Embodying Compassion: Yoga for Impact
Unite, Practice, and Inspire Change
November 18th, 2023
Welcome to “Yoga for Impact,” a full-day virtual event dedicated to those who provide tireless care, support, and sustenance to their communities. In a world that forgets to center self-care, we’ve designed this event to nurture you – the unsung heroes – with insights, inspiration, and workshops to refill your cup. The classes will be led by change makers that have dedicated their lives and work to giving back.
Care for Yourself, Empower the World
At “Yoga for Impact,” we celebrate you and the vital role you play in your community. Allow us to pour back into you and nurture you with the gift of recognition. Join us for a day of self-care, learning, and connection.
All proceeds from this event directly support Kundalini Beyond Borders and their mission to bring hope and healing to communities worldwide.
Recordings
This is a live event through Zoom. Recordings will be made available to those that donate to Kundalini Beyond Borders one to two weeks after the live event.
How to register:
This event is a free giveaway exclusively for those who contribute to our November fundraiser, “Kundalini Beyond Borders.” It is donation-based, with all proceeds directly benefiting the grassroots Kundalini Beyond Borders campaign.
To register for this all-day workshop, simply make a donation and gain access! Your support makes a meaningful difference.
Schedule & Class Descriptions
November 18th, 2023
Aquarian Sadhana: Japji, Kundalini Yoga Kriya and Long Ek Ong Kars with Gurumeet Kaur; live music with Hargo
4:00am–6:30am Mountain Time
During LIVE morning Sadhana, we will experience the recitation of Japji, a short yoga set, and we will chant the Aquarian Sadhana mantras. If you are unsure of how to do Aquarian Sadhana, or what the mantras are, click here to download a practical guide.
Balancing Head and Heart: Yoga in Schools with Dr. Christine Mason and Kahlil Kuykendall
9:00am–11:00am Mountain Time
Children & Teachers need our help today more than ever facing the pressures of life and finding a way to get through school! Join author & activist Chris Mason, Ph.D. and Kahlil Kuykendall to explore the transformative power of yoga in schools.
This class is a chance to breathe, move, and meditate together with a focus on compassion and our hearts. Learn about Yoga in Schools, as you experience the sense of well-being that comes as we practice kundalini yoga together. An experiential session, Chris and Kahlil will also share how kundalini yoga teachers can help alleviate teacher stress – and bring yoga to students from Pre-K to High School. Includes guidance for successfully collaborating with schools, furthering student engagement and interest, and building a sense of community and belonging as we make kundalini yoga accessible in secular settings. Take a look at Dr. Mason’s book for bringing Kundalini Yoga to public schools: Cultivating Happiness & Wellbeing, through Meditation, Mindfulness & Movement.
Creating Your Stress-Free Zone: The Art of Stress Management with Shakta Kaur
1:00pm–3:00pm Mountain Time
Stress means the pressure that life exerts on us and the way that pressure makes us act and feel. Too much unprocessed stress distorts the way we view both our world and our sense of Self. Stress doesn’t stop, but so what? What matters most is how you deal with stress. There are two choices, either process it or let it load into your subconscious. Shakta explains how to create a personal ‘stress free zone’ with tools specifically designed to ease the unprecedented stressors of our time. She’ll also explain three important facts that most people don’t tell you about stress. Restore your ‘stress-free zone’ with ease, grace and dignity.
Join us for a transformative yoga class that recharges your energy, opens your heart, and inspires you to serve your community. Through dynamic movements, powerful breathwork, and deep meditation, you’ll experience personal renewal while connecting to the power of compassionate service.
No prior Kundalini experience is necessary. Come with an open heart, and together, let’s recharge, serve, and inspire.
Fostering Wellness and Well Being for Educators: Effectiveness and Efficacy of School Based Yoga & Mindfulness Intervention with Kahlil Kuykendall and Dr. Shawaan Robinson
4:00pm–6:00pm Mountain Time
This workshop will examine how supporting teacher wellbeing can create a positive and productive learning environment for students by helping teachers manage the daily stresses of teaching while establishing and maintaining effective classroom management strategies.Using daily school-based interventions such as yoga and mindfulness to promote educator socio-emotional competencies, stress management and well-being. We will incorporate various tools and techniques from the Y.O.G.A. for Youth school program curriculum; as well as relaxation techniques that can be used in the classroom.
Your Teachers
Gurumeet Kaur
Gurumeet Kaur Khalsa, ERYT 500, is the Director of Create Inner Peace, a Minister of Divinity of Sikh Dharma, and Professional Teacher Trainer of Kundalini Yoga. She has worked closely with Bhai Sahiba Bibiji Inderjit Kaur Khalsa, PhD, the founder of Create Inner Peace, to honor and serve First Responders who daily put themselves in harm’s way to serve and protect us. Gurumeet sits on the board of the Rise in Love Foundation to support the healing, recovery and restoration of self-autonomy of survivors of human trafficking and other severe trauma.
Hargo
Hargo Khalsa – aka Hargo – is a Musical Medicine Man, Producer & Singer/Songwriter known for his mind expanding music, soul-centered music & message. His sound is as diverse as his background… 3rd generation Sikh raised in a kundalini yoga Ashram bordering a Native American reservation in New Mexico.
His 2012 debut Out of Mankind was hailed by Billboard Magazine and American Songwriter as "mesmerizing", "anthemic" and "thinking-man's Rock", catching the attention of Beatles producer Phil Spector who dubbed him "a Young John Lennon" during their 2007 collaboration on Hargo song "Crying for John Lennon”.
As a producer, Hargo has made his mark in the Ambient/Meditation genre with more than 15 albums and over 100,000 copies sold. He is also a founding member of electronica duo FEATHERandDOT with his former guitarist & longtime bandmate Sanjay Parekh and has toured & performed internationally and on the festival scene at events such as: Lightning in a Bottle, Oregon Eclipse, Bhakti/Shaktifest, Sat Nam Fest, Liverpool Sound City, and others…
Dr. Christine Mason
Christine Mason, PhD, an educational psychologist, is a nationally recognized expert in the areas of educational reform, visioning, trauma and mindfulness, teacher and principal mentoring, and special education. She is also a yoga, mindfulness, and meditation instructor who was trained in New Mexico and certified in 2001, with a Level II yoga certification in conscious communication in 2005 and in vitality and stress in 2021. She is a member of the International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association and is also certified in Radiant Child Yoga. She teaches Kundalini Yoga in Northern VA.
Christine is the founder and executive director of the Center for Educational Improvement, an intentional collaborative of educators and researchers actively engaging to create a transformational system of education focused on collective healing and holistic learning. We identify, curate, develop, and scale up sustainable practices, such as Heart Centered Learning and student-led reform, that nurture family and community connectedness, well-being, equity, and justice.
Christine is also an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry with Yale University’s Program for Recovery and Community Health. Christine is lead author of several books and articles, including Mindfulness Practices: Cultivating Heart Centered Communities Where Children Focus and Flourish, Mindful School Communities: The 5 Cs of Nurturing Heart Centered Learning, and Cultivating Happiness, Resilience and Well-Being through Meditation, Mindfulness, and Movement (co-authored with Jeff Donald and Krishna Kaur).
Shakta Kaur
Shakta Kaur (E-RYT 500) owns Kundalini Yoga in the Loop (KYL), based in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She leads both 200- and 300-hour Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training courses, teaches Breathwalk (walking meditation) and trains Breathwalk Instructors. For four years Shakta represented 3HO and KRI while serving on the Board of Directors of Yoga Alliance (YA) as Secretary and Chair of the Board plus Interim CEO. Currently Shakta offers hybrid (in-studio and on-line) classes, workshops, and Teacher Trainings. Her next 200-hr Level 1 training begins Feb 2024. Her next Level 2 training (Conscious Communication) begins Jan 2024. She'll lead her 12th yatra to India in 2025. Shakta-Shakti Subscribers have access to all of Shakta’s ‘live-to-recorded’ classes and workshops. Her specialty series include Nine Nights of the Goddess, Breathwalk & Street Art, plus monthly Full & New Moon workshops. Shakta's organized Chicago's White Tantric Yoga course since 2004. And she serves as the White Tantric Manager for 3HO's Winter and Summer Solstices.
Kahlil M. Kuykendall
Kahlil M. Kuykendall, MCPS Mindfulness Specialist Educator. Kahlil has more than twenty years of experience in increasing the capacity of women and youth-serving organizations to develop and deliver high-quality programs and educational enrichment activities. She has worked in Africa, India, and Asia and has extensive experience designing program evaluations that incorporate youth voice. She has coached educators, youth workers, college volunteers, interns, and graduate students to create and implement curricula for young people. Her areas of expertise include education, youth development, arts and culture, project-based learning, child development, holistic wellness, mental health, and career exploration. Kahlil is an adjunct professor at the George Washington University in the Milken Institute School of Public Health and holds a master’s degree in economics with an emphasis on gender and international development. She also is a part of the Y.O.G.A. 4 Youth Teacher Trainer team.
Dr. Shawaan Robinson
Dr. Shawaan Robinson is the Principal of Briggs Chaney Middle School in Silver Spring, MD. As the proud principal of Briggs Chaney-- home of the Bears, her vision simply states- Believe in Equity, Access, and Relationships for all Students!
As principal, she is deeply rooted in her core values of equity, shared leadership, student centered learning and relationship building. She has a strong desire to create the learning conditions for students to thrive by fostering opportunities for them to be able to engage in experiential learning that challenges them intellectually, inclusively supports their learning and builds their confidence. Dr. Robinson has been an educator for 30 years and has worn many hats during her educational career. She has served as an elementary school teacher, elementary and middle school counselor, pupil personnel worker, assistant principal and principal intern working in diverse school communities. She earned her bachelors of arts degree in early childhood education from the University of the District of Columbia, a masters in guidance and counseling from Bowie State University and a doctorate in educational leadership from University of Maryland Eastern Shore. She is an adjunct professor at McDaniel College in Western Maryland where she teaches in the Equity in Education program.
Dr. Robinson served as president of the Montgomery County Alliance of Black School Educators-MCABSE from 2018-2020 and currently serves as an at-large member of the board. She also serves on the board for Open Source Phonics, a reading intervention program. Dr. Robinson is a native of Washington, D.C. where she currently resides with her mom, two sons and a loving Kerry Blue Terrier.
How to register:
This workshop is a free giveaway exclusively for those who contribute to our November fundraiser, “Kundalini Beyond Borders.” This event is donation-based, with all proceeds directly benefiting the grassroots Kundalini Beyond Borders campaign.
To register for this all-day workshop, simply make a donation and gain access! Your support makes a meaningful difference.
Support Your Practice
Learn more about how to create the Fall Equinox experience from wherever you are in the world! Explore downloadable resources related to the Yogic diet, Aquarian Sadhana and Kundalini Yoga.