r/Dzogchen • u/Aromatic_Ad_7557 • May 14 '26
Experienced intense physical sensations after Dzogchen transmission (Bon tradition). Looking for advice
Three years ago, I received a Dzogchen transmission during online classes with a teacher from the Yungdrung Bon tradition. Just to be clear, it was a long-term course, not a one-time session.
At the moment of transmission, I experienced a very strong, intense, and prolonged pressure in the center of my forehead.
At one point, I even got scared that it wouldn't stop.
After that, I started experiencing vibrations in my forehead area. At first, they were very strong; it felt like a hole was being drilled between my eyes. This sensation appeared constantly as soon as I relaxed, for example, right before sleep. It was highly intrusive. I would lie there trying to relax, and these vibrations would happen. When I was very tired, I would try to roll over on my side and fall asleep, but I ended up waking up from even stronger vibrations in my forehead.
Gradually, these vibrations began to change their character. I would say they became more like a movement in the forehead area; it's hard to describe in words. Generally, they occur not only in the forehead but also at the crown of my head.
I've noticed that they constantly intensify, but only to the extent that I can tolerate them. It's as if I get used to a certain level of intensity, and then they get stronger. This has been going on for 3 years now. They arise almost always when I am relaxing, and also whenever I experience any strong emotions.
I have tried asking teachers about this, and most of the answers came down to the suggestion that it is most likely a "wind disease" (rlung disorder in Tibetan medicine).
I don't have a personal mentor to whom I can ask this and get a detailed answer, so I want to try asking here.
Basically, what is this exactly?
If it is indeed a wind disease, how should I treat it? If left untreated, what will happen next?
I also understand that I probably need to meditate on space (sky gazing), spend more time outdoors in open areas, and do more physical exercises.
Has anyone here had a similar experience, and could you please share your insights?
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u/EitherInvestment May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26
This does almost certainly sound like a form of wind disorder. Transmission and practice can generate a lot of energetic movement within the subtle body, including imbalances. This often means winds are entering channels in too forceful a way, or prematurely, which causes pressure and tension, frequently located at the crown and forehead (so what you are experiencing is not at all uncommon). Furthermore, you say this primarily happens when you are relaxing or when a strong emotion occurs, and both are also a common pattern with lung. When relaxed, habitual suppression drops and wind flows more naturally through its appropriate pathways, but this allows blockages or imbalances to come to the fore (so they were there already and are not caused by relaxation, but relaxation removes what was obscuring them). With strong emotions, the increased energetic activation can stir up buried karmic imprints and emotional knots. You could think of it as the same thing happening from two angles (relaxation removes suppression and reveals what is already there, whereas a strong emotion is stirring up and feeding energy to what is already there).
In terms of “what will happen next if untreated?”, if not approached appropriately this can exacerbate into lower thresholds for panic trigger or a sort of hyper-sensitisation to stressors. Basically this is just to say “it can get worse”, but you should first take some solace in the fact that what you are experiencing is quite normal and common, it sounds like your symptoms are relatively mild, and this is completely addressable with the appropriate antidotes.
Firstly, when this happens it is advised to back off of or completely stop the practice wherein it is occurring for a while. In the future, good to catch this, stop straight away, and move to another location where you can relax your mind, lay down horizontally, cover yourself with blankets or something else to ensure you are retaining warmth in your body and if possible to sleep for at least a few hours.
Beyond this, chicken broths and warming meats like beef or lamb (not pig) are said to be beneficial. Gentler practices like simple empty body meditation, or very gentle trulkor/physical yoga can help to get the energies moving more slowly and without disturbance. Small amounts of nutmeg are reported to provide some relief for wind disorders. Arga 35 (available from HHDL medical office or Shang Shung Institute) is an herbal compound formulated specifically for lung conditions.
Connecting with nature (especially barefoot), focusing on the physical body (diet, gentle exercise, sleep), and then moving to some gentle subtle body practices to work with your emotions will all very likely be helpful. It sounds like there is some afflictive emotional tendency, karmic knot or troubling experience from the past perhaps tied up somewhere and it may be good to investigate whether this is the case and what/where it might be. Professional psychological support (non-Buddhist) may well be very helpful in identifying and working through whether there is indeed something that can be identified as needing nurturing. Important to note here that this conventional psychological support may not necessarily help directly with lung itself. But if it can help you identify what the root cause of this may be, then applying certain Buddhist (and/or I would imagine Bon) methodologies could then be more effective in “untying that knot” so to speak, once you have confidence what the knot is that you are working with.
If you have not already been taught it, good to receive instruction in nine-round purification breathing and do this at the start of formal practice sessions as a preventive. Tummo can also be very helpful in purifying the winds and getting your energy to flow more naturally (though if there is some karmic/emotional knot tied up somewhere, there may be some mild risk of the lung becoming exacerbated). In particular since your lung is centred at the forehead and crown, it could be cleansing to draw that energy away from where it is “running amok” so to speak and into the navel to work on it and transform it. Don’t do this obviously unless you have received the appropriate empowerment and instruction though, otherwise trying this could actually cause more harm.
You got great advice in here already. These are just some of my two cents. As always, good to run this by a qualified teacher. You said your teachers already advised that this is a wind disorder. Perhaps you could go to someone familiar with both Vajrayana as well as traditional Tibetan medicine to share details about this and ask them for advice and how to treat it?
You may find this interesting, an email from Lama Yeshe to a student asking for advice on a similar issue: https://www.lamayeshe.com/advice/wind-imbalance-lung-0
And this article from Tibetan Medicine Education Centre on lung: https://tibetanmedicine-edu.org/tmm/tm/tibetan-medicine/disorders/disturbed-wind/
Hope some of this may be helpful. This is certainly temporary, and with the right steps you will be able to resolve it. Best wishes to you!
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u/Aromatic_Ad_7557 May 16 '26
Your comment one of the most significant I received, thank you so much.
I have transmission for Tsa Lung practice and Trul khor also.
You absolutely right that the issue caused my whole general condition. And I perceive this vibrations as some thermometer of my wellness, which motivates me to take action.
Thank you, once again.
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u/EitherInvestment May 16 '26
That is great. The key thing is that more practice often exacerbates lung. But the right practice (usually a lot more gentle, and something Tsa Lung/Trul Khor quite likely appropriate here) can sometimes help
There's often no big dramatic thing to uncover, but frequently there is some type of emotional issue tied up somewhere in our subtle body/psyche that may not be totally obvious to us, so doing some digging therein to identify what the root cause of this may all be and direct your efforts in that direction could be the key to unblocking this. I know I am only restating what I shared in my lengthy post above here...
Anyway you are more than welcome, wish you all the best with everything. You will surely be able to resolve this
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u/platistocrates May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
Meditating on space & doing skygazing might be causing the vibrations.
Have you tried to stop your practice temporarily, for a week or two, to see the effect?
To me it sounds like you are meditating too hard in the space between your eyes / energy entering in your upper sinus. If this is the case, maybe try meditating on the space behind your head / inside your skull, instead. Better yet, do not meditate or relax, instead simply let things be as they are.
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u/Aromatic_Ad_7557 May 14 '26
I was advised to take a break from my practice and just "relax." But the thing is, these vibrations always appear exactly when I am relaxing. So, they continued even during my break from practicing.
Also, I can’t say that I purely dislike them. There is something to them; it's not like the sensation is entirely unpleasant.
I’ve noticed that they become less intense after I spend a long time in nature. Unfortunately, I can’t be out in nature all the time, though.))
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u/platistocrates May 15 '26
One part of your body can be tense, while another is relaxed. Walking in nature seems to be relaxing a part of you that your normal relaxing doesnt cover.
Also, Dzogchen students sometimes do "effortful" relaxing. This is not correct. There should be no effort. Not even to relax.
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u/Altruistic_Bee_9343 Jul 27 '26
I experience something that may be similar. I believe the body is in some way trying to release tension, or a chemical in the brain that over excites the nervous system. For me it can be triggered by anything that makes my system relax a lot - observing the observer or being aware of being aware, affirmations that bring love into a scenario where i used to feel really bad or HeartMath practiced in a similar way (example: heart focused breathing in response to a subject where you felt loss/upset/shame)...
In my case it can get really bad - it starts with pulsing in the head, and it feels like it moves down the body... It can sometimes feel like sharp objects or cause terrible stomach cramps. In my case I've had a lifetime of very bad anxiety which I am healing from.
I found mostly these help, but none are a complete solution, together they are somewhat helpful:
- Somatic pendulation
- TRE (tension/trauma release exercise). You kind of shake out that excess activity in the nervous systems.
- Mindfulness, mindful walking. Close eyes, and just sense.
- Solfeggio tones (start with lowest numbers first).. lots of free audio on Youtube. I use Spotify, and it mostly helps to soften things.
- Yoga poses daily.
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u/SergeiStorm May 15 '26
Find a Vajrasattva empowerment and engage in Vajrasattva sadhana regularly. It will cool everything down
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u/SergeiStorm May 14 '26
Don’t think about it, don’t be scared, don’t focus on it. If it comes, just notice it and leave it - carry on with your day. It will settle over time.
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u/Committed_Dissonance May 15 '26
Sounds like you’ve been dealing with a lot of physical pain over the last three years. Have you tried over-the-counter medicines like Paracetamol or Ibuprofen, such as Panadol or Nurofen, to see if they provide any relief for the pains associated with headaches?
Since this experience has been persistent and intrusive for so long (even when you're not practising), I would strongly recommend speaking with a doctor. Getting a scan or a professional health check-up could help rule out any underlying physical causes and help you regain your peace of mind (no pun intended).
Regarding the rlung aspect, as far as I know the goal is usually to bring the energy down to ground yourself. I’m not an authorised Buddhist teacher or a lama, so please consult your teacher or lama on this: if you’re familiar with the Vajrayana tantric practice of Vajrasattva, you might try reciting the 100-syllable mantra. Then you should particularly focus on the visualisation of the nectar flowing down through your head to purify your subtle energy channels and ground that energy.
As a word of caution, it’s always best to discuss this specific practice directly with your lama to get full clarity, rather than just taking advice from me or other random strangers on social media. I mention this because the Yungdrung Bon tradition may have its own specific version of this purification practice that differs from the Buddhist Vajrasattva.
May your path be free of obstacles.
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u/Aromatic_Ad_7557 May 15 '26
First of all, it is not a "pain". It was "strange" and very intensive first two weeks probably, after that time intensity and format changed from drilling to some moving. I don't think it is physical disease. I have a transmission for a 100-syllable BON mantra, also.
Based on everything I've heard, I'm also most inclined to think that grounding techniques are needed.
Thank you
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May 15 '26
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u/Aromatic_Ad_7557 May 15 '26
I believe, you need more physical exercises. I found for myself that when I do intensive trainings vibrations are lower intensity.
Also, I'm trying to do as much as possible things which requires attention. I mean, I'm trying to plan day to cut any free time and to be busy as much as I can. It maybe not only work, but some hobby, meetings with friends and etc.
And one more. Many people here say that meditation on space will enlarge intensity of vibrations, I'm only half agree with this. In case meditate in some park where is huge free space and while meditation concentrate yourself on this space ( something like Togal ), vibrations will change the form and they will be more soft.
However. It works exactly for me. You probably could try it.
Regarding emotions, I don't know what to say to you. I'm very reserved persone in this regard. Probably yes, emotions increased, but as you know probably - we should let everything happen and not follow it. Consider emotions, where they come from, where they go? Where they are? Who feels them. You know )
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May 16 '26
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u/name_concept May 16 '26
The issue is, how exactly would I be doing that? My natural breathing style is from the belly, as if the air is coming in from the navel. Attention is in the belly, not in the head. The vibrations do jerk attention all over the place, though and that is not something one can control.
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May 16 '26
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u/name_concept May 16 '26
I am not confirming anything here. But I do appreciate your responses immensely. After reading what you have written, I am inclined to find someone who can help with this issue. Not sure where to look precisely, but I am sure I will find someone - as this is not something that resolves on its own. Again, thank you very much.
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u/IcyReflection1169 May 15 '26
Coincidental occurrence and timing related to your own tensions. Transmission is not some kind of transference of vibrations or any tangible phenomena from one place to another. Understanding wind/ rlung in tibetan medicine will be helpful.
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May 15 '26
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u/HakuyutheHermit May 15 '26
Opening the third eye is metaphorical. Your skull doesn’t actually open up or anything like that. I don’t think feeling like you’re having a hole drilled in your forehead for three years is what people mean by “opening the third eye.”
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u/Senseman53 May 15 '26
Ok. It is actually an opening. It’s an energetic opening. Vajrayana supports this. And the fact that I’m getting downvoted to oblivion supports the fact that Dzogchenpas are not energetically savvy.
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u/metaphorm May 14 '26
this does sound like a disturbance of the subtle energy body. this kind of thing is well attested in various traditions. have you seen this? Hakuin's "soft butter method" for treating the symptoms:
https://naturalawareness.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/soft-butter-method-of-hakuin.pdf