Kundalini: Divine Energy, Divine Life

This is my new favorite book on kundalini, and the energy aspect of the spiritual development and awakening process. I am a fan of Cyndi Dale's energy medicine and chakra healing books, but this book represents a new direction. She offers a thorough, engaging, and accessible description of how the kundalini energy awakens in us, how to trigger such an awakening if we desire, how to live in a manner to stabilize and best integrate the energy, and how to handle its impact. Drawing on kundalini yoga traditions, Tantra, shamanic lineages and her own extensive practice as an energy healer and spiritual counselor, she shares many personal stories and relevant anecdotes, while still managing to convey the necessary 'technical' information in a clear and thorough way.What I especially love about this book is that it is written for anyone - it covers enough of the basics that beginners will be able to appreciate it, but still offers enough in-depth information that I think even long-term practitioners of kundalini yoga, chakra work, or Tantra will still find new information to enjoy. I myself am a long-term practitioner of many of these practices and topics and still found much to savor here. The fact that this book is accessible even to beginners, and outside of any lineage, is what really makes it special, because many traditional books on these subjects are filled with too many Sanskrit and/or esoteric terms for the uninitiated to follow. With an increasing number of people undergoing spontaneous kundalini experiences, a book like this has been much needed.Cyndi draws on multiple traditions for her material and exercises, and combines it with her own insights, utilizing the 12-chakra system that she uses in her own practice, and that is covered in detail in her  Complete Book of Chakra Healing . I particularly appreciated her chapters on the differences between the awakening processes for men and women from an energetic perspective - a special interest of mine, and one neglected in most classic yogic books because they were (as she notes) mostly written for men by men. She also makes a point of discussing kundalini awakening as a universal spiritual process, one not 'owned' by any particular religion or culture, although the Eastern spiritual traditions in general offer much more specific teachings to draw from.So, in short, whether you are looking for an introduction to kundalini and the energetic awakening process, or are a devoted practitioner of a kundalini-based tradition and are looking for a new perspective, you can't go wrong with this book.

In the first few chapters, which are background and introductory in nature, the factual errors begin to pile up.Whenever Dale got her historical context for Kundalini, her sources were very, very bad.Kundalini is an extremely powerful, even dangerous force to tangle with, so a book that is riddled with misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and factual errors from the outset is impossible to trust.Adding to the problems, the text itself is filled with useless verbiage, fluff, and filler. It’s unclear *why* she is writing half the paragraphs.Another reviewer compared it to an infomercial, which is an apt comparison.That said, there are some points in its favor. Dale does not make the mistake of equating Tantra with contemporary better-sex practices, while also not insisting on some specific lineage as being in exclusive possession of tantric legitimacy.For the serious spiritual practitioner interested in a mature and disciplined approach to kundalini, this is not a text worth referencing.For a new-age practitioner, interested in adding color and context to their worldview, this might bring some fresh, if unreliable, perspectives.

Cyndi Dale writes great books, but she outdid herself on this one. So many books on the subject of kundalini are dry and difficult to read, but not "Kundalini: Divine Energy, Divine Life." Dale delivers a book that is both readable and instructive, without resorting, as most kundalini authors do, to language that most westerners find baffling.I love that she covers not only the definitions (I've seen many books devoted to only that), but the process and, when appropriate, remedies for some of the discomforts that sometimes accompany a kundalini awakening. Happily, she handles even these with both calm and common sense, rather than describe them in alarming terms--as I have so often seen in books like this.Even better, she has a section on how to assist your own kundalini awakening, if that is your desire. It's a beautiful process, and I suspect it will work very well.Bear in mind, however, that most of this book is written from the Eastern, yogic point of view. Little mention is made of western experiences, which, in fact, is how my own awakening began. Mine was both different, and similar, to what she described.Another topic I wish she had included is the issue of Reiki and kundalini. Many have reported that Reiki, while not bringing an awakening per se, does seem to clear the way for one when the person is ready. I'd love to see someone cover this topic, and I'd love for it to be Cyndi Dale, because she writes so clearly and elegantly.If you have an interest in this topic, this is the book I'd recommend, hands down.

This book is a great read for explanation of they many aspects of kundalini yoga. It is not a book that has any kriyas or meditations in it. I thought that there might be sets with kriyas/meditation towards the end, but I had no reason to expect this. This book is good to read and understand many things about kundalini yoga, energy, and the body. It is a great supplement for a person who is already going to kundalini yoga classes. I would not recommend this for an absolute beginner because it would be too much for a person to take in at one time before starting kundalini yoga. Go to a class first, and then later when you want to gain a deeper understanding of what is done in class and why, then read this book. This book is not an easy material to use as reference because there is no index, but none of the kundalini yoga books that I own have indexes- not sure why.

good work

Great !!

There is not so many books about kundalini specifically so this is a good introduction to the topic.But I just grew sad and disappointed reading it. If you don't know anything about kundalini yet, than this is a great book.But if you have already a large experience of it, this book is not going deep enough to my expectation I would say.It still gives a large part to the yoga practices and tantric practices both of which I am not interested into. A good point is that she present it in a very positive way, not emphasis on the dangers of it.Also the author made an interesting attempt at presenting the differences in kundalini awakening between man and women.But I would say, for many of both sexes I have seen in kundalini I cannot really corroborate the view that she brings.After reading the book, none of my questions found answers, but it is still important that someone is presenting the subject accessible to the large audience.

Fantastic! Cyndi is a wonderful storyteller and this book really brought the process of kundalini awakening to life in a fun and insightful way. Thank you Cyndi for another wonderful book!