Serpent Healing

October 22, 2020

Interview with Kwali Kumara by Hindustan News - New Delhi

Where were you Born?   Where did you grow up?
 
I was born and raised in a Small village close to Heathrow; I have studied, lived and worked my whole life in London. I graduated age 21 in 1996 with a BA Honors Degree in English and Drama from St Mary’s University in Twickenham. I worked as a Performance Artist until 2005 when I took training to become a yoga teacher with Shiv Charan Singh at his Karam Kriya school of Kundalini Yoga in Archway London.
Since getting certified I have been teaching regularly all over London to a wide variety of students.
 
When did you develop interest in healing and how?
 
I have always had a healthy thirst for all holistic therapies and natural ways to heal the body. I was 23 years old when I found kundalini yoga and began a daily practice. It presented itself to me at a time when I was seeking a reliable ancient formula for healing body, mind and soul in a natural way.
I was given my first snake around this time so significantly they both entered my life when I was seeking help.
The teachings gave me the tools for transformation and self-exulted experience; I found them easy to apply to my life and with very positive results. I realized I could heal myself with this ancient technology and therefore help others to do the same! Snakes have been respected friends and teachers to me on my journey of self-discovery, being in their Divine presence has taught me so much that it has inspired me to share my experience with others. I named my very first snake Kundalini and when she passed away I decided to dedicate my life to her spirit and honour her existence by training to become a kundalini yoga teacher.
  I continue to deepen and expand my knowledge of this broad and fascinating subject with my mentor and teacher Shiv Charan Singh. I have recently completing my level two training programme with him and feel very grateful that he has made it possible for me to introduce my serpents into the kundalini yoga meditation environment by giving his blessing. It is a privilege to help people to overcome their fears and facilitate them re-connecting with their own natural serpentine life force energy.
 
How did you become a serpent healer?
 
It became me!  I was given my first serpent by someone who could no longer care for it and the same thing has happened with all twenty serpents that I am now guardian for in my little sanctuary.
Many people in the west keep snakes as pets and for various reasons they change their mind about caring for them. Due to the snakes not being in their natural environment they have to find a new home with a dedicated guardian, as they cannot survive the cold english climate alone.
Unfortunately there are not many reptile sanctuaries in Britain and there are lots of unwanted pet snakes. This is how my collection has become so large as I cannot resist a snake in need of a stable home. All the serpents in my sanctuary have been rescued from inappropriate environments and have all needed healing of some kind to start a new and better life. I love to help snakes back to good health and feel they have much to share with us about healing, transformation and ancient wisdom.
 
 
How does it feel to be a serpent healer?
 
I feel very blessed to be one of their ambassadors, I feel the serpents are on their own mission to rid humanity of serpent fear and that I am facilitating them on this journey. I am very honoured to be in service to such divine creatures that are still misunderstood by so many people. It’s my passion to provide people with a calm and sacred space to release whatever is blocking their spiritual path with the help of the snakes and their natural ability to transmute negative or stagnant energy. The serpent sessions are designed to transform fears to love. It is a beautiful moment to witness a person’s heart melt and fall in love with that which only moments earlier gripped them with terror. I feel very strongly about preventing the live import of snakes as exotic pets and I always educate and encourage my students about the correct care and the importance of rescuing snakes should they feel inspired after a workshop to keep one as a pet.
 
How do you help people overcome their fear of serpents?
 
Snakes are natural transmuters of energy; they are the masters of transformation able to shed their skin effortlessly when outgrown. We have a lot to learn from their calm and patient ways. Serpents are master yogi’s and are able to meditate for days, sometimes weeks, uninterrupted and utterly content and at peace.
In a typical class we would set an intention of what fears we would like to release. We then go through a rigorous physical exercise kriya followed by a meditation specific to the chakra we are working on and then a meeting with the snakes. The students have focused themselves on releasing their anxieties through physical exertion and then deep relaxation. By the time the serpents join the circle the students have worked through their blockages and are naturally more able to relax with the serpents who in my opinion are a living avatar of the teachings. Those who still feel shy are not under pressure to interact with them until they feel completely comfortable. By observing their calm nature with the other students its not long before they gain the courage to meditate with one.
 
Could you please help explain how does serpent healing take place?
 
Serpent Healing Ceremonies take place in an intimate circle of no more than twenty people at one time.
The amount of snakes that work with us in a session depends on the amount of people attending and the natural bodily cycles of the snakes. The serpents take it in turns to come to the workshops so they all get adequate rest-time to shed their skin and digest their food. This is closely monitored by myself to ensure the snakes are only handled in the periods that they are happy to socialise and left comfortably alone at home when they need to relax. I have a license and insurance to work with my reptiles in public and these standards are in place to ensure there is no cruelty to the animals involved and that people are covered by insurance in the case of any unlikely event.
The students are coming predominantly to release their fears but they are also learning to generate and harness their own healing energy so they can work on themselves and offer some positive energy back to the snakes. It is a mutual exchange of love as the students realise how important it is to understand the connection we have to these divine creatures and the need to elevate them from the negativity surrounding them here in the west where they are still associated with the darkness. In the sessions we raise our vibration with the snakes and send out positivity to the whole planet for the healing and Liberation of all living beings.
 
What roles do snakes play in healing a person?
 
The snake is a physical avatar of the teachings a storehouse of ancient wisdom that is accessed through transmission. They inspire the students to a new understanding and a new way of life. Their presence helps the students to connect with the energy of transformation in an intimate encounter. We explore the many different serpent cultures all over the world and throughout history. Looking at both the positive and negative views surrounding serpents to gain valuable insights about our ancient reptilian ancestors. The presence of the snakes in the meditative environment enhances and enriches the experience offering a deep renewal of love and respect for oneself, the earth and the teachings. The students harmonize with the snakes as a living sacred symbol of the universe and commune with them energetically in a healing exchange.
 
How does one feel after a serpent healing session?
 
Students feel relaxed and liberated having re-balanced their chakras through the physical practice of the exercise kriyas designed to heal different parts of the psyche and body on a cellular level. According to the students they feel fantastic and invigorated, they tell me they feel victorious having faced their fears and worked through personal energy blocks.  
Most students will return to enrich their experience with the snakes for the series of workshops; the eight-moonchakra activation course is designed to create a strong foundation for the student to continue with a personal practice. It also gives the student all the information needed regarding the physical and spiritual care of snakes in captivity should the students be inspired to want to rescue their own.
 
What is the age group of people coming for a serpent healing session?
 
I have people coming from all ages, all faiths and all beliefs, total beginners or advanced yogis, all are welcome! Obviously some students will feel more confident than others due to experience, but the yoga is so accessible that anyone can try it at any level. The students try their best and the power of the universe does the rest.
 
Do you have any plans of extending your classes to India?
 
I would very much like to visit India again having done some of my training in Goa. However, bringing the snakes is rather a challenge as they don’t travel so well. They are very sensitive creatures so flying them over is not the best option.
There are many snakes already in India so it would be fantastic to meet and collaborate with a serpent sanctuary already established in India. It would be a joy to work with other snake lovers and serpents in their natural habitat as all the snakes I currently work with here in London have to be kept in captivity to stay alive.

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The Serpent Healer

October 22, 2020

UK based Kundalini Yoga Teacher, Kwali Kumara, opens up about her partner, her music and progressing on the spiritual path

What were you doing before you discovered Kundalini Yoga?

Before I found this particular spiritual path, I was a performance artist working as a professional fire, stiltz and snake dancer. I also had my own troupe of 'psychedelic fairies' and together we would perform in front of thousands of people. I loved the shamanic trance-like tribal atmosphere of unity consciousness and then one day I was on stage looking out into the crowd and I realised that they were all looking at me as inspiration and I thought, “how can I influence people in an even more positive way?”

It was then I knew that I must find a way of using my platform for something much more profound and transformational than just entertainment. 

So, what prompted you to explore the spiritual world?

I’d already had several 'otherworldly' experiences growing up so I always knew that there was something more. After exploring every form of yoga, meditation and spirituality, searching for a method that really resonated with me, I finally found kundalini yoga. It was while I was in India practising this style that I intuitively knew it was the right path for me. I experienced some real inner shifts, my old life and friends fell away to make space for the new. It was actually the death of my first snake, a python called Kundalini, that inspired me to become a kundalini yoga teacher. I wanted to honour her life by making a commitment to the wisdom she had shared with me, so I signed up for a teacher training course with Shiv Charan Singh who is still to this day my beloved teacher and mentor. 

How much of a life changing decision was that?

Well, it completely transformed everything. I think every spiritual path requires sacrifice, and I had to make changes and leave behind many things. Some were easier to drop than others. Weirdly, initially, one of the hardest things for me was giving up all my colourful clothes and elaborate headdresses to wear the sacred white attire required to teach kundalini yoga. I've always loved to express my artistic nature through my clothes and hair so this was a real tricky one for me. On the flip side though  I do think that my skills as a performance artist have actually been useful for me when it comes to confidence and holding space. 

You also rescue serpents – how did that come about?

It happened by accident really. I was given my first snake by someone who could no longer care for it, I fell for totally in love with it, a lady overheard me telling the tragic story of when it passed away and she was so moved by how much I missed it that she gifted her own snake, she bought it to me in a beautiful basket and I couldn't believe how much it resembled the one who had passed. It felt like this was a sign and that my duty on earth was to care for snakes. 
I had said to the Universe, ‘if I am meant to keep a snake as a pet then you will send me another ' and sure enough they have not stopped arriving at my door ever since! Many people get them as pets before doing their homework and then change their minds about wanting to care for them for various reasons ranging from boredom, lack of research about correct care and the simple fact that they live a very long time and require very specific husbandry to keep them healthy. Since that day I have always felt a strong calling to rescue them and offer a caring, warm sanctuary to live in. I just can't turn away 'a snake in need '. Many people are still in fear of them as sadly they have been given  so much 'bad press' throughout history. Personally, I know this feeling well as I've also experienced a lack of understanding surrounding what I’m doing, which is essentially providing a caring environment for unwanted, abandoned and sometimes mistreated pythons, boa-constrictors and other serpent breeds of all shapes and sizes. 

How many snakes have you got now?

There are 26 snakes in my sanctuary – some of those are baby pythons which have just hatched and the largest is a beautiful 13ft Burmese python that I rescued from a nightclub. 

Tell us about your serpent healing workshops…

I’m grateful to my teacher Shiv Charan Singh who gave me his blessing to facilitate these workshops with the fundamental structure of a kundalini class. This work gives people the opportunity to reconnect to their own natural life force energy, often referred to as the serpent power or the kundalini energy that resides at the base of our spine. Essentially, I help people get over the anxieties and fears they have surrounding snakes through group healing sessions and sometimes 'one to ones' if the phobia is very severe. 
I facilitate bringing the students to a place of peace where they realise that usually the fear of snakes is a fear of facing their true selves and their own serpent power. There are many reasons for these deeply engrained neuroses which we address together with powerful and transformative kriyas and meditations to prepare the participants to share a divine energy exchange with my serpentine friends. It feels that a symbiosis takes place where both student and snake both receive healing from each other. I feel very honoured that the Universe has given me the task of setting up these sacred ceremonies, it is such a joy to witness the student shift from intense fear to immense love in a relatively short space of time and I know the snakes adore the opportunity to receive so many meditative cuddles.
Part of me is intimidated by the fact that I’m one of the only people in the world who does this particular kind of work, it does feel like a great responsibility to the serpent kingdom to deliver it with the utmost integrity. I feel a great commitment to this path and I find it super exciting to guide people to transmute their fears and limitations.

Along the way, I imagine you’ve come across some sceptics…

Oh yes! When I first started doing serpent healing workshops the press were all over me and even called it 'snake yoga' which made it sound like a gimmick. I realised quite quickly that some tabloids can completely manipulate the truth. One newspaper totally twisted my words and called me ‘the crazy snake woman’ when in fact I had simply said I was crazy about snakes. As a result, I also experienced a backlash from my own yoga community and from people who didn’t take the time to understand exactly what I was doing or acknowledge the fact that all proceeds from my workshops go towards the upkeep of my sanctuary, which can be very expensive with so many little mouths to feed and keep warm. 
The whole experience was quite upsetting and as a result I decided to keep my work under the radar to preserve its intimate sensitive nature. I didn't even feel comfortable doing interviews – until now! Doing this interview is a big step for me and I feel immense gratitude that I am finally able to share my gift with the world. 

Do you ever still perform with your pythons?

Very occasionally and when I do I trust my intuition to guide me to the right kind of events and it’s always on my terms. My snakes make the most fantastic dancing partners, I love to support them to display their beauty and majesty through the medium of dance, they are so elegant and sensual it's such an honour to express ourselves together in this way. 
I also find that going into a corporate environment with my healing snakes can actually work wonders on people who would never dream of coming to a yoga workshop. It gives me the opportunity to reach out to a wider audience and heal people's fears when they least expect it. It also gives me the chance to wear some of my favourite costumes and put on my more elaborate headdresses for my snakes to snuggle up in. It’s refreshing for me because it’s fun and I'm a naturally bubbly person so it helps me keep a good balance and reminds me that there is also value in not taking myself too seriously. As a quirky performer, you can also encourage everyday people to connect to their inner spirit by approaching it in a different way. You can get a message across by your mere radiance and presence. 

You released your debut album, Exalted with Pete Ardron and have just released another one called Ecstatic. Tell us about your musical journey…

Well I spent many years on stage and in fields dancing bare foot with my tribe. My cousin once joked that I went to a festival one day and came back 10 years later, which is not far from the truth! I literally fell in love with dance music and the culture that went with it. I used to Mc my way around raves but at the time there was very little vocals being used in dance music so getting on the mic was not really the done thing! I always hoped that one day my time would come. I now know that the universe was holding me back for a reason, it was only when I started chanted sacred mantras that the door to work with one of my favourite musicians finally opened. It was all very synchronistic and both of us were super excited to collaborate after being friends for over a decade. My dream was to marry my two worlds together and combine sacred mantra with the magnificent unifying energy of dance music and still keep it in alignment with the teachings. Pete wanted to create epic musical scores that could actually be used in a spiritual context to aid people in meditation. A sonic match made in heaven really, we connect so well creatively, the music just flows. 

You’ve got two children. How have they changed your life?

In many ways, my four-year-old son Kosmo and my one year old daughter Kaliki Star, have been my biggest teachers. From a yogic perspective, they have challenged me way more than any kriya ever has. I was firing on all cylinders and teaching a huge amount of yoga before I became pregnant and then suddenly with a newborn baby, your energetic frequency changes and you have to adjust to feeling like a completely different person. 
In many ways, it was a lesson for my ego. I even stopped practising yoga for a while and that had a real impact on me. I realised that if I was to keep progressing , I needed to stick to a regular sadhana routine however small. The key is to not be too hard on yourself and remember that raising children is one of the greatest gifts you can give to humanity and therefore is a form of yoga in itself.

Tell us about your partner – is he is a yogi?

No, quite the opposite he's more of a scientist! Astro and I met at a festival and there was instant 'opposites attract' kind of chemistry. He is an electronic engineer, he fixes machines , while I fix people, so we do have that in common. Although my profession is not really his vibe, he is still totally open and supportive of my work. I can be pretty fiery in a relationship as I have a lot of shakti energy, I can be like Kali with her sword sometimes, slaying the demons to protect and serve, whereas he is calm, passive and patient like Shiva. His presence is very relaxed, there is never any conflict or fighting with him, just harmony, he brings out the best in me. His masculine yang has allowed me to step into my feminine, yin energy. He is fun, homely, an awesome cook and an amazing Dad, he is my rock that keeps me grounded, he also makes sure I don't take myself too seriously which can easily happen in the yoga world.

What does the rest of the year hold for you?

Aside from being a hands-on mum, I'd like to get my book written, produce more music and widen my audience. I am currently on my internship to become a teacher trainer for Karam Kriya school, which will enable me to help spread this awesome technology to even more souls . The great thing about kundalini is that it is a continuous, ongoing journey where you never stop learning. I think this is one of the best things about it. It doesn't allow for complacency, it keeps pushing you further and deeper in the quest for enlightenment as it peels back the layers to reveal your most authentic self. 

Lastly, tell us about your future dreams?

I would love to open a 'Kundalini Temple' of yoga & healing where all the snakes could live in even more luxury. A safe sanctuary of spirituality to support awakening souls and to share these mystical teachings with those who need them the most. I'd love to work with someone like Russell Brand, who has helped place kundalini yoga on the world map and does a huge amount of work to support people in recovery. I feel kundalini yoga amongst its many benefits is the perfect antidote for healing addictions.
I would really love to continue to be a bridge from the mundane to the magical, to help people unlock their unique power so they can contribute to making this planet a truly safe and beautiful place. 
As humans we have done so much damage and I believe it's never too late to fix our mistakes if we all take responsibility for our actions. I hope I’m able to continue to grow as a teacher so I can assist in this and encourage more people to love themselves, the planet and each other.

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