Under the Yoga Mat: The Dark History of Yogi Bhajan's Kundalini Yoga (Google edition)
About this audiobook
Let’s face and share the pain.
Under the Yoga Mat lifts the veil on the underexposed dark side of the history of Yogi Bhajan’s Kundalini Yoga and his revered 3HO Healthy, Happy, Holy community. This is the first book presenting the multifaceted character and extent of the wrongdoings and the tactics used by its leadership to keep horrific abuse hidden for five decades. This meticulously researched non-fiction work delves deep into the tragedies that unfolded when Harbhajan, a 39-year-old Sikh-born Indian customs officer, arrived in Los Angeles in 1968, posing as a master of Kundalini Yoga.
Through a thoughtful selection of testimonies, historical records, and expert insights, this work unravels the rise of Yogi Bhajan, as disillusioned American youth embraced him as the Eastern guru, they believed they needed. As his following grew rapidly, he proclaimed that his devotees were predestined to guide humanity in the transition from the Piscean to the Aquarian Age. Yet, behind the facade of spiritual enlightenment, Bhajan cunningly manipulated, controlled, exploited, and abused his followers and their children. He was involved in drug and arms smuggling and fraudulent businesses.
Under the Yoga Mat challenges our perception of spiritual leaders, champions the resilience of survivors, and sparks a critical conversation about power, manipulation, and the darker side of spiritual movements.
About the author
Els Coenen, Ph.D., is a Belgian author and former nuclear physicist who found her calling as a Kundalini Yoga teacher in 2008. For a decade, she passionately taught yoga, represented her country globally, and organized teacher training programs in Belgium, neighboring countries, and in East Africa.
Disillusioned by her discovery of several lies about the yogic upbringing of Yogi Bhajan, the origins of his yoga, the 2017 involvement of Akal Security in the separation of refugee children from their parents at the Mexican border, and the lack of transparency within the Kundalini Yoga community leadership, Els took a step back in 2018.
She reemerged in 2020, driven by her commitment to truth and justice to support survivors and shed light on the dark realities underlying the practice.
GuruNischan was born and raised in 3HO (the Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization) and is the creator and host of The Uncomfortable Conversations Podcast: The Untold Stories of the 3HO/Kundalini Yoga Community.
