Method & Setting

The thing about kriyas in the context of Kundalini activation is that they are spontaneous and unpredictable. They can be extremely disruptive. For me, until I became rigorous with this dedicated time and space, they would wake me up many nights and keep me away all night long. It was devastating my ability to work, even though I also knew the movements were releasing all sorts of old trauma and working wonders for my body.

After some tinkering this Kundalini (K) and I seem to have reached an understanding of a sort, a relatively "steady state". Sometimes the kriyas still arrive in the middle of the night but much less frequently, and more briefly. Sometimes they are even subtle enough that I can sleep through them, and will experience them in dreams, which is actually pretty cool.

Experience Methodology

I currently set aside a dedicated Kriya session 1 day a week for anywhere from 3 to 8 hours, typically on Saturday mornings unless life prevents. When unavoidable, I move it to Sunday instead. I do not miss a week.

Sometimes, though less than before I instituted this rule, they will occur at other times, usually overnight, waking me up. Part of the purpose of instituting this practice was to provide a dedicated container and reduce the interference with "regular schedules".

On the night prior, if a focus or intention has not already made itself known, I ask inside for guidance on what needs to be worked on. Overnight, I will frequently dream an answer to the question.

On the planned day, I sleep until I wake naturally, then take a light breakfast, and my typical vitamins. I take a dose of hemp (more info here) while setting my intentions. This is something thoughtfully articulated in alignment with what has been coming up. The words matter. I sometimes mull over them a while to make sure any nuances are acknowledged. Where relevant and appropriate to share, these will be noted in my Practice Logs. 

As the hemp takes effect, or sometimes well before, I will have a sense of what activities are going to be “called for” today. This is highly intuitive and body-led. I do not “think about it”…I let it come up in feelings. For me, this is very distinct from my normal way of “being” though with practice I’m increasingly able to switch approaches on demand without the herbal aids. I believe this is a sign that we are rebuilding the neuro-physiological connections required to receive those signals coming up from the body. 

Most often I feel the urge to retreat to my yoga space, burn some incense, meditate or begin some gentle yoga until the movements begin. But sometimes instead the nudge is for a run, walk, to find an outdoor spot in a park to practice my yoga, or even to just garden or do chores in an embodied way. There are no rules, other than LISTEN TO THE BODY. DO WHAT IT WANTS. (I want to acknowledge the role of addiction here…please click through if of interest to you.) The Kriyas take many forms.

Research Methodology

As a researcher, this is a very qualitative and empirical approach. It may also qualify as an "Intuitive Inquiry". (See Braud. 2011. Transforming Self and Others through Research : Transpersonal Research Methods and Skills for the Human Sciences and Humanities.) Using that framework's 5 lenses, I am currently mostly in a data collection cycle, after several years of engagement with literature.

To gather this "data", I make notes of the activities, tools, requests, energetic flows, and breakthrough or insights of each session. These are published here under “Practice Logs”. I keep some aspects private, but publish the majority of the experiences in the hope of eventually finding some co-researchers.

Eventually I will publish a list of all my commonly used “tools” with links to those I feel ok about recommending. I also hope to provide some “methods” organized by chakra or area of emphasis.

Yoga Space Setup

The set up of my dedicated space is critical. While I am not always called to be there, having this space with its specific amenities is extremely helpful and a comfort during more intense weeks. This space includes:

  1. tissues and a bucket nearby in case of purging or tears
  2. warming and cooling stuff (blankets, layers, fans) to help regulate body temperature through practice
  3. an iPhone connected speaker (I let intuition guide my playlist selection...it leads to some interesting places)
  4. a selection of resistance bands, rolled up towels, foam rollers, tennis ball, really any sort of resistance gear (learn more about working with "resistance")
  5. candles and / or incense
  6. devotional objects that help me feel into the Body with love, care, and respect. This is fundamentally a spiritual act
  7. beverages - I tend to keep both water and tea nearby, often adding electrolytes to the water as kriyas seem to burn through them at an alarming rate