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I found a copy of his book on the shelf in Barnes and Nobles. I was so impressed by the scientific research supporting the practices and also by the testimonials that I began 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 his book and try the protocol that fits their particular situation. There is absolutely nothing to lose and a lot to gain!!!!!!!
Big breakthrough with PTSD. The information in his book is helping me recover from a serious trauma I had 3 years ago. I bought the book for the PTSD treatment plan. I decided to start with only one of the PTSD protocol techniques as the full set of 8 exercises was overwhelming to me. The one I picked was the Gan Pattee meditation which was described as helping to cleanse and remove trauma from the body and mind. That sounded very appealing. 😉
I’m so grateful to report a big breakthrough after 5 days of doing it. The first time I tried it I felt my neck and jaw muscles soften for the first time in 3 years, and felt noticeably more calm and clear-minded. This is after one 11-minute practice of it. The next four days I felt good after each daily 11-minute session but the results weren’t as noticeable. On day 6 my knotted up small intestines and muscles unwound for approximately 3.5 hours and I am feeling, thinking and looking much, much better. I estimate 30-40 percent of my trauma is gone. By comparison, before this the only thing that I’d made real progress with was David Bercelli’s trauma release exercises for 1 year and Richard Miller’s Yoga Nidra relaxation CD’s for 6 months, and neither of them helped me as much, even over much longer periods of time. HeartMath and 2 years of mindfulness meditation helped calm me on the surface but without deeper effects. EMDR and traditional psychotherapy had no noticable beneficial effect for me. So I encourage others enjoy the benefits of these beautiful kundalini yoga practices and to feel better soon.
Doing only the one Gan Pattee meditation from his book helped me significantly more than anything else I’ve tried from Eastern/Western medicine in the last 3 years. I’m confident I can fully recover and even be better than before as I continue practicing kundalini yoga. I could not have said that until I discovered his book.
I’m a Kundalini Yoga Teacher and recently got a new student who is suffering from PTSD after surviving a direct hit from a devastating tornado. His book has an 8-Step Protocol for PTSD. My student is relatively new to Kundalini Yoga so I have started him out with one meditation (the first one from the Protocol, which can be taught by itself or as part of the protocol) After daily practice for 4 days, and also taking Kundalini Yoga classes twice a week for 2 weeks, he told me that he feels that it is already making a big difference in his life. He says his mind is much calmer and he feels more centered than ever before. He has not needed to take his medication in the daytime for the last 3 days! I think this is wonderful and I am so grateful to David Shannahoff-Khalsa for providing these protocols so that people can heal themselves. Soon I’ll be teaching him the whole 8 steps and I expect great things for him in the near future.
Sacred Therapies contains treatment protocols for a variety (if not most) of mental illnesses and personality disorders. Some of the protocols are long. Some sets have 12 different exercises taking a minimum of 1 hour and 15 minutes. The author seems to take into consideration the energy level of the patient, for instance the chronic depression protocol takes about 30 minutes.
I only have personal experience with 3 protocols; OCD, Depression and PTSD. The OCD protocol is fantastic, the PTSD protocol is hard work. Both are highly effective.
It is so great that his book was written. I really appreciate that someone realizes the importance of meditation as part of any treatment program. However, as someone with ADD, it is very difficult to learn and follow the protocol in the book. I am a very hands on, visual learner, so reading instructions on 11 different meditations to be done in sequence (that requires a lot of stopping) just doesn’t work for me and I felt very frustrated. My brain is just not wired to learn the intricacies of this practice through a book. If I had that kind of focus I wouldn’t be seeking help! I am going to be searching for videos on how to do some of the meditations listed here, one at a time. Please make a DVD to go along with this book, it would be EXTREMELY helpful!!!!
His 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.
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.
His book is wonderful and I strongly recommend it to everyone that has mental illness like OCD, Depression, etc. I have been an OCD patient for a few years. I have a full-time job and the OCD and anxiety normally came 2-3 times per week. I found this book and also bought the author’s DVD for OCD, and followed the instructions. 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 recommended his book to all of my friends who had mental illness or who had friends that were mentally ill. It was truely a blessing that I had a chance to learn from his book.
After I met the author in May, I have been practicing his psychosis protocol that is to be published in his second book now for two months, and the results are also very good. I am doing so well that my psychiatrist is reducing my medicine.
I Bought his book for my brother, which is suffering from OCD and after using the protocols written in his book, his condition is much more improved than before. I highly recommend his book to people with mental health problem and also to doctors.
I’ve had OCD for at least 18 years and have tried just about every therapy that has been developed to treat it. I’ve even been through an intensive treatment program at one of the top OCD centers in the country. Nothing was able to give me much relief that lasted. However, the protocol in his book (while not easy) has made the biggest difference in weakening my OCD symptoms.
I was a bit skeptical because it seemed very foreign for me to do some of the techniques. However, after seeing the benefits I can tell that this is something special.
I would recommend this for anyone who has OCD (I can only comment on the OCD protocol because that’s the one I have done). My guess is that the other protocols are very effective as well, but I don’t have first-hand experience with them. But if you are suffering with OCD, how much longer are you willing to suffer before you try this out?
His book is a brilliant resource and the protocols are truly amazing and boy, dot they work! I have OCD and I have tried all sorts of treatments, doctors & meds and this the only thing that worked. I never have thought anything like a ‘cure’ was even remotely possible for things we suffer. I have symptoms of Anxiety, Panic, OCD disorders (I was seeing a psychiatrist). I believe Kundalini Yoga intrinsically changes you from the inside-out, and restores you fully, eliminating your disorders. And the benefits are for life! I am now almost free of many of the symptoms that plagued me for the longest time. Absolutely recommended! P.S. I have also consulted with David Shannahoff-Khalsa, and he’s been absolutely wonderful.
His amazing book has changed and totally saved my life. Using the techniques outlined in his book, my mental, emotional, and physical well-being has reached a whole new level! It is magical to me, as it guides me to a new light and state of mind.
I am an alcoholic that had tried EVERYTHING to stop drinking, including other types of yoga, exercise, rehab, and AA. All of those are great, but Kundalini yoga is the answer. I am astonished that these techniques have existed for thousands of years in secrecy. Thanks to our beloved Guru Ram Das and Yogi Bhajan actually bringing them into the public eye, David Shannanhoff-Khalsa (along with other Kundalini yoga teachers) can scientifically research and explain them. The techniques seemed a bit odd at first, but I have had fun with them and can feel their effectiveness.
I truly hope that this inspires everyone with a disorder written about in Sacred Therapies. I believe that it can help anyone with even the slightest addictive or depressive behavior. In truth, everyone has particular unwanted tendencies (depending their state of balance) at some point in their life. This book will be a helpful tool for anyone with a desire to be healthy and happy. Just be willing to dedicate a small portion of your day to these practices and follow the direction in the book.
Thank you David Shannahoff-Khalsa!!!
David has contributed a huge gift to society through his wonderful book. At a time when the drug companies are dominating treatment of mental health issues we have an alternative approach that works. And has worked for the East for thousands of years. It really helps me to know that I have tools at my disposal. To know that I can take responsibility for my own healing really feels empowering. I have suffered with depression for years but am confident that I am on my way to eliminating this awful struggle. Thank you David!
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.
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 after 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 his book for giving me the right tools to heal myself.
I not only read his book but also practiced some of the meditations. I was suffering with anxiety for the first time at the age of 35 and looking for help when God sent me this book. I already wrote to Shannahoff-Khalsa to thank him and now would like to let all the people who are interested to maybe purchase his book that I highly recommend it. I have learned from my own experience, and now I am much happier and much less anxious.
His book has helped me greatly with controlling anxiety, focusing, writing, organizing, and other related difficulties. It is one of my very favorite health books. If you are looking for a simple answer to many of the modern stress related disorders or even inherited disorders, look no further. Thank you David Shannahoff-Khalsa!!
His book literally saved my life. Before I started the yoga exercises and the meditations, there was lots of stress building up in my subconscious mind. This resulted in a lot of panic attacks, hallucinations, uncontrollable fears, loss of appetite, depression, insomnia and more. I thought, how could I move ahead with my career and social interactions? And who would understand the psychosis that I am going through? What are my options? A lifetime of paying for psychotherapy or drugs that will have long term consequences on my health? I am not dismissing those avenues, as I see their temporary usefulness, but the long-term freedom of my mind today from the consistent practice of these yoga exercises was unimaginable to me before.
It is not a quick-fix, but a journey that requires lots of self-love, a loving community or someone you trust and a personal responsibility for your thoughts and actions. Something else that is invaluable to me on my journey is practicing mindfulness, on my breath throughout the day. A great practice to keep track of the breath, is to have a timer go off every thirty minutes and take three deep breaths, as advised by Ph.D. Yogi Bhajan. Also a practical, scientific goal to stay motivated is to lower your rate of breathing to eight times per minute. This has helped me tremendously, to get to know the nature of my mind.
I can see a huge difference in my day when I start it off with some yoga. I have a greater capacity to endure any kind of ‘inconveniences’ and ‘problems’ are seen from a clearer prospective. Many people are noticing it too and complimenting me about it. It’s not that I’m really different from anyone else it’s just that these practices work. Before you play a musical instrument, you have to tune it properly or even the greatest musician won’t be able to sound good. And the same goes for the mind. With the science and art of yoga, we tune our minds and the daily experience is something that continues to inspire me.
A friend of mine has recently bought his book. He has been medicated for over five years for schizophrenia. He has experienced great changes with the exercises for psychosis. It has been very rewarding to me, just to past on the awareness of his book and see such positive changes to my friend.
I have participated in a telephone conversation and a skype conversation with David. He is a caring, intelligent and down to earth person. I recommend if someone has any doubts or would simply prefer to talk to someone that has years of experience as a research scientist and yoga teacher, then David is available for consultations.
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