Practicality of kundalini, chakras, and even kriyas?

This is being posted here rather than the spirituality forum because I like to think of the above as more of a philosophy or way of describing something intangible rather than a metaphysical idea or place.

As in I feel that chakras are more about describing the general vibe, play of hormones, and mental response about the associated areas of our body and aren't really something to open by mysterious means. This is why many skeptics deny chakras, because they look for an item or something specific that can be studied independent of the whole relationship it's all about.

So then kundalini would be about getting all 6 senses and locations in order and being aware of the "self" or "I" and housing in the 7th chakra (sahasrara) rather than being attatched to the rest.

Am I missing something? I understand that people are able to have their own interpretations but it really confuses me when people associate kundalini awakenings with such a great deal of effort, agony, and almost a stroke like conclusion. I know that self-discovery is a challenging thing and that experiencing ego death can be excruciating but there are so many "standards" it's confusing.

Some will say just the spontaneous moment of awakening is it and that many people have had them. Some are all about extreme austerity and pushing themselves to the limits in isolation for months. Some go berserk and are still very kooky afterwards. Some swear by cultish rituals and even devotion.. etc..

I guess everyone has there own way but I'd like to hear different thoughts.

P.S. Seeing the topic title now I forgot to mention kriyas but that kind of goes with strange practices and isolation for "true awakening". I definitely dig Swami Satyananda Saraswati whose his ideas seem to more often be on the side of zen. The biggest book he wrote was A Systematic Course of Kriya and Yoga, which contains 36 lessons with the last 12 being initiation into kriya. Each lesson lasts a month and for the last year you add a new kriya every month until you finally are practicing the whole three hour ordeal. He recommends waiting until you have a period of your life where you can spare three hours solely for morning practice. THREE HOURS!! I might come around to it way in the future but now it makes me wonder what I'm going to be up to spending three hours every morning for a whole year and if it wont be counterproductive.

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