What makes kundalini yoga different from Hatha?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

The question arise with my old friend. We started together in Hatha and she turned to Kundalini about a year ago. Moreover is it some obsession with kundalini yoga, since it is “rises kundalini energy” I tried to figure out the difference. HYP spends some time on Kundalini too. Seems like Hatha is also about kundalini rise…

H3O features Kundalini yoga as a highly spiritual practice…which I assume almost every type of yoga does…

Can someone shed a light if there is a real difference, or kundalini is just another brand to sell more turbans? :::)))

#2

Kundalini yoga as thaught by Yogi Bhajan is a new age brand of hatha yoga, this has nothing to do with kundalini awakening. It is not possible to raise kundalini through exercises, because these are done from self effort and that is not how kundalini awakening works. Kundalini can only awaken with the grace of the godess, most people need a bona fide guru to make this happen. Hatha yoga is meant as a preparatory practice to awaken kundalini. Hatha yoga prepares the body through clearing the nadis pathways and controlling prana. Even for people who do not take hatha yoga to the next level, the side effect of working with asana and pranayama is that you will attain a healthy body. In combination with Ayurveda, the preparatory phases of hatha yoga are very valuable to the modern person, if only for health benefits. That is what makes yoga so popular. Unfortunately, it has become a big problem in new age yoga that people project their personal psychological defects and fantasy theories on tantrik concepts like chakras and kundalini.

#3

Yogi Bhajan is the only one…but there are lot nof others teaching “kundalini yoga”

#4

[QUOTE=CityMonk;71423]Yogi Bhajan is the only one…but there are lot nof others teaching “kundalini yoga”[/QUOTE]

aGreed. :oops:

#5

Greetings.

To this forum old-timers: was there any account(s) posted on this forum of personal life/practice stories, related to the series of events known as “kundalini awakening”, also the post-awakening stage, the processes that occur accordingly, the difficulties one encounters. How many months/years it takes to move from certain “stages” to further “stages”. This has to be honest, and genuine accounts of dedicated, lifelong practitioners. Based on experience. Thank you.

Hands palms together,

el gatito

#6

Hello Folks,

Kundalini is not a “form,” it’s a phenomena.

All yoga is hatha yoga.

siva

#7

Very well, but, regardless of definitions (which could indeed vary, based on different kind of scripture) – there are some stages of practice that can be regarded as “advanced”.

I would like some references to real-life accounts, serious ones, wherein the practitioner is working on their inner cultivation way [years] after what is known as “kundalini awakening”.

Hands palms together,

el gatito

#8

[QUOTE=el gatito;71723]Very well, but, regardless of definitions (which could indeed vary, based on different kind of scripture) – there are some stages of practice that can be regarded as “advanced”.

I would like some references to real-life accounts, serious ones, wherein the practitioner is working on their inner cultivation way [years] after what is known as “kundalini awakening”.

Hands palms together,

el gatito[/QUOTE]

one person who comes to mind is robert bruce, who describes, in part, his first experience with kundalini rising. here is a link to a portion of that discourse.

the original kundalini rising text, the hatha yoga pradipika, is considerably different from modern forms of yoga, particularly the distinctions between yoga and yog; between stretching and preparing the body for prana; between speculation and experience; between self knowledge and purely intellectual study.

the westernized brands have turned spirituality into a drive thru quick fix; what used to take 1,000 lifetimes in india now can be done in 15 minutes (supposedly) in an eckhart tolle seminar. In other words, westernized yoga is selling something it does not have which is spirituality; including prana, kundalini, samadhi, bliss, ectasy and ultimately enlightenment. and westerners are paying for something that they are not getting.

it is a pickle.

-dale

#9

It is not possible to raise kundalini through exercises, because these are done from self effort and that is not how kundalini awakening works. Kundalini can only awaken with the grace of the godess, most people need a bona fide guru to make this happen.

This is incorrect, the goal of Hatha Yoga is to awaken the Kundalini and Hatha Yoga does not at all say that we need a guru or the grace of the goddess(a mythological being) to awaken the Kundalini, but rather Kundalini is awakened through the practices in Hatha Yoga, especially through Asanas, Mudras, Bandhas and Pranayama. Hatha Yoga is not a preparatory practice to Kundalini awakening, but is a preparatory practice to Raja Yoga.

Self effort is implied in the word Hatha Yoga, where Hatha means ‘forced’ Yoga. Its esoteric meaning is to unite the energy of the solar and lunar channel(Ida and Pingala) which is the prerequisite to enabling the awakening of the Kundalini energy.

#10

The goal of hatha yoga is indeed kundalini jagaran, but this doesn’t happen through doing a few disjuncted exercises and breathing techniques, the techniques are there to purify the body and prepare for the more advanced stages of Raja yoga as practiced in Natha sampradaya which is different from the Samkhya based meditative yoga of Patanjali. Kundalini awakening in hatha yoga requires guidance of a guru in the Natha tradition and mystical transfer of energy from the guru which is called shaktipatha. Kundalini awakening is part of tantra and agama, according to this philosophy the grace (anugraha) of the devi is necessary for awakening. The force in hatha yoga is from the Shakti that pierces through the chakras.

#11

if people spent half as much time practicing yoga as they spend arguing about it on the www, there would have been many people speaking from actual experience from raising kundalini. in other words, if kundalini was that important to everyone, they would apply their energy to that.

#12

Kundalini awakening in hatha yoga requires guidance of a guru in the Natha tradition and mystical transfer of energy from the guru which is called shaktipatha. Kundalini awakening is part of tantra and agama, according to this philosophy the grace (anugraha) of the devi is necessary for awakening. The force in hatha yoga is from the Shakti that pierces through the chakras.

What you say is not incorrect, but I think you overemphasize the general tantra tradition and its emphasis on devi(which even within tantra has a physio-psychological meaning) Hatha Yoga can be practiced outside of the fold of religion of Tantra, and in its core text Hatha Yoga Pradapika I do not believe it says that a guru is required to awaken the Kundalini or that the grace of devi must be obtained, but correct me if I’m wrong.

#13

[QUOTE=FutureHumanDestiny;71753]<snip>

and westerners are paying for something that they are not getting.[/QUOTE]
Sadly. Yes, that was the outcome of my own research, and many years of observations in this respect.

Hands palms together,

el gatito

#14

[QUOTE=Surya Deva;71765]What you say is not incorrect, but I think you overemphasize the general tantra tradition and its emphasis on devi(which even within tantra has a physio-psychological meaning) Hatha Yoga can be practiced outside of the fold of religion of Tantra, and in its core text Hatha Yoga Pradapika I do not believe it says that a guru is required to awaken the Kundalini or that the grace of devi must be obtained, but correct me if I’m wrong.[/QUOTE]
Hatha yoga as described in the hatha yoga pradipika, gheranda samhita, goraksha paddhati etc. in its full form is only practiced in the Natha sampradaya. But I don’t think that hatha yoga originated in the Natha Sampradaya like some people claim. The reason I doubt it is that in the [I]Aparokshanubhuti[/I] Shankaracharya also refers to Hatha yoga as a preliminairy practice for the type of raja yoga he describes and since Shankaracharya predates Gorakshanatha, it is evident that hatha yoga also existed outside the Natha Sampradaya. Another text that is related to hatha yoga outside the Natha Sampradaya is the Yoga Yajnavalkya Samhita which follows a more patanjali (ashtanga) style of yoga. This text was followed by Krishnamacharya who didn’t consider any of the Natha sampradaya texts to be important. So I do think there is some basis for the practice of hatha yoga outside the natha sampradaya, but it is not the same as the path of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. In general though, the path of kundalini awakening always requires the guidance of a bonafide guru, because it has many dangers associated with it. In a very rare case Shiva initiates a disciple himself without the interference of a guru.

#15

[QUOTE=Sarvamaṅgalamaṅgalā;71761]The goal of hatha yoga is indeed kundalini jagaran, but this doesn’t happen through doing a few disjuncted exercises and breathing techniques, the techniques are there to purify the body and prepare for the more advanced stages of Raja yoga as practiced in Natha sampradaya which is different from the Samkhya based meditative yoga of Patanjali. Kundalini awakening in hatha yoga requires guidance of a guru in the Natha tradition and mystical transfer of energy from the guru which is called shaktipatha. Kundalini awakening is part of tantra and agama, according to this philosophy the grace (anugraha) of the devi is necessary for awakening. The force in hatha yoga is from the Shakti that pierces through the chakras.[/QUOTE]

Excellent post.

#16

Venerables:

Now regarding some sources for research. Other than “Kundalini Bibliography” by Kurt Keutzer (and I mean, “keutzer AT eecs DOT berkeley DOT edu”), are there any other lists of works related to Kundalini, both classic and contemporary? Though his one seems to be “fairly comprehensive” indeed, as per his words, the Internet is changing fast.

Also, though his “Siddha Mahayoga FAQ”, and the “Kundalini Yogas FAQ”, looks pretty decent, are there any other resources, that would be similarly thoughtful, and well presented, on the Net?

Hands palms together,

el gatito

#17

[QUOTE=Sarvamaṅgalamaṅgalā;71769]…Another text that is related to hatha yoga outside the Natha Sampradaya is the Yoga Yajnavalkya Samhita which follows a more patanjali (ashtanga) style of yoga. This text was followed by Krishnamacharya who didn’t consider any of the Natha sampradaya texts to be important…[/QUOTE]
Are we speaking about Sanskrit only originals of the “Yoga Yajnavalkya Samhita”, and the Natha Sampradaya scripture, or there are English translations (no matter how “professional” or “amateur”) available on the Net presently?

With respect to solely classics, related to either Kashmir Shaivism, tantric, yogic, or nath traditions, that would speak about Kundalini cultivation, is there one source of references to English translations available on the Net?

Hands palms together,

el gatito

#18

The best book I have read on Kundalini is “Living with Kundalini” by Gopi Krishna. He is considered an authority on the subject of Kundalini, and had a Kundalini awakening experience himself which almost destroyed his life, because his nervous system was not ready to take that tremendous surge of energy. Eventually, he was able to live with it better and his entire life was transformed. The book is absolutely fascinating and highly recommended!

#19

comprehensive…:wink:

#20

all yoga will create on the kundalini more or less. which means you are doing any yoga you are doing kundalini yoga but here you have to understand that once kundalini awakened then need to control it and let it go in the sushumana ( middle ) nadi then only you get success.

also one more thing it is not a fun it is a really hard work to attain god. you can do it by your self but if some guru you can find then he can bless shaktipat on you and make your kundalini moving. he will control it also.

so simple thing is that you can do any yoga prana energy will activated and leads to kundalini awakening knowingly or unknowingly