I still stand by my previous point, but my pointing was perhaps a bit vague and potentially denouncing of practices that I actually support. I also reflect that in light of the key principle of Yoga Church of “non-sectarian dialogue”, I may have played into a bit of “sectarianism”, so let me offer a course correction by having a little “dialogue” with myself.

There’s nothing wrong with shaking and heavy breathing practices in themselves. A vast array of spiritual traditions utilise these techniques as a doorway to healing, improving energy flow and accessing higher states of consciousness, and modern science has also validated how this style of practice can reset the autonomic nervous system (complete a fight-or-flight cycle), release emotion or trauma, and discharge stress and move into calm. It’s been demonstrated clearly that animals do this naturally; it’s easy to see how our civilised, self-controlled society prevents this natural healing process; it’s logical to consciously reclaim and experiment with them to heal our animal bodies.

In fact, I’ve been a big fan of shaking for years, and also enjoy a good Wim Hoff-style heavy breathing now and then. Interestingly, though, I never use these practices for Kundalini activation. The simple reason is I find them too rough, though I will go into more detail about this later. This is also why I disagree with the intense bandhas (muscle locks/supports) found in Ashtanga and much of Hatha yoga. The problem that I’m actually pointing to is a combination of degree (too much), awareness (too little) and setting (unsafe/not followed up), on part of the instructor/teacher/activator, and of spiritual consumerist ego on part of the client/receiver/practitioner.

It’s quite challenging to talk generally about this, because practices that look incredibly similar may actually be radically different from the perspective of someone’s nervous system. Can this specific person handle this level of activation? Can they integrate it, and is the space set up to ensure healthy integration? Are they moving from a place of fear, or relaxation? There are many factors. Furthermore, I am mostly talking here about using violent shaking to activate Kundalini, not for trauma release. The two often go together, but I have a lot more faith in the latter than the former. I am also talking about the general excessive emphasis on Kundalini-based shaking (kriyas).

Specifically, I’m pointing a finger at “those people who caused those effects I saw in those other people”. But more usefully, I invite you to shift focus from “those people” to the very real trend they represent.

I will try to summarise this trend as a “unbalanced embrace of spiritual embodiment practices wrapped in consumeristic pursuit of peak experiences”. It is true that most psychologists and scientists are not ‘spiritually’ informed. It is also true that many spiritual embodiment practitioners are not trauma informed. I see both of these tendencies rapidly improving, but this problem still deserves to be addressed.

It’s also hard to evaluate in the moment and from the outside because Kundalini has her own intelligence, style and timing, regardless of what triggers her. Sometimes dramatic, explosive activations (that look or straight up are traumatic in the moment) are what is required for the long-term health of the system. But when I see people with long-term neurological damage, that clearly points towards some error in practice along the way.

Every spiritual tradition I know of – Taoist Qigong, shamanic trance dance, Kundalini yoga, etc. – WARN the practitioners that certain practices can have adverse effects and TRAIN them in advance to minimise or avoid these. These are also based in systems with the goal of spiritual realisation, where teachers are expected to hold a very high level of consciousness. I want my brain surgeon to have at least 9 years of schooling, not just a bachelor's degree in biology and a summer course in scalpel handling.

Still, I (nearly) fully support the extraction and reinterpretation of these practices into the mainstream (really!? really!) because I actually prioritise net positive influence over “do no harm” (really? really (consider that the average brain surgeon needs to kill a dozen patients before saving hundreds. At worst, this is what’s happening, but most of it’s a lot safer than that). Still, let’s do everything we can to minimise that harm!! To me, Kundalini is like psychedelics, rocket fuel and the more intense style of Tantric practices: if you’re playing with this level of power, you need an extra level of both maturity and purity.

So let’s get to the main problem: ego and ignorance. Kundalini looks much more fascinating from the outside than other awakenings, and it’s easy for the mind to become attracted to. The spiritual ego wants to be “awakened” and “advanced” and “hold the secret” and “be one of the elect”, but it’s just this striving that prevents the natural unfolding of Kundalini. This attitude can certainly awaken Kundalini, but it’s also likely to keep it at a basic level, so let me make this clear:

Spontaneous shaking is the sign of early – or early-to-mid –Kundalini development. Certainly, shakes can arise in the later stages here and there, when you’re running much more energy than normal, but shaking is usually expected in the early stages, when Kundalini is running through blockages, or after initiation (Shaktipath). Kundalini is ‘meant to’ calm, to move from occasional floods to an increasingly continuous stream as it integrates into the tissues and up the chakras, and becomes transformed from raw biological force to divine intelligence. Consider the kung fu master (minimal, precise, calm) as opposed to a barroom brawler, swinging wildly and burning out. The latter approach is great for trauma release work, but I personally have little faith in activating and cultivating Kundalini this way (though maybe my data set is be misrepresentative). Anyway, the problem isn’t intensity, but a lack of consciousness and a focus on external symptoms over the transformation of consciousness..

And yes, I’m aware that I sometimes get a little judgmental, wanting the beginners to practice like intermediates. Still, there’s truth in it. I see many people stuck in the early stages of Kundalini expression, and many teachers who don’t even know about the later stages. They frame intense kriyas as the ultimate sign of progress and guide towards them using crude methods – and let’s not even start on how easily people unconsciously emulate kriyas to meet the expectations of the group or the teacher.

But this calming integration isn’t just my experience or personal bias. Many systems and teachers affirm this path. Kundalini cultivation is a natural developmental path, not a tool for getting high or spiritual one upmanship.

So thank you. If you’ve read this far, you probably care a lot. I appreciate that. There’s much more to say, but I’ll stop here. In gratitude, I offer a few tips from my own practice, as a kind of reward – you profound and compassionate scholar, you ❤️

Shaking from the inside

Don’t shake from the muscles. Feel into the core of your being and shake from there. Notice the impact on the deep tissues and follow what feels good. Follow energy if it arises, but don’t force it.

Shaking => Waving

Try setting up a straight posture, feel into the deep tissues and start waving your body like a snake. It can be really good to start with shaking to wake up the energy and then move into waving. See how little movement you can make and still produce an electric current.

Clench your muscles

Feel into the core of your palms and slowly make a fist, like an evil warlock or something. If you start trembling, slow down and feel the energy behind the trembling. Let it spread through your wrists and arms into your entire body. Do a squat. Pretend to be a dragon: wild, big and powerful. But move slowly. The aim is to activate the full body with energy from the inside, not to look like anything in particular.

Vocal activation

There’s nothing wrong with shaking and heavy breathing in themselvesy become voiced, from gravelly grunts to a clear note and back again. Feel the voice beginning in the throat and chest. Play with the pitch. Try yawning with your full body and allowing whatever kinds of expression want to come out. Don’t make it sound pretty, unless IT wants to.Go on: try it now. Try one at the time, or all at once, and let me know how it feels 🙂

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