20 Feb Who are Those All-White Turban People?
You’ve seen them – the people wearing all-white with turbans — haven’t you? They keep to themselves but also seem friendly and unabashed to be walking around looking so different from everyone else. They are devotees of Yogi Bhajan, father of Kundalini Yoga in the US. In LA, their headquarters, Yoga West, is on Robertson where a lively community thrives.
Yogi Bhajan (born Harbhajan Singh Puri), (August 26, 1929 – October 6, 2004) came to LA in 1969 and started the 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization)Foundation which has over 300 centers in 35 countries. He taught a message of healthy living, family values, and no drugs. His acolytes practice vegetarianism, not cutting their hair or beards as part of the Sikh tradition, and they advocate for peace and social justice. The followers also under his guidance developed a holistic approach to drug addiction.
From the website: “Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan® is considered the most comprehensive of yoga traditions, combining meditation, mantra, physical exercises and breathing techniques; it is a Raj Yog, encompassing the eight limbs of yoga into a singular practice of excellence and ecstasy. “Kundalini” literally means “the curl of the lock of hair of the beloved.” This poetic metaphor alludes to the flow of energy and consciousness that exists within each of us, and enables us to merge with – or “yoke” – the universal Self. Fusing individual and universal consciousness creates a divine union, called “yoga.” The Upanishads, dating back to the fifth century B.C., describe the kundalini, although the oral tradition reaches back even further into history. For thousands of years, this sacred science and technology was veiled in secrecy, passed along verbally from master to chosen disciple.”
If you visit Yoga West you will find a clean, attractive space offering a variety of yoga and other classes, lectures, workshops, and a small store.
Yoga West
1535 Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035
Phone: (310) 552-4647
Open 7 days a week, hours vary
Full schedule of classes and workshops
© 2020 Catherine Auman
This is an excerpt from Catherine Auman’s book Guide to Spiritual L.A.: The Irreverent, the Awake, and the True
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.