Demystifying Kundalini

Kundalini Energy is the energy of consciousness. It is much clearer to me that awakening kundalini energy is actually the path of healing and wholeness. It is when the eliminating energy, apana, and the life force energy, prana, meet. Of course, the path of wholeness and healing is not easy or pure bliss. It is sometimes a very difficult journey and many of us get stuck at Shakti Pad, forgetting to trust. Thus, the kundalini energy is both a mixture of prana and apana energies, death, dying, destructive forces, combined with living, learning, and growth: pranic energy. These energies combine and create friction, connecting oneself to greater spiritual experiences.

People talk about kundalini awakenings, which are sudden emergences of a spiritual nature that awaken from within and direct us to wholeness. All yoga is about awakening the kundalini energy. In fact, yoga really means connection to oneself or to God.
Kundalini yoga is a potent practice to awaken the kundalini energy from within, however, the awakening, can occur at any time. With this said, kundalini yoga, as nearly all chi-cultivation or yogic practices, are helpful to prepare oneself for a spiritual awakening. If unprepared, a kundalini awakening can lead to crisis. This really depends on karmic influences and how much a person has addressed or healed from their past.

Some people are weary of kundalini yoga and believe that it is "dangerous." This belief, at least to some degree, is rooted in shame and guilt; that one is to wander into esoteric or hidden realms, is considered by many forbidden or "evil," as if playing with God. Also, some people believe that kundalini yoga is simply very high energy and one must have a strong nervous system to contain all the energy. Although, many great kundalini yoga teachers strive to push their students to the edge of their experience/ego, as all spiritual and non-spiritual practices, one must discern for themselves what their limit is.

One insight is that kundalini yoga, as all spiritual disciplines, if practiced regularly, brings with it levels of awareness, more depth to spiritual realms, including subtle energies that are both "base"/negative and healthy. This awareness of negative, unseen energies does not attract the practitioner or student; rather, the awareness brings new levels and dimensions of healing that would not have otherwise been addressed. This awareness or understanding may be essential for one's healing journey and is a part of the spiritual emergence that is occurring at this time. Therefore, take this as a sign that if one encounters new dimensions of awareness of subtle realms, there is no need to be afraid. Rather than fear the subtle energies or blame anyone or anything for being the source of them, be grateful- for it is perhaps true that many people are unaware of the subtle energies that lie within their electro-magnetic field, the aura. This, at least in part, can broaden the depth, the understanding, and the awareness of what it really takes to heal in this life, discovering more deeply rooted sources of illness that manifests in the body.