BTV Episode Six - The Awakening Within - Kundalini

Red silk in motion - a study of energy, elegance and the quiet power of a woman rising.

The Awakening Within

There is a moment, just before dawn, when Ibiza seems to hold its breath. The air hums softly, and the sky blushes open. It’s in this stillness that something ancient begins to stir, a current, subtle yet unmistakable, that moves through the spine like a whisper of light. This is the essence of Kundalini, the awakening of the energy within. A practice not of performance, but of remembrance that turns to the body’s own rhythm, and the beauty that rises when we truly connect.

Kundalini Yoga is often called the yoga of awareness. Unlike the forms most of us know that are rooted in postures and alignment, this practice invites movement through sound, breath and stillness. It is both delicate and fierce, opening the gateways of the nervous system and releasing the stories that sit quietly in the body. Through repetitive sequences, chanting and deep breathing, energy begins to rise from the base of the spine, awakening clarity, creativity and vitality.

For many, the first experience of Kundalini feels like a soft shock of aliveness, an electric recognition that we are more than our thoughts or our form. The benefits unfold across every layer: a calmer mind, steadier hormones, deeper sleep and a greater capacity to meet life as it is. But beyond the physical, it restores something essential — a sense of inner connection, long forgotten in our modern rush to do, to achieve, to be seen. In an age where so much of life pulls us outward, Kundalini draws us gently back in. It is a practice of listening. Of slowing down enough to feel the pulse beneath the noise. Each class becomes a homecoming, each breath a thread that reconnects us to the vast intelligence already inside.

Few embody this truth more fully than Trish Whelan, founder of Soul Adventures and guest on this month’s Behind The Veil podcast. Trish’s path began in the bright lights of the music industry and a world of rhythm, noise and restless movement. Yet beneath the surface, another frequency was calling. Her own awakening led her away from the stage and into the quiet power of Kundalini. Over the years, she has built a global community of students and teachers, guiding others to awaken not just their energy, but their integrity and to remember who they are beneath the conditioning.

I’ve been practising with Trish for over a decade, travelling and assisting her on retreats around the world. Each journey has been a lesson in surrender and strength, a reminder that this practice isn’t about escaping life but meeting it more fully. Watching others awaken, eyes bright, hearts open, tears and laughter mingling in the same breath, reveals how shared energy becomes a form of beauty in itself. There’s a radiance that moves through a room when people return to their truth together.

This is where beauty reveals itself, not as perfection, but as presence. When energy moves freely, the body softens. The eyes brighten. The face tells a truer story. In the stillness that follows a kriya or meditation, there is a glow that no product can replicate - a quiet radiance of being fully alive. Behind the veil, beauty is not something we create; it is something we uncover. It is the natural expression of energy flowing without resistance — through the spine, the heart, the breath. Kundalini simply reminds us how to listen. And perhaps that is the real invitation, to awaken, to reconnect, to belong. To find our own rhythm again, not in the endless hum of the external world, but in the gentle current that rises from within.

Words: Louise Maxwell

Hair & Make-Up: Louise Maxwell

Photography: Sayana Cairo

Videography: Josh Thorpe

Models: Tahnee Lee

Wardrobe: Red dress courtesy of La Galeria Elefante Ibiza