Phil, in your book on kundalini, you wrote:

" ...grimacing, wincing, and doing other bodily movements that I now see were spontaneous asanas, or yogic postures. In preparing to write this chapter, I identified at least fifteen asanas that I was moved to do during this phase. I still knew nothing about kundalini energy; if I had, I would have known that spontaneous asanas often accompany the awakening of kundalini, and the purpose of Hatha Yoga is to have prepared the body to endure these strange contortions when they come. My body endured, although there were times when I thought I would burst my eyeballs, so hard was I squeezing them. "


Over the past month I've been experiencing what I now think of as "spontaneous asanas." Mine mostly starting the abdomon and hips and moving out to the rest of the limbs. Almost none in the face and eyes, although I often feel energy under my face coming down like a waterfall.

I allow the bodily movements and holds to happen every day, sometimes for hours. And after the movement comes times of amazing bliss in stillness and everyday activities.

Today when I was telling my wife about it she said that it "gives her the willies." She's cool though. It is new for her, and me too.

I don't know anyone who has gone through what I'm experiencing except you. I want conversation with others who understand, but at the same time, I'm not anxious. It is a process of transformation that I'm basically happy with.

I noticed the spontaneous asanas were early in your two-year kundalini transformation. I guess I might have a two-year process to look forward to also. But who knows. Everyone is different.

Comments?

PS Along with other financial donors, I'm having dinner with Thomas Keating this Saturday in DC. One reason I like your perspective is that, like me, you practice centering. It is great that Keating wrote an intro to your book.

Ryan, tell Fr. Thomas hi. I'm do more lectio divina than cp, with glossalalia as well, usually leading to periods of contemplative rest.

I haven't heard many people describe spontaneous asanas. In retrospect, it seems that much of this was related to the inordinate amount of stress and emotional garbage I sat in on daily while doing multi-family therapy at a chemical dependency treatment center. I had to "detox" every night to be clear again the next day, so that was part of the issue. I've had few such periods of spontaneous asanas since, and when they've come, it's usually been during stressful times. It seems this energy process just will not allow my tissues to absorb stress. Amazing!

Hard to say how long this will go on for you. Has there been some change in your lifestyle to account for this development, or do you see it as a deepening of the process?

I've met Stu Stovatsky and seen him demo asanas; he's quite an adept at it, and very much into the whole kundalini/goddess thing. He's a really nice guy, and, as you noted, has lots of good insight into spontaneous asanas. It seemed for him to almost be a kind of lovemaking with the goddess. That was not the sense I had from spontaneous asanas, however.