Originally Posted by
Sunflowerlife 
Hi there- do you mind sharing your kundalini yoga experience with me? It's a yoga I started with 5 years ago and while I felt it helped me at times I also felt like it increased my irritability or other times I would just get nauseous from it. It's a very powerful yoga because of the combination of movements and breathwork.
I wasn't doing Kundalini yoga that long--just a few weeks. But it made me extremely nausea, dizzy, irritable, overheated, and brought on migraines. It is extremely irresponsible in my opinion that there is no warning or explanation whatsoever about this type of yoga. And it was extremely irresponsible when I approached the instructor, that she was of no help and didn't tell me this is a common phenomenon. She didn't mention anything about "Kundalini energy" or "Kundalini awakening." This should have all been clearly explained in the description of the class. I've done other types of yoga for years on and off with nothing like this happening.
If you google something like "dangers of kundalini" or "kundalini syndrome" there is a ton of info out there. Messing with awakening the kundalini is not safe unless truly done with someone who knows what they're doing. Unfortunately there are a lot of "certifications" out there but it leaves the consumer to have to do research to see which are truly accredited and well-regarded certifications and credentials. My goal in taking Kundalini yoga wasn't to awaken my kundalini. I took it because they described it as a more spiritual type of yoga. After reading about Kundalini energy (also described as the coiled snake that sits at the base of our spine), I don't want to waken mine. I preferred having the more traditional type of spiritual awakening through inventory and amends and I just wanted to do yoga as a moving form of meditation.
For me, guided meditations have always been my favorite alternative. I used to use The Meditation Podcast before they started charging and now I just pick on from G-+AIA Tv. But there are tons of free ones available through the podcast app on my iphone as well.
I like the guided meditations on the free apps but I just wasn't sure which ones weren't a good idea. For example, anytime in Kundalini yoga when she'd have us focus on our third eye--I'd get headaches. I read focus stuff like that is not safe. I want to avoid those sort of things.
Have you heard of Joe Dispenza? He has changed thousands of lives through his meditations. Here's a link to his latest blog. You can then go to his website and browse his meditations. You can also find many of them at the library. They are long for the most part but there are also communities on FB in case you need help or have questions.
The name sames familiar. Thank you, I will check out his blog/website.
I think any meditation has the power to change us in ways we may not expect. For example if we do chakra meditations where we cleanse the chakra, things may come out that were stuck or blocking us. So it may feel worse before it gets better. But the goals is always to heal.
These are the type of things I personally would like to avoid right now. I read too much online about the dangers of trying to unblock chakras. To me it just doesn't seem natural.
I have heard of others having issues with Kundalini and I think it's one of those practices that is extremely powerful as kundalini energy is very raw, and not refined- which is why most people ask that you do it along side a teacher. Having said that, one of my best friends has done her teacher training in kundalini and has reassured me countless times that it's "safe." I will agree with you though- that it is not something to take lightly. I have pretty much moved on from it at this point.
It's definitely not "safe" if someone is not prepared or ready to deal with the "extremely powerful kundalini energy". My spiritual awakening doing step work was more gradual and so I was able to change gradually.
I think it's great that you have a regular practice- I am still struggling to do that although I just learned Reiki which often feels like a meditation in itself.
Great if that's what you like. Personally for me I'm sticking with more traditional forms of meditation. A friend of mine said she learned Reiki and she said she saw dark things she doesn't think she was meant to see. But everyone has their own experience and has to find what works for them.
Let me know what your thoughts are after you read about Kundalini yoga, I am curious.