her passion – bringing the tools of yoga and meditation to young people. She co-founded a satellite Y.O.G.A. for Youth program in North Carolina in 2007 which has served young people across four North Carolina counties. She currently serves on the Y.O.G.A for Youth Board of Directors.