I’m not concerned with “andropause”…if it is happening here, well, then it is happening. If it isn’t, well, then it is not. Either way I am not concerned There’s nothing I can do about it so worrying/being concerned won’t help things at all.
Yeah, knew that. Pretty sure that the balding here is “genetically inspired”…every single one of my male cousins on my Mom’s side started balding around age 20 and my mother’s father was completely bald by 18…I come by it honestly
My experience is almost the exact opposite when kumbhakas are applied. I agree that slow controlled breathing is a great way to stop a panic attack and other extreme emotional responses, but to add a “bottom end” breath retention onto the slow breathing is asking for INCREASED energy, not decreased energy. This is pretty commonly accepted in the yoga community.
Yeah, I knew what you meant. I was meaning to say that there is a pretty consistant flow of bliss happening here both during and outside of yoga practice.
Gotcha.
I pretty much agree. With a methodically implemented yoga practice we can give the energy a specific channel to flow through (the sushumna) and can purify the nervous system to an extent that we will not have to endure the more “dramatic” kundalini symptoms.
Personally I have had very little discomfort from the kundalini. The odd migraine a while ago, some automatic yoga, a bit of excessive heat on occasion, but definitely no “Gopi Krishna” experiences that’s for sure!
In my experience this is combatted by balancing “energy cultivation practices” with “silence cultivation practices”. If we are so focused on cultivating the kundalini that we forget to cultivate silence through deep meditation, it is easy for the emotions to get a little wild on us. With adaquate silence cultivation it is easier to let go of even the wildest of emotions and return to “the silent centre”. It is important to have a proper balance of silence and energetic cultivation practices in our yoga sadhana.
With a proper balance between energy and silence cultivation it is a lot easier to avoid these kinds of symptoms. With a grounding in inner silence (cultivated through a twice daily practice of deep meditation) when extreme emotional responses arise it is much esaier to see them for what they are and let go of them. This is my experience anyways…likely the experience of many others here too…hence the lack of topics written on the subject
Love!
Hi Carson,
I just wanted to share my thoughts with you.
Im not sure, you do or do not have K?
Anyways, i am about your age and I’ve had very severe K for seven years now, so you name it, Ive probably been through it.
Heat is a very common thing, and I wouldn’t worry about it. Yes, it can be irritating, but really there is nothing to do about it except let it pass, which it will do on its own.
I don’t necessarily buy into all the “hormonal” stuff, because frankly, we’re not at an age where this is an issue.
However, it is sometimes beneficial to think of K as a secondary form of Adolescence. That is, there are definitely hormonal and chemical changes taking place in our bodies and brains.
Overall, my advice is to listen to your body and your intuition, experiment, and find what works for you. Above all, don’t let the symptoms get you down and always seek an equilibrium.
best wishes
Hi Carson,
About the breathing: it’s not done with any muscle tension, let alone pelvic tensions. This of course will bring energy up and should be totally avoided when kundalini is too strong. Also, it’s not just slow breathing. You breathe normally in and out and then do not breathe again as long as possible without straining. You probably don’t need it any more. I am writing it, in case somebody else is reading this thread and might find it useful.
My main focus has always been still meditation with ‘a bit’ of kundalini added on, so to speak. The problem is that many people use still meditation to ‘suppress’ emotions. They use it as a tranquillizer instead of an awakening tool. Being around the ‘spiritual block’ a few times I’ve seen it very often.
I think I will open another threat about hightened emotions and see what other people think.
Best,
Corinna
Hi tonightsthenight and welcome to the AYP forums!
Yes, there was an intial kundalini awakening in October of 2008. My experience with kundalini is nowhere near as “dramatic” as many others have experienced, but there is more then just a little bit of prana flowing here.
Hopefully with a little bit of “silence cultivation” and some active grounding the severity of some of the symptoms you are experiencing can be lessened in intensity.
Yes, common for sure. It is the kundalini working it’s way through inner obstructions causing some “friction” and subsequent heat. And, I’m not worried about it …the reason for starting this thread is because my wife finds that I keep the house temperature too cold for her to be comfortable and if I raise the temp in the house the internal heat can sometimes become a bit uncomfortable for me. So I was just looking for ways to combat the internal heat here so that I could raise the temperature in our home to a level that is more comfortable for her without making myself uncomfortable in exchange.
There could be something to the hormonal stuff, but honestly, I wouldn’t know how to tell one way or the other. I KNOW that this is caused by “kundalini friction”, but it might be being aggravated by hormonal changes in the body…who knows?
Absolutely.
Thank you for the wonderful advice, and again, welcome to the forum… looking forward to reading more from you in the future!
Love!
It really isn’t worth arguing about, and I have no desire to be “right”, but for the sake of the readership I think it is important to clarify here. When the body is deprived of oxygen (which is what happens when the breath is held) the body will naturally compensate with prana. This is basically the entire premise behind pranayama (restraint of the breath). When we control the breath and only allow so much oxygen into the bloodstream the body will compensate for the lack of oxygen with prana. This is why I say that holding the breath is not relaxing and in fact has quite the opposite effect…the effect of being stimulating to the nervous system.
Awesome. It is important to have a balance between silence cultivation and energy cultivation.
It’s not that big of a problem really. People will do what they do, for the reasons they do it, and there isn’t much we can do about it. If someone chooses to do meditation for the reasons of “suppressing the emotions”, well, then that is why they are doing it. Hopefully they will find other benefits to it to, and will one day realize that “suppression” is not the answer to suffering, but either way, it really doesn’t matter…to me anyways
I’ve seen it to. But I have also seen people start a meditation practice for one reason, and continue it for a completely other reason once they realize the benefits of meditation through personal experience.
Sounds good…I look forward to reading it as well as reading other people’s responses. Best of luck to you!
Love!
Hi Carson,
no offence, but we are really talking about two completely different breathing techniques.
So, just to end this discussion and for everyone who is interested in an excellent calming breathing technique, please google ‘buteyko breathing’. It is well researched and I use it with my clients all the time to calm their nervous system. It does exactly the opposite of what Carson says. But I won’t debate about it any longer. Everybody who is interested can find out for themselves.
Best of luck to you, Carson,
Corinna
Hi Corinna and Carson:
You are both right.
There is a distinction to be made between breathing practices (and breath suspension) without deep meditation, and breathing practices with deep meditation. That is not with the two performed at the same time, but in sequence in the same sittings, with the greatest spiritual results found through consistent daily practice over time.
This distinction may account for the relaxation effects of breathing techniques (with or without suspension) when practiced alone, versus the powerful kundalini awakening affects of similar methods when used (with mudras, bandhas, etc.) in a routine that includes deep meditation. It also may account for why breathing techniques used alone, while helpful for relaxation, are not very progressive as spiritual practice.
As we have discussed in the lessons, pranayama prepares (relaxes) the inner soil of the nervous system so the seed of inner silence may sprout from it. Obviously, both the cultivated soil and the seed must be present for this to occur. Likewise, when inner silence is rising as a result of deep meditation, the soil of the nervous system becomes much more porous (activated), giving rise to the prana-compensating-for-oxygen-deficit dynamic in pranayama referred to by Carson, which is at the heart of the systematic cultivation of ecstatic conductivity (kundalini) through the breath. In the case where pranayama and deep meditation are well-integrated in the practice routine, excessive pranayama (especially with breath suspension) can lead to energy overloads, often coming as a delayed effect, days or weeks after the overdoing occurred.
There are many here who can verify this dynamic. It is part of why we put so much emphasis on self-pacing of practices in the AYP approach, and also why we have relatively few kundalini crises occurring here. Hence Carson’s sensitivity on breath suspension practice. Breath suspension for some may not be the same as breath suspension for others, depending on the degree of resident sensitivity (conductivity) cultivated in the nervous system.
The idea is to stimulate maximum progress with minimum discomfort. It seems to be working.
The guru is in you.
Hi All,
I was reading through out the answers and got really interested in finding more about the doshas and the diet appropriate to the type of dosha one can be.
Can you please guide me to the web page where I can find the test with the help of which I can determine my type so this can help observe a diet appropriate for me?
Thank you
Hi Corinna
I was reading up on this thread as I have been experiencing hot flashes of kundalini over the weekend and came across this very interesting statement. Grateful if you could elaborate and how can you tell if that is happening?
Thks
There’s nothing I can do about it so worrying/being concerned won’t help things at all.
…the reason for starting this thread is because my wife finds that I keep the house temperature too cold for her to be comfortable and if I raise the temp in the house the internal heat can sometimes become a bit uncomfortable for me. So I was just looking for ways to combat the internal heat here so that I could raise the temperature in our home to a level that is more comfortable for her without making myself uncomfortable in exchange.