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Tempest
United Kingdom
29 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 11 2015 : 07:37:52 AM
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There are so many stories about kundalini gone wrong. Is it safe to practice spinal breathing without initiation?
Who has had bad experiences with spinal breathing? |
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Tempest
United Kingdom
29 Posts |
Posted - Aug 11 2015 : 09:06:14 AM
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So Hi recently wrote in a post: "Within in the first 6 months for me there were so many openings it is a wonder I did not derail my entire life. It took close to 3 years to stabilize.
The only thing that prevented me from wrecking my life in those 3 years in retrospect.. " |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1730 Posts |
Posted - Aug 11 2015 : 10:46:15 AM
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Kundalini awakenings can be difficult, but you can't blame spinal breathing for that - some people do a lot of it for years with virtually no unpleasant symptoms. Other get a rough kundalini awakening without doing any practices at all. Some people find that SBP actually balances their energy and reduce their unpleasant symptoms. On the other hand, there are some sensitive practitioners who find that meditation is plenty and all energy practices, including SBP, overloads them.
Everyone is different and that is why everyone should manage their own practice, self-pacing carefully. As a rule of thumb, the better your inner silence is before you start doing energy practices, the better. So make sure you have a good amount of DM under your belt before you give SBP a try. |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Aug 11 2015 : 11:01:18 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by BlueRaincoat
On the other hand, there are some sensitive practitioners who find that meditation is plenty and all energy practices, including SBP, overloads them.
Just as an aside, it's probably worth mentioning that even meditation as a stand alone practice is energetically stimulating for many. For me, just sitting down with the intention of having a meditation session will have my body completely lit up with ecstatic energy to the point of overloading (if I sit for more than a minute or two). It's been my experience that once all the chakras are open and meditation becomes constant, then any type of intentional practice becomes too much and imbalance quickly sets in.
Love,
Carson |
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So-Hi
USA
481 Posts |
Posted - Aug 11 2015 : 11:20:21 AM
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Careful not to take what is shared out of context. As in retrospect was having sufficient inner silence / stillness.
There are allot of people who are born this way with natural inner silence or stillness and from it strong expression of Ecstatic conductivity and radiance, it is just their nature from having been Yogi's or Priests and many other titles for those who do spiritual practices in a previous incarnation.
Also what was shared was in light of Kechari Mudra arriving swiftly and naturally within a 3 to 5 month period. Kechari Mudra takes all practices to a new level of intensity once that circuit is established.
Spinal breathing without Kechari Mudra above the soft pallet Stage 2 and above is a much different thing than before it happens.
Initiation does not make Spinal breathing either more or less dangerous, I was initiated and what happened with me was pretty dangerous and there was no one and I mean absolutely no one who could help. I received nonsensical replies like it is the will of the Guru that this happens, I replied well you know that is nice and all but what the hell do I do now to alleviate these strong changes??? = more simple platitudes. So yeah try not to get hung up on initiation stuff okay??
From experience will share this much if you are on the verge of Kechari Mudra stage 2 and above coming to you via ecstatic conductivity, get your affairs in order and plan to take a few weeks off plan some vacation time where you do not have to do anything and go anywhere.
If you have someone you can talk to that has already gone through this than tell them I am planning to do this I am on the verge of crossing Kechari level 1 and go up above and ask for their attention during this transition period in case you need someone to council with, panic will not help even if you get anxiety attacks like I did, it is a very, very, very big change in the neurobiology when this mudra occurs via ecstatic conductivity and it can take years to grow into.
If someone forms kechari with out ecstatic conductivity making it happen I confess ignorance as to if the same things could be expected to happen or not, tend to think stillness coupled with what comes out of the stillness = ecstatic conductivity need to be happening otherwise a physical manipulation of the tongue may not do much.
For example on the Plus Site there was some discussion of Sambahvi Mudra in relation to ecstatic inductivity and ecstatic radiance.
Rolling the eyes up without the stillness being present and the subsequent Ecstatic components described above likely does not do a whole lot.
Concerning Spinal Breathing or any other Pranayama with or without Kechari level 2 and above if that is all you do and some Asana then you are likely to develop a hard and critical personality very stubborn and unpleasant. You are also likely to become an unhappy person and critical.
This is the danger of Spinal breathing without Deep Meditation. It is very real.
Why?
Because you have tilled the soil of your nervous system and walked away. Seeds will germinate and those are usually weeds.
So if you do Spinal breathing you must do Deep Meditation, the two go hand in hand.
Yogani is a genius for having figured this out.
When you do Deep Meditation it somehow takes the tilled soil and pulls the weed seeds up, these weed seeds are many times things in the vast subconscious many times things long forgotten or even so old in the neurobiology they are not even known or recognized but there none the less.
How this works is not really important that it does is that which matters.
Initiated or not the only safe way to practice Spinal Breathing is with self pacing and followed up immediately after by Deep Meditation. |
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uniath
Finland
30 Posts |
Posted - Aug 11 2015 : 11:21:41 AM
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Hi Tempest,
I would think that most of the kundalini horror stories results from either spontaneous awakening or as a result of crown practices. Whichever the case, it most likely leads to ‘peak experiences’ and energy excesses, which go hand in hand. First of all, too much energy is going through an unpurified nervous system. Secondly, those experiences can be quite ego-shattering, which can lead to a lot of fear. Too much is happening too soon.
With AYP approach, this is not the case. There’s a reason why SBP is from root to brow. With gradually purifying the nervous system, combined with increased inner silence from deep meditation, the progress is a lot smoother. There’s enough time to adjust. Less fear and more love.
Even though I am just a beginner on this journey, there is no fear of overloading whatsoever. AYP lays a great foundation what to build on, and our inner guru takes care of the rest. If there are symptoms of overload, it can be just observed with curiosity. And of course, self-pace accordingly. No need to push it. It’s just spiritual common sense.
I haven’t had any bad experiences with spinal breathing or other practices. Sure, there’ve been ups and downs, slight emotional letdowns or kundalini rash here and there. From my experience, those are just indicators to self-pace. I don’t consider them bad, I think it’s important to get to know oneself and recognize overload symptoms to maintain a stable long-term practice. Of course, it’s a matter of personal preference. Some like a smooth ride and some, myself included, are more rollercoaster-types. However, I’m pretty sure that eventually everyone will prefer the smoother option.
On an additional note, it might be counterproductive to pay too much attention to other people’s negative experiences. You know, we can always choose the positive side of things. Having done no previous spiritual practices, I had a strong awakening a bit over a year ago. A LOT of openings. And I can safely say that it’s been the best year of my life. Of course there’s been a lot of challenges, but also more growth than ever before. And finally, a purpose in life.
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1730 Posts |
Posted - Aug 11 2015 : 11:31:16 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by CarsonZi
It's probably worth mentioning that even meditation as a stand alone practice is energetically stimulating for many.
Absolutely right. This did in fact cross my mind as I wrote my post above, that is why I said „meditation” and not „DM”. I find mantra meditation quite stimulating too and often fall back on breath meditation or passive awareness meditation. Needless to say I find SBP very stimulating, but - just to reassure Tempest - I have not had any disastrous experience out of practising it (I moderation and paying close attention to my energy levels). |
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So-Hi
USA
481 Posts |
Posted - Aug 11 2015 : 11:50:37 AM
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Spinal breathing of a different kind than AYP teaches was being practiced when Kechari came.
This was in the tradition of Shibendu Lahiri I was also an initiate of Paramahamsa Hariharanada. So it was a difficult transition going from one school of Kriya to another as I loved the practices of each quite a bit and was having a hard time deciding which to do so sometimes I would do the Lahiri Kriya and other times the Hariharananda Kriya.
Often within the same day or one, on one day and one the next.
Was told it was perfectly ok just not to mix the two at the same time.
To make a long story short the combined overlapping effects of such independent and strong practices were not anticipated by anyone and with the Crown being worked in and open combined with the other practices from the other school even without mixing them, the ecstatic conductivity and already awakened Kundalini became so encouraged on her way to the crown she made Kechari happen.
I was advised in advance what could happen with Kechari happening as it did. Put simply I did not believe that it could or would happen, nor that it could possibly have such strong effects.
Guess what the one cautioning was correct. Unfortunately the one cautioning really did not know how to be helpful when council was needed.
I would not categorize what was experienced as negative though. It was more like very unexpected, life changing and getting used to a mind and nervous system that no longer functioned the same as was used to. The mind became even more still and perceptions much different but it is impossible to really put in words, so will stop trying.
Uniath does bring up an important point and that is not to focus on others experiences too much but it would be wise to heed there advice of caution, but put it on the back burner as a refference and nothing more.
Uniath is also correct concerning sufficient purification but there is really no way to judge that so it has to be left as a generally accepted truth.
There are just going to be some things that happen that no amount of prior preparation or warning is going to make for an idealized transition.
In the end we all have to discover by doing on our own.
Uniath is also correct about crown practices so best to stay between root and brow.
When I had major changes going on there was 1 big thing missing and that was Deep Meditation. |
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Ecdyonurus
Switzerland
479 Posts |
Posted - Aug 11 2015 : 12:41:39 PM
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Agree with Carson that DM also stimulates energy. Actually in my case during the first year of AYP, DM made more energy move than SBP. But things have changed: now it's SBP that stimulates more energy, and DM became a smooth practice.
To answer the question of the opening post: if you are careful and react quickly to any unpleasant symptom, SBP will be safe. Just like any other practice, I guess |
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So-Hi
USA
481 Posts |
Posted - Aug 12 2015 : 1:39:05 PM
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Agree with both of you DM stimulates energy but it is different here it comes and goes throughout the practice and it seems like when it is present it is like the stillness in motion hits an obstruction then there is tremendous energy sometimes in the entire spine or sometimes in a specific place. But it alwasy returns to stillness such a wonderful practice it truly doe regulat things in a remarkable way.
quote:
Originally posted by Ecdyonurus
Agree with Carson that DM also stimulates energy. Actually in my case during the first year of AYP, DM made more energy move than SBP. But things have changed: now it's SBP that stimulates more energy, and DM became a smooth practice.
To answer the question of the opening post: if you are careful and react quickly to any unpleasant symptom, SBP will be safe. Just like any other practice, I guess
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kensbikes100
USA
192 Posts |
Posted - Sep 04 2015 : 12:13:58 PM
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| This is very interesting. I have noticed some quickness of speech lately and I have at times done sbp without dm. Are there any similar risks in reverting to DM alone, 20 minutes twice a day? Perhaps I should even change back to my Trancsendental Meditation mantra to render it even more gentle. |
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MrCuddly
USA
43 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2015 : 5:13:32 PM
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Sometime before AYP, I would do several increasingly advanced spinal breathing techniques, including with Shambhavi, Mahamudra, Yoni mudra and other techniques all in the same session. And this went on for a couple of years. I definitely had high energy levels but nothing that seemed excessive or scary. After starting off with AYP just a few days ago, with simple spinal breathing, DM lock and Shambhavi, I did have energy levels that approached alarming.
Of course this was all my fault, starting way too fast and all at once - which I thought would be ok given my previous Kriya practice. But my point is, I think DM and pranayama together greatly amplify each other as state in Yogani's book. Hours of spinal breathing alone didn't have near the effect on me.
It's shown me both the amazing power and potential of the technique along with the need to stop being stupid and pay close attention to self pacing. If not I'll end up with a tiger by the tail in no time. |
Edited by - MrCuddly on Oct 13 2015 5:17:25 PM |
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Is spinal breathing dangerous?
