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Kundalini Yoga - Awakening the Kundalini Energy

Kundalini Yoga is the most powerful Yoga ever known and is considered as the mother of all the Styles of Yoga. It centers on awakening the Kundalini, the energy (serpent power or Bhujangini) which is found at the base of our spine or the Muladhara Chakra. Kundalini came from the word kunda which means "pot" but it Kundalini Sadhna, it is defined as the coiled energy that looks like a serpent with three and a half coils lying dormant at the base of the spine with the tip of its tail to its mouth. The three coils represent the Three Gunas : the Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, the half coil represents the VIkritis. Anatomically, Kundalini is located in the perineum region of the body, that is between the rectum and the testicles in males and between the vagina and clitoris in females. Kundalini is also the symbol of uniformity of the masculine power called Siva and the feminine power called Sakti. When these two different sources of energy unite, they become complete and become a fundamental source of energy and power. This union happens in the brain or Sahasrara Chakra and gives us divine prosperity, universal energy, creativity, feeling of love and affection and eliminates negative feelings such as depression and jealousy.

Kundalini Yoga was brought to the West by Yogi Bhajan in 1969. The practice of Kundalini Yoga involves Classic Poses, Chanting or Mantra, coordination of Breath and movement and Meditation. The emphasis however, is not on the Yoga Poses but on the Chanting and Breathing. Kundalini Yoga rewards Yogis with spiritual transformation and unity consciousness. When the Kundalini is awakened, it produces a hissing sound like a beaten serpent and pierces through the Muladhara Chakra (Bheda), then through the Brahma Nadi and through the various Chakras until it reaches the Sahasrara Chakra. As the Kundalini passes through a Chakra, you will feel intense heat and once it leaves that Chakra to go to the next Chakra, the one it left will feel very cold and appear lifeless

To understand the path of the Kundalini better, you need to understand the Nervous System especially the Spinal Cord. The Nervous System serves as the main control of our body and is responsible for thought, imagination, memory and intelligence. It is composed of the brain, nerves and the Spinal Cord. The nerves are the parts which connect the different parts of the body either directly to the brain or through the spinal cord. The brain, on the other hand, commands and controls the body's functions. The Spinal Cord is composed of delicate nerves and tissues and is protected by the Spinal or Vertebral Column. This organ serves as the link between the brain and the body. The Spinal Cord is lined with two circles of tissues on each side. The left part is the Ida Nadi, the right is the Pingala Nadi and the canal on which these two Nadis connect to each other is called the Sushumna Nadi. The base of the Spinal Cord is closed and triangle shaped with different plexuses and centers on it. These centers are known as the Chakras.

Kundalini Yoga can be awakened by the practice of Asanas, Pranayamas, and Mudras, by concentration and training of the mind, by the practice of Bhakta Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Mantras, by the grace of the Guru (Guru Kripa) or a combination of these practices. Some may achieve it by merely practicing the principles of Hatha Yoga, but in most cases, you will need to combine different methods. The ease or difficulty of awakening the Kundalini depends on the growth and position of the Sadhakas in the spiritual path. Awakening the Kundalini does not take much time and effort, the difficult thing is to take it through the Chakras up to the Sahasrara Chakra. This requires you to be patient, persevering, pure and dedicated for constant practice. The awakening of the Kundalini Sakti is characterized by the freedom from all Poisons such as Kama , Krodha, Raga and Dvesha. A balanced mind, absolute courage, desirelessness, Siddhis, divine intoxication and spiritual Ananda also distinguish a Yogi who achieved Kundalini. You will be in the state of Unmani or the state of no body-consciousness or being dead to the world. Kundalini also opens the mind which results to the possession of psychic powers and control over the five elements. Once Kundalini reaches its final destination, the Sahasrara Chakra, you will be in the knowledge space or Chidakasa.

The union of the Kundalini Sakti and the Kundalini Siva which is one of the functions of Kundalini Yoga is often misinterpreted as mere sexual union. Men think that they are Siva and the Women are their Sakti, and often leading to lustful tendencies of the husbands to their wives. Mere sexual union and worship is not the principle of Kundalini Yoga. Before you can awaken the Kundalini Sakti, you must first have purity of the body (Deha Suddhi), purity of the Nadis (Nadi Suddhi) for the Kundalini to pass easily, purity of the mind (Manas-Suddhi), and purity of intellect (Buddhi Suddhi).

B.K.S. Iyengar

A photograph of B.K.S. Iyengar

B.K.S. Iyengar , (aka Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar) born Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar, December 14, 1918, in India, is founder of Iyengar Yoga and one of the most respected yoga teachers in the world. Millions of students and followers around the world practice Iyengar Yoga. Iyengar and has written a number of definitive yoga texts. Iyengar Yoga

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are one of the six darshanas of Hindu or Vedic schools and, alongside the Bhagavad Gita and Hatha Yoga Pradipika, are a milestone in the history of Yoga. The book is a set of aphorisms, which are short, terse phrases designed to be easy to memorize. Though brief, the Yoga Sutras are an enormously influential work that is just as relevant for yoga philosophy and practice today as it was when it was written. Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Hatha Yoga Pradipika

The most fundamental text of Hatha Yoga is the Hatha Yoga Pradipika , a Sanskrit classic written by Swami Swatamarama, a disciple of Swami Goraknath. It is said to be the oldest surviving text on the Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga and Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Kundalini

Kundalini is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning either "coiled up" or "coiling like a snake". There are a number of other translations of the term usually emphasizing a more serpent nature to the word— e.g. 'serpent power'. The caduceus symbol of coiling snakes is thought to be an ancient symbolic representation of Kundalini physiology.

Zen

Bodhidharma, woodblock print by Yoshitoshi, 1887.

Zen is the Japanese name of a well known branch of Mahayana Buddhist schools, practiced originally in China as Ch'an and subsequently in Korea , Japan , and Vietnam . Zen emphasizes the role of sitting meditation (zazen) in pursuing enlightenment. Zen can be considered a religion, a philosophy, or simply a practice depending on one's perspective. It has also been described as a way of life, work, and an art form.

Zen is the common name for this branch of Buddhism in Japanese as well as in English. However, in the last half of the 20th century, Zen has become an international phenomenon, with centers in many countries around the world. Zen

Kundalini Yoga - Awakening the Kundalini Energy

Kundalini Yoga

Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya

Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (1888-1989) is credited with being instrumental in the resurgence of interest in hatha yoga. His students included Indra Devi, B.K.S. Iyengar, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, and T.K.V. Desikachar—major yoga teachers in their own right. Born in 1888 in Mysore , India , Krishnamacharya received his first instruction in Sanskrit and yoga from his father. He went on to attend the Royal College of Mysore and later spent seven years studying in Tibet . He returned to Mysore in 1924 and later opened a yoga school. In 1976, Krishnamacharya's son and closest disciple, T.K.V. Desikachar, founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, a yoga center in Madras .

Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois was born on Guru Purnima in 1915 in the village of Kowshika , near Hassan, Karnataka, South India . Jois currently teaches yoga at his school, the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute, in Mysore , India .

In 1927, at the age of 12, Jois attended a lecture and demonstration in Hassan by S. T. Krishnamacharya and the very next day became his student —the beginning of 25 years of study with Krishnamacharya

Karate

Two Karate practitioners engaging in competition style Karate.

Karate or karate-do , "the way of the empty hand") is a martial art of Okinawan origin. Karate is a synthesis of indigenous Okinawan fighting methods and Southern Chinese martial arts. In modernity, it is categorized by some as budo, introduced to the Japanese main islands from Okinawa in 1921 by various Okinawan practitioners who moved to mainland Japan during the early 20th century

Meditation

Meditation refers to any of a wide variety of spiritual practices (and their close secular analogues) which emphasize mental activity or quiescence.

The English word comes from the Latin meditation , which originally indicated every type of physical or intellectual exercise, but which later could perhaps be better translated as "contemplation." This usage is found in Christian spirituality, for example, when one "meditates" on the sufferings of Christ; as well as Western philosophy, as in Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy , a set of six mental exercises which systematically analyze the nature of reality.

Meditation

Chakra

In Hinduism and its spiritual systems of yoga and in some related eastern cultures, as well as in some segments of the New Age movement -- and to some degree the distinctly different New Thought movement -- a chakra is thought to be an energy node in the human body.

The word comes from the Sanskrit cakra meaning "wheel, circle", and sometimes also referring to the "wheel of life". The pronunciation of this word can be approximated in English by chuh kruh ; with ch as in chart and both instances of a as in yoga (the commonly found pronunciation shock rah is incorrect).

Self-realization

In yoga, self-realization is knowledge of one's true self. This true self is also referred to as the atma to avoid ambiguity. The term "self-realization" is a translation of the Sanskrit expression atma jnana (knowledge of the self or atma). The reason the term "realization" is used instead of "knowledge" is that jnana refers to knowledge based on experience, not mere intellectual knowledge.

As discussed in the article on yoga, while the goal of self-realization is the same in all yoga paths, the means used to achieve that goal differ. For example, in Sahajayoga or hatha yoga, self-realization is said to be achieved when the serpent force or kundalini rises through the shushumna nadi to the sahasrara chakra.

Asana

Asana is a Sanskrit word that literally means a seat but in the practice of yoga refers to a pose or posture. In Patanjali's yoga sutras Asana means, mainly, sitting for meditation.

The practice of asana involves stretching and moving the body into various positions. With practice, the body can be made to remain in a given position for a longer period of time, comfortably. When a degree of comfort is attained in a given posture, it becomes Asana . In general, however, the term is also used to refer to physical yoga exercises in general. Asana

Soul

The soul , according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is the ethereal substance — spirit — particular to a unique living being. Such traditions often consider the soul both immortal and innately aware of its immortal nature, as well as the true basis for sentience in each living being.

The concept of the soul has strong links with notions of an afterlife, but opinions may vary wildly, even within a given religion, as to what happens to the soul after death. Many within these religions and philosophies see the soul as immaterial, while others consider it possibly material. Soul