About me - Samten Kriya

I’ve been practicing yoga and meditation for over 20 years. During my earlier years in the Philippines, I was both a professional bellydancer and a yoga teacher—living a life that outwardly appeared full of movement and expression, but inside, I was still carrying a deep weight. I had grown up with intense trauma, and by the time I reached adulthood, I was battling anxiety, anger, alcoholism, and the pain of a codependent marriage.

Yoga and meditation were my lifelines. Without them, I know I would have ended up in a much darker place.

Everything changed one day when I saw an image of the Goddess Kali and felt an inexplicable connection. I made itmy phone wallpaper. Soon after, I lost the phone. Then my job. And shortly after that, my marriage fell apart. It was as though Kali herself had come in to clear the path. In a moment of desperation and instinct, I left the Philippines and moved to Dubai—to protect my sanity and find a new beginning. That was when my spiritual path truly began to unfold.

While teaching yoga and pranayama classes in Dubai, one of my students—a kind, elderly Indian gentleman—lent me a copy of Autobiography of a Yogi. I devoured the book and, at the end, found myself wishing for a Guru. Just one month later, that wish came true. I met my Kriya Yoga Guru and began studying in-depth. What followed were years of devotion: sacrificing personal time, traveling to India several times a year, and exploring mystical spaces in the Himalayas and beyond. This practice transformed not only my inner world but my understanding of love, truth, and service.

In 2009, I began training yoga teachers, specializing in Hatha Yoga and meditation through Yoga Alliance–certified programs. In 2012, I was named the lineage holder of Himalayan Kriya Yoga by my Guru. To this day, I am the only teacher trainer offering this powerful, sacred system of Kriya Yoga.

Through my journey with Himalayan Kriya Yoga and Kundalini Shakti, I’ve also gained first-hand experience in working with people navigating spontaneous or intense Kundalini awakenings. I understand how destabilizing and confusing that journey can be, and I now help guide others safely through the side effects and challenges that arise during this profound spiritual process.

My approach to teaching is grounded, intuitive, and compassionate. I create a nonjudgmental space where people can rediscover their true selves in the light of unconditional love. Often, students tell me I speak directly to their hearts—even when we’ve never spoken one-on-one. I channel insights through my life experience and open energy pathways, allowing spontaneous transmissions of truth and healing to emerge during classes and sessions.

My deepest mission now is to help others heal what I’ve had to heal in myself—especially the mother and father wounds that live in the subconscious and shape our relationships, self-worth, and capacity for love. I believe that healing these inherited patterns is one of the greatest acts of love we can offer—not just to ourselves, but to our ancestors and future generations.

My work is about clearing drama and trauma from the body-mind and guiding people into the heart—because the key to awakening the true self is experiencing the safety, power, and beauty of unconditional love, and remembering that we are never separate from the Universe or from life itself.

Since the global pandemic, I’ve been sharing Himalayan Kriya Yoga through online courses, retreats, workshops, and teacher trainings around the world. It is my great honor to walk beside others on their healing path and to keep offering this sacred, life-changing practice to those who are ready.