The Kundalini Experience: Psychosis or Transcendence (Lee Sannella)
Kundalini: A Clinical Perspective
[My 3-star Amazon review (NDA) of “The Kundalini Experience: Psychosis or Transcendence” by Lee Sannella.]
I read the first edition of this text in 1977, and in 1978, when I moved to the Bay Area from San Diego, one of my first stops was the author’s Kundalini Clinic in San Francisco. But I didn’t see Dr. Sannella, I saw his associate, also a medical doctor. It was a complete waste of time and money. The doctor attempted a hokie psychotherapeutic technique, to facilitate deep release and letting go, but this has nothing whatsoever to do with my Kundalini problem, which was, and still is, is purely physiological.
The author writes: Symptoms caused by the physio-kundalini will disappear spontaneously over time because we are dealing essentially with a purifacatory or balancing process, and since each person represents a finite system, the process is self-limiting.”
I don’t agree at all. I’ve had the same Kundalini problem for forty-three years (tetanic muscle spasms along my spinal line, which creates secondary symptoms) ever since I awakened the energy. And J. Krishnamurti suffered from Kundalini problems the rest of his life after his Kundalini awakening.
The book has worthwhile information for those with little or no knowledge of Kundalini, and the numerous case studies that Dr. Sannella presents provides insight into the common problems faced by people with Kundalini disorders.
Dr. Sannella was a big fan of the adept Adi Da at the time of this 1987 edition, and quotes him extensively in one part of the book. Also, a number of his patients were disciples of Swami Muktananda.
The author states that he presents “essentially the same model as Itzhak Bentov” (1923-1979). And an Appendix chapter is devoted to the presentation of this model, which I find reductive and unimpressive.
If you’re interested in the practice of Kundalini yoga, this is the wrong book to get; but if you’re interested in a psychiatrist’s clinical perspective on the Kundalini experience and the the problems that often arise from it, it’s a worthwhile read.
[My 3-star Amazon review (NDA) of “The Kundalini Experience: Psychosis or Transcendence” by Lee Sannella.]
I read the first edition of this text in 1977, and in 1978, when I moved to the Bay Area from San Diego, one of my first stops was the author’s Kundalini Clinic in San Francisco. But I didn’t see Dr. Sannella, I saw his associate, also a medical doctor. It was a complete waste of time and money. The doctor attempted a hokie psychotherapeutic technique, to facilitate deep release and letting go, but this has nothing whatsoever to do with my Kundalini problem, which was, and still is, is purely physiological.
The author writes: Symptoms caused by the physio-kundalini will disappear spontaneously over time because we are dealing essentially with a purifacatory or balancing process, and since each person represents a finite system, the process is self-limiting.”
I don’t agree at all. I’ve had the same Kundalini problem for forty-three years (tetanic muscle spasms along my spinal line, which creates secondary symptoms) ever since I awakened the energy. And J. Krishnamurti suffered from Kundalini problems the rest of his life after his Kundalini awakening.
The book has worthwhile information for those with little or no knowledge of Kundalini, and the numerous case studies that Dr. Sannella presents provides insight into the common problems faced by people with Kundalini disorders.
Dr. Sannella was a big fan of the adept Adi Da at the time of this 1987 edition, and quotes him extensively in one part of the book. Also, a number of his patients were disciples of Swami Muktananda.
The author states that he presents “essentially the same model as Itzhak Bentov” (1923-1979). And an Appendix chapter is devoted to the presentation of this model, which I find reductive and unimpressive.
If you’re interested in the practice of Kundalini yoga, this is the wrong book to get; but if you’re interested in a psychiatrist’s clinical perspective on the Kundalini experience and the the problems that often arise from it, it’s a worthwhile read.
