Billie Sunday

Kundalini yoga is also known as laya yoga and it is a school of thought sharing a lot in common with other yoga types such as Shaktism and tantra yoga. It focuses on awakening the kundalini energy; therefore, deriving its name kundalini. It is meant to cultivate the spiritual potential of a human to uphold values, speak the truth and focus on the compassion and consciousness needed to serve and heal others.

In Kundalini philosophy, it is believed that each human possesses divine energy at the base of the spine. This energy is believed to be the energy of the creation where all things arose. It is something each one of us is born with. However, not everyone gets the privilege to use it as it requires a conscious effort to uncoil it and, therefore, activating this energy as well as the name “uncoiling the snake.” When activated, this energy is able to help us connect with the divine and this leads to elevated levels of consciousness and spirituality. The process of activating the kundalini energy is called the kundalini awakening.

Literally, we can say, “With great power comes great responsibility.” This form of yoga, if practiced correctly, one can derive a lot of benefits from it. One can be able to heighten the perception of the external world, attaining enlightenment, which is the ultimate goal of any practitioners of this type of yoga. However, it comes with its dangers.

Practicing this type of meditation without proper guidance from a qualified kundalini tutor can lead to severe health complications such as:

• Panic attacks that are a result of increased and uncontrollable energy caused by the improper practice of kundalini
• Anxiety disorders
• Backpain – This pain, however, goes away after some time if the practice is done properly.
• Energy bursts where we feel over-energized. This may have side effects especially for people with violent tendencies.
• Involuntary shakings and tingling. This may last from a few minutes to a couple of hours.

If Kundalini Yoga is practiced correctly, however, one may expect a lot of benefits which includes:

• The feeling of bliss and happiness. This is caused by the calmness that is caused by the kundalini energy
• Increase in IQ level. This is evident after consistently doing kundalini yoga correctly
• Increased spiritual connection
• More compassion and empathy
• Activating all the seven chakras. This can be very beneficial when aiming to achieve enlightenment.
• Out-of-body experience

In conclusion, practicing kundalini yoga is a slippery road which has its pros and cons and proper measures must be taken to ensure that we learn from a qualified yoga practitioner to avoid negative side effects.