Potential Risks & Negative Effects of Kundalini Yoga

Until about 30 years ago, kundalini yoga was reserved for elite yoga masters. Although this deeply spiritual practice aims to ignite joy, peace and strength in body and mind, the powerful transformative experiences associated with this form of yoga sometime manifest as negative experiences.

Effects

• Meditation

  Many kundalini exercises and meditations alter consciousness, raise dormant energy and balance the hemispheres of the brain. An individual correcting serious imbalances is more likely to have a powerful or even frightening experience.

Function

• Chakra energy

  According to the Spiritual Competency Resource Center, the experience of kundalini rising is usually an unintentional side effect of the energy at the base of the spine moving through the chakras.

Identification

• Laughing can be a result of kundalini yoga.

  The most common symptoms include heat or cold sensations, tremors, nausea, uncontrolled movements, laughing or crying. These unbalanced energies and repressed emotions surface because of spiritual cleansing.

Expert Insight

• Don't mix drugs and kundalini.

  Yogi Bhajan, the kundalini master responsible for bringing the ancient science to the West said, "Yoga mixed with dope and a lot of sex is bad and people can freak out when the centers open that way."

Prevention/Solution

• Detox with a vegetarian diet.

  Avoid discomfort by taking it slowly until your body and mind are used to the subtle energy shifts involved. Livestrong.com recommends purifying the body with bath salts and a vegetarian diet.