The Kundalini Guide: A Companion For the Inward Journey (Companions For the Inward Journey Book 1)

by Bonnie Greenwell

  Some of the specific experiences connected with blocked chakras include:

  1st chakra, muladhadra, at the base of the coccyx. Occasionally there is sharp pain during an initial arising, as kundalini pierces the sushumna channel and enters it. There can be itching, pressure, twitching, heat and other discomfort as well, during the early stages of kundalini stirring. A few people have described to me extreme bouts of elimination as if the bowel is being totally cleared in early stages of this awakening.

  From this base two other nadis (streams of energy) rise on either side of sahasrara, called ida and pingala, and sometimes kundalini arises through one or both of these. They have been identified as a mental force on the left and a vital force on the right, and also as cooling and heating nadis, respectively. Sometimes heat or cold flash through the body if kundalini activates one of these nadis. They wind along the spine through the body crisscrossing at each chakra and ending at the 3rd eye. In yoga, an essential practice is to balance these two energy streams perfectly, usually done by gradually developing the skill of alternate nostril breathing. A basic practice to activate kundalini is to balance and suppress the pranas on left and right and then bring them into the central nadi, sushumna, which puts pressure on the latent kundalini, forcing it to explode upward. Schools of Kriya Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga and Kundalini Yoga offer other specific breathing and contraction practices to do this, after adequate preparation of the mind and body.

  2nd chakra, svadhisthana, just above the genital region. The second chakra is close to the seat of kundalini, and in kundalini science it is believed that some kundalini energy is active there after puberty, to facilitate sexual activity and procreation. If all the kundalini energies activate and only move into this chakra, it can overwhelm a person sexually, making them feel crazy and out of control, producing excessive sexual fantasies, even leading to obsessive and deviant behavior. Intense energy here is also associated with anger, fear, and depression. A person may also fall into deep lethargy and want only to sleep. It is important to move the energy upward as soon as possible. In this situation yogic masters recommend having a strong will and fearlessness, along with dispassion, and sincerity in your spiritual intention. For some people initially awakening kundalini may be easy, but they can be stuck in this cul-de-sac indefinitely, because of a lack of understanding, getting caught in a passion to fulfill personal desires, or because they are not motivated to become liberated. Yogis believe this is the point at which one is driven by desire back into the cycle of life and death, or one may break through toward liberation.

  Once kundalini is active, the emphasis needs to be on bringing the lower pranic energies into an upward flow, which is a primary reason celibacy is recommended. Sexual activity and orgasm uses a downward-flowing prana, so energy is released that is needed in the upper chakras at this time to facilitate the process. Some yogic systems have even developed ways to end the menses in female yogis, because it is facilitated by a downward flow of prana.

  From a yogic perspective, the physical difficulties some people report with heat and pain are related to a failure to manage the prana effectively for the stage they are in, particularly prana related to sexuality. Many westerners who are interested in tantric sex, do not realize that the classical practices of tantra are about turning sexual energy, highly aroused, upward and moving it through the crown, rather than sexual release through the genitals. Most traditional yogic paths do not use sexual forms of tantra (which is a specific school of energy practice) but move energy through meditative and breathing practices. They discourage sexual activity, and if it cannot be contained, students are sometimes advised to go out in the world and satisfy their cravings, before continuing in the process. However, if kundalini has arisen into the second chakra and is blocked there, this would be very destructive advice, and instead, the student needs help to get the energy re-routed and moved into another area. Paradoxically, in a few cases I have met clients who found a sexual release helped them to rebalance and harmonize the discomfort in their energy process. I believe this is an issue to be addressed individually, and choices are dependent on many circumstances.

  Some yogic practices are said to convert this sexual energy into a substance called ojas, which coats the brain and makes it more receptive to meditation, and supports the arising of energy into the sahasrara. Intense headaches and pain in the head during this process has been attributed to a deficiency of ojas, so it is considered very valuable to know how to convert sexual energy and move it upward. Ojas is also connected to the production of amrita, a substance said to release from glands as kundalini penetrates the upper chakras, which causes a sensation of sweetness and ecstasy throughout the body. Some report that it tastes like honey dripping down the back of the throat.

  3rd chakra, manipura, slightly behind the naval. When kundalini is stuck here there can be digestive difficulties and other stomach problems, and erratic swings in appetite, along with an emotional attachment to power and position in the world. In some ways the belly is the seat of false identity, connected to all the impulses of the lower chakras. It is associated with the need to know one’s place in the world, as well as self-expression and power. After the energy moves upward into a full spiritual awakening these drives are muted, and energy may safely return to the lower chakras, bringing stability and creative grounded expression. Manipura is the seat of the radiant energy distributed throughout the body so if it is deficient one lacks vitality and when it is awakened one is energized and more available to life. Some Buddhist and tantric texts say the true awakening of kundalini actually happens in this chakra, because after it is fully alive here the energy will not recede again. This is also a place in the body where the upward and downward pranas meet explosively and are believed to fuse and create a new base for kundalini to progress upwards. When this chakra is transmuted personal drives and complexes begin to fall away and there can be a deeper longing to know Truth.

  The solar plexus is the area where energies from the upper and lower chakras intersect, and many people have an intense contraction, or dramatic release, even a visual picture or symbol that appears, as kundalini weaves its way through here into the upper chakras. There is also a peculiar condition called Buddha Belly in which some people experience a temporary swelling of the stomach , even appearing pregnant, when energy collects there.

  4th chakra, anahata, in the spinal column directly behind the center of the chest. When energy is stuck in the heart chakra, which is said to be located slightly to the right and behind the physical heart, there can be heart palpitations and other frightening sensations. There may be pain and accelerated pulse rates, or an intense sensation of burning, or a feeling the heart is cracking open. Some people report a sense their heart has stopped beating for a few minutes, but if they see a doctor they find this is obviously not the case.

  There can be a strong intensification of love and compassion. Love of God or a devotional inclination to a guru or saint may arise and absorb a person. Sometimes the love is projected on a random individual, even one who the person would not normally feel attracted to. Many people feel joyful and worshipful when the heart awakens, and there is a shift where one is not so controlled by their conditioning, but has a more broad view of the nature of things with spontaneous and wise responses to life events. Thoughts may seem to manifest into reality and synchronicities occur. Previous drives and attractions may drop away. Sometimes creativity and healing abilities arise. It is important to discard negative thinking because thoughts become more powerful. With stuck heart energy the mind can become unsteady, and a person caught at times in emotional turmoil. The awakening must progress before a person will feel complete, and freed from fluctuations and mood swings.

  5th chakra, vishuddha, at the throat. It is common for kundalini energy to stabilize for a long time at the throat chakra. This is considered to be a purification center by yogis, where the harmonizing of opposites is believed to occur. At this point a great longing arises for real
ization and wisdom, for the Truth. Experiences of void and emptiness may occur. There may be a greater resonance with spiritual teachings, an activation of psychic abilities or creative talents, or an ability to speak or write fluently. As this chakra awakens people become more tolerant and compassionate, able to see all sides of life and develop acceptance of the light and the dark. Occasionally they might read another person's thoughts. Some yogis say this chakra is also related to retaining youthfulness, helping the cells in the body to regain the quality of regeneration they had as infants.

  On the other hand, until the chakra is cleared some people find themselves with difficulty swallowing, or the neck jerking, spinning or twitching. One person I worked with appeared to have something like Tourette’s syndrome, with extreme and spontaneous facial twitching. It appears that many throat blockages are due to the habit of repressing and withholding what we feel and want to say, and to being less than honest with ourselves and others. Many spiritual seekers believe they cannot express anger as it might be harmful to someone, and so in a way they are gagging on it, stuck in the emotions that are hardly recognized, let alone admitted. Some yogis believe that oral sex also damages the throat chakra or leaves toxins that must be released. I have found that encouraging self-expression and release work, or doing gentle neck stretching exercises, along with chanting the bij mantra “haum”, allowing the tone to vibrate, helps to open the throat. Continued spiritual practice with deep dedication to Truth, will eventually allow the energy to move on upward. I’ve also noticed that if I am meditating and suddenly flooded with creative thoughts, my energy is invariably collected at the throat chakra.

  The 6th chakra, between the eyebrows. While it is easy to move kundalini into the heart, yogis say it requires long and strenuous practice to bring it into ajna chakra, or the third eye, as it is called in esoteric literature. Meditators often report feeling a throbbing in the forehead when ajna is stimulated. People who do long meditations on this chakra often become ungrounded and disoriented, as if slightly out-of-body, and their thinking can feel cloudy. They may become attached to glimpses of other realms and come to believe that is the goal of awakening. Once pierced, this chakra produces much of the light and vision phenomena described by mystics. It is also the point where ego identification can shift, sometimes in a great explosion. There are several stages or stopping points in this chakra, according to yoga science, each of which produces a different affect. Some see visions of a divinity to whom they are devoted, some see or feel infused by lights or bright moons or suns. There may be beautiful inner music or sound, insights or psychic revelations. The ordinary mind eventually becomes more still and steady. The activity in the lower chakras becomes inactive. Some yogic systems say this chakra controls all the others, and so concentration here is emphasized. But I have found that extended focus on the 3rd eye without attending to the other chakras causes some people headaches, anxiety, and disorientation. If this is happening it is helpful to bring awareness down into the heart or the belly and ground the energies.

  Here is a letter I received from a man that illustrates the difficulties that can arise when someone opens this chakra without proper preparation.

  I’ve been practicing breathing and mindfulness meditation for a year and was enjoying it immensely. Then I saw a 3rd eye meditation on the web and began to use it. I didn’t know what I was in for!!! I suddenly felt a VERY powerful and constant energy stream out of my third eye in the middle forehead and crown. At first it was very pleasurable, but after a short time it became stronger and light seemed to fill my head. I simply panicked and stopped immediately by opening my eyes. Since then I have not been myself, literally. I am super sensitive to sound, anxious, VERY fearful, jumpy and have a lot of difficulty sleeping. (Like I am scared to do so since I have been feeling this rise of energy in sleep and waking at all hours.) My sinuses are hurting and I have constant pressure in my head and around my eyes.

  It is impossible to predict how long difficulties will continue in someone who randomly and suddenly opens a chakra through an intense yogic or energy practice without any guidance. Much of the yogic emphasis on training is related to moving into this territory gradually. Depending on many circumstances, eventually the phenomena will either recede and the body will return back into balance, or the process will erupt further until it seems to open up into the space above the head.

  In yogic science the final goal is described as sahasrara chakra, which some see not so much as in the body, but in the space above, and others say is not a chakra at all, but a symbol of infinity. At this point consciousness and physicality intersect, and when kundalini energy reaches here it triggers the dissolution of any sense of physical and personal identification so that Oneness with primal consciousness occurs. (This does not mean you never again feel yourself as a body or a person! You will!)

  Although I have not seen it described this way in yogic literature, it seems to me this movement into sahasrara is a way of describing the penetration of the formerly limited personal consciousness into the causal body, which might be thought of in western terms as soul-consciousness, or pure spirit without identification. Universal consciousness initially moves into this causal form in order to create an experience of life as an apparent separate physical being. Kundalini yoga would call this minute point where manifestation is initiated a bindu, and say it is rooted in limitless undifferentiated consciousness. It is believed to be located in the higher cortex of the brain, and when energy touches it we experience the undifferentiated void, and source of consciousness. The theory is that originally it was through bindu and the causal body that your subtle body formed, and then the physical form followed as a creation. Spiritual awakening gradually returns our energy toward a direct experience of the causal body, unimpeded by thought forms, and from this body, merging into universal cosmic consciousness is a natural step.

  It appears that many of the rare beings who entered cosmic consciousness in the past simply lost themselves in it, never bothering to re-enter the world. For example, there is a story that Jnaneshwari a great Indian sage born in 1295, authored a treasured version of the Bhagavadgita when he was only 16, then he and his enlightened sister entered into a cave in their early twenties, had the door blocked with boulders, and never came out.

  But some yoga systems include a return-process, in which one brings energy back down into the body, enlivened with the light and wisdom of true understanding, making it possible to offer some service to the world. In Buddhism the samadhi or satori realization is seen as a half-way mark, with the true value being a return into ordinary life, recognizing the divinity and wholeness that shines everywhere in the world of form, as well as the formless. This return is called “embodiment” by some teachers. It seems in Christianity, if a mystic touches the awareness of his or her cosmic wholeness it is called Christ consciousness, and the archetype of Christ as being of service to the world is used to inspire Christians to service in the world.

  As this process of awakening unfolds in the subtle body it impacts the physical body, the emotions, and even the way one thinks and chooses to live. Whether awakened deliberately or spontaneously, the experience may bring strange sensations, vibrations, warmth and cold, sense enhancement. swings of mood, flushes of insight, and other harbingers of internal change.

  If you do energy practices or meditation, you may experience a sense of spirit swelling up within you, blissfulness, restlessness and difficulty sleeping for long periods. You may feel sensitive, as if your skin is thinner, and you may feel ungrounded, as if there is nothing to hold on to anymore. The energy field is expanding and opening and you have to learn to function in new ways to accommodate it. You can stuff it down temporarily by stopping all practices, eating heavy foods, intellectualizing for long periods, or falling into negative moods, but it won’t feel as good as allowing yourself to become fully and unconditionally alive. Finally, if you support your unfolding with an open mind and heart, where you may end up is happy, calm,
steady and energized, with occasional downloads of bliss and wisdom.

  Chapter 6:

  The Grace of Kundalini

  One day when I was preparing a flip board that listed the phenomena related to the kundalini process my daughter, who was home from college, looked at what I was doing and said, “Why would anyone ever want to have this experience?” The reader may be feeling this way after reading about the challenges I have described in previous chapters. But despite the startling changes that come with this awakening, most people feel incredibly fortunate that this happened to them in this lifetime. One young man I met was laying in a hospital bed in ICU hooked up to fluids to replace his electrolytes that were greatly depleted after an intense kundalini episode. He looked at his girlfriend, smiled, and said “We are the luckiest people in the world.”

  The Swiss psychiatrist Dr. Carl Jung once said of a patient, who described kundalini-like conditions, that he had never seen anyone with such bizarre symptoms who felt so good about them. Unlike a disease, once you become familiar with the territory, you know intuitively that what is happening is good for you, and has a creative purpose in your life. Sometimes there are moments of soaring beauty in which you know you are One presence in a complete and perfect universe.

  While visiting in India I was delighted to receive a copy of a magazine with a beautiful image of a goddess on the cover, and told this was an image of Kundalini. We could think of kundalini as the feminine face of God. There are many god-images in India, because Vedanta sees every aspect of life as an aspect of the divine One, called Brahman. I think of it as monotheistic despite the entire pantheon of gods and goddesses, because there is only one source, out of which everything flows. The masculine forms that are worshipped represent principles, and the feminine goddesses represent their expression in the world. Most male gods have female consorts, because it is through the feminine that the life force comes into form.