The experience of the opening of the crown chakra
By Tristan Dorling
Q.
 What are the symptoms of kundalini reaching the crown chakra? When it happens, is it permanent?
A.
 There are many different symptoms associated with an opening crown chakra. Early symptoms can include the sensation of insects crawling on the top of the head in a circle. Also, the sensation of pressure in the head. A feeling as if there is a bowl placed face down on the top of the head. Sometimes this can also feel like an upturned bowl which is shining with white light. These sensations of the bowl can be very ecstatic. Sometimes petals can be felt unfurling upwards on top of the head. These petals are ecstatic and radiant. This is where the name of this chakra in Sanskrit comes from: “Sahasrara”, or “thousand petals”.
 At times, there can be the sensation of a swirling of energy (prana) above the top of the head. There can be the sensation of a tube or rod going up through the centre of the top of the head, into the air above the crown. This rod can feel ecstatic and it can feel as if powerful energy is moving through it in both directions. There can be the sensation of bliss and of the expansion of consciousness. A bright white light can sometimes be seen above the head, or silver and gold lights with flashes of purple and green.Â
 There can also be the sensation of ecstasy merging with bliss within the crown chakra. There can be the sensation of prana flowing high up into the air above the top of the head, and pouring down around the body like a waterfall. This prana can also flow back down through the central channel, down into the heart, radiating as love. It is for all these reasons that the crown is often associated with enlightenment in yoga. But it is not actually the final resting place, as the final resting place is the heart, accompanied by the experience of divine love. The opening of the crown is something that happens during the advanced stages of the path of yoga, and it would be dangerous for a beginner to attempt it, or even an intermediate level practitioner.
 The process of the opening and purification of the crown takes many years. It often progresses in stages, where openings will occur for some time, followed by periods where little seems to be happening. Gradually, over the years, the experiences become increasingly beautiful and dramatic, resulting in the sensation of ecstatic bliss 24/7. The crown is the primary place where the union of Shiva (pure consciousness) and Shakti (ecstatic energy) takes place. This union of bliss and ecstasy, then completes its journey in the heart.Â