Kundalini Awakening Symptoms

Symptoms of Kundalini Awakening 

Real Life Experiences & Descriptions of Kundalini Rising

Are you going through a kundalini awakening episode or experience?  Let’s find out… 

Kundalini awakening symptoms are truly a very intriguing subject.  Really there is no correct answer to the question, “What are the symptoms of Kundalini Rising?”, as thankfully, each of us is absolutely unique and thus, on a unique trajectory on the path to Kundalini Awakening.  That said, there are some common kundalini experiences that are often reported, which I would like to share with you in this article.

Although we can draw up endless lists of symptoms from third party accounts, I would like to instead make this series about kundalini symptoms that you or I have actually experienced.  In this article, I will give a recent account from one of my students about what she experienced shortly after class, and then I will add my own kundalini experiences and observations as well. 

In the comments section, I encourage you to add any kundalini awakening experiences or symptoms you have felt, so others can better understand what they might be going through.  Here is the recent email I received from my student, Aida:

Aida’s Experience of Kundalini Awakening:

I am a student of the “Gentle Kundalini Class”. I just finished taking a series of exercise specifically for the spine.
 
As I left the class I felt energized as I usually feel after each class, but this time it was a little different, I was feeling extra aware of my surrounding. Like a light turned on. My back was so straight. It lasted all day.
 
If I could go to class every morning I would go. It makes my day start right in every way. And there are times when I am not feeling like going to class and I push myself to go and do not regret it.
 
Thank you for being my teacher.
Aida D. 

For those interested, here is a link to the Spinal Warmup Kundalini Yoga Kriya we did in class that day.  Thank you Aida, for sharing your personal experiences with us.

This particular experience of kundalini is very interesting and significant.  This is because it is the common experience of advanced meditation and of kundalini yoga.  In the article, Powerful Kundalini Yoga Battles Profound Zen Meditation, I described my own such experience with kundalini awakening, but not from doing kundalini yoga, but instead from doing Silent Mind Meditation!

Aida’s experience points at the two things that all yoga and meditation boils down to.  Energy and Awareness. 

My favorite description of Kundalini Yoga is, “The Yoga of Awareness,” and as you see from her account, she felt more aware, as the energy of kundalini had risen up her spine.  In meditation, it is the same.  The demand for intense awareness, in order to comprehend the thought process via direct perception, leads to energy (kundalini) rising up and elongating the spine.  Awareness then follows.

Jiddu Krishnamurti describes this experience of kundlaini energy flowing up the spine as “The rush of water filling up and thus causing a pipe to stand erect.”

When we insist that the spine be straight during meditation, it is simply to facilitate this awakening and thus, to assist in being more aware.  I have experienced kundalini rising and puling up with such force, during meditation, that it sometimes make me feel as if I am going to be launched right off the ground or as if it’s going to pull my head off and up into the sky.

Kundalini Awakening in Meditation

Symptoms of Kundalini Awakening:

I am going to describe some of the physical symptoms my students or I have felt due to kundalini awakening.  I know there are many emotional and mental symptoms as well, and you are welcome to share those with us in the comments section below.  I am grouping the experiences into 3 categories, common, uncommon and rare, according to what I have observed.

Common Kundalini Awakening Symptoms:

  • Tingling in the body and brain region.  Also sometimes described as ants walking, tickling energy or flushes of energy.  The brain being flushed with energy is quite pleasant :-).
  • Heat or cold in the system, or running along various channels and chakra centers.
  • Fluttering or twitching of muscles.
  • Pinching or burning in various regions of the body or brain.

Uncommon Kundalini Awakening Symptoms:

  • Pressure in the Third Eye Region (Ajna Chakra).  This is pressure, tingling or other sensation in the center of the forehead.  Can go on for years (14 years and counting so far for me).  Caution: If the pressure, due to certain practices, intensifies to uncomfortable levels you feel are “immense”, you should cease that practice and consult a competent kundalini yoga teacher.
  • Sudden bursts of energy anywhere in the body.  These are almost always short lived, from a few seconds to a few minutes.
  • Spontaneous yoga asans or kundalini yoga movements.  They may come on spontaneously, or they may take over, as if on auto-pilot when one is practicing  Kundalini Yoga Kriyas or Exercises (For an example see article: Explosive Kundalini Rising in Class Today).
  • Kundalini Shakti rising up and elongating the spine.
  • Incredible feeling of love and desire for your partner (not ordinary lust, alcohol induced or otherwise :-).  Usually comes upon you spontaneously, deep in the night.  Sex feels like it’s the first such experience and the intense feelings of attraction emanate from somewhere beyond yourself.
  • Unfortunately, pain in the lower back, back of the neck and headaches.

Rare Kundalini Awakening Symptoms:

  • Experience of divine light within.  Very intense light, usually pure white and incredibly beautiful.  I call it the Radiation of the Lord.
  • Tremendous vibratory energy (sometimes feels like it’s coming from the inner ears).  Very blissful, but can intensify to the point where it would completely overwhelm your consciousness if you let it.
  • Spontaneous bliss, intensely pleasurable.
  • This one is a bit scary.  Complete paralysis of the body.  Complete immobility and rigidity takes place.  As with the all consuming vibratory energy, it requires some courage to allow.
  • This one is exceedingly rare.  I have experienced it only once in my life, and have only ever read about it being experienced by one other – the master of awareness, G. I. Gurdjieff.  The arms and legs churn like that of a baby.  It happens naturally and cannot be simulated.  It is also intensely pleasurable and quite a remarkable experience.

There are of course a wide range of transcendental experiences, some of which you will find described in the category Spiritual Enlightenment Experiences.  Above, I have provide those that are more commonly associated with kundalini awakening, although many would argue, including Swami Vivekananda, that all enlightenment experiences have to do with kundalini entering the brain region in some capacity.

So if you have experienced some kundalini symptoms as well, please do share them with us below.  I think it will benefit others identify if what they are going through is actually symptoms of the ever mysterious kundalini awakening.

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721 replies
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  1. John
    John says:

    you’re all f*cking really ignorant did you know that? even you anmol mehta. why the f*ck are you teaching people to awaken their kundalini?

    If you all are having pressure on your head area then I am sure it’s because there’s too much chi energy stored in your head area and it needs to be moved down. For the feeling of “bliss” in the brain is all neurotransmitters moving at a fast pace from what I’m sure, and especially your dopamine levels.

    Doing qigong, or tai chi from what I’ve read has practices to ground your chi energy, so you don’t feel the pressure on your head.

    DOING KUNDALINI YOGA WILL ONLY RAISE YOUR CHI ENERGY. STOP DOING IT IF U ALREADY HAVE IT AWAKENED. IF YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR KUNDALINI AWAKENED, DON’T EVEN TRY ESPECIALLY BY LEARNING ONLINE ON A F*CKING WEBSITE

    STAY GROUNDED. STAY AWAY FROM COFFEE, CIGARETTES, STIMULANTS. ALL OF THOSE WILL BRING UP YOUR CHI.

    CAN YOU SMOKE MARIJUANA? IF IT’S INDICA. INDICA MOVES THE CHI DOWN. SATIVA’S MOVE IT UP. DON’T SMOKE HYBRIDS(SATIVA AND INDICA MIX) BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE KUNDALINI AWAKENING, 100% INDICA IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO. I GUESS HYBRIDS CAN BE FINE IF IT’S LIKE 80-90% indica.
    ( THIS IS ALL FROM WHAT I THINK AND EXPERIENCE )

    Reply
  2. Raghupathi bhat
    Raghupathi bhat says:

    Hi Sir,
    I wanted to share my experience. I was meditating in the night after i come from my office. i was doing 45 min to 1 and hours every day. I was feeling pleasant and good. But one day when i was meditating after some time i got up suddenly and my body was shivering. I could feel a numb feeling between my eyes. I got afraid and thought that since i came out of meditative state suddenly it might have happened. but after that i couldn’t go back and that numb feeling remained. From then onwards I was like in a imaginary world of kind. I couldn’t relate myself to the real world and everything around looked like a video game. When i concentrate the energy whats flowing in my body between my eyes then i become somewhat normal but once it moves from there i get depressed, not interested in anything. Afraid to talk to people as i was becoming conscious whenever i was talking to anyone and was getting confused with the purpose of that conversation. I was roaming in my own imaginary world. After 2 days i thought i should consult some meditation teacher to come out of this situation. So i went to Art of living people (not the experts) and they asked me to attend their satsang and do a 10 min meditation with them. I did the same and was feeling little relieved. That day i came to my house and went to bed as normal (I was not getting sleep those days). at around 2 o clock in the night i woke up as full energy started flowing in my body and it was so pleasant and i was like into some happiest ever state. the energy was flowing in my whole body with full volume and i went to some state where i decided to give up everything and will go to Guruji (Sri Sri Ravishankar) and be with him. This is my purpose of life and all. then within some time i started reducing the energy in my body by imagining that whole energy i am directing into the kundalini back using my two hands action. After that day i didn’t get any such feeling but this energy is there in my body and i feel it everyday between my eyes. But some days i face depression and some days full energy. And it took me one year to come back and relate myself to the real world. Now i am 90% normal. Kindly suggest me if you have any tips to me as i want to continue this meditation but now afraid that i might go back to that imaginary world state. Kindly guide me.

    Reply
  3. Saurabh Mishra
    Saurabh Mishra says:

    I have been having the feeling of kundalini awakening since my childhood. Now I want to feel it even more but the more I desire, more it eludes me. I am in need of desperate help. May be I might be able to see the naked truth some day. All I wish is that day must come. Sooner or later but it must come.

    Reply
  4. Dodak
    Dodak says:

    Can enyone help me!!!
    I think I’ve had the experience of kundalini energy. I felt my whole body is floating. Everything went as it should except that I felt pressure in my head, and with a little research found that my crown chakra is blocked.
    When I woke up, my ears were clogged. By the end of the day the pressure was eased but remained a buzzing in my head. I feel very weak, blocked and depressed. Ringing in my head terribly bothered. I can not perform the essential functions. Fears are always present. I feel physically very weak.
    If you have any advice on what I should do with this please answer my mail. I do not know if it’s just a process that I have to wait to pass or I damage something.
    Thanks in advance!

    Reply
  5. akshi jain
    akshi jain says:

    I feel sometimes electric current in my left and right brain, mood swings a lot, I don’t like to talk with anyone. Every time there is a vigorous flow of energy in my brain.

    Reply
  6. Winternite
    Winternite says:

    I used my healing oils on my throat last night along with the past lives oil and then went to bed. When in bed I started working clearing on my root chakra with my dream stone in hand. ( I imagine fairies cleaning them) then all of a first thing that went through my mind was a double circle like the axle then sudden a bright white bolt of light bolted from the top of my head down to my root and busted up in to a million pieces. It scared me; don’t know what to make of it. I have been wearing the following bracelets amethyst and tourmaline (I have been wearing the double terminated every day for at least 30 days.) also been playing with my lapis as well as larimar Smokey and flourinte stones for a while. Beginning to understand I cleared my root chakra.

    Reply
  7. Adelaide
    Adelaide says:

    I have been doing ananda mandala every morning and my symptoms are intensifying as I do it starting the first time this past Saturday . I AM ADDICTED LIKE A DRUG ! I am a yoga instructor for 13 years , I never EVER EVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS MY LIFE HAS CHANGED took my practice to a whole mother level .
    Anyway I get very very shaky numb all the way from feet to my lips arms hands need to lie down and stay down I usually give deeksha to my self for 10 minutes cause I can’t get my hands off my head , then I lay down to ground myself from the shaking and knumbness and dizziness
    Namaste

    Reply
  8. dave
    dave says:

    hi can any one help who really knows about kundlini 2 years ago i thought id try visualise my chakras starting from the root chakra then so on up for about 2 weeks very intensely, untill somthink crazy happen to me , i activated somthink inside of my face and head like a strong force of energy which would move round my head and face and was quite painfull it started releasing out of my left ear and could feel the wind leaving my ear i have been battling this for two years when the wind comes out it makes me feel more clearer in my mind more calm more loving more everythink and get loads of premoitions that come true and visions and pictures and can feel spirts around me but when its trapped i go more confused and neagtive and get bit angry untill i can release this energy again very frustrating as i cant keep this out fully does this sound like kundlini and what can help me if its imbalanced ?

    Reply
  9. Matt
    Matt says:

    Yeah I keep getting an intense pain in my stomah whenever I do Kalpabhati pranayama… I don’t know if this is because my stomach is not used to being worked out or as one of the common symptoms you mentioned lol.

    Reply
  10. Eirene
    Eirene says:

    I now know why I can’t get rid of my headaches! Haha, I’ve had all of your commons, some of your uncommon, and the divine light which was indeed very beautiful. (: Have a peaceful day, evening, night, etc.

    Reply
  11. Whitney
    Whitney says:

    The past 6 months I have had all these, I practice daily meditation!…. Recently whenever I meditate my spine starts moving, making me go back and forth side to side, just like a snake. It feels really good, but I’m just so confused…what should I be doing? Sometimes I break out dancing, or doing yoga stretches, everything is changing for me, nothing is what it used to be, in a good way…what is happening?

    Reply
  12. Hoo
    Hoo says:

    my english is not good, but i get all of the rare ones and beyond…
    was a long time ago and i still search for information…
    what must be my next step? maybe i need search for a teacher in my country?

    Reply
  13. Praveen
    Praveen says:

    Dear friend julia
    congrats for the gift which you have received . as far as i know your experience has nothing to do with the religion it is a system in every living being and anyone can get to this state. many of us get it by sadhana (meditation) but some time it occurs randomly but do not mistake by the ultimate end point instead it is beginning of a journey you should be grateful to lord Jesus he have thrown you on his path be with it and start meditation.
    best of luck for your journey

    Reply
  14. jeanette
    jeanette says:

    I beileve I had a spontanious experience I never meditated I just remember remember sitting very still and just asking myself what is all of this life what is it I reember not eating for days my body felt like it was purifying myself I had to stop and it hit me I did not eat for three days or slept but felt energized next thing I noticed I could ee

    Reply
  15. Julia
    Julia says:

    Is it possible for kundalini symptoms to happen spontaneously without practicing meditation? I do not meditate, but last spring, I was undergoing a time of extreme spiritual turmoil. Having been raised Christian, I said a prayer to Jesus and immediately experienced a cool, tingling sensation upon my crown, like water dripping. Soon after that, I began to feel the pressure in my third eye chakra and pains in my lower back, shoulders, and neck. Since then, these sensations come and go, sometimes at random, sometimes in correspondence with certain thoughts. In fact, the pressure in the third eye chakra has become more frequent and intense as of late. I’m not sure why a prayer to an Abrahamic prophet/savior would manifest symptoms of an Eastern spiritual practice, but kundalini seems to be the only phenomenon that explains what I’m experiencing. Part of me thinks that it might be all in my head or that they’re the symptoms of some physiological ailment, but it all seems too coincidental. If anyone could offer me some explanation or advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply
  16. Starchild101
    Starchild101 says:

    RAVENOUS HUNGER! CANNOT EAT ENOUGH! SAMADHI & ESP, MOMENTS BEFORE THINGS HAPPEN, READING THOUGHTS, TAKING THE WORDS OUT OF PEOPLE’S MOUTHS OR SAYING THINGS AT THE SAME TIME. INCREASED ARTISTIC VISION, PSYCHIC VISION & PRODUCTIVITY. HUNDREDS OF NEW CREATIVE IDEAS OUT OF NOWHERE. INVENTIONS, MORE VIVID DREAMS MORE OFTEN. FEELING SPORADIC SPURTS OF INTENSE BLISS & FEELING OF A GRAND PURPOSE AT HAND.

    Reply
  17. Andrea
    Andrea says:

    Uau. So I’m not going crazy. I have been feeling most of those symptoms.including the baby arms. Awakening at night. Healing the body and soul. Lower back feels like something wants to move upwards, but still stuck by hip bones and sacrum. Been having spams on lower back for weeks. When drifting off to sleep… I haven’t done yoga for over 10 years and was just on the very basics then. I stated doing rebirthing breathwork in search of myself.for t the last week kundalini word is stuck on my head. Third might had sexual awakening with my partner.

    Reply
  18. Andrei
    Andrei says:

    I have been through some energetic changes the past week and have encountered a slight problem. There is a lot to talk about what I have experienced but I would prefer to address the problem in question. I am sure that I am experiencing something called kundalini rash. I have noticed that the rashes intensify after I do meditations. I would be grateful for some advise on how to handle them, perhaps i should cut on my meditations a little bit but they are to enjoyable. Is it possible that the rashes are some sort of purification of the Nadis?

    Reply
  19. Fior
    Fior says:

    I have had a fairly recent experience with kundalini after practicing yoga for 14 years and maybe the last 3 more heavily. Lately, my entire lifestyle has been centered around my meditation experiences and its been a miserable existence. I am trying to break free so I really need insight. Its not easy when most of my friends use me as their inspiration to meditate. What about when Im having a trouble?
    I had heard about Diamond Jade, a psychic in San Diego California who was an accomplished yoga pracitioner. I had heard the name a few times and I would think – hm and then her name would come up again, etc. So this time, she came up and I knew I was going to talk to her this time. I told her the story of me meditating a lot and she was right away saying that I need to de-focus on the symptomatology of the kundalini awakening. She was saying that everyone gets caught up in that and that its like the bling that everyone is getting caught up in…So was that it? So I was asking her some more about the awakening. She gave me a few details and told me some things about my life that no one could have possibly known, this somehow gave me great faith although I did know she was a psychic and of course I know these gifts and more are possible. Ive had them myself. I thought- well if she can know this- that this is some kind of bling and that i should just relax. She had literally told me to trust God and think in a positive way. She actually told me that I might meditate properly and then I might see that I am meditating the wrong way or maybe even too much. I thought that was very good. This was very funny because I knew what she meant! I could just see that she had probably definitely made all these mistakes. and I had compassion. I could see that what my meditation had been missing all along was love and compassion. My meditation was cold and alone and suffering. and I see these people writing here. and I was suffering and I went to this great psychic and she told me. she said DON’T BE ALONE this is the way. But its not even the psychic. She is a channel of the divine you know? even those cave people were with animals.

    Reply

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