Yoga guide
Kundalini yoga combines set sequences of movement called kriyas with breathwork, chanting, hand positions and meditation. A class tunes in with a short chant, then moves through breathing, a kriya, relaxation and meditation, and closes with a song. Yogi Bhajan brought it to North America in 1968.
The best trial found it helped people with generalised anxiety disorder more than stress education did, though less than cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and a small trial found it helped people fall asleep. Its signature fast breathing, breath of fire, isn't for everyone.
This guide covers what a class involves, what the trials found, which breathing practices to skip and when, what people mean by a kundalini awakening, and a gentle 25-minute practice with every movement shown in 3D.
3HO (for "healthy, happy, holy"), the organisation Yogi Bhajan founded, lists eight elements: posture, kriya (set sequences), breathwork, hand positions (mudras), chanting (mantra), eye focus, energy locks and meditation. A class usually lasts 60 to 90 minutes.
In 226 adults with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), 12 weekly classes helped 54% of people, against 33% with stress education and 71% with CBT. By 6 months, only CBT was still clearly better than stress education.
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In 40 adults who struggled to fall asleep, 45 minutes of seated Kundalini practice a day for 8 weeks improved their sleep diaries more than sleep hygiene advice, and the gains lasted 6 months.
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Breath of fire is rapid breathing through the nose, about 2 to 3 breaths a second. In studies of kapalabhati and other fast yogic breathing, carbon dioxide in the blood fell and blood pressure rose during the practice. The one study of breath of fire itself measured only heart rate, which went up.
The method itself says not to do breath of fire in pregnancy, on the first days of a period, or with dizziness, panic or uncontrolled high blood pressure, and the Epilepsy Society says extreme breathing techniques in yoga may need extra care.
A review of 15 trials found no serious harms, and in the anxiety trial 6.5% had a minor problem that might have been linked to the yoga. Rare mental health crises have followed months of intensive practice done alone.
3HO calls Kundalini yoga "the Yoga of Awareness": "a comprehensive practice that involves postures, breath, meditation, mantra, and music". It lists eight elements: posture, kriya, breathwork, mudra (hand positions), mantra, eye focus, energy locks (bandhas) and meditation.
3HO describes six parts that you'll recognise in any class:
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3HO describes a kriya as "a complete, specific sequence of postures, breath, and focus designed to create a precise effect", standardised so that it "does not vary". Kriyas "can be gentle or physically challenging", and some include breath of fire.
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Yogi Bhajan left India for Canada in September 1968 and, after two months, began teaching in Los Angeles. 3HO was incorporated in California in July 1969, the Kundalini Research Institute (KRI) was founded in 1972, and he died in 2004.
3HO describes the teachings as ancient and long kept secret, passed from master to student; we couldn't find an independent history to check that against.
KRI says that "Sixteen years after Yogi Bhajan's death, a number of individuals came forward and reported being harmed by him". An independent group was engaged to collect and assess the reports of harm and statements of support, the accounts were shared publicly in August 2020, and KRI and its related organisations set up a reconciliation project, counselling and a healing and reparations programme.
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3HO describes breath of fire as "a rapid, rhythmic, continuous breath pattern generated from the navel point and diaphragm", equal on the in-breath and the out-breath with no pause, at about 2 to 3 breaths a second, always through the nose with the mouth closed. It can be practised on its own for 1 to 31 minutes. 3HO says it "is not hyperventilation".
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We found no study that measured blood gases or blood pressure during breath of fire as Kundalini classes teach it; the figures come from studies of kapalabhati and other fast yogic breathing. In 47 trained young men, breathing at one breath a second lowered carbon dioxide in the blood by about a quarter and nearly tripled the air breathed each minute. In 20 healthy adults, kapalabhati raised the top (systolic) blood pressure from about 115 to 124 millimetres of mercury and heart rate from 84 to 107 beats a minute while they did it.
The one study of breath of fire itself, in 10 experienced meditators, measured only heart rate, which rose. Slow segmented breathing in the same study produced the large, slow heart-rate swings of relaxed breathing.
An NHS hospital leaflet explains that breathing too fast or too deeply pushes out carbon dioxide, and that tingling or numbness, faintness, chest tightness, a racing heart and a sense of unreality are "the effects of too little carbon dioxide". 3HO says tingling or light-headedness while learning breath of fire is normal, and tells you to slow your breathing if you feel light-headed, dizzy or sick.
Some meditations hold the breath for long counts, such as 16 counts in the insomnia trial's meditation. Holding the breath raised blood pressure in a lab study, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology advises people with glaucoma not to hold the breath.
Across 12 trials of breathwork (785 adults), stress fell a little; the effect was clear for slow breathing and couldn't be judged for fast breathing, which had too few trials. In trials of yogic breathing for mental health conditions, side effects were more common with fast techniques, especially kapalabhati.
A large research database lists 38 papers with Kundalini in the title, 8 of them randomised trials. A 2026 review found 15 randomised trials (about 1,370 people) with no serious harms, but they were small and spread across many different conditions.
In the best trial, 226 adults with GAD had twelve weekly 2-hour group sessions of Kundalini yoga, CBT or stress education, plus 20 minutes of homework a day. After treatment, 54% responded to yoga, 33% to stress education and 71% to CBT. At 6 months the figures were 63%, 48% and 77%, and only CBT was still clearly better than stress education. Yoga didn't ease depression or improve sleep more than stress education did.
An earlier trial in 49 women found less anxiety with Kundalini yoga than with usual treatment. NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) recommends CBT or applied relaxation as the main talking treatments for GAD, and doesn't mention yoga. Our yoga for anxiety and sleep guide covers yoga for anxiety more broadly.
In 40 adults aged 25 to 59 who struggled to fall asleep, 45 minutes a day of seated Kundalini practice for 8 weeks improved total sleep, sleep efficiency and the time taken to fall asleep more than sleep hygiene advice, and the gains held at 6 months. It was small, relied on sleep diaries rather than sleep recordings, and many people in the comparison group stopped returning their diaries.
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In 48 adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Kundalini yoga meditation improved symptoms more than relaxation meditation: by 27% against 8% counting everyone, and 40% against 18% among those who finished. Many dropped out, and it needs repeating. Our OCD guide covers exercise alongside treatment.
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In 81 older adults with mild memory problems, 12 weeks of Kundalini yoga and memory training both improved memory, and only yoga improved planning and mood. But in 79 older women at risk of Alzheimer's disease, yoga improved how they rated their own memory while their scores for recalling things later fell, and 35% of the yoga group dropped out, against 5% of the memory training group.
Kirtan Kriya, a 12-minute daily chanting meditation with finger movements, improved mood in 39 carers of people with dementia more than relaxation music did, but in 60 adults with memory complaints it did no better than listening to music. A review of 5 small trials is hopeful but far from proof.
Perceived stress fell after 3 months of classes in 13 people, in a study that wasn't randomised. Six online sessions improved self-compassion and positive feelings in 106 students. In 80 people with post-traumatic stress symptoms, 8 sessions gave small advantages over a waiting list. In 159 workers with back or neck pain, Kundalini yoga didn't reduce sickness absence more than advice did.
In tantric yoga traditions, kundalini is described as "a 'rising energy' moving within the spinal column up to the brain", often pictured as lying coiled at the base of the spine. An awakening is when that energy is said to rise.
In an interview study of people describing such awakenings, 85% reported unusual flows of energy through or around the body, and many described light, love or a sense of expansion. In 80 meditators surveyed at retreats of one tantric tradition, the most common experiences were shifts to a positive mood, then movements and sensations, including rising sensations.
Psychiatrists have described cases where kundalini-like experiences were hard to tell apart from mental illness. In one report, a 19-year-old who had practised breathing and meditation alone for months, from books and the internet, developed catatonia, a severe state of not moving or speaking. Across 83 studies of meditation, 8.3% of people had an adverse effect (3.7% in trials), most often anxiety or depression.
No study has shown a physical energy in the spine. The trials test the breathing, movement and meditation, and that's where the evidence lies.
3HO's own list says to refrain from breath of fire:
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3HO says not to do breath of fire in pregnancy. In later pregnancy, the NHS advises avoiding any activity that has you lying flat on your back for more than a few minutes, so do the relaxation on your side. Leaving out long breath holds is our suggestion.
Breathing deeply for a few minutes is part of an electroencephalogram (EEG), a test of brain waves, because it can change the brain's electrical activity, and Epilepsy Action says it carries a very small risk of bringing on a seizure. The Epilepsy Society says extreme breathing techniques in yoga may need extra care. Skip breath of fire unless your epilepsy team agrees.
Over-breathing causes the same symptoms as a panic attack, such as a racing heart, faintness, chest pain and pins and needles. During a panic attack, the NHS advises breathing slowly and deeply. Skip fast breathing.
Fast breathing and breath holds raise blood pressure and heart rate while you do them. Skip both unless your doctor agrees (our suggestion).
The American Academy of Ophthalmology advises people with glaucoma to breathe out gently and slowly and not to hold the breath. Skip long-hold meditations.
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A healthy 29-year-old's lung collapsed after kapalabhati, in a single case report. Stop for sudden chest pain or breathlessness.
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Talk to your mental health team before intensive breathing or meditation practice. Warning signs in published cases included hearing voices, believing others were talking about you, not sleeping, not eating and long practice through the night.
In a German survey of 1,702 practitioners, people who mainly did Kundalini yoga reported fewer sudden problems than people doing other styles, and 0.59 injuries per 1,000 hours.
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Our suggestions, drawing on the method's own advice that practices can be adapted, and on the anxiety trial's home routine:
Trials used a weekly class of 60 to 120 minutes, with 12 to 45 minutes of home practice a day, for 8 to 12 weeks. 3HO says even one or two classes a week can bring noticeable changes.
Our editorial starting point: one class a week plus 10 to 20 minutes most days, with slow breathing only, for 8 to 12 weeks before you judge it.
The pattern (in 4 parts, out 8, for 11 minutes) is the "Segmented Breath for Anxiety" from the anxiety trial's home practice (Hofmann 2015). Breathing in through the nose, leaving out any hold and building up from 3 to 5 minutes are our suggestions.
See the movement on the 3D figure: Slow breathing (6 breaths a minute)
As in the anxiety trial's home routine, do each warm-up for 1 to 2 minutes, then 11 minutes of slow segmented breathing (we don't show breath of fire or kriyas, on purpose).
3D demoEasy pose (Sukhasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoThoracic rotationBeginner · No equipment
3D demoShoulder rollsBeginner · No equipment
3D demoNeck CARs (controlled articular rotations)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoCat-cowBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSlow breathing (6 breaths a minute)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoAlternate nostril breathing (Nadi Shodhana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoCorpse pose (Savasana)Beginner · No equipmentThe 25-minute practice follows the anxiety trial's home routine, with no fast breathing and no breath holds. The breathing workout's box and 4-7-8 breathing include holds, which we suggest skipping with glaucoma, high blood pressure or in pregnancy.
A gentle 25-minute Kundalini-style practice from an anxiety trial's home routine: seated warm-ups moving with the breath, then 11 minutes of slow breathing.
25 minBeginner7 movesNo equipmentA 6-minute breathing routine: slow breathing, crocodile breathing, alternate nostril breathing, box breathing and 4-7-8 breathing.
6 minBeginner5 movesNo equipmentA 12-minute reset for stressful days: 4 minutes of brisk movement, 3 minutes to loosen your neck, shoulders and back, then 5 minutes of slow breathing.
12 minBeginner10 movesA bench or box, A wallA 15-minute chair yoga routine done entirely sitting: slow breathing, neck, shoulder and wrist stretches, seated twists and side bends, and a calm finish.
15 minBeginner16 movesA bench or boxA gentle 20-minute yoga practice, sitting and standing with your eyes open, where every pose is optional and you can stop at any point.
20 minBeginner11 movesA bench or boxFor chest pain that feels tight or like squeezing, or that spreads to your arms, neck or jaw, severe difficulty breathing, or if someone collapses. In the US, call 911.
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Tingling, numbness, light-headedness or feeling unreal during fast breathing mean you're breathing out too much carbon dioxide. Stop the fast breathing and breathe slowly through your nose until it passes. If you're not sure what to do, or it doesn't settle, call NHS 111.
Stop the practice and see a GP if meditation or breathing leaves you anxious, low, unable to sleep or with experiences that frighten you (our suggestion). In published cases of harm, people were hearing voices, not sleeping or eating, and practising through the night.
Get advice before starting if you're pregnant, have epilepsy, a heart condition, high blood pressure that isn't controlled or a lung condition, or have had a recent operation or serious illness. Tell your teacher about any condition.
That is the tradition's idea. People do report intense experiences, such as flows of energy or rising sensations, but no study has shown a physical energy, and the trials test breathing, movement and meditation.
3HO suggests so, but tingling, numbness and light-headedness are the classic signs of breathing out too much carbon dioxide, and fast yogic breathing lowered carbon dioxide in the blood by about a quarter in a lab study. Slow down until it passes.
These are the method's claims, and we found no study that tested them. The measured effects of fast yogic breathing are a higher heart rate, higher blood pressure and less carbon dioxide while you do it.
In the best trial it helped more people than stress education but fewer than CBT, only CBT's advantage over stress education lasted to 6 months, and yoga didn't ease depression more than stress education did.
Trials report no serious harms, and people who mainly did Kundalini yoga reported fewer sudden problems than other styles in a national survey. The real risks are fast breathing for some people and intensive practice done alone, which a few case reports link to serious problems.
That is the school's account, and we couldn't find an independent history to check it against. What the school's own timeline records is Yogi Bhajan arriving in Canada in 1968 and teaching in Los Angeles within months.
One small OCD trial and small, mixed memory trials, in one of which recall scores fell, are hopeful at best.
A style that combines postures, set sequences called kriyas, breathwork, chanting, hand positions, eye focus and meditation. Yogi Bhajan brought it to North America in 1968, and a class usually lasts 60 to 90 minutes.
You tune in by chanting a short mantra, then do breathwork and warm-ups, a kriya, a relaxation lying down, a meditation and a closing song. You only need a mat, plus a blanket for the relaxation.
Rapid breathing through the nose, about 2 to 3 breaths a second, pumped from the navel with equal in-breaths and out-breaths. In studies of kapalabhati and other fast yogic breathing, carbon dioxide in the blood fell and blood pressure and heart rate rose while people did it, which can cause tingling or dizziness; the one study of breath of fire itself measured only heart rate, which rose. The method itself says not to do it in pregnancy, on the first days of a period, or with dizziness, panic or uncontrolled high blood pressure.
In a trial of 226 adults with generalised anxiety disorder, 12 weekly classes helped 54% of people, against 33% with stress education and 71% with CBT. Only CBT's advantage lasted 6 months, so Kundalini yoga can help but isn't a substitute for treatment. Our yoga for anxiety and sleep guide covers yoga for anxiety in general.
In a small trial of 40 adults who struggled to fall asleep, 45 minutes a day for 8 weeks improved sleep more than sleep hygiene advice, and the gains lasted 6 months. In the anxiety trial, though, sleep improved no more with yoga than with stress education.
Trials report no serious harms; in the anxiety trial, 6.5% had a minor problem, such as joint pain or tingling, that might have been linked to the yoga. The main cautions are fast breathing and long breath holds for some people, and intensive practice on your own.
The method lists pregnancy, the first days of a period, dizziness, panic, uncontrolled high blood pressure and recovery from surgery or serious illness. Add epilepsy, as deep over-breathing carries a very small risk of bringing on a seizure, and talk to your doctor first if you have a heart or lung condition.
In the tradition, kundalini is an energy at the base of the spine that rises with practice, and people report sensations of energy, light or bliss. No study has found a physical energy, and doctors have described rare cases, after intensive practice done alone, that turned out to be serious mental illness. If you have experiences that worry you, stop and see your GP.
A 12-minute chanting meditation with finger movements, used in several small studies. It improved mood in carers of people with dementia compared with relaxation music, but did no better than listening to music for memory complaints.
Yes: you don't need to be flexible, and the practices can be done sitting on a chair. Start with slow breathing and short sets, and leave breath of fire until a teacher has taught you, or skip it.
The method itself says not to do breath of fire in pregnancy. In later pregnancy, the NHS advises avoiding anything that has you lying flat on your back for more than a few minutes, so do the relaxation on your side. We'd also leave out long breath holds. Tell your teacher and midwife that you're pregnant.
In 2020, sixteen years after his death, people reported being harmed by Yogi Bhajan, and an independent group was engaged to assess the reports. The accounts were shared publicly in August 2020, and the Kundalini Research Institute and its related organisations set up reconciliation and reparations programmes.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. If you are pregnant, have a health condition such as glaucoma, high blood pressure or osteoporosis, or have had recent surgery, check with a doctor, midwife or physiotherapist before starting, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
