I’ll be honest and reveal I was hesitant in creating this post, and posing the question… To preface a bit, I’ve been practicing AYP style meditation and pranayama on a daily basis for a couple years now. Maybe a bit under two years.
I’ve noticed after sitting practices and during the day, there is an energy that moves and almost shoots from my solar plexus area to my heart. The energy will literally feel like it’s opening and making my heart more “sensitive”. This shooting of energy to the heart usually makes me a bit lightheaded or woozy but nothing over the top at most I’d lay down for a few minutes and continue on, sometimes it is a good feeling actually. It started following Solar Centering I believe.
Last week, I had an incident where I felt that energy shooting and recall feeling a bit faint. Well I ended up passing out and fainting (at least I think). Unfortunately, I hit my head in the process, again don’t recall any pain or fainting just the energy shooting. Luckily, my family was home and found me I was a bit woozy and needed a couple stitches. All in all, my brain was unharmed and all bells are whistling after running tests MRI, EEG etc at the hospital last week. So thankfully I am doing much better.
I don’t have any history of medical occurrences and am relatively healthy. I’m 29 years old and soon to be 30 in August this year. No spring chicken by any means but this situation is very odd and strange. Could it be tied to my cannabis use (which has teetered on side of daily intake) but this would still be a 1st of its occurrence. Maybe a sign to cut out the cannabis completely??
I can’t help but think it’s related to the energy movements perhaps kundalini symptoms? Has anyone had any experiences with feeling faint or fainting due to excess kundalini? I’m trying to make sense of this and so far haven’t been able to. I’m still meditating and practicing spinal breathing daily, but I’ve decreased the time over the last week or so. Any thoughts and insights are much appreciated!
Passing out is not a common kundalini symptom. I have never heard of this happening to anyone, and that is after 40 years of practice and 15 years of teaching. However, that does not mean that kundalini could not have been one of the contributing causes. It could also be related to your cannabis use, or could simply have a medical cause.
I would suggest getting checked out by a medical doctor, and next time you practice you may want to use back support, and scatter a few cushions around, just in case! And yes, stopping cannabis use would be a good idea. I believe that cannabis can be helpful for people who need to use it for medical reasons, but generally I have never seen any evidence that it aids spiritual progress, and quite a bit of evidence that it has negative effects over the long term.
Hey there. I have personally never passed out, however I have experienced overload in my head a couple of times which made me very dizzy, and nauseous. It got so bad once that I spent the day in bed. However I found that self pacing my practice solved the problem.
Cannabis is touted as being a gentle drug, however I found a few years ago that for me it was basically a psychedelic, as it made me feel as if I was travelling down a tunnel very fast, I could also see comic strips moving behind my closed eyes. Some strong gear!!
So from my experience I would say it certainly messes with the nervous system more than you think.
Also I have a friend who has been addicted to smoking strong cannabis for years, he is in such a state that he cannot trust his own mind, he lies constantly, and unconsciously makes decisions that just enable him to smoke more and more, further exasperating his life problems. Obviously not everyone has this experience with weed, but my mind has changed on the subject and now I wouldn’t recommend anyone get into it, or any other substance for that matter. The pages of history are full of people who got enlightened by engaging in spiritual practice, I have read no stories of people getting enlightened through taking drugs.
I would have to agree and to be honest I felt it wasn’t a common symptom or kundalini experience or even in relation to yoga for that matter. I just figured I’d ask the experienced yogis/yoginis for insight.
Luckily, following the incident I was admitted to a short stay in the hospital. They ran all the essential tests on my brain and body and said all systems are go! Of course, I am tending to any follow ups and medical appts for further confirmation. But I feel much better now and even better day by day.
Thank you for the advice on back support and propping up a few pillows during practice. I certainly couldn’t hang with those experienced yogis in the caves on a rock somewhere! I’m happy and very pleased to report that my sitting practices have ONLY eased any tension and restored my semblance of peace and balance. Ironically, the medical situation occurred outside of practices and in daily activity, randomly.
Truthfully, this occurred AFTER falling back to one sitting practice a day instead of two, not intentionally just due to life and circumstances. The decreasing of meditation and pranayama preceded this incident if anything maybe that could be related? Either way or no way, I will continue with my practices and look to work back up to my twice a day routine. This is always when I felt the best within myself.
You know I always appreciate seeing your name and insight. I hope you’ve been well!
Yes, I totally agree with this and felt this intuitively within. I wasn’t so aware that the “clash” so to speak between substances would worsen the feeling and mix with spiritual advancement. But this makes perfect sense and would certainly seem to align in my case.
I’m committed to my path and as mentioned feel this occurred as a natural push in the right direction. A push I knew and felt was inevitable in the end. It’s all for the best!
I truly appreciate you and will take heed on this knowledge and wisdom.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences! Some strong gear indeed, for many years it was the “balancing” vice that eased tension in other areas, or at least I falsely believed.
Nowadays, the feeling and effects of the cannabis is much harsher and I can feel the shift internally. It isn’t a good feeling or shift…it’s like something intuitively within me can sense this. Taking it a step further, I feel that this all could’ve occurred as a sort of “wake up call” or call to change or reevaluate. There must be some correlation, I’ve been a daily user of cannabis for quite some time, and the day I ended up passing out and hitting my head, was the only day I DID NOT smoke or partake in years. Not sure again, who could really know but I do feel it is a cause for pause and reassessing.
In terms of the dizzy/woozy feeling following practices or just in general, it is good to know that this symptom is more common. I’ve experience this on a minor scale previously but nothing overbearing. I’d assume it’s the same for others to a minor degree. Again, I don’t believe this has any relation to practices nor do I think AYP has any related cause or effects. Still I will take heed and continue to self pace as necessary.
I have the same issue, but only while standing.
I have passed out and my arms and head were convulsing once.
I have nearly passed out and have had involuntary jerks while standing.
I also get extremely light headed and sensations of fuzziness and heat around my chest, back, and upwards to my neck.
These very brief incidents are followed by a very strange stillness, although i wouldnt call it pleasant…
This happens when i do diaphragmic and abdominal movements (pumping) of the solar plexus area and lower abdomen. The symptoms are worse if i try to use mulabhanda with it.
Im guessing an increase in electrical activity around the vagus nerve and heart area? Seems like it would make sense.