Resources on Free Information, Seva, Scholarship and Work Exchange Programs

Spirit Voyage is committed to bringing the teachings of Kundalini yoga and mantra to the masses. Our free services on SpiritVoyage.com include the Mantra-pedia, an online reference of Kundalini mantras, a Meditation Home, which recommends many meditations for personal practice, and Free Music Friday and other free downloads, which allow our friends to download MP3 files of different artists to enjoy and explore. We also do charity projects including a recent CD that raised funds for victims of the Haitian earthquake. Spirit Voyage is not alone in our commitment to bringing the teachings of Yogi Bhajan to all, regardless of their circumstances.

Morning sadhana is free at Kundalini Yoga centers and ashrams around the country. Yogi Bhajan taught that sadhana was a personal and private time, less a time of instruction and more a time of pure devotion. Ask your local yoga center if they have sadhana and make the commitment to attend!

The Kundalini Research Institute provides many resources for students and teachers, including online lectures from Yogi Bhajan, a collection of kriyas for complimentary download and help with mantra pronunciation. They also provide scholarships to international students as a part of the “Reach Out Teach Out” programs.

Dasvandh.org is a website filled with meditations and mantras given by Yogi Bhajan to enhance prosperity. It is also committed to the principle of tithing as a spiritual practice, which is shared by all the world’s major religions, based on the idea that if you give of yourself to your spiritual community unselfishly, the Universe will supply your needs beautifully. It is a part of prosperity consciousness, and the mantras and meditations that relate to building your prosperity are freely given.

Acknowledging that many would like to attend the Summer Solstice Sadhana Celebration in New Mexico and its Winter Solstice counterpart in Florida, 3HO offers financial aid scholarships and work exchange programs that make the event affordable for those who need some extra help.

Snatam Kaur, the beloved singer of sacred chant, is committed to keeping her concerts open to all. If you are unable to afford her concerts, you can contact Spirit Voyage to apply for a work exchange opportunity. Many Kundalini Yoga and chant events have this policy of work-exchange. If you choose not to go the programs your soul really yearns for due to financial limitations, you might as well ask if there is a way to do work as an exchange for attendance!

Even yoga studios are committed to making the teachings affordable. Golden Bridge LA and Golden Bridge NYC, the yoga studios founded and run by Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, both have seva (selfless service) programs whereby they exchange one class for two hours of your time with a three month commitment. Rachel LaRosa, the manager of Golden Bridge NYC, says that their community couldn’t work without the people who give their time in exchange for classes. You might start doing some light clean up and move up to the front desk. When asked about work exchange for teacher training programs, LaRosa said that it was available to those who had worked in seva for Golden Bridge and shown a commitment to the community and to the teachings. In Chicago, the well-respected teacher Shakta Kaur runs a beautiful studio with the Devi Scholarship Program, originally started by a grateful student who wanted to help others afford teacher training. The Devi Scholarship program may award grants to students of up to $2,000. http://www.shaktakaur.com/trainings/kytt_level_1/chicago/chicago_scholarship.pdf. In Canada, the PranaShanti studio has a work exchange program as well. http://www.pranashanti.com/training/programs. You will find many yoga studios throughout the world have payment plans or offer scholarships to their students in some manner.

It is fair to say that a form of energy exchange is vital to the study of Kundalini Yoga. Your teacher determines what constitutes that energy exchange, but consider that we are not living as renunciates in the Himalayan mountains. Those who dedicate their lives to the teaching of yoga and enhance yours with its study deserve to support themselves and pay their bills in a prosperous way. There is a story of Yogi Bhajan when he first began teaching in the USA. At the time, he mostly taught hippies who didn’t have the money to attend class. This doesn’t mean they didn’t pay. Once, he scattered coins in the parking lot outside the class so that they could gather up the coins and come and pay him, thus providing an energy exchange so that the energy of his teachings could truly impact them.

The teachings of Yogi Bhajan are open to all. If you are having trouble swinging them financially, find out what programs apply to you! There are an abundance of resources and programs available to you to close the gap and help you achieve prosperity with your mind, body and soul. Ask and it is given, seek and ye shall find! Tell us about your miracles of prosperity that have allowed you to attend Kundalini Yoga classes!