|
|
| I took a kundalini class last Thursday for the first time, and it reactivated some panic disorder issues I've been struggling with on and off since I was a teenager.
Within a couple of hours of the class ending, I had all the classic symptoms - walls closing in, paranoid ideation, rapid pulse, chills, fleeing the company of others. I haven't had an attack this bad in almost two years. I deal with anxiety on a fairly regular basis and I've got pretty decent coping mechanisms that mostly stop me from sliding into a full attack, but this was pretty profound. It happened so quickly and I went so far into it that I got lost inside it - I didn't realize what was happening to me for something like 7 hours - I just suffered.
Now, I'm going to go back to the instructor and ask her advice this coming week, but I'm not so sure that continuing to practice kundalini is such a good idea for me. I thought I'd post my experience here - and I'd appreciate any input.
Mainly, I don't want to do anything that's going to rile up my panic disorder. If continuing a different form of yoga will help me, I'd love to do that, but I'm a bit afraid of kundalini now. Thoughts?
|
|
| |
|
| working with kundalini and pranayama are very vibrant practices that can "kick up" a lot of things in new ways. this can be a good thing for a lot of people, but for others, it really isn't the most appropriate method of attaining or approaching yoga.
for people with anxiety and panic disorders, i often recommend more gently unwinding practice such as svaroopa or anusara. a gentle, general "hatha" class may be a good plan, and iyengar may also be a good idea unless one has perfectionistic tendencies (because iyengar is a very detail-oriented system, perfectionists can make themselves a bit crazy and would do better to have a system that is a bit more relaxed about alignment!).
my recommendation is to continue with yoga, but definitely check in with the kundalini teacher and try other styles to see if you can find a better fit.
good luck! |
|
| |
|
| I also had issues with kundalini yoga and many times would leave class feeling quite ungrounded and shaky, on many different levels. It was really quite disturbing for me.
My first teacher, while it was mostly a vinyasa style of class, would regularly infuse elements of kundalini in her teaching. While I didn't have outright panic attacks, I did suffer from headaches, dizziness and just a general feeling of unsettledness when coming out of savasana at the end of class. Not good. I've since changed to an Anusara practice (as Zoe does suggest) and all the residual energetic and emotional shakiness has disappeared. But my first teacher had no suggestions for me, when I had asked her. I was lucky enough to stumble into the Anusara studio on my own.
Good luck to you, and do trust your own heart. My first teacher was (and still is) very well loved by a large following of students, who never had any of the reactions I had. Everyone is different and just needs different things to find their own balance. |
|
| |
|
| Any practice of Yoga shouls start with body and moral purification. Otherwise, it can be dangerous. |
|
| |
another newbie
