Living With Kundalini

One of the greatest challenges for people who have activated kundalini energy is anxiety related to the odd, stressful, embarrassing and occasionally painful phenomena that may arise.  Since anxiety makes this experience more difficult, here are a few notes on ways to release the anxiety and find more balance and harmony in the midst of this process.

1. If you have a history or trauma or abuse the energy may be triggering sensations that felt invasive and painful in the past.  Emotions may arise even though you do not recall the cause. Sometimes the body stores memories that the mind does not recall.  If trauma is part of your life history find a therapist to talk through old and difficult history.

2. Make a ritual every morning for when you awaken instead of lying  in bed worrying – get up right away – and decide what would lift your spirits such as  play some music you like, take a shower, start an indoor garden with pots of flowers you tend, dance, talk to a good friend, sing, give yourself a mantra such as I am free, whole, available to love and enjoy my life– you create it.  You may feel resistance to lifting yourself out of the anxiety and have to force yourself at first, but if you want to be well you have to learn to live in a new way.  You were happy for a while so you have that capacity and you need not to let the fearful side of yourself (the pain body as Eckhart Tolle calls it) overrule you.

3. One of the truths that awakened people know is that No Thought is True! Thoughts are just neurons firing, usually based on past conditioning.  You need to question any negative or fearful thought. It is just the mind carrying you away to a place that is hurtful.  When you have a fearful thought, Can you try to bring your attention to the moment instead – that mean to bring awareness into the heart and feel your feet on the ground, look around the room and feel you are there right now, and that nothing bad is actually happening, ask what is needed right now and move into the here and now.  Put something uplifting or beautiful in each room of your house.

4.  If you do not already meditate, learn to meditate or sit in silence, bring awareness into the heart or belly. Find the natural stillness deep within.

There is a good meditation article and DVD available by adyashanti at www.adyashanti.org.

5.  If you are dealing with excessive heat avoid caffeine, spices, wine and other alcohol and honey.  You might get a book on Ayurveda that has a test you can take to tell you your body type, and see if there are food recommendations for that type.   Usually people in this process tune into their bodies to see what feels right regarding eating meat.  When you have indigestion look at what you ate that day and see if you can avoid it for awhile.

To calm heat and energy try taking a bath with Epson salts in lukewarm water, going for a walk or even a jogging run, putting attention into the heart and imagining love flowing out on the exhalation, or distracting yourself with some activity you enjoy.

Try a cooling breath – stick out tongue and curl it.  Breath in through the mouth over the tongue. Close mouth and swallow, Slowly exhale through the nose. Try this 2 or 3  times when you feel the heat.

6.. Find something to do each day that you love and  look forward to.  Experiment.  It might be art, baking something new, connecting with a special friend, a dance or gentle yoga or deep relaxation class – when energy awakens it draws us to live an authentic life – to be really true to ourselves.

7. Do not place attention on any fearful message passed on by someone else – avoid projections that are not based on deep wisdom and experience related to this process. Be careful about who you follow on the internet – if they are trying to recruit you or frighten you they are not working in your best interest.  This is not being caused by some outside energy or anything wrong you have ever done.  It is your own life force which is in a process to help you become free of your old patterns, identifications and suffering.

8. Insomnia is a common problem associated with kundalini.  There is more energy in the body and it tends to become active when you are trying to relax.

However in our culture millions of people have insomnia – mental preoccupation and worry is a major factor. Here are  a few general rules for managing  it.

Have a completely dark room.

Do not use computer, phone or electronics for two hours before bed.

No caffeine.

No sugar in evening and eat lightly at night.

Some people do find some good wholegrain bread is helpful in evening.

Count your breaths backward from 100 to 0.

Go to bed at same time each night.

If you lay awake a long time, just get up and do something else such as read a comforting or boring book for a half hour. (Or scrub the bathroom floor – this will be a disincentive for staying awake!)

Get more physical exercise.

If you are worrying about something write it down and put it aside.

Listen to a relaxation tape.  Sounds True has an insomnia set of DVDs that has general information and relaxation meditations.
Try Tranquil Sleep – a melatonin mix that is over the counter at health food stores like Whole Foods.  It’s a chewable tablet. Take it 2 hours before bedtime.

Ask your partner  to give you a food massage – or share this with him or her.

9.  Your interest in sex, food and socializing may go through radical ups and downs.  This is common during this process depending on where the energy is working.  It is a time to explore autonomy – really following your own inner guidance about what is best for you.  These ups and downs will level out eventually.

There is more guidance for people in this process in my new books The Kundalini Guide and The Awakening Guide, available on Amazon and Kindle.  This experience is a natural correlate of spiritual awakening, and as you learn to live with it you are likely to find bliss moments, and surprising insights arise.  Learn to ride the waves and come to understand what spiritual awakening is really all about.