Phil, since you have a background in biology, I wonder if you've ever considered a physiological basis for what we call kundalini.

The little that I know about biology tells me that cells normally carry a small negative electrical charge. This is due to the cells expelling sodium ions, which carry a positive charge. The small negative charge inside the cell relative to outside the cell is called the "resting" potential.

When the nervous system is excited, electrical impulses travel from cell to cell. This actually happens by cells opening to allow sodium ions to flow in. The reduced voltage differential between inside and outside the cell is called the "action" potential.

Is it possible that, in kundalini syndrome, the mechanism for maintaining nerve cells' "resting" potential has somehow become damaged, and the subjective experience feels like unwanted or uncomfortable "energy" in the body? What do you think?

There's a biological basis for it, for sure, and it undoubtedly incorporates these natural dynamics of "bio-electricity." In my book on the k process, I refer to this basic energy as "bios," which could also be understood as chi or prana operating in the body. I don't think the k process signifies some kind of defect, however, but an intensification of bios in association with changes in states of consciousness, which affect the brain.

Jana Dixon has a lot of speculative info on the biology of kundalini that you might find interesting.
- see http://biologyofkundalini.com

Oh, wow, what a treasure chest! It will take me some time to understand all that. You’d think that, given enough time and expensive equipment, it would be possible for researchers to figure out exactly what is happening in k syndrome.

I've communicated with Jana in the past. Like you say, quite a treasure chest, but so much is speculative, or anecdotal.

There have been research efforts on kundalini, including organizations that promoted such. I presented workshops for them years ago, though I'd have to say that there was no hard-core research.

Here are a few links to check out.
- http://people.eecs.berkeley.ed...i/kundalini-faq.html

https://www.icrcanada.org/rese...ch/whystudykundalini

https://kundaliniresearchinstitute.org/?page_id=602

As you'll note, the research tends to study people who do kundalini yoga, and doesn't always have a clear definition of what is kundalini awakening. What's being "studied" is movements of chi, or what I've called bios, adopting a more Western terminology, and you can't really get it at directly; you can only study its effect, or, with acupuncture, massages and related interventions, see what affects its flow.