It has been described as everything from an epiphany to a dark
night of the soul. It has also been called the razors edge.
Throughout history, there have been stories of transformation
accompanied by extremes of light and darkness. Kundalini awakening
is believed to be the real gold sought by the alchemists. By
all accounts, it can be illuminating, terrifying, blissful and
sometimes deadly. Kundalini is said to be a primordial energy
sitting at the base of the spine coiled like a serpent. This
energy rises along the spine, moves through six different nerve
centres called chakras, curves over the head and nestles in
the third eye, leading to enlightenment. If this energy is not
properly channeled, it has been known to blow the mind. But
that does not deter the bravest of yogis and yoginis who invite
the serpent into their lives.
It was frightening, says Sandra Sammartino, a well-known yoga
teacher in White Rock, BC. Her first con-tact with what she
believes is Kundalini took place at age thirty-two during meditation,
when she felt energy rush through her body and cause her to
lose consciousness. But then I began to make adjustments, control
the energy and integrate it more into my body. It is not my
purpose to awaken it, but to stay open to what is happening,
explains Sammartino. While most people experience Kundalini
after regular mantra, meditation or Hatha practice, there are
others who stumble upon it by chance. Sammartino recalls the
experience of an acquaintance: A woman at the beach looked out
at the sea and had a Kundalini experience. She was never the
same again.
Dharm Kaur Khalsa teaches Kundalini at Yoga West in Vancouver.
Since 1984, she has been part of the Healthy Happy Holy Organization
(3HO) started by Yogi Bhajan in the seventies. The 3HO approaches
Kundalini Yoga as a way of life, offering vigorous Hatha practices,
mantra, breathing and diet as means to achieving happiness.
Khalsa describes her encounters with Kundalini: Its subtle.
I feel better, more focused, happier, more accepting, more like
myself. Life becomes whole. Some-times I just get that WOW feeling.
She thinks its not dissimilar to a skiing high. A skier achieves
that high by focusing, releasing prana through exercise and
aligning the body and mind.
She has not observed some of the more dramatic signs of this
energy. You hear about Kundalini experiences as being crazy,
wild, spine burning up, body jerk-ing and losing consciousness.
This is not what we call Kundalini. This is just pranic energy
that cannot be con-tained because the nervous system is not
strong enough.
James Fairbanks combines various techniques of breathing, mantra
and postures in his classes at Integra Yoga in Vancouver. I
interpret Kundalini at many different levels. It is a powerful
energy that is coiled in our spines, but is also in everything
around us. It is like the incredible energy stored within an
atom, which can at once produce something as nourishing as the
sun or as destructive as a bomb.
When people have strong experiences of energy, they are letting
go of some fixed beliefsusually during a crisisand this can
be very frightening. So, its not that the energy itself is dangerous,
but people get confused about it and think there is something
wrong with them. Its important to differentiate this type of
energy from others. For example, waterfalls seem to emanate
energy, but Kundalini is more localized in our bodies. I dont
think it is just rooted in the sacrum; instead it can flow up
though the legs or arms. The process of yoga is to cleanse my
body so it can hold this charge of energy, says Fairbanks.
My experience of Kundalini is always spontaneous, even though
I can create circumstances where it is more likely to arise.
It has to do with deep, body-focused meditation on breath. Fairbanks
is amused by how his perceptions can be altered when in this
state of awareness. Once I heard a symphony of music...it turned
out to be a vacuum cleaner.
Mansoukh Patel is the head of the Life Foundation, which is
based on the ancient technique of Dru Yoga and located in Wales,
UK. Dru Yoga focuses on the heart and balances the body and
mind, using breath and flowing movements to create energy and
healing.
Every human being has a part of themselves that is not contaminated
by the world, says Patel. That spiritual essence needs a key
like Mother Kundalini, a bolt of lightning from within, to reach
the Divine Creator. But it does not have to be like fireworks.
Patel describes the higher-level signs of Kundalini awakening
as varying from a still moment of joy to a sense of an expansive
bliss. Some people are brought to the stillness of the present
moment through trauma. Mid-level Kundalini moments include a
feeling that things are going along just right. Mysterious coincidences
start to happen all the time, states Patel. Lower-level Kundalini
may be experienced when a worry or fear disappears without a
change in the circumstances. Its as if you have just pulled
something from the base of your existence into a higher part
of your being.
He describes an experience he had after praying and fasting
for fourteen days at a former concentration camp in Germany.
A stream of sunlight came in through a window and he felt a
short thin needle of light shoot up through him. The light was
translucent and all-embracing. I felt myself expand into the
room. He believes an authentic Kundalini experience creates
a permanent change in a person. People may become very humble
or quiet after an awakening. They dont chase after the world
like they used to. As my mother used to say, they dont prolong
the past or invite the future.
As described by all four teachers, signs of Kundalini may
be apparent in our bodies, our minds, in nature and the world
around us. In the words of Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh from
his book on Kundalini: When you compose beautiful sublime hymns
and poetry involuntarily, know that Kundalini has become active.
Watch for the signs.
