Hi,
Four months ago I went to a Gypsy psychic near where I live for advice, she ended up talking me into getting a spiritual cleansing for my family and I. After 2 days of the start of the cleansing I started feeling extremely sped up and wound up, and started getting pressure headaches, dizziness, shakiness all over the body, tinnitus (which is ringing in the ears), and even my blood vessels and muscles feel very tight and constricted constantly. It’s very uncomfortable to feel like this, and at this point I fear what being like this for so long is doing to my health. I’ve tried everything I can think of energy and reiki healings, prayer, meditation, hatha yoga (which actually just made it worse) sea salt baths nothing has helped. Someone just told me she might have awakened the Kundalini energy in me. Can anyone tell me, is this true? I’m desperate to find a solution to this.

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I am very confused and require some help.
I started meditating a few days ago and found that I have a little heaviness in the body and problems with vision such as minor blurriness. I believe it is as a result of the mental state I am in. I really don’t know what to do. Should I stop meditating and will it go away? Or should I try something else. When I try focusing on my breathing, it causes me to become dizzy. I don’t know what is happening.
Thanks for the help.
Regards,
David

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My kundalini raised over a year ago and I have developed an extreme sensitivity to energy. I usually feel pressure in my head. Yesterday I tried a meditation technique in which I tried to go into a place of silence. I succeeded and stayed there for about ten minutes. During that time I felt no head pressure, but instead, a very thin, refined feeling. Eventually, I began to let thoughts return, and with them returned the head pressure, which feels like very uncomfortable bulges of mass going through my pituitary gland, crown, back of my skull, etc. What also arose was a feeling of general irritation and judgmentalism. I am just wondering if I am feeling the actual mass of thought, returning alpha brain waves, or what?
I am a student of a Course in Miracles, which states that thought and emotion is of the ego, which is itself a foreign invader. These experiences are raising all kinds of speculation about the nature of energy and whether it is of a divine nature or if it is egoic. I would appreciate your comments.
Majidah

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I have read in Living from the Heart that there should never be retention after the exhalation. Can you explain why this is so? In the yogic Square Breath Pranayam it is described as four equal parts of inhalation, retention, exhalation and retention (after the exhalation). Is this latter practice harmful? Which is the truth?
In appreciation,
Ann-Marie

Dear Ann-Marie,
Some schools teach a breathing technique where the breath is held after the exhalation. The reason for this breath is to force consciousness out of the body. Breath is life; no breath is like no life. When you hold the exhalation, you are sustaining a period of low oxygenation, which puts the body into a weakened state. The sensation of bodiness is reduced, as are all the sensations of the body.
We should remember that many Yogic techniques were developed for monastic use, not for use by those who have obligations in the world. Also, the ultimate aim of Yoga is Samadhi, the “liberation” of consciousness from the body and mind. This is not healthy for the nervous system, or for the rhythm of the heart. It has been shown that the heart stops beating in Samadhi and goes into a high-speed flutter. (I participated in one of these studies, done by Dr. Herbert Benson, author of The Relaxation Response) Furthermore, Samadhi (like Kundalini yoga) creates disassociation, a serious psychological problem.
We teach a method that is designed for use in the world, which improves one’s health, relationships and accomplishments. A key part of this method is the expansion of the capacity of the heart, and this is accomplished partially by the retention of the inhalation. When the in-breath is retained, it increases the sensations of the body, especially the heartbeat sensation. The strong heartbeat draws one into the heart.
Energy flows on the breath in and out of the body; when this energy is stopped and held in the heart, the heart is forced to expand. This expansion is felt physically in the chest, and we use the sensation as a sign of the second stage of Heart Rhythm Meditation. The heart is also expanded in its capacity to hold emotion, which is energy. Expansion doesn’t happen if the exhalation is held, because there is no energy at that point in the breath cycle.
Different meditation practices are designed for different purposes. Before taking a practice, one should consider what is the purpose of that practice — what is it designed to do? The ancient mystics wanted to investigate the great mystery: what is death? They developed meditations that led to Samadhi, in which the body enters a state very close to death: no pulse, nearly flat brain waves, very low oxygen levels in the bloodstream, very low Central Nervous System Activity (CNA). These conditions have all been measured and documented. More recently, the mystics of the world have turned their attention to an even greater mystery: what is the purpose of life? To answer this question, different methods are needed — the methods which energize your heart.
Thank you for your question.

With love,

Puran

Hello,
I recently started a daily practice of Heart Rhythm Meditation, with two 20-minute sessions, working my way through the steps outline in Living from the Heart. However, I now have a terrible head cold and find the breathing patterns really difficult to maintain for more than a few minutes. How does one practice HRM when sick? Is there an easier practice to follow? I was doing so well so I find this current setback frustrating. Thanks for your help.
Robyn

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Do you know if Heart Rhythm Meditation is possible for someone with Multiple Sclerosis, given this disease’s negative effect on muscle control and thus the possible impact on diaphragmatic breathing? Has anyone had direct experience with adapting HRM to this special health challenge?

Lynn M.

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Dear friends,

We’re excited to share with you our next retreat, February 17-22, 2008, in Santa Barbara, CA. This is a wonderful opportunity to deepen the work of the heart. We’ll share meditation, movement, and time together in a beautiful setting. This retreat is all about building and deepening relationships. The path of the heart is the path of love, and part of the purpose of our lives is to learn how to love each other deeply and fully, abandoning all fears and doubts as the flow of love comes through us.

The closest and finest relationship in life is with one who understands, and this is only experienced by love.”
~Hazrat Inayat Khan

You have noticed, surely, that there are different types of hearts in the world, and that your heart is different from others. The type of heart you have determines the life you have.

• Some hearts are broad, some are deep.
• Some hearts soar into heights of joy while others dive into the inner depth.
• Some hearts have great power; others have a beautiful harmony.
• Some hearts can accommodate whatever environment they’re in,
• While other hearts can change the environment as they like.
• There is a full heart, and an empty heart,
• A heart that has all it can hold, and a heart that longs for something beyond.

I hope you can join us!

love,

Susanna

I came across your web site back in Feb. I had a heart attack then and while recovering I was looking for information about how to heal my heart and found this site. Since the heart attack I have had panic attacks and been in and out of the hospital, thinking I was having another attack.The doctors put me on lots of medication including Xanax. My drinking increased and I started eating the pills like candy. By July the dam busted. My mind and heart seemed to explode. I was awake for several days, as I could not sleep. It was if I had been poisoned. I began to hallucinate. I immediately quit the pills and the drinking but this state of mind continued for several weeks. It was very frightening for a couple of weeks. I thought I was losing my mind.

Things have calmed down. There are still some residual effects, like my ears ring all the time. It is almost as is I had been struck by lightning or electrocuted and I am feeling the after-effects. (more…)

I BELIEVE my Sister is having a premature KUNDALINI experience PLEASE HELP
Like i’ve said i believe my sister is going through a KUNDALINI experience. I HAVE done my research in the matter and found that she fits the profile. I am writing because i do not have the expertise to truly HELP her in this MATTER. WE were worried for her safety so we have put her in a psychiatric ward, but if they do not have the concept of a KUNDALINI experience then how can they help. they are treating her with a “Sigmund Freud” mentality, and not considering the “Carl Jung” possibility that the HUMAN is composed of both PHYSICAL and SPIRITUAL.
PLEASE if you or anyone you Know is in the field of KUNDALINI experiences

Leiva

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Dear Puran and Susanna,
Thank you for your work on the Four Dimensions of the Heart. I am interested in coming to one of your workshops. My question is have you worked with people with heart arrhythmias? I have atrial fibrillation and it seems to be moving now from “transcient”, where most of the time I was not having episodes to “persistent” (more and longer episodes). It is possible if I sign up for the workshop, I will be having an AF episode. I read and enjoyed your book, “Living from the Heart”.
Best Regards,
Marilyn

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