Kundalini and Sex

According to Gopi Krishna, one of the primary conduits of Kundalini is through the sexual fluid of both genders.

Along with Prana, life force, the potent sexual fluid in men and women is drawn up through the sushumna into the brain as a part of the activation process. In his book, Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man, he writes:


“It was obvious that by some mysterious process the precious secretion of the seminal glands was drawn up into the spinal tube and through the interlinking nerves transferred into a subtle essence, then distributed to the brain and the vital organs, darting across the nerve filaments and the spinal cord to reach them. The suction was applied with such vigour as to be clearly apparent, and sometimes in the early stages with such violence as to cause actual pain to the delicate parts. At such times the ferment caused in the body resembled in effect the last minute frantic effort made for succour when a life is in imminent danger, and I, a dumb and helpless witness to the show, could not help but pass hours of agony thinking of this abnormal development in myself. It was easy to see that the aim of this entirely new and unexpected activity was to divert the seminal essence to the head and other vital organs, after sublimation, apparently to meet a contingency caused by a sudden disorder in any organ or a general discord inimical to the new development. With the power of observation left to me even in the initial distraught condition of the mind, I could not fail to take notice of such a startling development in the sexual region functioning quite normally until that time. I could not fail to mark the agitated condition of the hitherto quiescent area now in a state of feverish activity and ceaseless movement as if forced by an invisible but effective mechanism, not in operation before, to produce the life fluid in superabundance without cessation, in order to meet the unending demand of the cerebral lobes and the nervous system.
After only a few days of observation of this unmistakable organic phenomenon the idea dawned on me that I had unwittingly forced open a yet imperfectly developed centre in the brain by the long-continued practice of concentration, and that the abnormal and apparently chaotic play of vital currents which I clearly felt was a natural effort of the organism to control the serious situation thus created. It was also apparent that in this grave emergency the body was making abundant use of the richest and most potent source of life energy in it, the vital essence, always available in the region commanded by Kundalini.”

What he mentions here is that due to the nature of his Awakening, (which is not true for all Awakened individuals), is that he had created a grave imbalance within his system, which Kundalini was attempting to rectify by drawing up his essence. 

It is generally understood that the Muladhara Chakra, or Root Chakra, is completely interwoven with the sexual organs and when Kundalini is awakened there is a inseperable relationship between them.

This all being said, and in drawing the essence from Gopi’s experience, it is easy then to understand why part of the Kundalini process can be to feel the extremes of sexual activity and, conversely, inactivity. A person experiencing K may feel a hyperactive sexual drive ~ whilst for other people with unawakened K or simply lesser appetites, this may be problematic. Conversely, one may go through a long period of celibacy due to a total lack of sexual desire. I have been through both periods and they have been polarizing.

The reasons for these extremes are numerous. The ‘vital essence’ or seminal fluid of a man is the most potent substance available to the body. Within each male ejaculation is enough sperm to populate a country. Kundalini in a man will use this energy to help fuel the activation of various necessary repairs or changes that need to be taken place in the body/mind. If we regard Kundalini as a super-intelligence then it is going to dart from place to place, sometimes many within a day, sometimes focusing on one specific place for days, weeks, months or years, and it will use all of the available energy around to do this. Vital essence, in man or woman, will be used for periods of time in order to manipulate and refine various tissues in order to move the process forward. If there is an intense period of this taking place, then one may feel sexually indifferent as the energies are being used elsewhere. There is no cause for concern here. Nor is there a cause for concern if the opposite is taking place and you feel sexually hyperactive, wanting to make love to everything that moves. This is an expression of your evolution and chances are you’re within a part of your development where you are simply needing to engage with the potent energies in a more direct way.

Of course discretion and foresight are always important to maintain if going through an intensely active period of your sexual energy. It is advised to follow your instincts and not suppress yourself but be responsible for your actions. Wear protection, be respectful, don’t hurt anyone, etc. I am not here to moralise.

Despite what some books and websites will tell you, it matters not to the Kundalini whether or not you are celibate or a ‘sex maniac’ in terms of going the full nine yards of awakening. I once read on a website that (paraphrased) “of all of the Awakened people in the world, only 2 actually Awaken to the extent of Jesus Christ, and one must go through a period of 12 year celibacy in order to Awaken like this.”

This is ridiculous. There is no formula that the Serpent Fire adheres to. It does not wait there, dormant (yet with one eye open of course) counting the years of celibacy that one has thrown themself into, and upon the dawn of the thirteenth year Erupts with all of the purity in the world, leading one directly to Enlightenment. No, this is not the case at all. Don’t heed these fear-mongering and closed-minded perspectives of any kind you find on the internet or in books, or from the mouths of so-called ‘experts’ in your life, for that matter. Kundalini will Awaken if you are a Nun, a prostitute or anything in between. Despite the fact that it is often triggered by a stimulation of the sexual self (among a salad of other ingredients that lead you to awakening), it is not solely dependent upon a specific sequence of sexual events (or lack thereof as this one website was trying to suggest).  

In the months leading up to my awakening I was involved in a very potent sexual relationship - potent to the point of destruction had it been allowed to continue. It was the first time in my life I had experienced sex like that on such an intense level. It in itself was an awakenin. Upon reflection of that time in my life, and all of the things that were happening in that period of weeks before the Eruption happened, it makes perfect sense to relate the awakened sexual relationship and the awakened Kundalini. Their relationship truly began then. It was almost as if the Kundalini could not rise had I not discovered that part of myself. As my teacher often says, “A lot of things had to go right for this to happen to you.”

Just in the same way that Kundalini will not automatically make you a better person or bring you to Enlightenment, Kundalini will not necessarily make you a better lover.  This is another tale of the internet that is false. It may help you to be in touch with your sexual self as already discussed, and thus may help you to learn more about your partner’s sexual energy as well, but it’s not going to give you better moves in the bedroom or anything like that.

You’re not going to be able to give people orgasms just by looking at them. Sounds cool, but it’s not going to happen. Let’s keep those kinds of fantasies to the magic of movies! However, you may become more interested in tantric sex and the Taoist approach to sex, which for a man is to refrain from ejaculation in order to preserve life essence. The Taoists (among many other cultures) believe that ejaculation is ‘le petit mort’ or ‘little death’, and many studies back up the idea that men who ejaculate frequently do not live as long as those who refrain. If we return back to the fact that every ejaculation has enough sperm to populate a country, it is easy to see that the creation of the sperm takes a lot of energy. If a man is spilling this essence a lot, it takes a lot of life energy to replenish. If the man, however, learns how to orgasm without ejaculation, then the pleasure is felt without the ‘little death’, and this energy can be further used by the Kundalini. In this way it is being circulated back inside of the body instead of given away.

Women have it quite a bit easier in this respect, as each time a woman orgasms she floods herself, through an upward drawing motion (akin to the Kundalini) with vital life essence and she can continue doing this over and over again, as many times as she wishes. Going further, if a man ejaculates into her, she is given his life essence as well. The Taoists (and again, other cultures as well) regard women as the superior gender in terms of sex, as women are like the Energizer Bunny. In his book Taoist Secrets of Love : Cultivating Male Sexual Energy by Mantak Chia says:

“The sexual imbalance between men and women is obvious. A woman can sexually receive her man for as long as she pleases, and thus the Taoists say her yin essence is nearly inexhaustible. A man’s love making is limited to the amount of energy he has to keep his erection. His yang essence is more easily tired. A woman is sexually stronger than a man because biologically she needs to be. Her reproductive organs must bear the strain of physically producing children and nurturing them. The effects on men of this primal biological inequality are profound, setting off a chain reaction that can permeate male thinking and feeling on all levels, from marriage to work to cultural roles we choose to play and to the
spiritual models we choose for our inner growth. At heart most men are as terrified of women’s infinite sexual capacity as they are fascinated by it. The general effect on men is to make them feel sexually insecure and causes them to attempt tocompensate with some other strength. Sexual insecurity may be the primary reason men have sought physical, political, financial, intellectual, and religious advantage over woman. Correcting this sexual imbalance could have significant side benefits in establishing a more harmonious society, although the primary goal of the Taoist teaching on cultivation of sexual energy was personal health and spiritual fulfillment.” 

Since the Kundalini cultivates an extreme awareness of the Sacred Female (or Goddess) it only makes sense to attempt to balance these energies in ones own life. As my teacher says:  

“For those of you here who are seeking the completion of the divine circuit, the Kundalini, I suggest you qualify how you treat the feminine person you are. Do you deny her? Subjugate her? Parade her to others as a sexual ornament? Or do you exalt her and praise her as she is you and you are her. Men or Women makes no difference she is all… of us.” 

Or as my friend Jennifer said in response: ”More to the point is if you don’t get to know her prior to raising K, she’ll kick you ass into shape after!”

This relationship is crucial in daily life and also imperative in the world of sex. Upon Awakening my Kundalini I had established a new, exciting foundation of understanding my powerful female sexual self. Conversely, a man must also connect to the feminine aspects of himself if he is going to have a positive relationship to the K. This can be acheived by ceasing any misogynist perspectives that may exist and moving into more of a willingness to understand and respect the Sacred Feminine - also known as Woman. Make no mistake, Kundalini is a She, and She governs the grace within you. 

Lastly, in terms of celibacy in conjunction with spiritual practices, there is going to be a lot of dogma here. For example, Raja Yoga warns that if one leads a sexual life as well as practicing the yoga method, one can go insane. It says further that is is impossible to reach the pinnacles of the method and have sex at the same time. Other traditions, of course (when we regard monks, priests, nuns, saints etc who abstain from physical expressions of love) follow this as well. It is really up to you, and personally I don’t think anyone should be acting from a place of fear when it comes to sex. Contrary to these fear-based approaches, having a sex life is not going to hold you back from having a spiritual existence. As long as you are being safe, respectful and mindful of yourself and your partner(s), have as much sex as you want. In Kundalini terms, it can be very grounding and can bring higher expressions of union into the ever-widening circles of love between you and your partners. 

© Shannon Naithair Teine, 2011