Hi Chris,
I have had shaktipat 5 times and although it does catapult one further it is not the complete answer that one may believe.Very few experience enlightenment instantly with shaktipat and even when one is enlightened one still needs to practice sadhana to maintain that level.As all my gurus disciples are enegetically connected on a permanent basis we are constantly drawing off his energies daily and especially when we sit for meditation or japa.He does many hours sadhana daily to maintain his energy levels and once when I asked him about enlightenment he said it wasn’t achiving it that was difficult but maintaining it.As you travel further on the path and become further purified you experience higher levels of cleansing and are more sensitive to others around you.
L&L
Dave
I would doubt whether heavy asanas, or qi gong/ tai chi can cause overload symptoms. My overload symptomos seem to have started when starting meditation AND pranayama, pranayama being the first suspect. The second suspect is meditation as also in the literature it says that it needs caution, even Yogani keeps drilling this to us all the time, i.e. the need to pace, i.e. have the wheels straight before accelerating.
But as for yoga and chi kong/ tai chi, etc, I am reluctant to still believe they can cause overload symptoms. Neither Kung Fu by itself seems to cause overload symptoms. It is generally equal to Boxing, or Karate, people doing these seldom complain about symptoms of K., or even not even know they exist. I did myself Kung Fu, Boxing, Karate, some Aikido and Tae Kown Do, all these do not seem to do any harm in regard to surfaciing kundalini symptoms.
It may be the fact really that some folks are doing such practices nearly under some degree of meditation, then it will count both as yoga AND meditation which of course the meditative part will awake some K. symptoms if they overdo. This would be my interpretation.
As a last point, actually running also is good grounding, not just walking as I heard it is good to spend excess energy, rather than preserve it as in walking. Tai Chi is basically similar to walking, but also Kung Fu is done slowly, harly used as fast action sport, as this is only required during an emergency situation such as fight, but generally it is practiced in an easy manner. Same applies to chi kong, its dynamic techniques are also non- straining but slow and fluid.
So there is not much evidence that these above practices can open up someone to K symptoms as we know them ourselves from meditation/ pranayama practice.
Now some particular yoga classes I know, they do teach some breathing techniques, well, this might start getting into the realm of meditation as well as pranayama and result in stirring up K. symptoms. If they want to do that, that’ s fine, but they could use caution, or just limit it to a small duration every day, or every week.
Even if we consider gymnastics for women, or just gym training, etc, all these should not pose any danger to health, unless of course done in a wrong way. Even a gym machine if you do it wrongly, you may pull muscle, or drop a weight on your foot, that would be considered bad practice resulting to injury.
So we should probably leave it at that, that all mentioned above practices are considered safe in the respect mentioned here.
Being a yoga instructor myself, well, it is good exercise, for relaxation, flexibility, etc.
Regards,
Chris.
Hi ChrisK,
To me, kundalini symptoms mean the ecstatic conductivity is increasing. It opens up slowly over the course of months and years, and various symptoms with varying intensity will come and go. With the rise of inner silence, these symptoms become less and less “symptoms” and more and more… just something that is happening inside, and that actually feels kind of good. Just like the heart is beating, and the lungs are breathing, eventually the kundalini symptoms are flowing. It’s a good thing.
The self pacing control lever is all about the inner guru. Sure all of those practices you listed are safe. The caution is that sometimes with the integration and synergy of all the limbs of yoga, things might open up at an uncomfortably fast pace. Just test the limits yourself and find what works. If you gradually build up the practice AYP style, adding things on once a month or so… the roadsigns will be pretty clear if you’re overdoing it.
I usually do about 5-10 minutes of asana before sitting. Sometimes I get into it and go longer. I’ve heard half an hour is a safe maximum time limit for asanas done before sitting. And that longer asana practices are fine if you don’t do sitting practices right afterward.
Love
PS - The “down” feeling you describe after meditation could be an example of opening at an uncomfortable pace. You asked how long will it take before enough obstructions are removed that meditation will feel better. It’s differs by session, and by person. Some sessions will leave you feeling great. Some sessions leave you feeling like taking a nap. It gradually feels better over time, and the opening process becomes pleasureful. Giving up meditation completely isn’t necessary. Just do a tiny bit each day. Whatever is comfortable, even if it’s a few minutes. When it’s time to do more, bhakti will be calling, it’s all up to you.