Never attempt this without the guidance of a well-established Yoga Master
Gopi Krishna almost died trying to raise his Kundalini
Image courtesy of Silvanasono at Wikipedia
?Kundalini,? which means ?the coiled one,? is the invisible holy energy that yogis believe resides at the base of our spines, coiled just like a snake in the equally invisible energy center (chakra) called ?Muladhar,? close to the coccyx.
Yogis believe that no spiritual knowledge and ?final liberation? (nirvana) is possible without awakening this Kundalini energy.
When awakened through long years of hatha-yoga, meditation, prayers and ?grace,? Kundalini allegedly rises along the ?shusumna,? the non-physical energy channel that parallels the human spine, and shoots up towards the brain.
Along the way, Kundalini supposedly ?pierces through? (according to the classical description in yogic texts) the seven chakras until it reaches the one on the top of the skull ? the Crown Chakra.
There are thousands of books in the market today describing each and every chakra, the colors, fragrances, sounds etc. that is revealed when the Kundalini pierces through each chakra. They are all a fascinating read, really.
According to Wikipedia, here are some of the manifestations of awakened Kundalini:
- Enlightenment
- Bliss, feelings of infinite love and universal connectivity, transcendent awareness, seeing truth (third eye opening), euphoria
- Awakened sense of smell, hearing, taste
- No longer controlled by desire/cravings
- Sound heard in the pineal gland (pleasurable/enjoyable)
- Change in the thyroid, sudden ability to sing in perfect pitch, change in voice
- Change in the sex organs
- Change in breathing
- Energy rushes or feelings of electricity circulating the body. This tingly feeling, at first, might be mistaken for a ?shiver.?
- Involuntary jerks, tremors, shaking, itching, tingling, and crawling sensations, especially in the arms and legs
- Intense heat (sweating) or cold, especially as energy is experienced passing through the chakras
- Spontaneous pranayama, asanas, mudras and bandhas
- Visions or sounds at times associated with a particular chakra
- Diminished or control over sexual desire
- Emotional upheavals or surfacing of unwanted and repressed feelings or thoughts with certain repressed emotions becoming dominant in the conscious mind for short or long periods of time.
- Headache, migraine, or pressure inside the skull. Relief of this pressure during an awakening may be felt as a ?popping,? depending on the person and their body at the time the awakening begins to occur.
- Pains in different areas of the body, especially back and neck
- Sensitivity to light, sound, and touch
- Trance-like and altered states of consciousness
- Disrupted sleep pattern (periods of insomnia or oversleeping)
- Vegetarianism or veganism
- Change in body odor (sweetness/natural/healthy)
The key concept to understand is that Kundalini?s upward travel along the ?shusumna? is a CLEANSING process.
Yes, it burns its way up and yogis literally feel the tremendous heat generated during this process. But that is a ?good burn? since it supposedly incinerates many lifetimes worth of bad impressions and energy blocks that prevent us from realizing our own true nature.
That?s the theory in a nutshell.
There is a very fine line between a ?Kundalini awakening? and flat out ?delirium? or nervous breakdown.
But my limited experience with yoga has suggested that sometimes there is a very fine line between a ?Kundalini awakening? and flat out ?delirium? or nervous breakdown.
I?ve witnessed scary cases where I couldn?t tell if the person was on his way to getting liberated and illuminated, or to the nearest mental asylum.
Gopi Krishna (Wikipedia)
One early author, Gopi Krishna, whose Kundalini was awakened pretty much accidentally, wrote in great length about the agonies he went through for years to ?control the fire? that was consuming him nonstop day and night.
You should be very careful before you make any attempts to ?awaken? your Kundalini on your own
Thus you should be very careful before you make any attempts to ?awaken? your Kundalini on your own. I don?t think there are too many people in the world who really know the exact nature of this process and things can go wrong suddenly, sometimes without a remedy or a cure.
That?s why a well-trained bona-fide Yoga Master is always cited as a must condition for the yoga students who want to explore this esoteric topic. You should do the same and find a Master before doing anything on your own.
