Explanation for "spinal energy" and other "Kundalini awakening" symptoms?

[WellbeingSeeker]

Lots of people have been uploading videos and sharing testimonials describing the symptoms they have experienced during episodes of the so-called "Kundalini awakening". The Wikipedia article on Kundalini says the following on the matter:

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The Kuṇḍalinī experience is frequently reported to be a distinct feeling of electric current running along the spine.[8][9][10]

A convenient place to find lots of testimonials on Kundalini awakening is the subreddit on Kundalini, which has been in operation for over a decade. Below a quote from a recent testimonial:

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She [the OP's mother] had been meditating for several year and focusing on the middle point of her forehead while meditating.

A few weeks ago, she experienced the awakening and has been feeling a constant flow of energy flowing throughout her body. She describes it an energy that rises up and almost wants to “lift her up” and is something that’s overall overwhelming/unpleasant. She is currently unable to read/meditate/do her breathing exercises without feeling overwhelmed by this energy.

Similar stories are available in video form on YouTube. Below some examples:

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In 2016 I went through a massive Kundalini awakening that shook my entire life. Everything felt like it was just collapsing so hard, and I had no idea what was going on. I felt the energy shoot up on my spine and it burned. It burns and I hadn't felt anything like that [...] (source)

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[...] so those of you who are unfamiliar with the idea of a Kundalini awakening, it's where a large amount of energy is released from lower parts of your body and moves up to your crown and out of your crown chakra, and, at the time I had no idea what a Kundalini awakening was. I'd never heard of one. The situation was, I was at a Buddhist lecture with my friend and we had just gotten finished with the lecture, we were sitting in her car and I started to feel a little strange. She went into the grocery store to get something and when she came back is right when it started to happen. And, initially the feeling was like this vibration, like sort of like my butt cheeks were asleep, it was a vibration at the base of my spine, and it kind of started growing in intensity. So I paused and I turned to my friend and I said "something it's happening". That was the last thing I was able to consciously control coming out of me, because at that point then my body started to like freeze up, my arms and my legs went out in front of me and like tightened up, and the energy continued to grow and then began moving up my spine, I could feel it moving up into my intestines and my stomach, into my chest. And it was like, it felt like the feeling as if a body part was asleep and has that like really intense vibration feeling, but it was like swirling, and I could feel it swirling around. And then it got to my heart, there was this big release of grief and at the same time like ecstasy? So I felt really sad, I started crying, and then I also was really happy, I felt like this bliss. It was the weirdest sensation because it was so conflicting. I was also real scared, haha, so I was having this intense emotional experience and then also feeling fear because I didn't understand what was going on [...] (source)

What is the explanation for the symptoms that people report to feel during the "Kundalini awakening" experience, such as energy rising up through the spine, vibrations, electric currents, and sometimes even ecstasy?

Edited November 7, 2020 by WellbeingSeeker

[WellbeingSeeker]

Silence ... it looks like nobody knows and the phenomenon is just a mystery?

[Nahm]

Being. 

[_Archangel_]

i've practiced kriya for about 2 months and a half now, and i get vibrations, pulsations and shakings aswell.

as to why this happens, i'm not sure, but i can try to give a logic explanation:

From what i understand, the spine has a very sensitive structure, and funcion has dispenser of impulses that come from the brain, that are the put in action through the rest of the body.  in fact it should be the first structure that is formed in the fetus after the brain. The spinal cord inside is also strongly linked with the nervous sistem. It is a sort of "controller" for the body.

So to work on it in Yoga, by just putting awerness on it, means to bring to light the enourmus activity(gathering of impulses, processing, ridistribution,) that is already there. and i think this results in the effects that you mention.

Then this so called energy, initially dedicated to "lesser" activities, such as sex, eating, feeling emotions, has to be moved up the spine to its original place, the brain, so that is not all spreaded to make the body-mind function.
With practice, you become able of carrying so much energy that you transcend the body-mind contruct an you get an awakening.

I'm not still not a big expert so i may be wrong, take this explanation for what it is

Edited November 7, 2020 by _Archangel_

[The0Self]

The mind is very busy and multi layered and delegated. When enough of these parts all do the same thing (pay attention to a certain group of sensations) it frees up a ton of energy as less is wasted on opposing intentions/desires, but before this energy has anywhere to go (in the form of samadhi states), it will be released as tumultuous energy currents that can be felt as painful or blissful, but generally quite intensely and eventually it almost certainly takes on the quality of exhilaration, before eventually calming down. That’s the general progression of piti/kundalini in skilled meditation. It’s the epitome of makyo in Zen though, lol. And it’s just a story.