Kundalini Shooting Up Your A#$

A student stopped me after class yesterday and mentioned that she had been to two Kundalini Yoga classes at EOM in the last year and really enjoyed them.  However, she did some googling on the internet and became fearful that something bad could happen to her from doing Kundalini Yoga.  Apparently, it can cause psychotic breaks among other things.

I don’t have to google to know that there is a lot of buzz about this buzzing energy.  What is it?  Why is it?  How is it?

First, I teach Kundalini Yoga as Taught by Yogi Bhajan™ . (Do note the little trademark there.) It’s a kind of Kundalini Yoga that Yogi Bhajan, a Yogi Master, brought to the United States in 1969.  I’ve heard many things about the “why’s” of this and I like the stories that Gurmukh and Guru Dev who grew up under Yogi Bhajan tell the most.  Basically, Yogi Bhajan came to the United States for some reason.  It’s a little unclear when the stories get all mixed together.  We will simply go with he came to teach yoga. 

When he got here, he landed in California in the midst of the Hippie generation.  Everyone was taking drugs and having sex with literally everyone.  Yogi Bhajan is a Yogi Master.  That means that he has super magical yogi skills that most masters have.  He knows the future.  He was very aware that we as a world would be shifting into the planetary demise that you are now sitting in. (think global warming, financial breakdown, disparity among social classes, mass depression, and government breakdown).  This is the truth of the “Dawning of the Age of Aquarius.”

Yogi Bhajan knew that the hippies he was facing were going to be the initiator of the resolution of the problems we face now.  It has been predicted by many Gurus that the dharma (Eastern spirituality) would go to this continent and we (Americans) will save the planet.  If the generation hippies weren’t, in fact, the problem solvers, they were at least going to be the the parents or the grandparents of the problem solvers.  That means they had to get their SH#t together and quickly.  Yogi Bhajan made the choice to teach Kundalini Yoga openly.

Let me backup.  Kundalini Yoga is an advanced Raja Yoga that includes movement, advanced breath work, right living, right action, one pointed focus, meditation, and surrendering to all that is.  It’s the royal path of yoga.  It isn’t the only royal path of yoga.  There are many.  It’s just one.  In fact, all yoga is Kundalini yoga with the intent to awaken the sleeping force of universal creation that resides within each human’s DNA.  (that’s why we are different than monkeys.) In the past and still today because most Kundalini Yogi is still taught in secret, a person would study Hatha Yoga for many years before being taught Kundalini Yoga (if ever).  Hatha Yoga is asana (postures), pranayama (breath), and the codes of conduct called the Yamas and the Niyamas.

Once a person mastered these critical parts of right living, they may be allowed to study more advanced yoga.  Why wait?  Well, here’s where the “danger” comes into play.  Prana is your vital life force energy.  It is the force that yokes the body to the mind and the mind to spirit.  It is a neutral force.  That means that prana will attach to the quality of the mind and enliven it.  So, if I am in a state of chaos and my prana arises through yoga, my chaos would increase.  That is the opposite of the goal of yoga.  A person must implement the “basics” of yoga and cultivate the functional and applicable understanding that the purpose of yoga is to still the fluctuations of the mind to enable a tangible and expressive relationship with the divine.  THAT is the only reason to do yoga.  Control the mind.  Know God.

That’s why all yoga classes (if the teacher understands yoga) are structured to move the energy of prana through the body, connect with the mind through the breath, give you a good message, calm you down, and neutralize your thoughts.  That’s why yoga makes you feel good.  That’s why it heals you.  The activated prana goes in the right direction and you are healed and happy.  When you leave yoga, you are to continue the practice off your mat.  If you are at EOM, you are encouraged to establish yourself in meditation, help and serve the community, and fully embrace an Ayurvedic or Yogic Lifestyle.

You can imagine that most people get in their car and just go right back to living as we commonly know it.  There’s nothing wrong with this.  It just speaks to the fact that it takes a really long time to change how a person is showing up in the world.  If they continue their practice, even if it’s just a hot vinyasa fitness yoga as taught by 90% of the ‘yoga’ studios in America, they will slowly and ever soooooooooooooo slowly shift their consciousness.  And therein lies the problem with yoga and this Age of Aquarius.  Yoga is too slow for the challenges we are facing today.  We as a species need to quickly awaken or this human species is going to cease to exist.

So, back to Yogi Bhajan and his brand of yoga.

Yogi Bhajan is a genius.  Yogi Bhajan is a Master.  Yogi Bhajan loves people and his compassion for humanity led him to reveal (I would guess only some) of the secret teachings of Kundalini Yoga.  Yogi Bhajan doesn’t want you to get hurt and to have Kundalini energy shooting out of your A#$. (borrowed that from Bryan Kest).  Kundalini Yoga as Taught by Yogi Bhajan is very quick, yet very safe.  As a teacher of Kundalini Yogi, there is a strict lifestyle I must follow as well as a very directed way I must teach.  The energy is held.  The energy is sealed.  You might become emotional.  You might leave class with a lot of processing to do.  You are not going to have a psychotic break.  Yogi Bhajan shared some of the teachings that are tested, tried and true.

Now back to Kundalini shooting up your A#$ which is why you bothered with this blog in the first place….

Here are dangerous ways that totally work to awaken your Kundalini and have a life-changing psychotic break that harms you and potentially destroys any chance of happiness:

Drugs. Especially hallucinogens taken with the intent to awaken Kundalini or to have a spiritual experience.  This is a very bad thing to do to yourself.  Famous people who talk opening about this and discourage this vehemently are Alex Grey and Dr. Deepak Chopra.

Red Tantra:  This is a debased form of tantra using sexual energy.  Honestly, this is about people having sex and not God.  I don’t know a single group practicing yoga sexuality and union with God as intended.

Black Tantra:  This is black magic.  It’s used to manipulate others.  I find practitioners of black magic are kinda missing the point of yoga overall.  I see the appeal because we all want to be magical superheroes, but White Tantra long-term is the safer option for magic.

Accident.  This happens.  It’s out of your control.  Injury to the spinal column can cause an abrupt awakening.  My back injury that started me on this crazy journey was an abrupt unintentional awakening of Kundalini energy.  God pointed his finger and buzz…done…cooked..welcome to 2 years of chronic pain and an entire life falling apart.  (thank God).

Death (but not really).  This happens.  It’s out of your control.  Crossing over to the other side and coming back.

What’s going on with this energy and why could it cause a psychotic break?

Kundalini energy is the creative force of the universe.  It created the entire universe.  That means that God had a thought, said a word (Aum), and this energy took a particle and turned it into an entire universe.  That’s pretty powerful stuff.

This same energy lays dormant at the base of your spine in your root or muladara chakra.  95% of the world’s population will never even know it exists.  It will lie dormant for their entire life.  You know these people.  They get up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch tv, go to bed.  They have a pretty good life.  It’s not terrible, yet something is always missing.  They outsource happiness with distractions like relationships, drama, tv, sex, drugs, alcohol, shopping, and more.

This is sad because once Kundalini begins to stir, your life become mythical and magical.  You become a healer, a helper, and a server to humanity. You stop outsourcing and begin insourcing.  You get happy.  Your relationships get good.  You have meaning.  You have purpose.

The journey or climb of Kundalini looks like this:

Level 1 Root Chakra:  Time to bust your karma.  What are the choices you make every day that no longer server.  Do you have limiting beliefs and behaviors.  Kundalini starts to stir and you can’t sit your crud anymore.  You start to clean up your life and embrace a sattvic or pure lifestyle.

Level 2 Sacral Charka:  You realize that you are in a creative flow of life.  You start to connect with spirit. You realize there is a path and a plan and you are riding the current.  You become more creative and inspiration begins to strike regularly.

Level 3 Solar Chakra:  You begin to manifest the life you desire.  Your will becomes strong and you start to show up authentic and genuine.  People like you more, trust you more, and want to follow you as a leader more.

Level 4 Heart Chakra:  You begin to make heart centered choices based in trust, compassion, and love.  There is an even flow of giving and receiving in your life.  You are moved to serve others.

Level 5 Throat Chakra:  You understand the power of the Naad or the sound current and how your thoughts are manifested through your words.  You realize that you are creating this universe with your spoken word.

Level 6 Brow Chakra:  Your intuition turns on and you begin to speak and hear through this chakra.  You make better choices.  You understand.  You see the future.  Your actions become efficient.

Level 7 Crown Chakra:  I have no idea.  Total surrender to the divine.  AND this is EXACTLY why you don’t want to abruptly awaken Kundalini energy.  What would happen to your poor human brain if you saw God?

Okay, so this was a huge blog post about a huge topic and I barely skimmed the surface.  I hope it helps you to understand a wee bit better though.  Om, Pamela