|
// [[User:Lupin/popups.js]]
{{NPOV}}
document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="'
'''Kundalini''' is derived from a [[Sanskrit]] word meaning either coiled up or coiling like a snake; there are a number of other translations usually emphasizing a more serpent nature to the word - 'serpent power' or suchlike.
+ 'http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Lupin/popups.js'
+ '&action=raw&ctype=text/javascript&dontcountme=s"></script>');
// Script from [[User:AndyZ/peerreviewer.js]]
It is a term in [[yoga]], referring to an apparent reservoir of [[parapsychology|psychic]] energy at the base of the [[spine]]. Kundalini is curled up in the back part of the root [[chakra]] in three and one-half turns. Statements such as "It has unlimited energy stored in it and [the] velocity of its energy is... higher than the velocity of light" abound. It is sometimes believed to be an aspect of [[Shakti]], the goddess and consort of [[Shiva]].
//importScript('User:AndyZ/peerreviewer.js'); //[[User:AndyZ/peerreviewer.js]]
// Script from [[User:Lupin/editcount.js]]
It is a popular concept and is widely quoted among various disciplines of [[yoga]] and [[New Age]] beliefs. The concept was first popularized in the West through the work of [[C.W. Leadbeater]].
document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="'
+ 'http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Lupin/editcount.js'
+ '&action=raw&ctype=text/javascript&dontcountme=s"></script>');
popupEditCounterTool='custom';
popupEditCounterUrl='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:$1?ectarget=$1';
// installation of the wikEd editing page extension
// install [[User:Cacycle/diff]] text diff code
document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="'
+ 'http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Cacycle/diff.js'
+ '&action=raw&ctype=text/javascript&dontcountme=s"></script>');
// install [[User:Pilaf/Live_Preview]] page preview tool
===Kundalini Yoga===
//document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="'
//+ 'http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Pilaf/livepreview.js'
//+ '&action=raw&ctype=text/javascript&dontcountme=s"></script>');
// install [[User:Mboverload/RegExTypoFix|RegExTypoFix]] common typo fixer
Kundalini Yoga is a meditative concept - or a system of meditative techniques and movements- within the yogic tradition that focuses on psycho-spiritual growth and the bodys potential for maturation. It gives special consideration to the role of the spine and the endocrine system
document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="'
in the understanding of yogic awakening (Sovatsky, 1998). During the last two decades this concept has also been applied to medical research on somatic conditions such as asthma, heart-
+ 'http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Cacycle/RegExTypoFix.js'
rate-variabilty and muscle relaxation, and cognitive/hermenutic factors, such as brain-states and consciousness (see references below).
+ '&action=raw&ctype=text/javascript&dontcountme=s"></script>');
// install [[User:Cacycle/wikEd international]] translation here
===Raising Kundalini===
// install [[User:Cacycle/wikEd]] editing page extension
The force of kundalini is supposed to be raised through meditative exercises. As it raises from the root-chakra up it activates each chakra it goes through. The higher it gets, the more spiritual a person is supposed to be. In raising kundalini spiritual powers ([[siddhi]]s) arise.
document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="'
+ 'http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Cacycle/wikEd.js'
+ '&action=raw&ctype=text/javascript&dontcountme=s"></script>');
An original methodics of raising Kundalini was presented by [[Shri Mataji Nirmala Shrivastava]] in her teaching named [[Sahaja Yoga]].
===Kundalini in the world's religions===
// [[User:Outriggr/metadatatest.js]]
Kundalini as a spiritual experience finds expression in many of the mystical
//importScript('User:Outriggr/metadatatest.js');
traditions of the world's great religions. The early Christians referred to
//assessmentMyProjects=["Songs","WikiProjectSongs"];
the energy as '[[pneuma]]', contemporary Christians refer to the experience
as being anointed by the '[[Holy Ghost]]'.
Initiation of kundalini activity is often traditionally
done by a form of '[[laying on of hands]]', or [[shaktipat]],
where physical contact to the body or the forehead of the subject
by the [[guru]] or initiator, causes an experience of kundalini
that then may persist or grow with continuing practice, or fade away if
practice is neglected. Eye contact during [[satsang]] with the
guru may also cause this experience.
Inadvertent kundalini experiences have also been reported when subjects
physically contacted powerful gurus, such as [[Meher Baba]], by accident.
=== The (Physio)-Kundalini Syndrome===
The academic fields of Humanistic Psychology, Transpersonal Psychology and Near-Death Studies describe something called The Kundalini-syndrome, a complex psychological and somatic syndrome involving distinct motor, sensory and cognitive/hermeneutic symptoms (for academical discussions on this subject, see Further reading, below).
This psycho-motor arousal and excitation is believed to occur in connection with prolonged spiritual or contemplative practice (such as meditation or yoga), or different body-therapies (such as [[biofeedback]]). It is also thought to occur spontaneously as a result of intense life experiences, such as giving birth, or a close encounter with death, a [[near-death experience]]. If the accompagnying symptoms unfold in an intense manner - that de-stabilizes the person - the process is usually interpreted as a Spiritual Emergency (See External Links below).
Interdisciplinary dialogue within these particular schools of psychology has now established some common reference-points regarding this condition. Motor symptoms are thought to include tremors, shaking, spontaneous or involuntary body-movements and changes in respiratory function. Sensory symptoms are thought to include changes in body-temperature, a feeling of energy running along the spine or progressing upwards in the body, a feeling of electricity in the body, tingling, vibrations and gastro-intestinal problems. Cognitive symptoms are thought to include psychological upheaval, stress, depression, hallucinations (inner visions or accoustical phenomena), [[depersonalization]] or [[derealization]], intense mood-swings, but also moments of bliss and deep peace. Within the mentioned acedemic traditions this symptomatology is often referred to as the Physio-Kundalini syndrome (Sannella, 1976, Greyson 1993; 2000). Greyson (1993) developed The Physio-Kundalini [[Syndrome]] Index in order to measure the degree of Physio-Kundalini symptoms among Near-Death experiencers. Most researchers within this field believe that the core of the process is not pathological, but maturational, even though the symptoms at times may be dramatic.
According to Transpersonal Psychology the Kundalini-syndrome is largely unknown to Western psychiatry. Possible improvements in the diagnostic system that is meant to differentiate the Kundalini-syndrome from other disorders have been suggested (see Hansen, 1995; Herrick, 1996; Sovatsky, 1998; Lukoff, 1998; Grabovac & Ganesan, 2003).
===Kundalini and physiology===
Contemporary spiritual literature often notes that the chakras as described in the esoteric
kundalini documents bear a strong similarity in ___location and number to the major
[[endocrine gland]]s, as well as nerve bundles called [[ganglion]]s. One speculation is that the traditional practices have
formalized a method for stimulating the endocrine glands to work in a different
mode which has a more direct effect on consciousness, perhaps ultimately by
stimulating the release of [[DMT]] by the [[pineal gland]], which may be analogous
to the '[[pineal chakra]]'.
Within the transpersonal field Sovatsky (1998) has put forward the hypotheses of
post-genital puberties. The possibiliy of viewing pranotthana (yogic terminology for
intensified life-energy) and the larger Kundalini process as a maturation of body and
character beyond conventional psychological growth. He has also made some criticism about
the tendency - of much contemporary alternative culture - to frame the concept of Kundalini
in a [[New Age]]-vocabulary. A tendency that might hinder a mature understanding of the subject.
The understanding of Kundalini as a developmental, or maturational phenomena, was first suggested by the Indian [[Pundit]] Gopi Krishna, whose autobiography is entitled Kundalini - The Evolutionary Energy in Man (Boulder: Shambhala, 1971).
See also [[Qi]], [[Qigong]], [[Chakra]]s, [[clairvoyance]]
== Further reading ==
====Books====
*''Kundalini - The Evolutionary Energy in Man'' by Gopi Krishna
*''Kundalini - A Gentle Guide to Chakra Activation'' by John Selby
*''DMT - The Spirit Molecule'' by Rick Strassman, MD
*''Spiritual Emergency'' by Stanislaf Grof
*''Kundalini - Psychosis or Transcendence'' by Lee Sannella MD
*''The Secret of the Golden Flower'' trans. by Richard Wilhelm (or Thomas Cleary)
====The Kundalini Syndrome - Clinical and Academic discussions====
*''Bogart, Greg (1991) Meditation And Psychotherapy. A Review of the Literature. The American Journal of Psychotherapy, volume XLV, number 3, 1991, pp. 383-412
*''Grabovac, Andrea & Ganesan, Soma (2003) Spirituality and Religion in Canadian Psychiatric Residency Training. Canadian Journal Of Psychiatry, Vol 48, No 3, April 2003
*''Greyson, Bruce. (1993). The physio-kundalini syndrome and mental illness. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 25, 43-58.
*''Greyson, Bruce. (2000). Some neuropsychological correlates of the physio-kundalini syndrome. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 32, 123-134.
*''Hansen, G (1995) [Schizophrenia or spiritual crisis? On "raising the kundalini" and its diagnostic classification] Ugeskr Laeger. 1995 Jul 31;157(31):4360-2. [Article in Danish] PubMed Abstract PMID: 7645095 [[PubMed]] - indexed for [[MEDLINE]]
*''Herrick, Karen (1996) Finding Our Own Substance: New DSM-IV Code 62.89, Religious or Spiritual Problem. Toward a Science of Consciousness 1996 - Poster Presentation Abstract. Sponsored by the University of Arizona April 8-13, 1996, Tucson Convention Center.
*''Le Fanu, James (2002) A clutch of new syndromes? Journal for the Royal Society of Medicine 2002; 95:118-125: The Royal Society of Medicine
*''Lukoff, David (1998) From Spiritual Emergency to Spiritual Problem: The Transpersonal Roots of the New DSM-IV Category. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 38(2), 21-50, 1998.
*''Ring, Kenneth & Rosing, Christopher. J (1990) The Omega Project: An empirical study of the NDE-prone personality. Journal of Near-Death Studies. Sum 1990; Vol 8 (4): 211-239
*''Sannella, Lee (1976) Kundalini: Psychosis or Transcendence? San Francisco, California :HS Dakin
*''Sovatsky, Stuart (1998) Words from the Soul : Time, East/West Spirituality, and Psychotherapeutic Narrative (Suny Series in Transpersonal and Humanistic Psychology) New York: State University of New York Press
====Kundalini Yoga in medical research====
*''Arambula P, Peper E, Kawakami M, Gibney KH. (2001) The physiological correlates of Kundalini Yoga meditation: a study of a yoga master. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2001 Jun;26(2):147-53. PubMed Abstract PMID: 11480165 [[PubMed]] - indexed for [[MEDLINE]]
*''Capurroa A, Diambrab L. and Malta C.P (2003) Model for the heart beat-to-beat time series during meditation. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications Volume 327, Issues 1-2 , 1 September 2003, Pages 168-173 Proceedings of the XIIIth Conference on Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics and Nonlinear Physics
*''Lazar, Sara W.; Bush, George; Gollub, Randy L.; Fricchione, Gregory L.; Khalsa, Gurucharan; Benson, Herbert (2000) Functional brain mapping of the relaxation response and meditation [Autonomic Nervous System] NeuroReport: Volume 11(7) 15 May 2000 p 1581-1585
*''Manocha R, Marks GB, Kenchington P, Peters D, Salome CM. (2002) Sahaja yoga in the management of moderate to severe asthma: a randomised controlled trial. Thorax. 2002 Feb;57(2):110-5. PubMed Abstract PMID: 11828038 [[PubMed]] - indexed for [[MEDLINE]]
*''Narayan R, Kamat A, Khanolkar M, Kamat S, Desai SR, Dhume RA. (1990) Quantitative evaluation of muscle relaxation induced by Kundalini yoga with the help of EMG integrator.Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 1990 Oct;34(4):279-81. PubMed Abstract PMID: 2100290. [[PubMed]] - indexed for [[MEDLINE]]
*''Peng CK, Mietus JE, Liu Y, Khalsa G, Douglas PS, Benson H, Goldberger AL. (1999)Exaggerated heart rate oscillations during two meditation techniques. Int J Cardiol. 1999 Jul 31;70(2):101-7. PubMed Abstract PMID: 10454297 [[PubMed]] - indexed for [[MEDLINE]]
*''Venkatesh S, Raju TR, Shivani Y, Tompkins G, Meti BL. (1997) A study of structure of phenomenology of consciousness in meditative and non-meditative states. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 1997 Apr;41(2):149-53. PubMed Abstract PMID: 9142560 [[PubMed]] - indexed for [[MEDLINE]]
==External links==
* [http://www.kundalininet.org/ Kundalini Research Network]
* [http://siriuslink.com/client/krf/ Kundalini Research Foundation]
* [http://www.virtualcs.com/se/dxtx/types/kundalini.html Spiritual Emergency Resource Center: Diagnosis and Treatment]
* [http://www.sacredspaceyogasanctuary.com Kundalini Meditation]
* [http://www.sahajayoga.org/experienceitnow/default.asp Sahaja Yoga Kundalini awakening]
* [http://www.sahaja-yoga.org/ Exposé of a cult that uses kundalini theory to turn humans into sheep]
* [http://heartseva.com/ Kundalini Complications]
* [http://religiousbook.net/Books/Online_books/Pr/Practices_53.html Kundalini Raising and Kundalini Awakening]
[[de:Kundalini]]
| 