Starting the chakra path, some questions--

[Swan]

Firstly, I sincerely thank all you people for having such an excellent place where we can share ideas and suggestions/guidance with people who are thinking about the same thing. I have sustained a tailbone injury recently (currently doing fine but having restrictions) and directed towards yoga by my doctor. I started reading about it on internet and this is how I came to know about chakra and kundalini. Since then, I have got a strong feeling that some apparently discrete events in past couple of years were actually a web of events to prepare my mind and to direct me here, and now I must make a conscious choice to follow this path. I have heard these names relating to chakra and kundalini and saw the pictures before, but these were mere names of some high level mystic ‘thing’, but now I got a lot more clarity and got to know the possibilities of following the path while living a common man’s life. As I plan to start, I have some questions:

What is the difference between ‘opening chakra’ and ‘awakening kundalini’ (both in terms of objective and procedure)?

My understanding says that my root chakra and sacral chakra is operating below normal. I can trace some reason to my budding years, and I think I am all set to set it right. Please tell me how to proceed to open them without triggering kundalini?

People sometimes appreciate my sense of humor, I have love in my heart and I can feel for others. May I consider that the third and fourth chakra is open or working properly?

At times I feel slight pressure followed by faint movement between my brows (third eye). It has increased in past couple of years, and I get it whenever I concentrate. Actually, couple of years ago, I read somewhere that life force centers between brows and people who meditates, concentrates here. I did not do meditation much but sometimes I used to concentrate here. Since then, I can feel this. I am very much fantasy prone, and it does not take much to get lost in an imaginary situation. When I laugh or I am tense, veins shows on my forehead (so the movement or pressure may be something very physical like sinus – ha ha, but the movement does not seem to follow the heartbeat). So what do you think about my third eye chakra?

I have read elsewhere also, and gone though elaborate experiences of people in AYP forum about a forced or premature awakening of kundalini. It made the best possible gift in their life (or may be lifes) the worst nightmare (my heartfelt best wishes for them for a speedy recovery and the taste of the bliss). I think I understood the statement that it better come a life time later than a minute too soon. Now, how do I know that I am not triggering kundalini when I am not ready, while I am working on chakras? And, how would I know when I am ready?

Something in the core of my heart says it will be a great thing to have the power awakened, however i have no clear idea. Would you please comment on what are the changes the life experiences when it wakes up the energy?

Thank you once again, and Om Shanti to all of you.

[JDH]

You are ready as you will ever be.  Read the lessons about self pacing and you will be fine.  Even a "kundalini surge" is not such a bad thing if you understand the framework of the AYP lessons and you self pace accordingly.  There's really nothing to be afraid of, it's just that it can be quite awesome and overwhelming from time to time (moreso when I started out than lately).

The awakening of kundalini, and the opening of chakras are both part of what the AYP lessons call 'ecstatic conductivity.'  The opening of energy pathways in our bodies.  It is like a baby learning the parts of its new body.  These are my hands, these are my arms, these are my feet, this is my nose, etc.  Just like that, as ecstatic conductivity increases, the chakras and energy pathways open up.  We can feel new pathways, feel chakras.  Although there may be a first time that we notice a particular pathway or chakra, and that first time can be rather amazing, the opening is not a singular event, more of an ongoing process.  As the process continues, the pathways become quite normal.  Just as normal as our hands and feet and nose

How does life change from the awakened energy?  Not much at all.  Sometimes it just feels good for no reason when the energy is moving.  As for advice on what to do... I can highly recommend the AYP system of practices.  Enjoy.

[bewell]

Welcome!

All the lessons you will need to get started on a path of gentle K awakening is on the left of this page:  The Key Lessons.  Begin at the beginning and read your way down the lessons until you get to the lesson on Deep Meditation.  This is where your practices begin.  

Joyful, and safe travels[]

[Etherfish]

There is no need to think about individual chakras and what's open or not, or even kundalini.
Just read the main lessons or get the "deep meditation" book first, and begin practices. Yogani writes about the chakras in the lessons, but the gist of it is - don't worry about it; meditating consistently twice a day balances everything out.

[Kahlia]

Everyone here has such good advice! Meditation is the most important... for me I studied and read about the chakras and the chakra system to get a better understanding and insight of them and then once I felt more comfortable then I applied what I learnt to my practice.

[Swan]

Hi all, thanks for your reply and thanks one more time for simplifying things. I have got AYP books you guys recommended and started reading and practicing deep meditation.

[bewell]

Oh, that's excellent!

[Swan]

Hi, it has been little more than a week I have started meditation and spinal breathing.

While in meditation, and I lose track among other thoughts, my mind effortlessly builds up some sort of visualizations while coming back to the mantra. One example could be that I was in an open field of some though and as I am coming back, I have drawn some curtain and not I am in a dimly lit place with something illuminated in front of me, maybe a big crystal pillar like object or sometimes a small earthen light used in hindu worshiping (pradip). Or sometimes just the letters of the mantra illuminating before dark or dimly lit background. My question is, is any kind of visualization encouraged in AYP for deep maeditation? Or, these are part of thoughts which also should be erased in course of ‘coming back to the mantra’? Do you people see anything?

Yogani suggested in his book that we should not do any power/rigorous yoga before meditation. I was doing sirsasana (topsy tarvy/headstanding) and feeling ok about it, and I was conscious that I am not overdoing this. Now, will that be considered power yoga? And, should I do this sometime other than before meditation?

I am little confused with spinal breathing. One way to do it seems imagining a sparkling (ENERGY would sparkle a little! Right? ) white point moves up leaving bright trail – it sparkles for a second in third eye and comes down erasing the trail – and my attention follows it. Another way seems like the spinal cord is there as it always is, no sparkling energy moving up-down distinctly, and my attention is following it like (suppose) a spot light is following a pillar in a high rise illuminating only a small part at a time. I do not know well that how I made up this two, and I have a feeling that both cannot be correct. Please suggest.

[bewell]

Hi Dawncalling,

Sounds like you are making good progress in creating a daily practice routine.  Nice job.

You have offered three questions: one on DM, one on Asanas, and one on SBP.  Please consider, in the future, separating the questions out and putting them in the specifically appropriate forum.  In so doing, you might get more response.

I will offer my thoughts on each of your questions here.

First, on visions during DM:  we call that "scenery" and however cool and meaningful it may appear, the practice is that when we are aware of having lost the mantra, we gently return to the mantra.  

Second, on doing "power yoga" before sits.  Interesting question.  Do to lack of experience /study, I do not know what to tell you.  

Third, on visualization during SBP:  The Key Lesson says, "allow your attention to travel upward inside a tiny thread, or tube, you visualize..."  In my opinion/experience the main thing is that your attention is tracing that thread or tube.  How the visualization takes form can vary.

Be encouraged:  you are doing well.

[Swan]

Thanks Bewell,

I posted the yoga question in asana forum and really received great responses.

In the mean time life has moved on[] rather crazily this time[] and i am down with a issue with crown sensation[xx(]. I am posting that experience as a new topic. Your comment is most welcome.

Thanks for encouraging.