We recently connected with Karen (SiriAtma) Abel (Kaur) and have shared our conversation below.

Karen (SiriAtma), thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I always felt loved by both of my parents. Things were not perfect by any means, and yet I always felt loved. I am so very very grateful for that. I felt like I belonged with them, I felt at home. I believe that experience of love showed me how to love others, and has helped me to love myself too.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

In 2009 I was reading a book called “Gorgeously Green” in an effort to reduce my carbon footprint, and the author included some yoga. I tried it one day on the sunny patch of grass between the houses & I was in love. I bought another book called Journey Into Power & began advancing my practice at home. In 2011 I finally went to a class at Schlafly Bottleworks & it happened to be Kundalini Yoga. I found West East Yoga Teacher Training & gained Certification in 2012. Then in 2013 I began Kundalini Teacher Training in Kansas City at Sat Tirath Ashram . My very first weekend I received a Spiritual Destiny name: SiriAtma Kaur My teacher told me the meaning: Siri = pure/great/highest; Atma = Self/Essence/Soul
A spiritual destiny name is said to call you to your spiritual destiny as you come to identify yourself with the energy of the Sound current or phonetics.
This was a very emotionally moving moment for my mother named me Karen which is Danish & means “pure”.
I’ve never asked my teacher, Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa if he knew that meaning of Karen…
In kundalini teacher training I also learned to work with the gong for deep relaxation after the yoga sets. In 2014 my honey gifted me a 28” chau gong for Christmas. By 2015 I felt ready to offer Gong baths at local studios & the events were a huge hit! I remember packing 60+ people in at The Sanctuary, & Blue Sky Yoga when it was Joy of Yoga. In 2018 I branched out of kundalini trainings & began the Mastery of Consciousness Course at the School of Metaphysics. Working a technique from the course called the 10 Most Wanted List, I obtained the number one item on my list: a 32” Mercury Gong within just a few months of classes. (My sun sign is Gemini which is ruled by Mercury.) I found that the course’s study of energy beyond the physical was helping me understand how and why kundalini yoga has such a potent affect on practitioners. I graduated from the first of four cycles of classes within the full course in 2020 and while I was working on my crazy long final paper, I participated in a 3 day experience called Essentials. This class summed up everything I’d learned at the school, and offered more direct guidance which helped me apply the tools that I was learning, to me it felt like seeing myself from a different perspective, through a different lens. And what I saw through that new lens was from that point on, a permanent understanding.
It truly was a pivotal weekend in my life. One of many many take aways from the class was “believe it to see it”. And when my friend Bridget moved back from CA she saw what I was up to with yoga retreats & the school, so she told me about her sister Helen’s hypnotherapy training. I knew even before receiving hypnotherapy from Helen that I was going to take her training. So in January of 2021 I graduated from Boland School of Hypnotherapy as a CCHT – Certified Clinical Hypnosis Therapist. I started off seeing virtual clients and then began seeing clients between classes at the yoga studio that I managed, on pallets of mats & blankets on the floor. I am so grateful to now have an official office only ten minutes from my home, and I get to manage the lovely Wren’s Nest Wellness studio space right next door. I love the notion of staying close to home ~ reducing my carbon footprint, and serving my most immediate community. Then of course I am honored when anyone not in the local area makes the journey to come see me!

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Absolutely. I adore sharing with others the modalities that have helped me so much. I’m grateful that by “working” I naturally find myself in a calmer & more balanced state than before “work”! I continue to learn and experience as I guide each client.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I find it so important to keep myself in student mode. As I teach kundalini yoga, guide hypnotherapy journeys, share sound healing; I’m giving and therefore creating more space to receive more teachings, more lessons, deeper understandings, new perspectives, etc. Though my experience is plentiful, all of my offerings are client led. I am humbled again & again in the process of adapting to meet each client’s individual needs.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/seekwithsiriatma?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SEEKstl?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@siriatmakaur4237
• Other: https://linktr.ee/SeekwithSiriAtma

Image Credits
Debby Seigel