Kundalini Syndrome

The Kundalini syndrome is a speculated 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, or by practitioners of Asian spiritual practices. The term "Kundalini Syndrome" has been used as a category for discussion within the schools of transpersonal psychology and near-death studies, but it is also referred to in psychiatric literature. The phenomenon is sometimes called the "Kundalini-syndrome", the "Physio-Kundalini syndrome", or simply referred to as a "syndrome". Other researchers, while not using the term "syndrome", have also begun to address this phenomenon as a clinical category, or as a recognizable symptomatology.

The appearance of the symptomatology is believed to occur in connection with a near-death experience, or with prolonged, intensive spiritual or contemplative practice, as practiced within a few sub-disciplines of meditation or yoga. Symptoms may also, according to a case review, be related to a combination of eastern spiritual exercises and substance abuse. Other factors that may trigger this symptomatology includes a variety of intense personal crises or experiences.

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. If the accompanying symptoms unfold in an intense manner that destabilizes the person, the process is usually interpreted as a spiritual emergency.