Characteristics of Kundalini-Related Sensory, Motor, and Affective Experiences During Tantric Yoga Meditation

Abstract

Traditional spiritual literature contains rich anecdotal reports of spontaneously arising experiences occurring during meditation practice, but formal investigation of such experiences is limited. Previous work has sometimes related spontaneous experiences to the Indian traditional contemplative concept of kundalini. Historically, descriptions of kundalini come out of Tantric schools of Yoga, where it has been described as a “rising energy” moving within the spinal column up to the brain. Spontaneous meditation experiences have previously been studied within Buddhist and Christian practices and within eclectic groups of contemplative practitioners. Prior explorations of kundalini have emphasized extreme experiences, sometimes having clinical consequences. We conducted a first such investigation of kundalini-related experiences within a sample of meditators from a single Tantric Yoga tradition (known as Ananda Marga) that emphasizes the role of kundalini. We developed a semi-structured questionnaire to conduct an exploratory pilot investigation of spontaneous sensory, motor and affective experiences during meditation practice. In addition to identifying the characteristics of subjective experiences, we measured quantity of meditation, supplemental practices, trait affect and trait mindfulness. We administered it to 80 volunteers at two Ananda Marga retreats. Among reported experiences, we found the highest prevalence for positive mood shifts, followed by motor and then sensory experiences. The frequency of spontaneous experiences was not related to the quantity of practiced meditation or trait measures of mindfulness and affect. Self-reports included multiple descriptions of rising sensations, sometimes being directly called kundalini. Experiences with rising sensations were complex and many included references to positive affect, including ecstatic qualities. There were also reports of spontaneous anomalous experiences. These experiences of rising sensations resemble prior clinical descriptions that were considered kundalini-related. The individuals who reported rising sensations could not be distinguished from other participants based on the incidence of experiences, quantity of meditation practice, or trait measures of mindfulness and affect. In contrast, greater amount of Tantric Yoga meditation practice was associated with greater positive affect, less negative affect and greater mindfulness. Further study of these exploratory findings and how they may be related to spiritual and well-being goals of meditation is warranted along with scientific investigation of purported kundalini phenomena.

Aspects of Higher Consciousness: A Psychometric Validation and Analysis of a New Model of Mystical Experience

“…4, 11). This process potentially causes energy sensations (Sanches & Daniels, 2008;Taylor, 2015), sexual sensations (Taylor, 2015), "spontaneous sensory, motor and affective experiences," (Maxwell & Katyal, 2022) and can manifest as an awakening (Lockley, 2019) that can result in a "strong transformative personal experience" (Hatley, 2022).…”

Reducing and deducing the structures of consciousness through meditation

“…At the same time, a feeling of being conscious devoid of doership/ego ( mahattattva ) appears to become salient in consciousness ( Figure 2H ). During this process, meditators may start reporting experiences like emptiness of (contents of) consciousness, an expanded sense of space and time, limitlessness of consciousness, everything as consciousness, or a feeling blissfulness beyond mundane joys and pleasures ( Piron, 2001 ; Gamma and Metzinger, 2021 ; Katyal and Goldin, 2021a ; Maxwell and Katyal, 2022 ). With yet more skill, a meditator may also be able to momentarily attain a state of mental stillness where all mental action is entirely suspended ( Figure 2G ).…”

“…If such a postulation is not agreeable to the meditator, they will not be initiated into the sixth lesson (and can continue with previous lessons). However, often the previous five lessons tend to induce gradually subtler blissful experiences in the meditator ( Maxwell and Katyal, 2022 ) building a curiosity about the possibility of a “transcendental blissful consciousness” by the time they arrive at the sixth lesson of meditation.…”