Kundalini syndrome

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The Kundalini syndrome is a set of sensory, motor, mental and affective symptoms associated with the concept of Kundalini. It has been reported predominantly by people who have had a near-death experience,^[1] ^[2] ^[3] or by practitioners of asian spiritual practices.^[4] ^[5] The term “Kundalini Syndrome” has been used as a category for discussion within the schools of transpersonal psychology and near-death studies. The phenomenon is sometimes called the “Kundalini-syndrome”,^[6]^[7] the “Physio-Kundalini syndrome”,^[8]^[9]^[10] or simply referred to as a “syndrome”.^[11]^[12] Other researchers, while not using the term “syndrome” ^[13], have also begun to address this phenomenon as a clinical category,^[14]^[15] or as a recognizable symptomatology.^[16]

The appearance of the symptomatology is believed to occur in connection with a near-death experience, ^[17] ^[18] ^[19] or with prolonged, intensive spiritual or contemplative practice, as practiced within a few sub-disciplines of meditation or yoga. ^[20] ^[21] ^[22] ^[23] ^[24] Other factors that may trigger this symptomatology includes a variety of intense personal crises or experiences. ^[25] According to writers in the field of transpersonal psychology the process is not always sudden and dramatic, it can also start slowly and increase gradually in activity over time.^[26] If the accompanying symptoms unfold in an intense manner that destabilizes the person, the process is usually interpreted as a spiritual emergency.^[27]