Kundalini asleep?

[Anthem]

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone has experienced falling kundalini energy levels during mediation or if it appears that she has gone partially back to sleep in some ways?

Initially my experience was that Kundalini energy made everything come to life and there was much energy and awareness in every nerve and flowing through my body. The energy was much more intense and although I expected the sexual aspect to naturally subside, the whole thing seems to have died down rather than continued to expand.

This seems to have been my experience over the last month or two. Despite doing 2 mediations a day and not missing, I have found more energy in the way of heat flowing through the Sushumna and seeming concentrated at certain points a long the way then the flowing more intense energy of the past. Also there doesn't seem to be the same levels of ecstacy either. It is not negative in anyway but rather it is like heat without the ecstasy part.

Any comments?

Anthem11

[Jim and His Karma]

It's normal for levels to go up and down. Don't sweat it. The practices are very nicely balanced to ensure the energy level doesn't get TOO low or TOO high. And I suggest you not get too distracted by these sorts of things. The truly wonderful thing about having such a clear, well-integrated set of practices is that we don't need to keep our eyes on every single dial and meter, as we did before AYP, when we were forced to traverse a dim and musty world of fragmented and half-explained practices via all sorts of conflicting advice, all of it weighed down with idealogical baggage, myth, and "issues" galore. We used to have to be jet test pilots, but now we can be jolly train conductors, with our sole parameter being the mechanism of self pacing as we move along the rails. If you feel like your practice as a whole is lacking juice, move ahead and add the next AYP practice. If things feel right in general (or you're still a little bumpy from what you're presently working on), stay where you are and don't sweat the K.

The ecstacy is a byproduct. It's the smoke of karma burned off (or, in AYP terms, obstructions in the nerves being dislodged) via an opening achieved via practice. You'll find that if you achieve a new level of opening in asana, it's the same thing. And it's short lived. Don't expect a constant powerful sensual high, and that's a good thing or it would be tough to get stuff done! As openings and new energy levels settle in, they add to an overall low shimmering glow...which is quite nice, very peaceful, though a lot less showy and bombastic than the operatic afterglow of, say, kundalini awakening. In other words, declining bliss doesn't mean your kundalini is "going dead"... just that it's becoming part of your biological set-up.

Those doing these practices mostly for the sensual experience will find themselves frustrated, because such experiences come and go quickly, with long plateaus between. When Yogani says to favor the practice over the experience, that includes sensual experience. Just keep going! The subtle benefits are even better than the bombastic ones...and your ability to appreciate subtlety will increase to match!

If you're not practicing twice per day EVER day, I can't possibly urge you strongly enough to get consistent (I don't get a commission, so you can trust me!). I stopped for a month and everything closed up (true hell on earth). It's taken me months and months to catch back up. Don't stop the train.

J&K

quote:Originally posted by Anthem9911

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone has experienced falling kundalini energy levels during mediation or if it appears that she has gone partially back to sleep in some ways?

Initially my experience was that Kundalini energy made everything come to life and there was much energy and awareness in every nerve and flowing through my body. The energy was much more intense and although I expected the sexual aspect to naturally subside, the whole thing seems to have died down rather than continued to expand.

This seems to have been my experience over the last month or two. Despite doing 2 mediations a day and not missing, I have found more energy in the way of heat flowing through the Sushumna and seeming concentrated at certain points a long the way then the flowing more intense energy of the past. Also there doesn't seem to be the same levels of ecstacy either. It is not negative in anyway but rather it is like heat without the ecstasy part.

Any comments?

Andrew

[Anthem]

Thanks Jim for your generous reply. Don't worry I never miss a meditation session.

Anthem11

[Bliss]

quote:Originally posted by Jim and His Karma

It's normal for levels to go up and down. Don't sweat it. The practices are very nicely balanced to ensure the energy level doesn't get TOO low or TOO high. And I suggest you not get too distracted by these sorts of things. The truly wonderful thing about having such a clear, well-integrated set of practices is that we don't need to keep our eyes on every single dial and meter, as we did before AYP, when we were forced to traverse a dim and musty world of fragmented and half-explained practices via all sorts of conflicting advice, all of it weighed down with idealogical baggage, myth, and "issues" galore. We used to have to be jet test pilots, but now we can be jolly train conductors, with our sole parameter being the mechanism of self pacing as we move along the rails. If you feel like your practice as a whole is lacking juice, move ahead and add the next AYP practice. If things feel right in general (or you're still a little bumpy from what you're presently working on), stay where you are and don't sweat the K.

The ecstacy is a byproduct. It's the smoke of karma burned off (or, in AYP terms, obstructions in the nerves being dislodged) via an opening achieved via practice. You'll find that if you achieve a new level of opening in asana, it's the same thing. And it's short lived. Don't expect a constant powerful sensual high, and that's a good thing or it would be tough to get stuff done! As openings and new energy levels settle in, they add to an overall low shimmering glow...which is quite nice, very peaceful, though a lot less showy and bombastic than the operatic afterglow of, say, kundalini awakening. In other words, declining bliss doesn't mean your kundalini is "going dead"... just that it's becoming part of your biological set-up.

Those doing these practices mostly for the sensual experience will find themselves frustrated, because such experiences come and go quickly, with long plateaus between. When Yogani says to favor the practice over the experience, that includes sensual experience. Just keep going! The subtle benefits are even better than the bombastic ones...and your ability to appreciate subtlety will increase to match!

If you're not practicing twice per day EVER day, I can't possibly urge you strongly enough to get consistent (I don't get a commission, so you can trust me!). I stopped for a month and everything closed up (true hell on earth). It's taken me months and months to catch back up. Don't stop the train.

J&K

quote:Originally posted by Anthem9911

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone has experienced falling kundalini energy levels during mediation or if it appears that she has gone partially back to sleep in some ways?

Initially my experience was that Kundalini energy made everything come to life and there was much energy and awareness in every nerve and flowing through my body. The energy was much more intense and although I expected the sexual aspect to naturally subside, the whole thing seems to have died down rather than continued to expand.

This seems to have been my experience over the last month or two. Despite doing 2 mediations a day and not missing, I have found more energy in the way of heat flowing through the Sushumna and seeming concentrated at certain points a long the way then the flowing more intense energy of the past. Also there doesn't seem to be the same levels of ecstacy either. It is not negative in anyway but rather it is like heat without the ecstasy part.

Any comments?

Andrew

[Bliss]

Dear Jim,

I'm new to the group, but have been practicing Kundalini for three years now.  However, the energy became a little much, and began to feel withdrawn from the things that once brought me joy.  It was though I was dealing with what one calls the Dark Night of the Soul.  Anyway, I needed withdraw for some time, including from my meditation, but would like to begin again. How long did it take for you to catch up?

Bliss

 

quote:Originally posted by Jim and His Karma

It's normal for levels to go up and down. Don't sweat it. The practices are very nicely balanced to ensure the energy level doesn't get TOO low or TOO high. And I suggest you not get too distracted by these sorts of things. The truly wonderful thing about having such a clear, well-integrated set of practices is that we don't need to keep our eyes on every single dial and meter, as we did before AYP, when we were forced to traverse a dim and musty world of fragmented and half-explained practices via all sorts of conflicting advice, all of it weighed down with idealogical baggage, myth, and "issues" galore. We used to have to be jet test pilots, but now we can be jolly train conductors, with our sole parameter being the mechanism of self pacing as we move along the rails. If you feel like your practice as a whole is lacking juice, move ahead and add the next AYP practice. If things feel right in general (or you're still a little bumpy from what you're presently working on), stay where you are and don't sweat the K.

The ecstacy is a byproduct. It's the smoke of karma burned off (or, in AYP terms, obstructions in the nerves being dislodged) via an opening achieved via practice. You'll find that if you achieve a new level of opening in asana, it's the same thing. And it's short lived. Don't expect a constant powerful sensual high, and that's a good thing or it would be tough to get stuff done! As openings and new energy levels settle in, they add to an overall low shimmering glow...which is quite nice, very peaceful, though a lot less showy and bombastic than the operatic afterglow of, say, kundalini awakening. In other words, declining bliss doesn't mean your kundalini is "going dead"... just that it's becoming part of your biological set-up.

Those doing these practices mostly for the sensual experience will find themselves frustrated, because such experiences come and go quickly, with long plateaus between. When Yogani says to favor the practice over the experience, that includes sensual experience. Just keep going! The subtle benefits are even better than the bombastic ones...and your ability to appreciate subtlety will increase to match!

If you're not practicing twice per day EVER day, I can't possibly urge you strongly enough to get consistent (I don't get a commission, so you can trust me!). I stopped for a month and everything closed up (true hell on earth). It's taken me months and months to catch back up. Don't stop the train.

J&K

quote:Originally posted by Anthem9911

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone has experienced falling kundalini energy levels during mediation or if it appears that she has gone partially back to sleep in some ways?

Initially my experience was that Kundalini energy made everything come to life and there was much energy and awareness in every nerve and flowing through my body. The energy was much more intense and although I expected the sexual aspect to naturally subside, the whole thing seems to have died down rather than continued to expand.

This seems to have been my experience over the last month or two. Despite doing 2 mediations a day and not missing, I have found more energy in the way of heat flowing through the Sushumna and seeming concentrated at certain points a long the way then the flowing more intense energy of the past. Also there doesn't seem to be the same levels of ecstacy either. It is not negative in anyway but rather it is like heat without the ecstasy part.

Any comments?

Andrew

[Jim and His Karma]

quote:Originally posted by Bliss

Dear Jim,

I'm new to the group, but have been practicing Kundalini for three years now.  However, the energy became a little much, and began to feel withdrawn from the things that once brought me joy.  It was though I was dealing with what one calls the Dark Night of the Soul.  Anyway, I needed withdraw for some time, including from my meditation, but would like to begin again. How long did it take for you to catch up?

If you mean to catch up after my recent lapse in practice (embarrassing in light of this thread where I beg everyone not to lapse...but, hey, I let it all hang out), I'm not quite all the way back yet, but will be in a week. It seems to take me 3-4 times the length of the lapse to recoup.

But one of the tricks of "getting back" is not to aim at getting back. Just intone mantra, and let God/The Universe/The Flow/The Divine Mother work on you via mantra. Let go and don't resist. Be processed, like having your teeth cleaned or hair cut.

[Bliss]

Dear Jim, thank you for your advice, which is exactly what I've been doing,it's amazing what the body tells you, if we take the time to listen to it!  Thanks so much again!

Namaste,
Bliss[]

quote:Originally posted by Jim and His Karma

quote:Originally posted by Bliss

Dear Jim,

I'm new to the group, but have been practicing Kundalini for three years now.  However, the energy became a little much, and began to feel withdrawn from the things that once brought me joy.  It was though I was dealing with what one calls the Dark Night of the Soul.  Anyway, I needed withdraw for some time, including from my meditation, but would like to begin again. How long did it take for you to catch up?

If you mean to catch up after my recent lapse in practice (embarrassing in light of this thread where I beg everyone not to lapse...but, hey, I let it all hang out), I'm not quite all the way back yet, but will be in a week. It seems to take me 3-4 times the length of the lapse to recoup.

But one of the tricks of "getting back" is not to aim at getting back. Just intone mantra, and let God/The Universe/The Flow/The Divine Mother work on you via mantra. Let go and don't resist. Be processed, like having your teeth cleaned or hair cut.

[gkrheera]

Some of the books I read talk about "controlling the kundalini" i.e taking it up and bringing it down from muladhara <> sahasrara at will (one of the books that talks about this at length is Aghora I/II/III by Robert Svoboda). Is this a possibility and are there any further practices which go beyond AYP (dont remember Yogani mentioning such a thing) using this methodology?
Would appreciate comments or mind share on this.
regards
Heera

[Etherfish]

I believe the idea here at AYP is that it is dangerous to try to assume too much control of these energies. There are controls built into our systems that will manipulate them wisely and properly if we just practice the basics taught here.

We don't need to decide when to raise the kundalini or lower it. We just practice twice daily meditation, and whatever we have added on according to the lessons. Then there is a higher part of ourselves that will move that energy when it is the proper time. there are plenty of techniques elsewhere on the net and in books that teach you to fool with the chakras and kundalini directly, mostly with pranayama. And there are a lot of people who have had kundalini sicknesses because of it. Some people have got a divorce from their mate, quit their job, threatened their families with a gun, walk around naked, etc.
So it's best to follow the simple route in the lessons and it does lead you to the quickest path of enlightenment without getting sidetracked.

[riptiz]

On no account should you mess with the shakti.You are risking your health.The results of tampering are well recorded by many.
L&L
Dave

'the mind can see further than the eyes'

[gkrheera]

Etherfish I agree with you on what AYP teaches. I was looking for some horizontal learning beyond AYP.
Raising and lowering Kundalini at will is not a new practice. It has been well documented in various tantric scriptures in India which have been around for centuries. Also it is an active practice in some schools of tantra. And as AYP forum is aimed at horizontal learning not necessarily limited to AYP and we have many practitioners who go beyond AYP I was looking for some mind share on this.
Every practice has its own risks, some more some less. The very fact that we are trying to clean our nervous system in itself is a risky proposition. Even AYP process if not self paced properly can be significantly risky (personal experience).

Heera

[Jim and His Karma]

Just to inject a note. All openings in yoga bring a feeling of bliss and of coursing energy (both are the results of blocks being eliminated, allowing flow to occure more freeling). Kundalini opening is a helluva opening, and it's accompanied by effects so dramatic that they've become the stuff of legend.

But the bliss of any opening, including kundalini, fades to an enduring glow. You can't attach to the bliss, because that's just a side effect. You want to stoke that glow, which is the cumulative result of many openings of many types.

So if you're no longer having the drama of kundalini opening, one might suppose that kundalini has gone dormant. But the bliss is not the thing. And, if you continue practice, you're too content to care either way. All the milestones and roadmaps and stuff just seem kind of funny and beside the point.