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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 04 2009 : 12:02:14 PM
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Hello Friends,
Yesterday I attended a Kundalini Yoga class for the first time. I am interested in potentially taking a Yoga Teacher Training program and have been going to as many different kinds of classes as possible lately in order to get a decent grasp on the different ways of teaching....Yesterday was quite interesting.
The practices done in the Kundalini class were quite interesting and very different from any "yoga" class I had ever previously attended. One "mudra" (not sure if that is actually what this would be called or not) really stood out in my mind as it almost instantly put me into overload. I am wondering if anyone out there has any experience with this practice...The practice goes like this...
While sitting in siddhasana we were asked to lift our arms above our heads in a "V" shape. We were shown, keeping our arms straight, to tilt the hands forward to point ahead, then rotating the wrists to point the hand up towards the ceiling, then opening the wrists up completely and having the hands point to the floor, and the tightening up the wrists and realigning them with the arms. The whole time we are doing this we are breathing very deeply and using ujjyai on the outbreath. So basically we are keeping our arms straight and above the head in a "V" shape while breathing deeply and rotating the wrists so that the hands point forward, up, down and then out. Please ask for clarification if this is unclear.
Anyways....after about 30 seconds of this exercise I started to get the "kundalini sweats" on my spine.....my shirt was soon soaked in a straight line right up my back....My forehead started burning and itching and there were a few times where I felt like I was going to lose conciousness.....has anyone ever heard of this practice before? Has anyone ever had this practice put them "over" as easily as it did for me?
Love,
Carson |
Edited by - AYPforum on Mar 04 2009 1:07:02 PM |
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AYPforum
351 Posts |
Posted - Mar 04 2009 : 1:07:02 PM
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| Moderator note: Topic moved for better placement |
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Lacinato
USA
98 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2009 : 11:07:34 PM
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| I've done it--it is all pretty weird like that. I like to do it, sometimes. Not too much since AYP is so powerful, I worry about synergystic effects. But some of the exercises are like calisthenics, and those seem pretty safe. |
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tadeas
Czech Republic
314 Posts |
Posted - Mar 08 2009 : 09:23:45 AM
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This happens to me spontaneously, like automatic yoga. I didn't know someone was using it intentionally, but I could have guessed :)
I don't feel it as intensely as you described, but I never do it for half a minute :) |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Mar 08 2009 : 12:32:41 PM
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Hey Tadeas......
We actually did this for several minutes. I started to feel the effects after only 30 seconds. Supposedly it is a well known and taught technique in the Kundalini Yoga taught by Yogi Bhajan. Haven't had it happen automatically, but ever since this class I have done a couple of reps during my sadhana and found it very good at making the energy rise.
Love,
Carson |
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markern
Norway
171 Posts |
Posted - Mar 13 2009 : 08:32:51 AM
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I am not realy familiar with this tradition it apears to me to be very, very powerfull. From what I have read numerous places the tradition of yogi bhajan has been known to often create overload problems and a teacher I once took a couple of classes with that did both kundalini yoga and regular hatha confirmed that this was quite frequent.
To me it seems like this tradition lets you start out doing a lot of powerfull practices way before your body is in good shape. It makes more sense in my mind to first have excellent technique and alignement in your postures and body before you start doing realy powerfull asanas and kriyas. If your alignement is sloppy so will the effects of the asana be. The energy you get will be more "dirty" and muddled with bad prana if your alignement isen`t next to perfect. Doing realy powerfull stuff with poor alignemnt then creates lots of good but also lots of muddled prana and i don`t think that is desirable. After a solid technical foundation is laid in a type of yoga that realy emphasizes alignement then this might be a wonderfull practice but I wouldn`t realy know. A couple of things I tried from
a kundalini yoga book felt realy good. |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Mar 13 2009 : 11:00:02 AM
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Hi markern, nice to hear from you again....
I would agree wholeheartedly with your post. This is very much the impression I got as well from this class. That the concern wasn't on being safe for those with activated kundalinis. I could tell that the teacher wasn't "awakened" and when I started to have seriously abnormal sweating and some automatic kriyas I could tell that this not only made her nervous, but also made her feel helpless. There were three techniques I learned in that class that I had never heard of before that easily put me over the edge and fast. Never had a practice that did this, especially so quickly. I usually know when a practice is too powerful for my system on any given day, but the overload usually shows up several hours to several days later. With these practices I was in overload before I was finished doing the practice. But regardless I have found good uses for two of the three techniques and have found places I can stick these techniques in my routine that add greatly to the overall. When I start with my asanas, I now include a foreward bend (with forced inhale and exhale) that was taught in the KY class, but I only do it ten times instead of for 5 minutes like they did in the class. The ten bends are enough to get the "juice" flowing. Near the end of my standing postures I then throw in a "swirling" bend with the hands on the hips, another practice learned in the KY class, and this REALLY sets me up for mahamudra and then nauli kriya as it loosens the abdomen quite nicely. I do not do the technique talked about originally in this topic (the "V" armed technique) though because even just 30 seconds of this is too much and I spend my whole meditation literally bouncing off the walls if I do. I wouldn't recommend to anyone who doesn't have a firm understanding of kundalini, these Kundalini Yoga classes, as I could see them easily causing someone to have a semi-spontaneous awakening that their nervous system can't handle, causing some serious problems. I'm sure AYP has seen more then one person from the KY tradition come here with Kundalini problems. But that said, I think that there are some really powerful practices buried in some of the rhetoric of KY and for those that understand themselves, their bodies and how to conduct a safe journey, these practices can be utilized to some extent. Personally I like to have as wide a perspective on life as possible and rounding out my Yoga education with other systems seems to widen my perspective greatly. I start a full set of KY classes on the 24th of March and am excited.
Namaste.
Love,
Carson |
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markern
Norway
171 Posts |
Posted - Mar 13 2009 : 11:57:03 AM
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Sounds good CarsonZi.
My rather uninfomed impression is that if someone did a clean up and reorganisation of this tradition of kundalini yoga something great would come out of it. But that would require someone realy brilliant doing work a long the lines Iyengar did with what he was taught. Reorganising sequencing of asanas and practices for the duration of a session and a sensible progression from complete beginner to advanced and then nicely integrating that with meditation. As it is right know it seems to me to be a bit of a mess but with realy huge potential. |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Mar 13 2009 : 12:09:15 PM
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Agreed 100% markern.
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krcqimpro1
India
329 Posts |
Posted - Mar 14 2009 : 02:51:53 AM
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Hi Carson,
Is there a name for this "mudra" or "Kriya"? Is it given in the Bihar School Of Yoga book-"Kundalini Tantra" ?
Krish |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Mar 14 2009 : 03:17:09 AM
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Hi Krish,
There probably is a name for it, but I don't know what it is. I was kinda hoping someone else here would know. I start formal Kundalini Yoga classes in 10 days so I can ask the teacher then and get back to you. Will let you know in two weeks...
Love,
Carson
P.S. The teacher was certified through the 3HO school of Kundalini Yoga. |
Edited by - CarsonZi on Mar 14 2009 03:18:14 AM |
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Richard
United Kingdom
857 Posts |
Posted - Mar 14 2009 : 10:59:01 AM
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Hi Carson
I was involved with 3HO many years ago and its very effective but its also very taxing on the body.
I should think all teachers vary but the one I had gave no quarter to individuals it was a bit like learning martial arts, lots of disapline and everyone had to keep up or leave the class.
I ended up getting a strain to my knees which still effects me today so be careful nothings worth damaging your body in a way that might affect you in later life.
Having said all that your teacher may be compleatly different I just wanted to warn you that's all.  |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Mar 14 2009 : 12:47:17 PM
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Thanks Richard....
My teacher is a 6 month pregnant, maybe 30 year old girl. She's scared of me so I don't think I have to worry about her throwing me out of the class for not keeping up. And I've already told her that I may not follow completely what she is doing should automatic yoga start happening or something. She was cool with that. I won't push myself too hard though, I'm just there to learn something new and for Satsang. My knees are already screwed anyways so what have I got to lose? haha. Thanks for letting me know.
Love,
Carson |
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Topic |
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Anyone ever try this practice?
