7 Highly Sought-after Questions About Kundalini Yoga (Answered!)
This article will answer your most burning questions about kundalini yoga.
Kundalini yoga is the most sought after and yet the most misunderstood form of yoga.
What makes Kundalini yoga esoteric and obscure is the fact that there seems to be an unattainability in achieving that kundalini awakening for ourselves, which gets described by those who claim to have found it…
Kundalini yoga lends itself an almost magical quality, promising bliss and liberation, and yet, we know so little about it.
This article will answer your most burning questions about kundalini yoga.
Call it myth-buster or eye-opener, we take you on an incredible journey of the kundalini and unveil the truth about what it really is, and what one should be aware of when practicing this mysterious type of yoga.
1. Is kundalini yoga a cult?
Kundalini yoga, as it appears from the outside, can feel like a cult-like practice.
A class with everyone dressed in white overalls, wearing turbans, and chanting mantras can feel strange and very different from our usual yoga class.
In reality, kundalini yoga is not a cult.
This popularized version is just an adaptation of the traditional kundalini yoga, which dates back thousands of years.
What are the practices in kundalini yoga that make it feel like a cult?
Kundalini yoga (in the popularized version of Yogi Bhajan) has a cult-like feel to it is due to the rituals that have been adopted and promoted.
A typical Yogi Bhajan kundalini class will feel very different from a usual yoga class.
There are classes where the physical practice of yoga takes a backseat and the class is mostly about chanting in Gurmukhi (the sacred Sikh language), breathing exercises, and meditation.
Teachers would dress up all in white with a turban on their heads and students could also be expected to be dressed in all white.
Although the Kundalini practice as popularized by Yogi Bhajan may seem strange and almost cult-like for westerners, Kundalini yoga cannot be classified as a cult, because…
Reasons why kundalini yoga is not a cult ?
Yogi Bhajan simply adapted kundalini yoga for an audience and gave it a shape and form.
The traditional practice of kundalini yoga is still alive in India, as a seeker of kundalini yoga, one is recommended to explore it and discover it in its raw form.
Kundalini yoga is much more than its popularly represented form (by Yogi Bhajan).
In its most simple raw form, Kundalini Yoga is not a cult; instead, it is a practice that, if done with the right preparation, has tremendous potential for self-actualization.
2. Does kundalini yoga make you trip?
Those who have experienced kundalini awakening talk about the experience in the same words that can be used to describe a psychedelic trip.
Bernie Clark, in his book, The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga, says that when kundalini is awakened:
“many psychic phenomena may occur. Inner sounds, special sight, and insights can be perceived.”
This ‘high’ that is experienced can be likened to a trip.
These experiences are not always positive.
There are reported cases of practitioners experiencing psychotic episodes that can be compared to panic attacks and ‘bad trips’.
There are practitioners who have also experienced altered physical and mental states for years at a stretch.
Sadhguru, an Indian yogi and mystic, and founder of the Isha Foundation says that because the awakening of the kundalini is a heightened state of energy, it is also a heightened state of perception. Hence, ‘everything that can be perceived is perceived’.
3. Does kundalini yoga make you tired?
Kundalini yoga works on raising latent energy upward along the spine, from the base of the spine towards the crown of the head.
It involves dynamic physical movement and breathing exercises that can be quite powerful and intense.
While each class is different the combination of mantra chanting, meditations, and mudra, some kundalini yoga classes can feel tiring.
As an example, a rocking bow pose, which is a dynamic bow pose, in a kundalini class can feel exhausting.
Coordinating that movement with breath and continuing it for a while can be physically tiring.
Other reasons why kundalini yoga can feel tiring have more to do with the energetic quality of this yoga style.
It is believed that kundalini yoga triggers a cleansing process, clearing the blockages of energy as the kundalini rises up the spine.
As the stagnant energy clears itself, the release that happens can cause a decrease in energy and focus.
The general advice to counter this is to drink lots of water, get enough sleep, reduce or even eliminate caffeine, and eat healthy.
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4. Does kundalini yoga make you crazy?
The experience of kundalini awakening, achieved through kundalini yoga, is an intense experience, both physically and psychologically.
Western psychologists even have a term for it – kundalini psychosis or kundalini syndrome.
One can experience a sudden burst of too much energy and insight, without being prepared to handle it. While this can make you feel like you are crazy, the difference is that while in psychosis, one experiences an altered state of reality, a kundalini experience creates unprecedented clarity of mind.
Sadhguru warns us…
He says that “there is a tremendous amount of energy packed into a human being…”
“The Kundalini awakening or rising means you have found the technology of tapping into that energy.”
But for that to happen, you must be “on stable ground”.
So, if you “crack this energy open” and “cannot contain it, it can destroy your whole system in no time.”
People who have suffered from mental and emotional kundalini awakening symptoms categorize them as feeling intense fear, anxiety, and paranoia, bipolar mood, and out-of-body experiences.
Experts seem to have a cure.
For instance, Mantak Chia, a Taoist Master, says he has the most effective cure for kundalini psychosis, which is when kundalini makes someone crazy.
He claims that he can prevent the craziness from happening and even fix it after it occurs…
5. Can kundalini yoga make you sick?
Kundalini yoga creates a very physically demanding experience. Kundalini awakening is often described as an electric current moving up your spine. Also sometimes referred to as “ascension flu”.
Many complain of falling sick during the process of awakening.
The most common symptoms are body ache, nausea, dehydration, fevers, chills, stomach upsets, headaches, increased heart rate, sudden limb movement, and difficulty with breathing.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, one of the most influential and oldest texts on hatha yoga, describes the physical experience of kundalini awakening saying:
“When the kundalini awakens, it ‘shoots through the body like an electric shock, and, trembling and amazed, the person realizes that a powerful event has taken place within him.”
This can be physically demanding, which is why the text also lays out the physical preparation that is needed before starting a kundalini practice.
Kundalini yoga was traditionally taught by an accomplished guru, who would gauge the readiness of his students before imparting his teachings.
The modern form of kundalini yoga is often taught by teachers who might have benefited from the practices, but their students might not be physically, mentally, and spiritually ready to carry out the practices.
To bring the body to balance, some techniques that are suggested are walking in nature, resting, and giving the body positive and relaxing experiences like massages.
Having addressed sickness and health, let us see how strong the body needs to be in order to practice kundalini yoga.
Wanna know more? 👉In this article we dive deeper into why you can feel sick after Kundalini Yoga
6. How physically challenging is Kundalini yoga?
As we’ve covered in our later point Kundalini yoga can be physically challenging.
Not only from the asanas that take place but also due to the energetic experience it entails.
In a book by Joan Budilovsky and Eve Adamson, the authors explain that the primary objective is to make the body “strong, controlled, and purified” so that “kundalini energy can move freely up the spine…”
If kundalini energy gets blocked, both physical and mental problems can occur.
The body that’s physically prepared for the rise of kundalini energy will derive the ultimate benefit from its power.’ This preparation is physically challenging.
One of the goals of hatha yoga, which can also be a physically demanding practice, is to prepare the body for kundalini awakening.
This physical preparation means building strength, toning the organs and joints, training the breath, keeping the body infused with prana, and keeping the body clean.
7. Is kundalini the same as chi?
Kundalini is not the same as chi. Chi has been likened to what in Sanskrit is called prana, or vital energy. The fundamental difference between kundalini and chi is that while chi is active energy, kundalini is non-active or dormant and needs to be awakened.
Chi or prana is what gives us the energy to live. Our physical body, mind, intellect, and ego, function because of the presence of chi or prana.
Kundalini, on the other hand, lies dormant at the base of the spine. It is only when an effort is made to activate this energy, that it does manifest.
Closing thoughts
Kundalini is more than just energy.
It is the infinite potential that we inherently possess for health, happiness, connection, and bliss.
The experience of kundalini awakening is deeply personal, intense, and if done right, life-changing.
If you crave to know what really happens when the kundalini awakens, click on the link, this is the most interesting and informative article.
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