Opening the Heart: Leilani Cline Guides a Kundalini Journey Home to Self

There are teachers who instruct, and then there are teachers who hold space. Leilani Cline—Kundalini name Guru Prakar—does both with a quiet authority that feels like coming home. In her latest Upgrade 101 session, Open and Live from the Heart, she guides students through an hour-long journey into the heart chakra, weaving together 5,000 years of Kundalini wisdom with the gentle reminder that "it's safe to be yourself."

For 30 years, Cline has carried this practice. She's shared it with over 7,000 people and led 162 retreats. But numbers don't capture the quality of her presence—the way she reminds students halfway through body drops that "this is the one posture that's a little crazy, a little wild" before adding with a smile, "just have fun with it." Or how she offers the angels as assistants when arms grow heavy in ego eradicator.

What happens when you practice opening the heart?

The session begins with the Golden Chain tune-in—Ang Namo Guru Dev Namo—linking Cline to her teacher Satjivan Singh Khalsa and through the entire 5,000-year lineage. "If this is your first class, just listen," she offers, "or you might join us the second and third time. Just notice the way it feels in your body using this ancient mantra."

What follows is a carefully sequenced kriya designed to physically free up the heart chakra. Ego eradicator with breath of fire. Forward folds with long, deep breathing. A wild minute-and-a-half of body drops that "literally prepare a little shock to your spine in the root chakra." Then the deep work: four minutes lying with arms and legs extended skyward, then four more minutes in child's pose, working the heart chakra from the back.

"We forget that the chakras also go along the back side of the body," Cline explains, her voice soft as students fold forward. Throughout, she returns to a central teaching: "Conscious breathing leads to conscious living." When you develop a regular practice, she notes, "you're going to notice that you don't have to react to what's going on outside of you during your days."

Can a meditation heal relationships?

After the kriya comes the gift: two meditations Cline describes as "profound." The first she usually reserves for in-person retreats—a partnered practice alternating between "I love myself" (hands at heart) and "I forgive you" (hands extended). Students practice with an imaginary partner, but Cline paints the picture: "If you could imagine doing this for five minutes with someone where kind of a new relationship needed to happen, it would be profound."

The second meditation uses the sacred syllable La—a bij mantra used for centuries in Middle Eastern and Eastern cultures. Students inhale through an open mouth ("which kind of can become a whistle") and chant the sound on the exhale. "You might even sense a feeling of euphoria," Cline notes. The room fills with voices layering the ancient sound, then falls silent as crystal singing bowls ring through the integration.

Watch the full practice and you'll catch the moments between instruction—the way Cline offers color visualization during the heart-holding posture ("maybe pink or red... whatever feels nurturing"), or how she acknowledges that "99% of people leave" her four-day Sedona retreats with a daily meditation practice they can sustain.

Why does this ancient technology still work?

Cline explains it simply: "This set will be just as effective 10 years from now... because this is an ancient technology." Kundalini Yoga offers over 700 sets and 700 meditations, each designed for specific shifts. The power comes from combining posture, breath work, and mantra to "move emotions within you and to move energy within you."

But beyond the mechanics, there's something else at work in Cline's teaching. She frames the practice as experiment rather than achievement. "It's all just an experiment," she reminds students during a challenging leg lift. "That's what's so great as we go through these different postures, just not knowing what's coming next... It allows us to stay fluid during our day."

In shavasana, she offers permission for whatever arises: "Some days you might just feel like you're sinking into the earth, meaning that's what you needed was a feeling of being grounded. We're in our heads so much of the time in society. So whichever direction your soul is guiding you right now."

And there it is—the heart of her teaching. Not perfection, but presence. Not striving, but noticing. "Step number one," she says early in the session, "is how do you manage your own energy?" Everything else—managing the energy of your home, of larger spaces, of relationships—flows from there.

The session closes with hands crossed at the heart center, students breathing together in silence. "This presence creates a shift on our planet," Cline offers. Then: "Aware of your awareness."

Experience the full Upgrade 101 session and discover why Cline's students keep coming back—not just for the ancient technology, but for the quiet invitation to "open and live from the heart."

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