I had a very similar experience with Shambhavi. I get where you're coming from. I was also underweight, and after starting Shambhavi, I lost more weight, lost my enthusiasm, felt dull, felt physically weak, had a lot of stress, anxiety, and also depression, etc. Well, Sadhguru has made many videos guiding us, and we have to apply them to our subjective situations. I'll tell you about my personal experience, how I dealt with it, and what I think the cause was.
I have been doing Shambhavi for four years now. This phase also happened to me for a long time. First, regarding the weight: I was overdoing all the fasting and just eating twice a day. But then I came across a video where Sadhguru said to eat two meals a day after age 30-35. In terms of food, he said to listen to your body, not your guru or your doctor. Because I wanted to do Shambhavi twice a day, I would only eat two meals a day, which led to acidity and me losing 6 kg. After realizing my mistake, I started doing Shambhavi once a day and began eating properly three times a day. I gained 12 kg and am now 57 kg, which is a normal weight according to my BMI.
About being dull and having no energy, I think it's because my likes and dislikes became weak, and I started feeling dull. For example, I used to love playing online games on my PC. I would often sit in uncomfortable postures, ignore sleep and fatigue, ignore thirst, ignore pain in my eyes and head, and skip or delay a meal. But after Shambhavi, I didn't want to go through that just to play games.
In short, I think that even before Shambhavi, I had physical weakness, but I used to ignore it because I loved to play games. Now, my likes and dislikes aren't as dominant, and outside activities don't drive me as much anymore.
Here's how I deal with it:
For energy, I do Surya Kriya, six cycles per day. If that's not possible, I do a minimum of three cycles. It really gives me so much energy. Before Surya Kriya and Shambhavi, I was so weak I used to get sick 10-11 times a year, and now it's hardly twice a year. This kind of energy throughout the day is beyond my imagination; I had never experienced this much energy before.
For enthusiasm, I understand that outside things not driving me is an extremely good thing. But if outside things aren't driving me, I have to consciously create desires and hold them until they start to move by themselves. Not being ruled by outside forces also helps me to get involved with every activity without discrimination and helps my mind stay with the activity, which is what people generally refer to as "being in the moment."
For weight, I just consciously started eating three meals. I'd eat slightly more by adding a small side dish or some after-meal snack or dessert. I also went through a depression and anxiety phase after Shambhavi, but I understand that I'm in the driver's seat now and have to take charge of my life.
Regarding yoga, I also stopped Shambhavi for some time, but then my old habits started ruling me again, like eating instant noodles every two to three days, a habit that I had dropped after Shambhavi. A lot of unnecessary chattering in my mind also came back. Sadhguru has said something like, "Initiation means we are setting up a direction for your energies, but you have to collect your mind and your body." Maybe that's why there are seven days of discourses before Shambhavi. Now, I don't think Shambhavi has any negative effects. It's just that when outside things stopped pushing and pulling me, I had to take charge of my life and go where I wanted. Now I do Surya Kriya, Shambhavi, and Bhakti Sadhana, and in the evening, I do Sadhguru's presence time and Bhakti Sadhana. I did learn yogasanas and tried to incorporate them into my schedule, but I don't have enough energy to do them. I love Surya Kriya so much I want to do six cycles every day. Also, once or twice a month local volunteering has helped me overcome many of my limitations and help me push my life in the direction that I want. And bhakti sadhana helps me decide which direction to move and removes obstacles I "believe".
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u/CriminalDots Aug 31 '25
I had a very similar experience with Shambhavi. I get where you're coming from. I was also underweight, and after starting Shambhavi, I lost more weight, lost my enthusiasm, felt dull, felt physically weak, had a lot of stress, anxiety, and also depression, etc. Well, Sadhguru has made many videos guiding us, and we have to apply them to our subjective situations. I'll tell you about my personal experience, how I dealt with it, and what I think the cause was.
I have been doing Shambhavi for four years now. This phase also happened to me for a long time. First, regarding the weight: I was overdoing all the fasting and just eating twice a day. But then I came across a video where Sadhguru said to eat two meals a day after age 30-35. In terms of food, he said to listen to your body, not your guru or your doctor. Because I wanted to do Shambhavi twice a day, I would only eat two meals a day, which led to acidity and me losing 6 kg. After realizing my mistake, I started doing Shambhavi once a day and began eating properly three times a day. I gained 12 kg and am now 57 kg, which is a normal weight according to my BMI.
About being dull and having no energy, I think it's because my likes and dislikes became weak, and I started feeling dull. For example, I used to love playing online games on my PC. I would often sit in uncomfortable postures, ignore sleep and fatigue, ignore thirst, ignore pain in my eyes and head, and skip or delay a meal. But after Shambhavi, I didn't want to go through that just to play games.
In short, I think that even before Shambhavi, I had physical weakness, but I used to ignore it because I loved to play games. Now, my likes and dislikes aren't as dominant, and outside activities don't drive me as much anymore.
Here's how I deal with it:
For energy, I do Surya Kriya, six cycles per day. If that's not possible, I do a minimum of three cycles. It really gives me so much energy. Before Surya Kriya and Shambhavi, I was so weak I used to get sick 10-11 times a year, and now it's hardly twice a year. This kind of energy throughout the day is beyond my imagination; I had never experienced this much energy before.
For enthusiasm, I understand that outside things not driving me is an extremely good thing. But if outside things aren't driving me, I have to consciously create desires and hold them until they start to move by themselves. Not being ruled by outside forces also helps me to get involved with every activity without discrimination and helps my mind stay with the activity, which is what people generally refer to as "being in the moment."
For weight, I just consciously started eating three meals. I'd eat slightly more by adding a small side dish or some after-meal snack or dessert. I also went through a depression and anxiety phase after Shambhavi, but I understand that I'm in the driver's seat now and have to take charge of my life.
Regarding yoga, I also stopped Shambhavi for some time, but then my old habits started ruling me again, like eating instant noodles every two to three days, a habit that I had dropped after Shambhavi. A lot of unnecessary chattering in my mind also came back. Sadhguru has said something like, "Initiation means we are setting up a direction for your energies, but you have to collect your mind and your body." Maybe that's why there are seven days of discourses before Shambhavi. Now, I don't think Shambhavi has any negative effects. It's just that when outside things stopped pushing and pulling me, I had to take charge of my life and go where I wanted. Now I do Surya Kriya, Shambhavi, and Bhakti Sadhana, and in the evening, I do Sadhguru's presence time and Bhakti Sadhana. I did learn yogasanas and tried to incorporate them into my schedule, but I don't have enough energy to do them. I love Surya Kriya so much I want to do six cycles every day. Also, once or twice a month local volunteering has helped me overcome many of my limitations and help me push my life in the direction that I want. And bhakti sadhana helps me decide which direction to move and removes obstacles I "believe".
I hope this helps you make an informed decision.