Uncomfortable Conversations Podcast The Untold Stories of the 3HO Kundalini Yoga Community

Rosalinde Heiml was born in 1963 in southern Germany. At 20, she moved to Italy to work. In 1985, at 22, she met Guru Meher Singh, the ashram leader in Rome, to become his yoga student.

In February 1986, Yogi Bhajan visited Rome and ordered her to come to the U.S. Despite her very limited English, and internal hesitation, she quit her job and left L.A. After two weeks in Los Angeles, she left for Ram Dass Puri and joined the Ladies' camp in New Mexico.

Back in Rome, she traveled with Guru Meher and his brother’s family to the European Yoga Festival in Loches, France. Afterwards, they got married and her name was changed to Guru Meher Kaur. As the ashram director’s wife in Rome, she was expected to embody the perfect Sikh woman, so in 1989, her husband sent her to the Hamburg Germany Ashram to be trained by Tarn Taran Kaur.

Just two years after the birth of her son they abruptly left 3HO in 1993. Guru Meher Singh continued to teach a KY hybrid style of yoga in Italy, and became a sort of "Family Guru”. She gave birth to her daughter in 1995 and nine years later in 2011, she finally divorced. With professional support from trauma therapists affiliated with anti-violence centers in Munich and Venice, she began her journey toward freedom and self-discovery..

In June 2024, after reading Under the Yoga Mat, she contacted Els Coenen and started sharing her story of abuse. This helped her prepare for this interview.

Rosalinde is currently involved in legal cases to regain her freedom and achieve peace. These days, she rents out a studio to tourists in Venice, which brings her great satisfaction. She hopes to keep pursuing her passions, especially arts and design, and maybe write a book.

Song: Joan Baez Donna Donna

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

Conversations You Can Feel: www.gurunischan.substack.com

https://abuse-in-kundalini-yoga.com/

Under the Yoga Mat: The Dark History of Kundalini Yoga

The Cultish Nature of Kundalini Yoga

The Banality of Evil: Hannah Arendt and the Final Solution

The Lost Bread by Edith Bruck

Palestinian solidarity and resource links:

https://bdsmovement.net/campaigns

https://electronicintifada.net/

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Illan Pappe

The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi

@eyeonpalestine

https://sumudpod.com/

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GuruNischan is a writer, pleasure activist, and consultant for high achievers in transitions after loss. To learn more about her inner reinvention work, you can join her Inner Orbit Monthly and subscribe to GuruNischan.com to stay connected.

Namkirn was born and raised in 3HO in the Salt Lake City, Utah Ashram in 1973. Her parents are Ram Dass Singh and Ram Dass Kaur. She went to GNFC from 1986 -1988. She got out when her mom left the dharma and took her at 14 years old and her sister Lakshmi Narayan at 11 years old. Today she lives in Portland Oregon and is a public middle school/ high school teacher in fine arts and Spanish bilingual education. She has a 26 year old son that she raised as a single mom. And she has a baby grandson who’s two years old. She’s an artist and Latin dancer.

Song: Delhi to Dublin: Apples

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Gurunischan is a writer, pleasure activist, and consultant in personal reinvention for unorthodox high achievers. To learn more about her reclamation and recovery work, please subscribe to GuruNischan.com and follow her media platform

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Don’t miss another episode Conversations You Can Feel Podcasts & Publishings. Stay tuned for more musings on provocative and taboo topics hiding in plain sight.

Listen to a range of reviews of the docu-series on HBO Max, BREATH OF FIRE and hear the lens of those who were born-in and raised in 3HO, as well as those who joined this lifestyle as yoga students; and their raw and chilling responses to watching this four part docu-series on mainstream television.

Conversations You Can Feel is a reader/listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Gurunischan is a writer, pleasure activist, and consultant in personal reinvention for unorthodox high achievers. To learn more about her reclamation and recovery work, please subscribe to GuruNischan.com and follow her media platform

Please Contribute to my reclamation and recovery work by making a one time or monthly contribution to this publication.

To be a guest on the podcast, please send an email to [email protected] w/ Subject Line: UC3HO

Join my Inner Orbit Monthly and stay connected at GuruNischan.com

Don’t miss another episode by SUBSCRIBING to my Conversations You Can Feel Podcasts & Publishings. Stay tuned for more musings on provocative and taboo topics hiding in plain sight.

Spotify Playlist: Uncomfortable Conversations 3HO Playlist:

The HBO Documentary Series 'Breath of Fire' is making its mark and causing a ripple effect into the Kundalini Yoga world. Tune into another episode to hear about the latest damage control letter sent out by the CEO of the Kundalini Yoga Research Institute (KRI) to Kundalini Yoga Associations & Ashrams worldwide.

Conversations You Can Feel is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Gurunischan is a writer, pleasure activist, and consultant in personal reinvention for unorthodox high achievers. To learn more about her reclamation and recovery work, please subscribe to GuruNischan.com and follow her media platform

Please Contribute to my reclamation and recovery work by making a one time or monthly contribution to this publication.

To be a guest on the podcast, please send an email to [email protected] w/ Subject Line: UC3HO

Join my Inner Orbit Monthly and stay connected at GuruNischan.com

Don’t miss another episode by SUBSCRIBING to my Conversations You Can Feel Podcasts & Publishings. Stay tuned for more musings on provocative and taboo topics hiding in plain sight.

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Rodolfo Caro, formerly Bhajanjeet Singh became a Kundalini Yoga instructor in 2004 and integrated his home, family and spa business into the lifestyle brand of promoting KY and Sikh Dharma over the next 18 years in Guadalajara Mexico. He was even a Board Member of the International KundaliniYogaTeacher Association of Mexico until 2018  when he began to disconnect from his local Sangat community because of incongruence. In 2020 when the book Premka came out he began to confront the dark side of KY globally.  After being a part of the Beyond the Cage FB group, reading the AOB report, listening to the UCpodcast, and all the material that became available since 2020, Rodolfo began deprogramming and figuring out his own practice, totally removing himself from KY Cult. 

He’s a bodyworker and massage therapist and Spa owner of Canto Yoga & Spa in Guadalajara México. He’s a content creator for health and mind and has collaborated in 2024 as a book translator for the Spanish version of "Under the Yoga Mat" in order to make it accessible to Latin America. He’s the Co-Creator of the youtube channel “cleaning the yoga mat” in order to support continuity of the uncomfortable conversations podcast stories in Spanish.

GuruNischan is a writer, pleasure activist, and consultant in personal reinvention for unorthodox high achievers. To learn more about her reclamation and recovery work, please subscribe to GuruNischan.com and follow her media platform

Conversations You Can Feel is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Rodolfo Caro (formerly Bhajanjeet Singh) became a KY instructor in 2004 and integrated his home, family and spa business into the lifestyle brand of promoting KY and Sikh Dharma over the next 18 years in Guadalajara Mexico. He was even a IKYTA Mexico board member until 2018  when he began to disconnect from his local sangat community because of incongruency. In 2020 when the book Premka came out he began to confront the dark side of KY for real.  After the Beyond the Cage FB group, reading the AOB report, listening to the UCpodcast, and all the material that became available, Rodolfo began deprogramming and figuring out his own practice, totally removing himself from KY Cult. He’s a Bodyworker and massage therapist and Spa owner of Canto Yoga & Spa in Guadalajara México. He’s a content creator for health and mind and has collaborated in 2024 as a book translator for "Under the Yoga Mat" spanish versión for Latin America. He’s the Co-Creator of the youtube channel for the continuity of conversations in spanish, for uncomfortable conversations podcast.

Ivan Sanchez (Siri Om Singh) was in the KY Cult from 2006-2021. He was a kundalini instructor for 11 years, taking his first teacher Training by 2009. His mentors were Tarn Taran Kaur (USA), Shiv Charan Singh (PORTUGAL) and Gurujodha Singh (Mexico) at RaMa Kundalini Yoga school in Mexico City. As an instructor he achieved level II certification in his training as a Kundalini Yoga teacher. He was a member of ATA (Aquarian Teachers Academy) training as a leading trainer to teach courses and training for future teachers. In 2020 he discovered the book White Bird in a Golden Cage by Premka and also came across the book Trust All For Nothing, my time saving Yogi Bhajan by Wahe Guru Kaur and seeing himself reflected in many of the statements of physical and psychological abuse that he finds in these documents, he decides to investigate and realizes that there are thousands of people around the world raising their voices and talking about abuse within the so-called Kundalini Yoga community led by 3HO and KRI.

Not finding support or coherence in many colleagues, students and teachers in Mexico at that time, he makes the decision to renounce his titles, his classes, his lifestyle and the community. From that moment on, he uses social networks to make complaints and support people who are realizing the manipulation that exists in the "white sect" as he usually calls it. Ivan has been attacked by people who consider that he is harming the community and the teachings of Yogi Bhajan, however that does not stop him from continuing to raise his voice and helping more and more people to realize the deceptions and manipulation into which they can fall by the misnamed Kundalini Yoga community.

Currently, after a process of therapy and with the help of his partner and great friends, he’s managed to heal many emotional wounds. He decided to continue raising his voice, because after 4 years, the current Kundalini Yoga teachers continue to give classes and hold teacher training sessions as if nothing had happened, and that seems extremely dangerous to me for people who are looking for something to feel better about themselves. For this reason, he has partnered w/ Els Coenen and Rodolfo to share information in Spanish in Mexico and Latin America since a lot of guidance is needed due to the language difference with regions such as the United States or Europe.

UC Podcast Episode 48: Siri Om Singh; Mexico City, Mexico (Started KY 2006 - 2021)

Book link to Under the Yoga Mat: The Dark History of Yogi Bhajan's Kundalini Yoga

Abuse in Kundalini Yoga Website

GuruNischan is a writer, pleasure activist, and consultant in personal reinvention for unorthodox high achievers. To learn more about her reclamation and recovery work, please subscribe to GuruNischan.com and follow her media platform

Conversations You Can Feel is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Please Contribute to Gurunischan’s reclamation and recovery work by making a one time or monthly contribution to this publication.

To be a guest on the podcast, please send an email to [email protected] w/ Subject Line: UC3HO

Join my Inner Orbit Monthly and stay connected at GuruNischan.com

Don’t miss another episode by SUBSCRIBING to my Conversations You Can Feel Podcasts & Publishings. Stay tuned for more musings on provocative and taboo topics hiding in plain sight.

Spotify Playlist: Uncomfortable Conversations 3HO Playlist: 

This episode is a short update on topics relating to the 3HO/Kundalini Yoga community including the traumatic finale of the 3HO/Kundalini Yoga Independent Healing and Reparations Program (IHRP), recently filed lawsuits by former 2nd Gen staff members, SSSC Board election chaos, upcoming documentaries to look out for + more.

Referenced in this episode: Former Staff Lawsuit, SSSC video of Jagat Guru as new CEO of KRI, Upcoming Documentaries, IHRP End of Program Update and speaking restrictions lifted, and MORE go to: https://abuse-in-kundalini-yoga.com/news

International Cultic Studies Association: Join Els and GuruNischan at the 2024 ICSA Conference in Barcelona Spain July 3 - 6, 2024 (or attend online) https://www.icsahome.com/

Link to the book Under the Yoga Mat: The Dark History of Yogi Bhajan's Kundalini Yoga - https://www.undertheyogamat.com/

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GuruNischan is a writer, trauma-healing activist, and consultant/facilitator of personal reinvention for unorthodox high achievers. To learn more about her reclamation and recovery work, please subscribe to GuruNischan.com

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Manju Sadarangani was born and raised in India, surrounded by yoga. Her yoga teacher mother insisted on an upbringing informed by yoga and traditional medicine. In her teen years, her deeply spiritual brilliant father joined a Hindu cult, resulting in upheaval resulting in her immigration to the United States with her mother and brother.

Manju found yoga in the US to be deeply puzzling. She would try yoga studios and styles of yoga in an effort to feel the spiritual solace of her childhood yoga practice, but felt extremely excluded at American yoga studios. Through most of her adult life, she avoided yoga, and practiced it only when she visited the country of her birth.

In 2019, serendipity led her to a kundalini yoga class. She was intrigued by this unfamiliar style of yoga which she found absurd and amusing, but was soothed by the elements of Surat Shabd that she recognized in kundalini yoga practice.

She enjoyed the element of play and creativity in her kundalini meditations, but found herself often flummoxed by the pastiche mantras and practices. She was offended by some practices (like excerpts of Japji inserted into kriyas) - but when she asked questions of kundalini teachers, they were not able to give her answers that felt logical or grounded in any yoga discipline. Her teachers encouraged her to take teacher training with KRI, telling her that was where she would get answers. Manju was understandably reluctant, especially after she read the book Premka.

In 2020, she was approached by representatives of KRI, who recommended a brand-new global teacher training program. This new TT was advertised as trauma-informed, inclusive, egalitarian - a symbol of the new direction KRI and 3HO were embracing. Manju applied to this new teacher training global cohort. She was one of only three Americans, all women of color. It turned out to be one of the most traumatic and racist experiences of her life.

Since then, Manju has relied on her command of languages, academic background in South Asian history, conversations with elders and teachers in India, and cultural background to deeply research, question, retrain, and reform her yoga practice. She connects deeply with the feminist, spiritual and historical foundations of yoga to counter problematic cultural appropriation. Her evolving yoga practice is grounded in a desire for equity, justice, emotional and mental well-being. She brings her spirit of play, body positivity and radical self-love to her yoga practice, acknowledging that her yoga journey makes her an inconvenient outsider the art of manju manjusadarangani.com

Song credit: Vaishnav Janto Tene Kahiye by M.S. Subbalakshmi

http://www.UndertheYogaMat.com

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GuruNischan is a trauma-healing activist, and consultant in personal and professional reinvention. To learn more about her reclamation and recovery work, please subscribe to GuruNischan.com

Follow her media platform at Conversations You Can Feel 

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Shabd Singh was born and raised in 3HO Herndon, VA in 1987. His parents are Gurutrang Singh and Gurumata Kaur. He attended MPA from 1999-2005, was in the Eugene, Oregon ashram from 2006-2012, and taught at Miri Piri Academy in India as an economics teacher from 2012-2014.

It’s been a slow but gradual disconnect from 3HO, and he fully disconnected in 2016. In 2017 he became politically active with Democratic Socialists of America and began to work in progressive politics eventually working on the Bernie Sanders 2020 Presidential Campaign.

He now lives in Washington DC with his wife Sukhmani Kaur and does work in climate advocacy for Al Gore's non-profit organization The Climate Reality Project.

You can find him on Instagram at shabd.one and the platform (formally known as) Twitter at @shabdsingh

Song credit: Robin Hood Theory by GangStarr

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GuruNischan is a writer, trauma-healing activist, and consultant in personal and professional reinvention. To learn more about her reclamation and recovery work, please subscribe to GuruNischan.com

You can follow her media platform - Conversations You Can Feel - 

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Mel Hofmann, at the time was Melanie Calhoon started studying Kundalini yoga classes in 1970, at the age of 15 in Berkeley, CA . The local area ashram at the time was known as the “Banana Ananda” ashram in San Rafael, CA. She moved into the ashram in the Fall of 1971 at the age of 16 years old. Shortly thereafter, the name of the ashram was changed to Hargobind Sadan.

Baba Bert, later named Sat Santokh Singh was the head of the ashram. She lived in the ashram until June of 1972, when her roommate, Jeannie, who later became known as GuruTarethKaur (Jivan Jhoti Kaur) was arranged to be married Robert Zwaag (also known as, GuruTarethSingh). The abrupt marriages, name changes and overall shift in the “lifestyle” led Mel to pursue her own path soon after.

She's was married to Stephen Hofmann and had a daughter who is currently 32 years old. He had cerebral palsy and is featured with our daughter Emily in the documentary, Crip Camp. He passed away in 2017. She’s had a long time relationship to Kundalini energy, healing, and her own CPTSD recovery.

Today Mel happily married to Jayne Roseman for 25 years. She’s a professional photographer, fine artist and energy healer. You can learn more about her art at melhofmann.com Song Credit: Truly, Madly, Deeply by Savage Gardens ______________________________________

GuruNischan is a trauma-healing activist, and consultant in personal and professional reinvention. To learn more about her reclamation and recovery work, please subscribe to GuruNischan.com and/or follow her media platform Conversations You Can Feel - https://gurunischan.substack.com/

To financially contribute to this broadcast you can use this link: 

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