Kundalini yoga
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Kundalini yoga is a meditative discipline —or a system of meditative techniques and movements— within the yogic tradition that focuses on psycho-spiritual growth and the body's potential for maturation. The concept of intensified life-energy — pranotthana — is central to the practice and understanding of kundalini yoga. It also gives special consideration to the role of the spine and the endocrine system in the understanding of yogic awakening (Sovatsky, 1998).
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Kundalini yoga practice
The practice of Kundalini Yoga consists of a number bodily postures, expressive movements and utterances, characterological cultivations, breathing patterns, and degrees of concentration that should not - according to some scholars of religion (Sovatsky, 1998) - be considered mere stretching exercises.
In the yoga tradition, the creative catalyst, or energy of your highest potential, is called kundalini. Some have called this "spirit rising", or the motivating, evolutionary force within us. Sovatsky (1998) describes kundalini yoga as an energetically guided yoga. Within this perspective it is possible to view its spontaneous psycho-motor manifesations as a sign of development and maturation beyond conventional psychological growth.
Kundalini yoga is called the Yoga of Awareness. Within contemporary spiritual literature the concept of kundalini is also associated with moments of sudden inspiration, the ability to complete complicated tasks easily, or the appearance of clear insights which give direction and meaning to life. According to this perspective, kundalini yoga offers a technology which can help the individual to reach a higher potential by honestly working on themselves, systematically and consciously. The effects of kundalini yoga vary somewhat with each practitioner, or more accurately, each person will probably be aware of certain benefits given his/her needs and expectations.
Kundalini yoga in medical research
Recently there has been a growing interest within the medical community to study the physiological effects of meditation, and some of these studies have applied the discipline of kundalini yoga to their clinical settings (Lazar et.al, 2000; Arambula et.al, 2001; Capurroa et.al, 2003). Shannahoff-Khalsa (2004) developed the kundalini yoga protocol for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The protocol was later adapted to clinical trials.
The possibility of adverse effects
According to many teachers of meditation, and the school of Transpersonal Psychology, it is not considered wise to engage in contemplative practices, such as kundalini yoga, without the guidance of a credible teacher, or without thorough foreknowledge of the chosen spiritual path. Many spiritual teachers and psychologists consider any intense contemplative or spiritual practice without the support of a cultural context, or without the support of thorough psychological and physical preparation, to be unfortunate, or even dangerous. Both Bogart (1991) and Lukoff, Lu & Turner (1998) notes the growing occurrence of meditation-related problems in western contemplative life.
External links
Research on kundalini yoga
- Institute for Nonlinear Science - University of California, San Diego (http://inls.ucsd.edu/)
- Holostic and Integrative Medicine Group - University of California, San Diego (http://cyberdev.ucsd.edu/groups/hi-med/academicpapers.html)
- Harvard University Gazette - Meditation changes temperatures (http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2002/04.18/09-tummo.html)
- The Internet Yogi - The Research Group for Mind-Body dynamics (http://www.theinternetyogi.com/html/mind_body.html)
Miscellaneous
- ReligionFacts.com - Kundalini Yoga (http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/practices/kundalini_yoga.htm)
- InteliHealth - Yoga For The Body And Mind. Article by By Howard LeWine, M.D. (http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/35320/35322/391147.html?d=dmtHMSContent)
- Columbia Encyclopedia article on Yoga (http://www.bartleby.com/65/yo/yoga.html)
- WMFE Special - Scientific American Frontiers (http://www.wmfe.org/24/highlights/scientific_american/worried_sick/index.asp)
- PBS Science Hotline - Interview with Sara Lazar of Harvard Medical School (http://www.pbs.org/saf/1310/hotline/hlazar.htm)
- 'Sacred Space' Kundalini Meditation (http://www.sacredspaceyogasanctuary.com)
- kundalini bibliography (http://www-cad.eecs.berkeley.edu/~keutzer/kundalini/kunda-bib-web.html)
- kundalini faq (http://www-cad.eecs.berkeley.edu/~keutzer/kundalini/kundalini-faq.html)
References and further reading
General and academic
- Bogart, Greg (1991) The Use of Meditation In Psychotherapy - A Review of the Literature. The American Journal of Psychotherapy, volume XLV, number 3, 1991, pp. 383–412 PubMed Abstract PMID 1951788 PubMed — indexed for MEDLINE
- Lukoff, David; Lu, Francis G. & Turner, Robert P. (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.
- 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
- Cromie, William J. (2002) "Research: Meditation canges temperatures: Mind controls body in extreme experiments". Harvard University Gazette, 18 April 2002
- 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 PubMed Abstract PMID 10841380
- 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
- Shannahoff-Khalsa DS. (2004) An introduction to Kundalini yoga meditation techniques that are specific for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. J Altern Complement Med. 2004 Feb;10(1):91-101. PubMed Abstract PMID 15025884
- 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 MEDLINEnl:Kundalini-Yoga