After a lifetime of exploring many different spiritual paths, from Southern Baptist to Zen Buddhist, John Stewart, aka Jiwan Shakti, had the good fortune to be introduced to Kundalini Yoga in 1990 at The Kundalini Yoga Center in Altamonte Springs, Florida (then known as Baba Siri Chand Ashram). He attended classes there for several years and has practiced this form of yoga ever since (about 27 years at this writing in 2018).
John Stewart was given his spiritual name, Jiwan Shakti, by his teacher Yogi Bhajan. He had the life-changing experience of a personal meeting with Yogi Bhajan and receiving a personal "assignment" (meditation) from him, which took many, many years to complete, and saw him meditating everywhere from airplanes to freezing camps in the Sierras.
Jiwan Shakti has attended a number of Solstice Celebrations where he's experienced White Tantric Yoga and other life-affirming, transformative wonders. He has been (admittedly, on and off) a member of the professional association of Kundalini Yoga teachers, IKYTA since completing one of the first Level I Kundalini Yoga Instructor training courses in New Mexico in 1997, when Yogi Bhajan was still on this physical plane and giving personal instruction daily. He is very grateful to have had these opportunities and thinks he must have accumulated some good karma in some previous existence or existences.
He has taught various workshops and classes over the years, always staying true to the original teachings of Yogi Bhajan. He has also been strongly influenced by the teachings of Osho, Patanjali, and many other spiritual thinkers and men of action. He continues to meditate and practice daily, and to move toward total integration of body, mind, and spirit.
He currently teaches Kundalini Yoga and meditation at Sacred Pathways Sarasota. He also plays and records mantras - access the music at mantramatic.
After all these years of practice and reflection, Jiwan Shakti finds that a couple of things stand out:
Kundalini Yoga is the most powerful personal transformative technology that he has experienced.
Yogi Bhajan said that as we were taught, we must teach others and help them along their path; don't change anything and keep the teachings of Kundalini Yoga pure and simple.
