The Kundalini - Everything You Need To Know

Kundalini literally means "coiled". In traditional yoga meanwhile, it means "corporal energy". In the context of meditation, it is defined as an instinctive, unconscious and libidinal force ("Shakti"). It is described as a form of sleeping that creates a latent force in the human organism. According to meditation teacher and Sanskrit translator Eknath Easwaran, the yoga literally means "coiled power" - a force that allows the body to rest at the spine's base area, like the serpent being coiled.

A number of descriptions on what the energy is continue to exist. According to Sri Ramana Maharsi, it is nothing but a form of boosting the body's natural energy. Mahari described the yoga as an individual's approach to cloaking his natural awakening from untainted expressions. The "Advaita" defines that God-consciousness, enlightenment and self-realization is the simplest form of natural energy.

The spiritual energy has two main approaches: The Active Approach - it involves rigorous physical exercises and techniques such as concentration, visualization, the "Pranayama" and meditation with the guidance of a teacher. These techniques necessarily come from the yoga's basic branches. The Passive Approach involves the person's letting go of all impediments without struggling hard to awaken the Kundalini. The "Shaktipat" serves as the core part of the passive approach. The Shaktipat is where one person's corporal energy is awakened by the other who already has the experience.

Spiritual teacher Meher Baba emphasizes the importance of the yoga master's role in powerfully awakening the Kundalini while describing it as latent part of the body's upper area. According to Baba, the awakening of the energy can cause prematurity, self-deception and misuse of power in meditating. The experience cause by this awakening can either happen when the person is either prepared or unprepared. According to Hindu tradition, an individual must go through a long period of systematic purification and body strengthening in order to integrate the energy. In the context of "Tantra", the energy can be awakened through the guru and the body's assurance in performing visualization, chanting and other physical exercises. The energy can also awaken the individual's spontaneity, especially when he's triggered by traumatic personal experiences such as accidents, depression, extreme physical stress and near-death experiences during childhood. Some spontaneous awakenings are considered as an attribution to the "Grace of God".

The physical effects of the energy's awakening include: Feelings of electric shock circulating around the body. Involuntary tremors and itching sensations in the arms and legs. The body suffers from intense sweating, especially when the energy is passing through the "Chakras". The body easily responds to sounds or visions associated with a certain chakra. The *** desire weakens, resulting to a conscious state of ***. The skull suffers from pressure, causing headache when not cured immediately. Occurrence of emotional purging (where particular emotions becomes dominant within a short period of time). These effects were described based from Brian Van De Host's personal experiences while performing the "Sahaja Yoga" technique in awakening the energy.