When do I need to be carefull with Crown chakra?

[Emil]

Hi all,
I have a question and appreciate your response.

Background:
Since around last years this time, I have been experiencing very subtle sensations of ecstatic conductivity in different points in my body - generally on the sushumna. It started last year after a wonderful retreat. At that time I would only feel it while doing Siddhasana + Kechari 1.0.  During the past 12 months (specially after fixing my diet and shifting it more towards alkaline foods) it developed just a little bit further to the extent that it sometimes happens on it's own (generally after practices or when my stomach is empty. I can also bring some sensation up by doing sambhavi.) but it's very subtle. A very subtle pleasurable sensation.

Recent development:
Since last month I started experiencing some sensations on top of my head. It usually gets itchy a few times during meditation and I need to scratch it otherwise it will grab all of my attention for the rest of the meditation. I try to avoid putting attention there to avoid crown opening but then I need to scratch it a few times to keep it calm. (I'm naturally very sensitive to any sensation on my skin.)

Today, after morning practices I have been feeling some ecstacy on the top of my head. This has been with my for an hour now and I'm enjoying it but I'm still worried that paying attention to it can create more opening in the crown.

Now my questions:
1) Do I need to be worried about this or should I just enjoy it?
2) Do I need to be worried about my head getting itchy during meditation? do I need to scratch/calm it or can I let it steal some of my attention?
3) Do I need to cut back on my practices or try to activate my third eye chakra to take over from crown through practices like targetted bastrika?

[Christi]

Hi Emil,

What you are experiencing is the natural opening of the crown as your nervous system purifies. The practices are designed to do this, so there is no need to worry. You don't need to scratch your crown during meditation. If things are happening there, then just notice that and bring your attention back to the meditation object (breath or mantra). If it is so overwhelming that you cannot bring your attention away, then you can put your attention there until it calms down, and then come back to the meditation object.

If you keep SBP between root and brow, then you will have all the control you need to be able to manage the opening of the crown chakra. If you feel that too much energy is moving through the crown, causing instability in your life, you can use a gentle sambhavi mudra to bring it back to the third eye. If things get too much, then self-pace your practices accordingly. Too much means that you are uncomfortable with the pace of purification (feeling spun-out, ungrounded, disconnected etc.)

I wouldn't add  targetted bastrika at this stage, if you don't do it already.  Just let things carry on opening gently for a while.

http://www.aypsite.com/plus/199.html

Christi

[Emil]

quote:If it is so overwhelming that you cannot bring your attention away, then you can put your attention there until it calms down, and then come back to the meditation object.

Hi Christi,
Thanks for your response. So far it has been easy and comfortable. However I was worried that if I put my attention on the itchy top of my head, the crown would become ecstatic and then I wouldn't be able to take my attention off it and therefore get stuck in a cycle. That's why I've been trying to calm it through scratching it

I still practice SBP between root and third eye. I was thinking that if I do some targetted bastrika on the part of sushumna between the center of my head and the third eye, it would assure that most of the energy would come towards the third eye leaving the crown alone. Not sure if that's a valid argument or not.

[JDH]

Hi Emil,

Here's a good old thread with some more information on the crown.

http://www.aypsite.com/plus-forum/index.php?topic=1607#1607%20br%20/

[Christi]

quote:I was thinking that if I do some targetted bastrika on the part of sushumna between the center of my head and the third eye, it would assure that most of the energy would come towards the third eye leaving the crown alone. Not sure if that's a valid argument or not.

Hi Emil,

I can see the logic behind it. But the reason that I would not advise it at this time, is because, with AYP practice, the crown is opened primarily by a trickle of prana that is going up from the centre of the head through the crown during SBP. This trickle of prana runs through a nadi called the Brahma nadi. In AYP Yogani simply calls it a "branch" of the shushumna nadi. So it is prana moving along the shushumna nadi between the root and the ajna (brow) that is causing the opening of the crown.

Targetted spinal bastrika between root and brow would increase the flow of prana in that channel, but could also increase the rate of opening of the crown chakra. So if you are concerned about it, then I would leave it out. You can always experiment of course, and see how it goes. You're in the driving seat.

The important thing to remember is that crown openings are not something to be avoided at all cost. When the time is right, it happens, and is very beautiful and blissful, but you have to give it time.

Christi

[Emil]

Thanks Christi, That was quite helpful.