Kundalini Yoga

[dstar]

Does anyone on here practice Kundalini Yoga? And what has your experience been with it?

[rawjojo]

Hi!
It's finny that you should mention it (kundalini). I am an yoga teacher and I have just begun to move over into the Kundalini method. I have read a few books and watched a few videos but I am still waiting to attend a workshop. I do think I am going to continue with it though. I love it's restoritiveness! Have a great day!
jojo

[Wrecked Spark]

Hi dstar,

I've been doing quite a bit of reading on the subject. There are a number of sites and newsletters I get on the entire range of subjects related to Kundalini and other fascinating alternative spirituality ideas, concepts, practices, etc. I understand there are people here of various religious and/or spiritual views ~ which always makes for interesting conversation. I think everyone here is open enough to discuss these sorts of ideas even if it's not something they personally subscribe to ~ that's why I like this board so much.

Are you considering delving into kundalini yoga, kundalini energy studies, or do you have some interesting experiences to share?

Cheers,
Wrecked Spark

[Portia2012]

I have been working through my Kundalini for over 4 years now. It is an interesting experience to say the least.



~Portia~

[Blazin'Jane]

I have several Yoga tapes and DVDs which I rotate through. I jsut did the Kundalini one (with Carol Carson) yesterday morning. It's my least favorite of all of them. I don't get much from all the "breath of fire", for one thing, and think that there are beter all body routines than that one.:o

[ren]

I LOVE Gurmukh's DVD Kundalini Yoga.

[Dann]

I have been wanting to try yoga for along time. And from what I have read Kundalini yoga sounds pretty cool to me.

[soulshine78]

I have done quite a bit of kundalini yoga and LOVE it, I go to a class once a week and it has opened my mind to so much more in the inner spirituality sense. It's great!

[Dylan]

I was a member of a CSA near my house where I would go once a week to work on the farm, and while I was there I came into contact with some women from around where I live that held kundalini yoga sessions at their houses. They invited me, and I would prepare them a rawfood lunch, and basically get a free class and some cash out of it.

I didn't think it was going to be so grueling, but oh my gosh it was the most intense excercise of my life. One thing very interesting about this style is that very often you will use different sorts of movements to work a specific organ or EMOTION.

So we would do an excercise whose function was to alleviate excess anger, which basically involved holding out one hand and breathing deeply and heavily for something like ten minutes or so. It was so crazily intense that we said SAT NAM and I rushed off to the bathroom to vomit. It wasn't even that the excercise in and of itself was so hard, but I just felt like it got so much moving inside of me that I had to PURGE.

My advice: this is very SUBSTANTIAL excercise, so if you are beginner, GO TO BEGINNER CLASSES! These guys were veterans, and let me tell you I FELT it. I was totally frazzled and they were already sipping their tea chilling out after the session. Take your time and understand that this is something that takes a while. Even if you don't find that you are getting outside of your body or all those semi-magical kundalini experiences right away, remember that this takes time, and like any muscle or meditative work you have to keep doing it to feel the benefits.

[Apasaraw]

Gurmukh is lovely...and so tiny! She has a Golden Bridge in NYC. Not sure where you are in NY state. I go to the one in LA when I'm down there. It is a peaceful happy place to just hang out and have a bite or smoothie even if you aren't taking a class. There's a book/gift shop too. There are meditation classes and other things besides the yoga classes there as well and it's very friendly.

http://goldenbridgeyoganyc.com/

[Amberly]

I had a spontaneous partial Kundalini awakening in 2000, when I was just 19. I knew NOTHING about Kundalini Yoga, and I had terrible side effects. The absolute WORST time in my life. I had to leave school and was positively psychotic (and incredibly psychic). I made my mother and sister sleep with me and I would sleep in the middle and hold on to each of their arms. The WORST time of my life!!!


However........over the years I have come to understand those things more and would like to regain some of the abilities I had. This time with knowledge and control. I think I am ready to practice Kundalini Yoga and am eager to do so.

[siridatta]

Sat Nam,

I am new to this forum! And so happy to see people getting excited by Kundalini Yoga. I am a teacher and teacher trainer of Kundalini as well as a Raw Pioneer. I have in fact created a Raw Yoga Programme, a merging of the 2 lifestyles. Please have a look and see my 2 passions in life:

Mini Size Me (http://www.minisizeme.co.uk)

If you have any Kundalini questions feel free to drop me an email - jeshoua33@aol.com and I would be more that happy to respond. My first book is called Open your heart with Kundalini Yoga, while Mini Size Me is just about to hit the shelves.

Deepest Love,

Siridatta xxx

[RawLibrarian]

Does anyone on here practice Kundalini Yoga? And what has your experience been with it?

I got certified to teach kundalini yoga a year ago. It combines asanas (physical postures), pranayama (breathing exercises), chanting and meditation in one session, so it sort of hits all the bases. :)

There are lots and lots of different yoga sets in kundalini yoga. Some are quite physical and much like you would find in a "regular" hatha yoga class; others are more meditative (but those can also be tough mentally). The yoga sets are often designed to deal with a specific physical or emotional problem.

It is not the kind of yoga that will make you a hardbody, although it can be strenuous and people often do lose weight with kundalini yoga. It is not designed to be a calisthenic workout.

The big thing I got out of kundalini yoga and my teacher training is that we often limit ourselves needlessly. We really *can* do much, much more than we think. This is very valuable knowledge, both on and off the mat.

Betsy

[RawHeaven]

I had a spontaneous partial Kundalini awakening in 2000, when I was just 19. I knew NOTHING about Kundalini Yoga, and I had terrible side effects. The absolute WORST time in my life. I had to leave school and was positively psychotic (and incredibly psychic). I made my mother and sister sleep with me and I would sleep in the middle and hold on to each of their arms. The WORST time of my life!!!

This happened to a friend of mine too back in the early 90's when he was practicing Kundalini Yoga. It was too much, too soon for him and he experienced a lot of psychosis. It took him 10 years to recover. I think it's an amazing and very powerful form of yoga and it's best to get with a teacher before watching DVD's and such. Be careful with it.

[Anastazia]

Just found this site on the dangers of Kundalini yoga, from various perspectives, with lots of interesting links...

...as a Christian, I'm not interested in mixing Hinduism with my faith in Jesus & the Bible, but regardless of your spiritual perspective, it's good to be aware of these things...

http://www.yogadangers.com/

...for example, the first quote on the site is by Carl Jung (& then the author's comments):

According to renowned psychoanalyst Carl Jung:

"One often hears and reads about the dangers of Yoga, particularly of the ill-reputed Kundalini Yoga. The deliberately induced psychotic state, which in certain unstable individuals might easily lead to a real psychosis, is a danger that needs to be taken very seriously indeed. These things really are dangerous and ought not to be meddled with in our typically Western way. It is a meddling with Fate, which strikes at the very roots of human existence and can let loose a flood of sufferings of which no sane person ever dreamed. These sufferings correspond to the hellish torments of the chönyid state..." C. G. Jung, Introduction to The Tibetan book of the Dead *

The purpose of this website is to provide information and links to articles and websites that describe the many physical, psychological, and spiritual dangers associated with Yoga, Transcendental Mediation (TM), and especially practices that are used to bring about a "Kundalini Awakening."

As you investigate the sites and articles referenced on this website you will see that the purpose of yoga is not physical exercise but a path to spiritual "awakening" and "enlightenment" through union with the "divine." In order to bring about this "enlightenment" the overarching goal of yoga is to prepare oneself for the awakening of the spiritual energy or "kundalini" that supposedly lies dormant at the base of the spine. When the awakening of kundalini or "serpent energy" occurs, the consequences can be perilous and last for years.

The websites referenced on these pages come from "New Age" and Eastern religious sources as well as Christian viewpoints on the topic.

Note: The author of this website has intimate knowledge of the negative effects of the "kundalini awakening" experience having personally undergone a spontaneous awakening several years ago. See about the author. It is not the authors intent to attack other religions but to provide fair warning as to the spiritual objectives and realities of many eastern religions and spiritual disciplines. As a Christian, the author provides references to Christian perspectives on the kundalini awakening experience and other eastern spiritual disciplines.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyways, hope you'll check it out whether you're considering it, doing it already, or teaching it...

~Anastazia~

[SparklePlenty]

I eperienced a kundalini awakening in the early 1970's when I was in my mid twenties. It was triggered by "lifestyle changes"..as in sex, drugs and rock 'n roll. My experience of it was hellish also, anxiety attacks, paranoia, major depression,etc.

Here's the thing, it was Transcendental Meditation that grounded me and 'brought me back'. I can remember the exact morning that I felt that the energy had shifted three months after I had learned and begun to practice TM. That's one woman's experience.

Should you experience a stressful kundalini awakening seek help from someone who understands the meaning of Spiritual Emergency. There are a couple of books by Stanislaus Grof on the topic.

I understand what this phenomenon is now and how to deal with it. If you are a sensitive person, don't experiment with drugs and deep meditation, go slowly if you make big lifestyle changes, and stay grounded. And get information. A little awareness goes a very long way. If you understand what's going on, you won't feel so crazy and will be able to navigate it better.

On the other hand, I don't see how I could have become the person I am now...fabulous, btw :) without the kundalini experience and the recovery from it. It shattered the old paradigm for me. I consider it part of my spiritual evolution.

[dimamuzhetsky]

Explain me please short enough what does Kundalini yoga involve?I get it is a pranayama type excercise that demands quick breathing.But then we are talking about one of many styles of pranayama,do not we?

[spicyfull]

Sat Nam,

I am new to this forum! And so happy to see people getting excited by Kundalini Yoga. I am a teacher and teacher trainer of Kundalini as well as a Raw Pioneer. I have in fact created a Raw Yoga Programme, a merging of the 2 lifestyles. Please have a look and see my 2 passions in life:

Mini Size Me (http://www.minisizeme.co.uk)

If you have any Kundalini questions feel free to drop me an email - jeshoua33@aol.com and I would be more that happy to respond. My first book is called Open your heart with Kundalini Yoga, while Mini Size Me is just about to hit the shelves.

Deepest Love,

Siridatta xxx

Here's your answer.......

[Bryce]

I literally googled, "kundalini yoga raw food," to see what I can do with my experiences.

I'm going through a kundalini awakening whilst being a raw foodist (it helps a lot-- the movements are so blissful, not a problem at all) -- it's quite an adventure.