Kundalini

Kundalini energy sits at the base of the spine, at the muladhara or root chakra. It is said to be like a coiled rope or a serpent because of the way the energy itself is coiled. For most people this energy sits dormant for their entire lives. For others, it will awaken over time. It begins to awaken when people start to engage in spiritual practices such as meditating, yoga, and working with spirit in any way.The kundalini energy enables the brain cells to register spiritual experiences and stimuli. The quality of the physical body, especially the brain and the nervous system, is improved or upgraded. Should a person have a highly awakened kundalini he/she may become a genius, a great charismatic leader or a great spiritual teacher. In addition to this, yogis and spiritualists say that when the kundalini rises through the crown chakra that you become enlightened.If you decide that you want to raise your kundalini, you would start by getting control of negative thinking and self-defeating thoughts. You would also maintain a healthy diet and a healthy level of exercise. This allows the energy to flow without impediment, which is when problems are more likely to occur. You can also purify through pranayama- breathing exercises. Prior to beginning the higher chakras, especially the heart chakra and the crown chakra, must be activated as well. Activation of the heart chakra helps to use the enhanced intellectual capacity that is brought on by kundalini to be used harmlessly. Activation of the crown chakra enables you to bring spiritual energy into your body to awaken the kundalini safely and to help regulate it. When the Kundalini is awakened, the positive and negative qualities of the person will be magnified. Grand Master Choa Kok Sui says that kundalini is like fertilizer; “whatever seeds are in the ground will be stimulated to grow”.It used to be that awakening kundalini was very uncommon. In the last one hundred years or so, there has been a shift in lifestyle from physical labor to more mental activities that involves much more concentration, such as working on a computer. Since meditation is essentially a way of concentrating or focusing the mind, the tendency towards having a kundalini experience has increased in individuals even without a specific meditation practice of any kind.Some of the common symptoms that your kundalini may be wakening are:•Muscle twitches cramps or spasms.•Energy rushes or immense electricity circulating the body.•Involuntary bodily movements (occur more often during meditation, rest or sleep): jerking, tremors, shaking; feeling an inner force pushing one into postures or moving one's body in unusual ways.(May be misdiagnosed as epilepsy, restless legs syndrome (RLS).•Headaches, pressures within the skull.•Racing heartbeat, pains in the chest.•Numbness or pain in the limbs (particularly the left foot and leg).•Emotional outbursts; rapid mood shifts; seemingly unprovoked or excessive episodes of grief, fear, rage, depression.•Altered states of consciousness: heightened awareness; spontaneous trance states; mystical experiences.•Ecstasy, bliss and intervals of tremendous joy, love, peace and compassion.•Psychic experiences•Intensified understanding and sensitivity: insight into one's own essence; deeper understanding of spiritual truths; exquisite awareness of one's environment (including "vibes" from others)•Enlightenment experiences: direct Knowing of a more expansive realitySome of these symptoms would happen regardless of whether you intended to awaken kundalini or not, others are avoidable by being purposeful and careful about how you proceed. It is best to ensure that you have someone that you can talk to about the process and your experiences before starting.If kundalini feels out of control or seems to be rising too quickly, there are some steps that you can take to slow or stop the process.

• Take part in non-spiritual activities: exercise, go for a walk, read a book, talk to other people, play a game with others, eat something heavy (avoid eating too much raw food because it’s a spiritual food)
• Grounding: Imagine that you have roots growing from the balls of the feet, picture a tree rooting into the earth
• Don’t be afraid: stay calm, don’t let fear take you over. Know that what you see and what you experience is a natural process of spiritual development.
• Get advice from experienced people:  Guidance of a person with firsthand experience would be good. Even reading a book on the subject will help
• Delay/stop your spiritual development: Depending whether you want to continue this process you can either stop your spiritual development or delay it.

Awakening kundalini isn’t for everyone, but if you decide it is for you make sure that you do some research and that you don’t rush it.*Please note that the symptoms listed can be caused by other conditions as well. If you are experiencing these types of symptoms for a period of time you should always seek the advice of a physician. If you are having a number of the symptoms, especially if they've come on suddenly and are experienced along with a spiritual practice, consider that it may be kundalini.