Yogi Bhajan

Kundalini Yoga, as taught in Western studios, is instantly recognizable: rapid repetitive movements, forceful "breath of fire," long-held arm positions, chanting in Gurmukhi, and often white clothing and head coverings. This is "Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan," and the whole branded system dates only to 1969, when Harbhajan Singh Khalsa began teaching it in Los Angeles.¹ It is also the lineage whose founder was found, in a 2020 investigation his own organizations commissioned, more likely than not to have sexually abused followers, a finding those organizations have publicly accepted. Both facts belong on this page.

From Delhi customs to Los Angeles

He was born Harbhajan Singh Puri on 26 August 1929 in Punjab, in what is now Pakistan, studied economics, and worked as a customs officer at Delhi airport before emigrating to Toronto in 1968 and then to Los Angeles.² There, in 1968–69, he began teaching a vigorous form of yoga he called Kundalini Yoga, and in July 1969 incorporated the Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization, 3HO, to spread it.³ In 1971 he led a group of students to Amritsar and returned styled "Siri Singh Sahib," presenting himself as the leader of Sikh Dharma in the West; in 1972 he founded the Kundalini Research Institute (KRI) to certify teachers and publish the practice.¹

The organization grew into something much larger than a yoga school: Sikh Dharma congregations, an ashram network centered on Española, New Mexico, and a cluster of community businesses, from the Golden Temple bakery and Akal Security to the Yogi Tea brand still on supermarket shelves.¹ The teacher-training association IKYTA, founded in 1994, today claims more than 30,000 certified teachers in over a hundred countries.⁴ Yogi Bhajan died in Española on 6 October 2004.²

What a Kundalini class is

Kundalini Yoga in this tradition is built from kriyas, set sequences of postures, movements and breath performed for fixed times to a specific end, combined with pranayama (notably Breath of Fire), mudra, and mantra. A class opens with the Adi Mantra "Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo" and is threaded with chanting throughout.⁵ Group practice, especially the pre-dawn sadhana, is central, and teachers and committed students often wear white with a head covering. Certification runs through KRI's "Aquarian Teacher" program, a 220-hour Level One and then a 500-plus-hour Level Two, after which graduates carry the title "KRI Certified Instructor of Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan."⁵

The investigation

In January 2020, a memoir by Yogi Bhajan's former secretary alleging sexual abuse prompted the umbrella Siri Singh Sahib Corporation to commission an independent investigation by the firm An Olive Branch. In August 2020, after interviewing 299 people, the investigators concluded it was "more likely than not" that Yogi Bhajan had engaged in sexual misconduct, including rape, sexual battery and harassment.⁶ KRI acknowledged on its own history page that individuals "came forward and reported being harmed"; in April 2022 the organizations issued a community apology and launched an Independent Healing and Reparations Program, which ran until it formally closed in July 2025.⁷⁸ The Related coverage section links to the record. The Yogi Tea consumer brand has since dropped his name from its packaging.⁹

The lineage today

The teaching continues, restructured. 3HO now operates as 3HO International, running festivals and online courses; KRI still certifies teachers of "Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan"; IKYTA remains the teachers' association; and Sikh Dharma International continues the religious side.⁷⁴ Many longtime teachers have stayed within these bodies. Others have distanced themselves from the founder while keeping the practice, and some now teach the same techniques under names that drop his. A listing that names Yogi Bhajan (Kundalini) as its lineage is describing the practice, the kriyas, the breath of fire, the mantra. Readers can hold that alongside the findings above, which is why both are here.

Related coverage

• Religion News Service, August 2020: report on the An Olive Branch investigation and its "more likely than not" conclusion.
• Kundalini Research Institute: its own history page acknowledging that people "reported being harmed."
• Office of Ethics & Professional Standards: the April 2022 apology and reparations program; the July 2025 closure statement.

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