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Kundalini Yoga Meditation: Techniques Specific for Psychiatric Disorders, Couples Therapy, and Personal Growth

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This astonishing insight and the fact that the amount of air flowing through each nostril shifts several times daily (an ultradian rhythm) was made thousands of years ago by yogic practitioners, particularly those who practiced Kundalini yoga. Over 30 years ago, David Shannahof-Khalsa studied the techniques that arose from these insights, including forced nasal-cycle breathing, and has devoted his life to the study of how nasal cycle breathing and other yogic techniques can be used to cope with some of the most recalcitrant mental health and medical problems, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD,) addictive behaviors, chronic anxiety, insomnia, chronic fatigue syndrome (CSF) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD,) among many others. The present book is the culmination of Shannahoff-Khalsa's studies and discoveries and is must reading for all mental health practitioners, as well as primary care physicians and intelligent laypeople.
Shannahoff-Khalsa has performed an outstanding and valuable job in bridging Eastern wisdom with Western science in a book that is well written and loaded with practical and important advice.

I tried this method as a self-treatment for OCD, from which I had suffered for quite a few years (about 26 years, actually), and which was getting worse. The breathing method prescribed is quite arduous and I was not sure that it would work for me. Actually, to be blunt, I was quite skeptical that it would work for anyone, as I am not a believer in any Eastern religion (or other religion) and am generally inclined to believe that the benefits of meditation, yoga, and like practices are overblown, even when significant. However, I was desperate, and I had read Mr. Shannahoff-Khalsa's scientific articles, which appeared to have been conducted according to sound scientific protocols and to give significant support to the hypothesis that certain kinds of breathing methods can treat OCD. I actually found that the method worked -- my obsessions diminished and eventually went away. I do not take any prescription medications, and I actually do not even practice the method anymore (I don't need to). Of course, I am simply one person, and it is possible that things would have changed for me, anyway, with or without this method. However, nothing had worked before this except, to some extent, Saint John's Wort, which I do still take but which had never cured (merely alleviated) my obsessions. I also worked on psychological techniques I learned from Steven Phillipson's website, which I also highly recommend. Perhaps my recovery was a consequence of one of these or a combination, not of the pranayama breathing; perhaps it was merely something that would have happened by itself. But I don't think so, and I would urge anyone who is suffering as I did to try this. You have very little to lose and a lot to gain. I myself saw results right away.

As a patient diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, Shannahoff-Khalsa's book has offered me a fantastic means to improve strength, clarity, and resiliency. His emphasis on technique and careful documentation provide yoga practitioners of all levels with a smooth and steady introduction to increasing one's powers of healing while also expanding consciousness. It would be wonderful if all health professionals and counselors utilized these methods to complement their work -- or even as a primary method of healing and prevention.

Shannahoff-Khalsa has worked with researchers and practitioners to share the Kundalini practice with insight and compassion. If you're involved in the world of healing in any capacity -- whether as a patient, psychology professional, medical student, or friend/family of a loved one -- it is incredibly worthwhile to share the knowledge of this book. It has helped me make enormous progress, and I trust it can do so for others.

I found a copy of this book on the shelf in Barnes and Nobles. I was so impressed by the scientific research supporting the practices and also by the testimonals that I begin doing the protocol on my own almost immediately. I have had amazing results. I have tried countless healing modalities from conventional to alternative and I have not found any treatment that offers lasting results. I have been doing the PTSD protocol for 3 months now and my life has transformed. For the first time in my life I am enjoying myself. Anyone who suffers from chronic psychological problems should read this book and try the protocol that fits their particular situation. There is absolutely nothing to lose and a lot to gain!!!!!!!

This is an important book, with a clear call for reexamination of some basic tenets of the psychiatric literature, to which it makes an important and provocative contribution. Shannahoff-Khalsa, a well-known practitioner and scholar of Kundalini Yogic healing techniques, has written a remarkable book which will establish a new benchmark in evaluating alternative (and often effective) therapies for heretofore difficult-to-treat or intractable emotional disorders. Highly recommended for clinicians and those with an interest in the burgeoning area of alternative behavioral (ie, non-psychopharmacologic), yet scientifically-based approaches to psychiatric disorders.

Sat Nam.

This book provides a very useful bridge between classical Kundalini yoga and the emerging field of yoga therapy. For students of Kundalini yoga, the book will provide insight into how meditations, asanas, and kriyas are of value in terms of mental health care. For psychologists and mental health providers, the book underscores the value of the traditions of Kundalini yoga in the care of persons suffering from OCD, anxiety, and psychosomatic problems.

David has spent the past three decades as a practitioner and scholar in defining the link between the traditions of Kundalini yoga and mental health. His book is a deliverance of his work and practice.

As a practicing psychologist and yoga teacher, I find his work to have a great deal of value in working with people irrespective of their prior exposure or interest in yoga. His treatment protocol for OCD is very beneficial for persons with this and related anxiety disorders. I have even found "off-label" value in some of his techniques for insomnia and panic. There are a lot of tools provided in his work and not unimportantly, he considers the role of Kundalini yoga for the fields of neuroscience and behavioral medicine. David provides many useful observations concerning the clinical utility of Kundalini yoga meditation. No matter if you are on the couch, the mat, or in the laboratory, this is a valuable text to have.

As a medical doctor (radiologist) and a kundalini yoga practitioner, I do recommend this fantastic book. David Shannahoff-Khalsa has been working very hard as a researcher and as a kundalini yoga teacher / guide. He made this book a very clear and efficient one. I think this is a wonderful tool for everyone who wants to learn the mind-body dynamic and expand consciousness.

I am a psychology student with an intense interest in Kundalini Yoga, both as a practitioner and a patient. I have been practicing the meditation to resolve bipolar disorder consistently for many years now. It is as if I was granted a second chance at life. Day afer day, year after year, my mind is becoming more and more clear. I cannot imagine what my life would be like without Kundalini Yoga. It is a way to a life of hope when there was none. I am grateful for the meditations in this book for giving me the right tools to heal myself.

Based on my understanding of psychology as well as experience in practicing yoga, I see clearly that David's work challenges the current scientific community with cutting edge research while keeping a faithful eye on the original teaching by Yogi Bhajan. He is a true pioneer, and his work continues to bring more light into the evoling science of healing the mind.

Look for his new book, which comes out this year.

I came across KUNDALINI YOGA MEDITATION while doing research for my new book, MORE CLLIENT HANDOUTS FOR BRIEFER DEEPER THERAPY. Shannahoff-Khalsa's idea that selectively activating one half of the autonomic nervous system through unilateral forced nostril breathing made immediate sense to my untrained medical mind. The other findings I was discovering on meditation used brain scan imaging to show that changes in activity levels in various centers of the brain produced results that can reverse medical and emotional problems. Shannahoff-Khalsa's methods are more specific to particular anxiety and mood disorders. As a mental health practitioner with over 30 years of experience I am excited to have a tool that can work at the neurobiological level. I will need traininging in Kundalini Yoga and will have to find ways to adapt methods to the very conservative population I treat in central Florida.

This is a wonderful book that I strongly recommend it to everyone that has mental illness like OCD, Depression, etc. I am an OCD patient for a few year. I have a full time job and the ocd and anxiety normally came 2-3 times per week. After I found this book and also bought the author's DVD for OCD, and followed the instruction. After a month, I felt my OCD get improved, and after 3 months, my OCD disappeared. So if you didn't see the improvement in a short time, just keep your faith and keep doing it. It will show. I am looking forward to see the author in the near future and learn more about Kundalini yoga to treat my other mental illness. I have been recommended this book to all my friends who had mental illness or who had friends that were mentally ill. It was truely a blessing that I get a chance to learn this book.

After I met the author in MAy, I had been practice his psychosis technique for two month, and the result was also very good. The technique is going to be in the auther's new book which comes out earlier next year. I can't wait for that book to come out. It is worth every penny I spend. Amazon.com already has the title for the new books, under the auther 's name. I am doing so well that my psychitrist is reducing my medicine.

Thank you so much David!