About S.S. Shiva Singh Khalsa, Senior Teacher Trainer

Born 1949, NYC, NY. Shiva Singh's parents were first generation immigrants who left him with a wealth of spiritual lessons. His father left a message for him, found written in a Bible 5 years after his passing which said "Never hesitate to come to the aid of the unfortunate for fear of ingratitude." Shiva Singh has made every effort to live by that powerful truth. As a young man he was swept along in the social movements of the sixties with the belief that one person could make a difference.

In 1971, after a year of Hatha yoga practice, he was introduced to Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan. It made profound changes in his lifestyle, not least of which was to help bring under control the seizure disorders he had suffered for many years. It was this and the magnificent community that was blossoming around the teachings of Yogi Bhajan that saw him make a conscious commitment to this spiritual path in 1973. Often asked why he "converted" to the Sikh faith, he answers that he always treasured the values of a Sikh, and it fit like a glove, when it was placed before him. He was ordained a Singh Sahib, Minister of Sikh Dharma in 1983 and has served the Sikh community in a variety of ways. He recently received and award from the Sikh community in Chicago for his selfless service.

Shiva Singh has studied personally for the last 30 years with Yogi Bhajan, served him as his spiritual mentor and has practiced thousands of hours of Kundalini Yoga and Meditation and White Tantric Yoga. He has been the director of 3HO Foundation planned living communities called ashrams, and has had the honor of training teachers and impacting lives of people spread around the world.

Although he is a Baptized Sikh, Shiva Singh emphasizes that Kundalini Yoga is not a religion, but enhances any ones spiritual journey through its ancient techniques. Kundalini Yoga incorporates Yams and Niyams, Asanas, Pranayama and Raja Yoga Meditation as prescribed thousands of years ago by Patanjali. White Tantric Yoga is a unique meditation form using hand positions (mudras), Pranayam and Mantra and is practiced facing a partner as a group in the presence of the Mahan Tantric, Yogi Bhajan or his facilitator. Its power is the complete neutralization of gender and polarity allowing the practitioner to delve deep into their own unconscious and subconscious.

He is on the staff that organizes the annual Summer Solstice Yoga Camp in New Mexico which attracts 1500 serious seekers each year to the high desert mountains for transformation and renewal. In 2002 he was honored for his years of service by Yogi Bhajan.

Currently he and his wife, Shabad Kaur are raising their son and continue teaching at Spirit Rising Yoga.

In his role as minister and community organizer he helped found the groundbreaking Rogers Park Interreligious Partners, a group of 20 faith traditions in the Chicago area in dialogue, collaboration and cooperation to use their faiths as bonds to increase the harmony, trust and community in their neighborhood. It is a successful pilot program now being used as model for creating community in other neighborhoods and cities around the world.

He helped organize the Sikh participation in the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago and he traveled with Yogi Bhajan in 1999 to the Parliament in South African and was influential in manifesting an historic meeting of Sikh leaders from all over the world.

Shiva Singh was recently honored as a foremost advocate for South Asian elderly and especially those neglected and abused. He is also an AIDS activist who has served as a member of the Chicago Department of Public Health HIV Prevention and Planning Group.