Waking the Body

Waking the Body

Cloud gate
photo by ancawonka
Cloud Gate sculpture – Chicago

Back on The Healing Algorithm, the topic of kriyas and flow came up in Comments. I thought it worth expanding on.

As we move through the process of spiritual awakening, we may run into styles of experience in the body we’ve not seen prior.

Purification
The first is Purification. As energy and other contractions release, we’ll notice sensations, emotions, and/or strong thoughts. For bigger releases, those sensations or kriyas may take several forms. We may see twitching or jerks, temperature changes, and vocalizations. We may see spontaneous and perhaps awkward movements as the body tries to move into a position (asana) to aid the release. These are more likely to happen on a retreat or a similar scenario when we go deeper.

As our energy channels open up, we can feel energy moving in new ways, strong surges, or energetic intensity. This too is symptoms of clearing. I wrote a series on the role of Shakti in Awakening.

If we understand all of this is just purification, we can allow whatever arises. Then large burdens of our past can let go. When we have such experiences, it’s usually good to lie down for a rest afterwards so the process can complete and the dust settle. 

It’s also good to understand that nothing will happen that’s more than we can take if we’re using appropriate techniques (no force or “aids”). Also, we can have an intent to not be loud while allowing vocalizations.

Some spiritual communities don’t support this kind of release and will encourage suppression. But if they’re not familiar and don’t have refined perception, they won’t know how to support it anyway. They may get huffy about being “disruptive” even if you may be facilitating a large release in the collective.

Flow
As we get more clear within, another style commonly arises called flow. Flow is when the deeper movements of consciousness move into and through the body more obviously. We can experience them as surges, undulations, or waves moving through us. (Note: this is more subtle than energy flows but can create them.)

Unlike purification, the movements are smoother and more graceful. The body may shift to facilitate the flow, perhaps taking positions like mudras. It can feel like areas of the physiology are waking up from a long sleep. It can be like an inner dancer wakes up.
 
Flow is common in groups of the awake, when listening to deeper flows like chanting, or when group attention is on the deeper layers like in a healing webinar.

Flow may arise before awakening but becomes much more present afterwards. Flow is something to allow as it helps open up the channels and develop the Sattva side of the awakening process. We can move through the higher stages in consciousness without this but the richness, heart opening, and later stages require it. This prepares the physiology to bring the Divine down to earth.

Flow may bring purification as it washes through. But flow itself doesn’t bring old emotions up. It may bring fine feelings like love, compassion, or happiness – even major laughter. In a group, you can see the flow moving through people across a room.

As perception refines, we may find ourselves using attention to direct flow to heal the collective, facilitate others releases, and so forth.

Unlike a fixed focus of attention, flow is a flow.

Embodiment
When we’re able to handle flow, the movement shows the gradual waking up of all the layers of our being. We experience, then embody much deeper layers. The inner light of consciousness moves forward into our physiology until it becomes light too. Flow becomes a conscious living reality in our day-to-day life. We come to see all forms and phenomena as flows of consciousness.

[Update] This has the effect of waking up the sleeping laws of nature and amping up those already active. Their field of action has been cleared and opened, and the connection to source has become enlivened. They’re being “fed” what supports them, greatly empowering their ability to support our life and experiences.

Awakening the Body
This embodiment turns out to be like a spiritual practice for the body. After we transcend consciousness, Divinity itself moves in to the physiology.

Then a new stage can begin. Not only will slumbering laws of nature wake up but the presence of Divinity can support their spiritual awakening. [Update] Waking up from slumber, then waking up to their true nature.

Awakening is different for light beings. They don’t have the karmic histories nor practices that humans have. When they experience being immersed in Divinity and the way consciousness and the physiology embodies that, it can cause the devata to wake up spiritually. Remember, these are the actual doers, the ones that run bodily systems, chakras, and so forth.

The more universal devata experience through many forms. When one aspect wakes up in this physiology, the awakening can fall back into their more universal nature, then flow forward into all forms.

In this way, they add another mechanism to the awakening taking place in the whole. Devas help support our evolution and now know we can help them too. Motivation?  🙂

Then it’s not just us awake, looking out through this body. The body itself is becoming enlightened, an enlightened collective.

I talk about this in part of the upcoming Buddha at the Gas Pump interview. Rick has scheduled it to go live December 8.
Davidya

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52 Comments

  1. Joseph Weaver

    Very informative, thanks! I don’t consider myself awake, not have I experienced symptoms of “purification”, however I do experience the body movements that you describe as “flow”, which indeed have no emotional component to them.

    They seem strictly physical to me. As soon as I start meditating, my head may start swaying in a circle, or (more commonly) pushing itself into a locked position where I will then feel lots of physical pressure, usually in my neck.

    These are not jerky, but smooth. It feels as though my body is trying to release tension. My approach for several months has been to bring awareness to the sensation, which does not seem to have been particularly effective.

    However I did notice that after trying a sensory deprivation tank, and also making sure I am not holding my breath when these occur, they seem to be changing/moving throughout the body, which seems like progress.

    So I’ve found a physical approach to be most effective, oddly enough. Then again, what I am experiencing may not actually be what you are describing as flow. I don’t feel energy waves or anything like that. Seems very physical. So it could just be physical tension, but then it would be odd how it always surfaces right when I start meditating.

    1. Hi Joseph
      You raise some great points. There are a lot of words people use for purification – unstressing, normalization, energy healing, and so forth. There is also a lot of subjective variation in the experience, partly due to the kinds of things we have to clear.

      Some people have a lot of unresolved emotions that can surge forth. For others, the contractions are mainly physical. Or they can be a mixture.

      What you describe is spontaneous asana where the body is moving to facilitate the purification. Releasing tension, pressure, etc is what I mean by releasing a contraction.

      Bringing awareness to the contraction does help but sometimes the source of the contractions is deeper. It’s not until that deeper layer becomes more conscious that it winds down.

      Sounds like you’re able to go deeper in a tank. And yes on the breath. Breath is the flow of prana and energetically, holding the breath won’t help release prana channels. 🙂

      Flows are much more subtle that this although there can certainly be flows facilitating purification.

      Some people are more somatic (physical). That may be due to the types of stress or your orientation.

      It’s also worth noting that we may have specific types of clearing during certain phases. When that clears, you may find a new approach is needed to go further.

      It’s not so much that it surfaces when you sit to meditate but that when you sit to meditate you become aware of what is there ongoing.

      The other possibility is that when you sit, you’re picking up stuff in the immediate environment such as other family members who don’t have a practice. If this is going on, you may want to explore if you have empath gifts that need to be made a little more conscious so you’re not taking on others stuff unintentionally. Just search ’empath’ here for some background.

  2. Lorey Hobbs

    Another excellent post, David. Thank you. 🙂 That is the experience here with kriyas/mudras they arise spontaneously as part of the awakening process and not something one practices. During extended estcacy the kriya forms may last for hours as if one is frozen or suspended in place and they are effortless. Interesting note: no recall of ever experiencing muscle soreness. Frozen in space and time perhaps?

    1. Hi Lorey
      Yes, it’s nice to have a flexible schedule that can adapt to what is arising. (laughs)

      Some people don’t store things in the muscles or even physically. But they found another way to resist what they didn’t want to experience. 🙂

        1. Hi Lorey

          Not at all. Kriyas are sensations of energy release. They actually arise as that release is completing. What they’re releasing is often a contraction.

          I edited my reply to Joseph to be a little more clear, assuming thats what you refer to.

          Mudras are more possible symptoms of flow. That too can have purification going on with it.

          1. Lorey Hobbs

            Gratsi! Yes, this makes sense and corresponds with experience here. The longer estcacy/body mudras were peaks that were preceded by build ups that resulted in shifts and increased bliss: syncronizing of devas and devatas. A bit later I would just notice a loss of emotional charge around xhunks of stuff that had previously caused a contraction or interruption of flow and seeing through to truth.

            1. Right. Big releases can lead to big openings. Not as an expectation but there can be a kind of “last stress” thing where a contraction releases leading to sufficient clarity and the ground is there for a shift.

              Earlier, we can go through long phases of clearing without apparent forward movement. But at some point, things open up and move along.

  3. Michael

    Wonderful!

    yeah….everything wakes up: the cells, the organs, the tissues, the bones…the whole body. Even the energetic bodies can wake up too…..what a wonderful process!! 🙂

    I do know what you mean with flow…but have not expierenced it so clearly as distinct from energy…you have expressed that beautitully!! and some deeper understanding came from the writting into this mind…..self helping itself…perfect! 🙂

    1. Hi Michael

      Right – but it’s not just waking up from a slumber either, coming alive so to speak. That’s just the first part.

      Well, it’s not really distinct from energy per se as energy is driven by flows of consciousness. We could even say energy is flows of consciousness. But typically this becomes apparent in Refined Unity.

      Beautiful. 🙂

      1. Michael

        ahhhh i understand what you mean….i digested the “info” that came from you into this mind…and i remembered more clearly such flows….i had them with purifications but they were sooo soft……like getting some trash out of the system but with love and ease….like a knife through warm butter. 🙂

        what comes after that first part?

          1. Michael

            ah it is bad that one cannot write further things in the texts….hope that wordpress does fix that soon!

            Waking up the laws..really nice :-)….that could be the precursor of waking up the elements. In some traditions it is mentioned that the elements are karmically stained and they first have to be cleared and then they “return to their source and orignal state” and that deeply tranforms the body.

    1. You’re welcome, Sohlea. Everyone’s process is a little different because of what and the ways they’ve contracted historically. But the same basic thing happens as those contractions are released and the sludge is flushed out.

      Yet subjectively, a cornucopia of experiences result. 🙂

  4. Aaron

    Thank you David for your words. Purification has been going on since before my awakening and still continues daily with my practice. It takes the form of shaking and jerky movements. Sometimes I wonder how long this will take as it’s been going on for over 10 years now. It’s not bothersome anymore. I just accept how it is. Usually there are intense feelings of bliss immediately after the shaking, and then that bliss can sometimes start the shaking over again like some cycle that keeps repeating. I guess there just must be a lot that needs purifying here!

    1. Hi Aaron

      Yes, as things open, bliss can arise, then more purification follows from the opening. After you wake up, you also begin purifying the collective as well. In that sense, it doesn’t wind down.

      Yet quality of life progressively improves. It gets less personal and even easier to just accept and allow, like watching the train go by.

      In some ways, it can get smoother too as there are fewer points of resistance.

      See you tomorrow.

  5. K

    This is great information. A few years ago before I came across BATGAP and figured out what was happening to me – I had painful writing movements of my right shoulder – it seemed as though I was trying to loosen something in my shoulder joint. I had a little bit of knowledge and thought it was related to “energy” in some way but no clue of Kriyas or purification or anything else. I knew that I did not have to seek medical attention. It was so much that my daughter would start imitating me (to make fun – I did not mind).
    It would come on at various times without doing anything and also if I was praying. The most intense experience of unstoppable movements (I had to hold my shoulder with the other hand) happened when I went to attend a benefit classical mucis concert held in the chapel of a lutheran church. Nothing religious about the concert. It was the location. I am very Hindu. I don’t mind going to Christian churces or mosques etc. but while I am very respectful there, I did not expect spiritual potency in such locations. Heck – I did not even know that the ancient Hindu temples in India where I grew up were imbued with potency either. Now these movements have subsided but when I pray, chin mudra or abhaya gesture happens. I am grateful and get more engaged with the prayers when these happen because to me they signifiy that I am not alone. I am not awake (lots of purification needed :-)).

    1. Hi K
      Ah, the joys of children. 🙂 It is very helpful to understand what’s taking place and techniques you can use to help facilitate release. This avoids internal battles of resistance and helps make the clearing smoother.

      We can think of earth examples. The planet itself can be seen as an entity that carries stress, often “donated” by humans. Does it have an earthquake or volcano? Or does it have some heavy rain? Or just some soothing rain at night?

      There is also the element of resonance. You can resonate with a place in various ways. This can facilitate purification. It doesn’t typically spill out into normal daily activity though unless there are excess practices or lack of activity to integrate. For example, our body does a lot of healing at night when we’re sleeping, especially if we have a deep spiritual practice. We don’t dream during the day unless theres a problem.

      Such things can indicate progress but I wouldn’t look for them to confirm it. We’re not always going to be in purification cycles.

      But yeah, the sense of being alone is an illusion, to put it mildly. (laughs)

  6. It’s worth mentioning that purification and opening of the energetic system is evidently managed by the crown chakra. But the crown doesn’t have sensors so we’re only aware of the results.

    Often, we become aware of purification as it’s releasing. We may not even have noticed the contraction until it’s letting go. 🙂

    Other places we become aware of that take a lot of time and the peeling of layers to clear.

  7. K

    One of the things I am surprised by is that purification is happening “for free”. I am used to “you work hard – you get X (job, grant, promotion etc.) “. But the purification seems to happen without seeking or asking or working for it. It is kind of like “okay – you have hung around long enough – time for you to go through this”. One of the Indian spiritual teachers used to say that the Mother watches us like vadas – deep fried Indian lentil cakes. We spend some time in really, hot oil and when She decides we are fried enough on both sides She takes us out.

    1. Right, K.
      In the field of action, we act. But in the field of spirituality, we be & allow. Ironically, it is simple allowing and acceptance that heals unresolved doing. 🙂

      Feeling fried? 🙂

      I talk of stumbling towards ecstasy…

  8. During this weeks Dorothy Rowe webinars, several things made it clear that the awakening I mentioned in the later part of the article is falling back into the universal nature more quickly than I expected.

    She gave 2 examples – of the causal field (bliss body) becoming self aware. Essentially, that means waking up. The entire causal field!

    And of the heart expanding out the back. This is a remarkable event as most nagas are very ancient. Here we witnessed new ones being created so the heart could be mirrored by the Divine. That will be a remarkable upgrade as it completes.

    Things are accelerating. 🙂

      1. Uli

        “I then moved deeper into the unified field of existence and experience the dynamics of humanity’s awakening as movements initiated and orchestrated by a single, integrating Intelligence. Previously my frame of reference for understanding these processes have been individual human beings, and the themes of individual evolution are the skilful exercise of free will over vast epochs of time. Now I was drawn into a superordinate level of reality that revealed a deeper organisational pattern, a pattern that paradoxically did not contradict the reality of individual agency. From this perspective, I experienced the evolution of our species as the systematic growth of a single organism, a unified and unifying Being that all of us were part of. The subtlety of the co-operation of the parts with the whole was extraordinary. Nothing in our theological or philosophical systems does justice to the facts. To experience the incredible diversity of our species as a single unified field made many events clearer. New patterns sprang into view and the patterns made transparent sense.
        What I “saw” was that the unified field was moving decisively and precipitously to become more aware of itself in spacetime. Whereas previously it had existed as an extended fabric of being, largely unconscious of itself at the physical level, it was now waking itself up. Visually this took the form of energy coming together in swift, contracted spasms that created bright flashes of awareness. I repeatedly saw extended webs of energy suddenly contract and explode in brilliant flashes. In the past these flashes had not endured long and had been swallowed by the inertia of the collective unconscious of our species. Now, however, the flashes were beginning to hold their own. Not only were they not dissolving, but they were beginning to connect with other flashes occurring around the planet.”

        Christopher Bache, Dark Night, Early Dawn

        1. Hi Uli

          Nicely described. This is becoming aware of the cosmic body, the one body of all bodies. This is a value of refined perception rather than awakening itself. The flashes however are the experience of other points of awareness waking up. From the cosmic body perspective, we’re all points or aspects of one whole. When other points wake up, the drop of grace creates a flash in the energy of the whole.

          Waking up the body is a different but related process. Waking up the devas of the body is a still further process. Each leads to progressively greater and more universal embodiment of source.

    1. I can add that such shifts take time to integrate. More purification will be on the agenda too. The causal field is a stage larger than our universe and contains it.

      I know the range for how long a human takes but have no idea on this. (laughs)

      On the heart, the nagas have to mature a bit more but I’ve noticed one that’s connected now.

        1. Hi Lorey
          Typical mature naga are like threads that interconnect things, like our sushumna and nadi. They’re very stable.

          These are young ones that are like fine, wiggly threads that have mostly not yet connected at the head end to the Shakti threads that will power them up.

          They’re like tubes that carry Shakti, power. More expressed, we experience this as prana.

    1. I didn’t used to experience them in this context. As energy tubes created by flowing consciousness curving back on itself. But I had not noticed they were beings themselves until Dorothy talked about them that way.

      There are so many details, it’s not possible to notice everything. But it can be handy to compare notes with others as they can point things out.

      And yes, mind is usually the last thing to understand and give words to unfolding. 🙂

    2. To the broader audience, keep in mind we’re talking about unfoldment on the comic level of existence, beyond our universe. These are very subtle but it is symptoms of the Divine descending into our more typical ranges of experience.

  9. Sabrina

    Davidya i have been exploring the awakening body for over 30 years, initially inspired by the work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The Mother (Mirra Alfaasa) would say a mantra to the cells, I simply used the word love. I learned that the attention could be directed to any area within the body and the body would delight to this attention. Movement and flow develops and areas become more integrated. I have felt this is part of the secret of my great health and fluidity. It is also a source of endless joy to me to watch and feel these processes unfold.
    Blessings,
    Sabrina

    1. Beautiful, Sabrina. I’ve long been more visual and conceptual, ignoring the body more. But as the embodiment has developed, that too became included in the process.
      Nicely described. A body nourished by care and warm attention will thrive. It is a remarkable process indeed.

    1. Hi Elsa
      Laws of nature are the guiding principles of being. Gravity, for example, is a law of nature. Conservation of energy is too. There are many.

      Those laws of nature can be experienced in objective ways , like through science, or subjective ways, as through the heart. In the subjective way, this can include personification. We experience the laws as beings or devas.

      This is why I describe them this way in the article.

      Many people experience themselves as the doer, the actor on the stage of life. However, when we shift into the observer mode of consciousness (witnessing) with awakening, we no longer experience ourselves as the doer. Later, we recognize those laws of nature as the actual doers, and the creators of experiences.

      More:
      https://davidya.ca/2017/04/15/our-natural-laws/

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