What to Expect at Kundalini Immersion at SHINE
This ain’t your mama’s Kundalini class.
Whether you’ve practiced Kundalini before or have absolutely no idea what Kundalini even is, it doesn’t matter. You’re about to experience something you’ve probably never experienced before.
And if, five minutes after walking in, you find yourself thinking, What did I get myself into? Trust the process. There’s a very good chance that 90 minutes later you’ll be asking, Can we do this again tomorrow?
Here’s what to expect.
You’ll Walk Into Another World
When you enter the room, the lights are off. It’s dark, illuminated only by red LED lights, and the entire space already feels different.
You’ll find a spot, roll out your yoga mat (yes, you need one for this experience—and yes, we have extras), and in front of you will be a bolster, blocks, blanket, eye cover and a pair of immersive audio headphones.
Put your headphones on and start to settle in. The playlist is incredible—less like background music and more like the score of a movie. It has been intentionally created to move you through the experience, and both the music and Lorraine’s voice are delivered directly through your headphones.
You can remove the headphones at any time and hear everything through the room’s surround sound, but the headphones are part of what makes this experience so immersive. They help the rest of the room disappear.
Why the Headphones + Eye Cover Matter
The eye cover is optional too. If it’s your first time and you want to watch Lorraine so you can follow the movements, leave it off. You may decide to put it on later.
But there is a reason we intentionally reduce what you can see and hear around you.
Kundalini can be raw. You’ll chant. You’ll breathe loudly. You’ll move repetitively, and sometimes that movement becomes primal and free. The quickest way to stop yourself from fully going there is to start wondering, Can everyone hear me? What do I look like? Is anyone watching me?
With headphones on and eyes covered, that starts to disappear. No one cares what you look like or sound like. Everyone else is having their own experience.
You get to stop performing and be 100% authentically yourself.
And that is incredibly freeing.
So, What Are We Actually Doing?
At SHINE, you can expect a heavy dose of three things in Kundalini: repetitive movement, chanting and breathwork.
Kundalini Yoga traditionally works with shakti, the life-force or creative energy believed to reside at the base of the spine. Through breath, mantra, movement and meditation, the practice is intended to awaken that energy and encourage it upward through the body and energetic centers toward the crown.
You don’t have to understand any of that before you come. You don’t even have to decide exactly what you believe about it.
Just experience it.
Because when breath, movement, sound and repetition begin stacking together, you may notice your usual thinking mind gets quieter. You might feel tingling, heat, vibration or an incredible sense of stillness. You may even find yourself slipping into a state that feels a little transcendent—especially if you really allow yourself to let go.
Yes, You Might Be Sore Tomorrow
Here’s what surprises people: you may spend much of the experience seated on your mat and still wake up the next day wondering what muscles you used.
The movements can look deceptively simple, but Kundalini uses repetition. You might move your arms, spine or torso in the same pattern for an entire song. You are always invited to come in and out, modify, rest and work at your own pace.
The same goes for breathwork. You might be invited into Breath of Fire for five minutes. That does not mean you have to do five uninterrupted minutes. Do what you can, rest and come back when you’re ready.
But if you’ve never experienced several minutes of powerful breathwork followed by complete stillness, this alone is worth the price of admission.
You stop moving and simply feel what your own body just created—the buzzing, heat, tingling, energy and stillness.
It’s somatic magic.
Lorraine Is Unparalleled at Leading This Experience
Your guide matters here, and Lorraine's ability to lead people through this particular experience is unparalleled.
She is a 500-hour Kundalini Yoga teacher with decades of experience in movement, breath and group instruction, but it’s her presence that makes this work. She knows when to build, when to push, when to make you laugh, when to let you stay inside the experience and when to bring you back down.
When your eyes are covered, the music is in your ears and you’re allowing yourself to go somewhere internally, you need to trust the person whose voice is guiding you.
You can trust Lorraine.
This Is Not a Regular Yoga Class
Let’s talk about the price of admission for a second, because this isn’t a $35 yoga class. It’s a theatrical experience that we intentionally price at $35 to keep accessible to our community.
Everything is orchestrated down to the minute: the lights, playlist, movement, breathwork, headphones, intensity, stillness and the entire rise and fall of the 90-minute arc.
There is a reason people drive significant distances to attend and why those who have experienced it tend to come back. I hesitate to call it a cult following 😂, but there is definitely an if you know, you know quality to Kundalini at SHINE.
Once you know, you know.
But It’s Not for Everyone
If you absolutely do not want to get outside your comfort zone, chant, breathe intensely or allow yourself to move without worrying about what you look like, this may not be the experience for you.
Then again, that might be exactly why you should try it once.
You don’t need to arrive uninhibited. You just need to be willing to explore what happens when you stop holding yourself so tightly.
And if you’re nervous because you’ve never been to SHINE before, know this: we understand that we offer unusual experiences. We are very intentional about creating a space where people feel comfortable because the nervous system has a hard time letting go when it doesn’t feel safe.
There is nothing to prove here. Take a break. Remove your headphones. Skip the eye cover. Modify a movement. Come back when you’re ready.
Your experience belongs to you.
Trust the Process
So if you’re sitting there at the beginning, surrounded by red lights with headphones over your ears, thinking, What did I get myself into?—trust the process.
Let Lorraine lead you. Let the music build. Let yourself chant even if you feel ridiculous at first. Let your breath get louder. Let your movement become less polished. Stop worrying about what anyone else thinks and see what happens.
Because when you strip everything away—the lights, the incredible playlist, the headphones and the theatrical production—it really is just you, your breath and your body creating energy and momentum.
And there is something pretty incredible about discovering what happens when you finally let yourself go.
Come see what you've been missing! I look forward to practicing next to you.
xo,
💚 Cortney
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