This is an excerpt from a Fall 2015 SDI Ministry Newsletter article.
In 2012, we were honored with the grace of Dr. Shanti Shanti Kaur Khalsa (Founding Director of the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine and Humanology), when she first brought the Foundations of Kundalini Yoga as Therapy to Sydney, Australia.
Since then she has continued to bring the therapy side of Kundalini Yoga to the Australian teachers every year. From this knowledge, a number of teachers have been able to reach those most in need and watch the incredible transformative impact Kundalini Yoga and Kundalini Yoga as Therapy has on society.
Billie Atherstone, co-founder of Kundalini House in North Melbourne, immediately offered classes to those in need. Billie noted: “The course immediately generated a lot of interest. People were so enthusiastic and were so thankful for the access to a course that gave them an opportunity to work on the Self with such intention and to learn an effective tool for their recovery.”
One of Billie’s students shared how profound and healing she found the experience: “Billie’s trauma course has challenged and moved my trauma in ways that, prior to starting, I didn’t think was possible. It has been transformative. I have found that even through this trauma, I have an inner teacher in myself too.”
“The course (PTSD) helped me to get to know me and to feel my pain in a good way and feel my emotions. I do not rely on food to squash my feeling as much as I used to and I am more confident with my capabilities. The support from Rut (the teacher) and Jo (the support person) was fantastic and I know their support held the space in just the right way for each person in the group. I am very happy I participated in this course.”—Nyrie
About the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine & Humanology
Founded as a non-profit organization by the Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan, the long-term mission of the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine & Humanology is to bring the techniques of Kundalini Yoga as a treatment modality into the health care field, just as other methods—such as acupuncture and chiropractic services—have been integrated in the recent past.
This is accomplished through:
- Teaching Kundalini Yoga and Meditation to those with life-threatening or chronic illness such as asthma, diabetes, HIV disease, cancer, heart disease, chronic pain, depression and life transitions. Friends and family members are included in all our programs.
- Training nurses, doctors, psychologists and other health care professionals to use Kundalini Yoga and Meditation as part of their patients’ treatment plan.
- Providing specialized training to KRI certified yoga teachers worldwide, so they may knowledgeably and safely instruct yoga and meditation to people with illness.
- Conducting research on the medical effects of Kundalini Yoga and Meditation.
- Building a global network of health care professionals, yoga teachers, and yoga and meditation researchers to provide competent, appropriate, research informed instruction in Kundalini Yoga to those recovering from illness.
The Origin Story of the of the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine & Humanology
Dr. Shanti Shanti Kaur shares the story of how the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine & Humanology began:
It was Guru Ram Das’ birthday in October 1986, and it was my blessing to teach the first Kundalini Yoga class especially for people with HIV. 1986 is the same year that AZT went into clinical trials and many of the students in the class found themselves more sick from the side effects of the medication (the kinks had not yet been worked out in the dosing) than from any opportunistic infection.
Teacher training prepares us to teach healthy people, not people with life-threatening health conditions. Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo came through and Guru Ram Das gave the students what they needed.
Over the next few months, under Yogi Bhajan’s guidance, classes were formed to meet the wide range of needs for people in all stages of HIV disease and thus our service to people with illness began.
30+ years later, the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine & Humanology continues to pioneer the instruction of Kundalini Yoga for health recovery for a variety of health conditions. We provide an integrative program for the whole family, from newly diagnosed, through the rigors of medical treatment and the recovery year following treatment. In addition, we train and assist yoga teachers and health professionals the world over.
Classes may be held at support groups gathered in private homes in the Hollywood Hills or the high-rise hospitals of New York City, or in a clinic in the township of Soweto, South Africa, or in Bangkok, Mexico City, Moscow and dozens of other places world wide. Because of this outreach, thousands of people have personally experienced the practice of Kundalini Yoga and Meditation as a powerful approach to help get well, stay well, and live well.
Wahe Guru!
Visit the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine and Humanology website for more information.
Leave a Reply