Kriyas
Kundalini Meditation Experiences
What are Kriyas? Kriyas Are Like A Baby’s First Steps. As split-brained human beings, we move our body voluntarily, by deciding how to move. To move voluntarily needs heavy use of our mind, taking our attention from what is occurring in the world. This processing results in delayed response to outside events, which are unfolding in real time. We are rarely spontaneous. This is how the central nervous system is currently organized with its sensory and motor tracts. The new species of human that is evolving is retiring the split-brain organization of the brain and replacing it with a unified brain organization that allows immediate response to stimuli in real time. Of course, the new design is better, but we cannot create it until our self-realization is high enough.
When we surrender control of our mind and body to higher-self, we are as one with our higher-self. When we are like this, mind reflection is bypassed and kriyas happen directly without conscious decision. In the beginning of kundalini transformation, we think the kriya is occurring spontaneously because we are not well acquainted with our higher-self.
As kundalini transformation progresses, the central nervous system has increased capability to strongly charge and move the larger muscles of the body. When our mind is quiet, our body moves spontaneously and we are certain we did not decide to make the movement.
While awakening of the Kundalini can be a dramatic experience, it is not necessary that it has to be dramatic in the case of every individual. In fact in the case of most of the seekers it is a gradual process involving gentle Pranic movements or kriyas.
The process of Kundalini awakening can vary greatly from person to person. Some have intense physical symptoms, while others experience mainly emotional or psychological symptoms.
The first kriyas are like small jerks or spasms and typically involve a small section of the body or a few yoga-like poses. After the reprogramming of the nervous system that happens with the full-blown kundalini transformation, there is increased ability to surrender control of the body to the higher-self. The first full-body kriyas feel like we are suddenly coming alive and filling with light energy, but still we do not move.
From consecutive surrenders of body control, the higher-self and kriyas gradually get stronger. As we get stronger kriyas affect larger portions of the body. Sometimes we are positioned into yoga-like poses, and feel energy releasing from areas of the body related to the pose.
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So as you sit and divert all your attention to your thoughts, your passion and urgency will give you the necessary intensity, and this intensity is Kundalini going to work. A typical session of such meditation, tends to have 3 phases. The first is just a silent watching of the breath to slow down the momentum and speed of the mind, the next is the phase of intense observation allowing for digestion of each thought to occur, and finally the explosion of insight and the ensuing shift into an enlightened state, whatever that might be.
In the second phase, where there is great power of observation, is where you will tend to experience kundalini flowing, and here are some ways in which she will manifest.
Once the explosion takes place and you start to move towards Samadhi or the Enlightened state, from this state of Concentration and Continuous Unbroken Observation (Dharana and Dhyana), then the whole complexion of Reality of course transforms. But in the in between stage, where you go from just calming the mind down to the state where the shift of awareness has taken place, you are going to dance with Kundalini. This is Kundalini Energy in Meditation.
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Symptoms / Kriyas you will experience during Kundalini Awakenings
Here are some of the symptoms of a Kundalini awakening:
It is not necessary that the seeker will have these experiences at the time of kundalini awakening, but will have throughout their journey on this wonderful path of Siddha yoga.
- Energy rushing up the spine, straightening it spontaneously and sometimes almost pulling you right off the ground.
- Tremendous vibration of the forehead and eyelids.
- Great energy being drawn in from the soles of your feet and energy being generated by your legs and thighs.
- Spontaneous application of Root Lock or Mula Bandh, where your rectum and/or sex organ will contract sharply and stay contracted
- Throbbing of Mooladhara Chakra begins (at the base of spine) / Pressure at the back of your neck.
- One of the most common, is pressure in the center of the forehead and all around the head region.
- Energy rushing into the brain. Feels like ants, tingling, flushing feelings.
- Contraction of the front chest and back regions to generate greater amounts of energy to divert to the observation.
- Shaking and trembling of the entire body
- Heart Palpitations
- Deep inhaling and exhaling of breath starts and the body gets uncontrollable
- Lifting up of the head, as in looking upwards with great force
- Stiffness of the entire body / Intense heat or cold
- Involuntary bodily movements (occur more often during meditation or resting periods): jerking, tremors, shaking; feeling an inner force pushing one into postures or moving one’s body in unusual ways
- Teeth Chattering & locked Jaw
- Energy and vibrations in the inner ears, one or both – Tuning in to white noise kind of sounds / Tinnitus like symptoms
- Detachment / Disinterest in everyday activities
- No Focus / concentration / cognition / awareness in menial everyday tasks
- Loss of appetite
- Heightened ability to feel other people’s emotions and read their minds
- Increased ability and power to influence others (also called charisma) / Increased power to manifest our desires
- Development of supernatural powers like spiritual healing / Siddhis
- Hearing of heavenly music or sounds / seeing beautiful lights, sights, visions and colours
When the actual awakening occurs there is an explosion in the realm of experience and there are symptoms which are sometimes very difficult to understand. The most unique and common experience is the release of energy like an electric shock from the bottom of the spinal cord, as if it were connected to an electrical power point. This may be accompanied by a burning sensation in mooladhara chakra and energy passing up and down through sushumna. Sometimes you hear drums, flutes, bells, birds, celestial music, or you may even think you can hear peacocks singing. You may have a very momentary sensation of sitting outside in the middle of a monsoon shower, and there can also be the sensation of dark clouds in continual movement overhead and the sound of thunder.
At times your body feels so light and you may even visualize your spinal cord as a fluorescent light. It is common to feel illumination within, as if hundreds of little lights were burning inside your body. This is one side. The other side is that all the anger, passions and suppressions come out. Sometimes you are so filled with fear that you can’t sleep, sometimes for days together you have nothing in your mind but sex, at other times you can’t think of anything but food. However, all these symptoms pass within a few days or weeks. Some people obtain psychic powers. They develop clairvoyance, telepathy, clairaudience, psycho telekinesis, the ability to heal, etc., and this brings a lot of temptations. However, this is a phase and it will pass away.
Sometimes you don’t feel like eating for days together. You may not have any appetite for fifteen to twenty days, and even if people try to force you to eat, you just can’t. There is sometimes a feeling of nervous depression, and you may just want to sit, or you may feel restricted and closed in. There is a detachment from the normal emotions of life; for days together you may live a life of utter dispassion. Nothing is interesting in life and everything and everybody seems as dry as a desert. But at the same time, the mind becomes very dynamic and appears to be formless. Various sensations, poetic emotions and artistic perceptions also occur, such as visions of angels and divinities. All kinds of things can emerge from the depths of the mind. However, these are just a few of the symptoms you may experience, but all of them pass away quickly. The storm always settles and then the yogi lives a very normal life. Externally his life seems the same as anybody else’s but his inner awareness is far greater and more vast.
Headaches & Insomnia
Some aspirants experience terrible headaches when kundalini is awakening, however, this does not mean that all headaches are related to kundalini. And not everybody will have headaches. Generally, those who have had married life do not have this experience. It is usually only those who have not had any kind of sexual interactions who experience headaches with the advent of kundalini awakening. There is also another explanation about headaches. One-tenth of the brain is active and nine-tenths are not. In some cases, when the silent areas of the brain begin to wake up, the first symptom is headache. People have equated this experience with labor pain. Just as a woman experiences labor pain when she is about to give birth to a child, when the silent areas of the brain are about to become active and you are giving birth to spiritual consciousness, there is also pain. Therefore, one has to bear with this pain for some time, but it will inevitably settle down. Of course you can reduce the pain by adjusting your diet and lifestyle, but under no circumstances should you use sedatives, aspirins or pain relieving pills.
So, when kundalini awakens in a yogi and consciousness is constant and consistent, and there is no waking, sleeping and dreaming, they are very happy about it. Therefore, insomnia does not usually bother a person who has awakened kundalini. However, if you are disturbed by your inability to sleep, you should never resort to sleeping pills or tranquillizers. It is also not necessary that you practise yoga to induce sleep. Just accept your sleeplessness and enjoy it. You can do japa or meditation or just do some spiritual reflection. If this is not possible, just lie down and let it happen as it will.
Supplement at least with B Vitamins and antioxidants and drink plenty of water. Take frequent long baths in Epsom salts in order to provide the magnesium that will help turn on the relaxing parasympathetic nervous system.
Metamorphosis / The Process of Transition
There is a natural process of transition in which a man’s consciousness evolves over the course of millions of years. It takes place in the same way that a baby develops into a child, a child into a young man, a young man into a middle-aged man, a middle-aged man into an old man. Suppose a child of five suddenly transformed into an old man and he found he was tall, grey haired and speaking like an old person. It would be very difficult for him to handle the situation and to connect both the areas of his life. This is what generally happens with those who awaken kundalini. Their experiences are often imbalanced and extremely difficult to understand. There will be a certain level of ego death involved, which means that we are shedding our old self and being born a-new again. This involves metamorphosis of sorts.
However, with the awakening of kundalini, there is also an awakening of vairagya, detachment. And when vairagya develops the turbulence settles, the awakening becomes peaceful and the transition is smooth. The Kriyas are a natural process in the path of Kundalini Yoga. Don’t give too much importance to these Kriyas because they must stop at some point of time as an individual’s spiritual body or Pranik Kosha and Subtle Body (Linga Sharira) and Causal body (Karana Sharira) get purified.
Kriya are the efforts by kundalini to cleanse the seekers’ system (physical as well as spiritual). Therefore, while most of the seekers will have kriyas to some extent, it is not necessary that everyone will have the kriyas.
All depends on the spiritual level of an individual, their past karma impressions and the consistency of efforts. Some seekers may NOT have any Kriyas but their progress will still continue, same as those who are having Kriya. In short, understand the Kriya and ignore them. The ultimate goal for each Sadhak is Self-Realization.
Article assembled by Vartika