Hi all, I am almost a year in into a violent KA that was somewhat similar to Gopi Krishna’s, though thankfully less violent than what he had . It certainly got better after grounding but it took many months and I still have depersonalisation and derealisation at times, as well as KA trauma. I am wondering if there is any silver lining in this traumatic experience, spiritually speaking? Of course, there is life reorientation, post-traumatic growth etc but I wonder if Kundalini did anything beneficial to my subtle body or spiritual progress while she was ascending in this violent fashion. I think she pierced a granthi I had in my head as I experienced a spontaneous non-dual state. Still trying to make sense of it all, would be grateful for your help.
Hi Iis,
I don’t think it is possible to say whether anything beneficial happened or not. When kundalini awakens there is a certain amount of inner purification that takes place. This is the purification of the chakras and energy channels in the body. However, if kundalini awakens in a violent way, then a certain amount of disorder can be created as well. Chakras can open in the wrong order and prana can enter energy channels too soon. It can take time to stabilise and bring everything back into balance again.
The important thing is what you choose to do now with what has happened. I would suggest engaging in daily spiritual practices that will work with the energies involved and at the same time making sure you remain grounded. That means engaging in daily grounding practices such as walking in nature, swimming, working in the garden, cleaning the house and cooking etc. basically any gentle physical activity.
If you take this approach, you should become stable fairly quickly and will be able to make good progress on the spiritual path.
You may find lesson 69 useful:
Thank you for your response Tristan.
How do I know that if the disorder that possibly happened has stabilised?
I never practised AYP but I was recommended to do Japa of Sat Nam while focusing on the heart. What do you think of that practice for me?
I am a bit hesitant of doing spinal breathing, particularly focusing on my spine and paying attention to breath going up and down, feels like it could mess with my K but maybe I am wrong!
Thanks a lot for your help.
Hi Iis,
You will know if things have stabilised in general because you will feel fine during the day. No energy issues, nothing uncomfortable or painful happening etc. However, the underlying disorder that can occur from a violent awakening can last a long time and that can be harder to diagnose. It can manifest later on in samskaras (deeply-rooted mental tendencies) rising to the surface.
I have not practiced Japa with Sat Nam whilst focusing on the heart, so I cannot comment on that specific practice. However, anything that focuses on one specific chakra has the risk of activating that chakra too soon, or in an imbalanced way. I recorded a video for YouTube on this topic about a month ago. That is here.
The practice of Spinal Breathing Pranayama is actually very beneficial for people going through a kundalini awakening, unless they are very sensitive. For the vast majority of people it will have a balancing effect on the prana in the body, whilst creating a stable pathway in the body for that energy to move through. It is a long way ahead of any other energetic practice when it comes to stabilizing and advancing the process of kundalini in the body. I also recorded a video on this topic for YouTube and that is here.
If you are very sensitive to the practice, then you can always leave it out for now and try again later on. Even if someone is too sensitive for something at one stage on the path, they can find that as the inner purification process progresses, they are less sensitive a month, or a year later.
Hello Chrisi, you say that spina breathing is a help for kundalini issues, my understanding is that if they have overload of energy, won’t adding more energy or passing through that same area cause problems? For example maybe third eye unbalance. Going up the sushnma up spinal breathing won’t that cause more overload? Thank you
Nate
Hi Nate,
If someone is experiencing energetic overload and they do not already have a Spinal Breathing Pranayama practice, then adding one can help. It depends on the nature of the overload. If it is being caused by an imbalance between the higher centres and lower centres, then SBP can help to balance things out. It can also help to balance out left-right imbalances.
See here:
First off, if you have not already, it is suggested you begin a light session of spinal breathing before meditation, only five or ten minutes. See if that brings some balance. See if you can find a platform of practice with only pranayama and meditation that is smooth. Don’t do any mulabandha or sambhavi yet. Make sure you take plenty of rest coming out of meditation. It is suggested you suspend the other things you are doing for the time being, as they may be exacerbating the kundalini energies. If you are heavy into bhakti, having intense spiritual emotions, you should consider tempering that also. That means lightening up a bit for the sake of building a stable, effective spiritual practice. Bhakti is great until we hit a wall. Then it can become problematic. It can surely test us. After all that, if you don’t notice an inner balancing, consider backing off on your meditation time a bit for a while, keeping the spinal breathing at the same level, unless the spinal breathing adds instability. It shouldn’t, but anything is possible. See if you can find a routine with just pranayama and meditation where you come out into your daily activity feeling smooth, with less intensity in the symptoms you described. From that stable platform, you can begin to add things on, step by step. [Yogani]
From Lesson 69
However, if SBP makes the situation worse, then it is best to back off for the time being.
I understand thank uou