January/February 2007 yoga, linking body and mind The anatomy of awakening: kundalini and chakras By RAVI DYKEMA, yogiraj We looked at seven traditional schools of Yoga last issue, two of which were Tantra Yoga and its offshoot, Hatha Yoga. The exotic human anatomy sometimes referred to in modern Yoga classes e.g. chakras and kundalini, derives from these schools, and especially from the school of Tantra. A Tantra Yogin traditionally underwent years of preparatory practice, ethics, purification, strengthening, mental discipline, before she was given practices that directly addressed her chakras or her energy within called kundalini. Therefore, the practices and energy states to which I will be alluding in this article are rarely taught in modern Yoga classes, and then only to advanced yogins in certain Yoga lineages. I mention them here because they were once a central component of Hatha Yoga practice. No student of Hatha Yoga who reads scholarly works or translations of Sanskrit classics could miss the numerous mentions of exotic energies and the subtle body transformations they induce, notably the kundalini energy (pronounced koon-duh-lin-ee, a powerful body energy) and the chakras (pronounced chah-krah; literally “wheels,” or subtle energy centers in your body).                 “The Seven Chakras.” I deduce from my reading of the ancient literature that during Hatha Yoga’s heyday between about the tenth and the seventeenth centuries CE, such advanced energy-focused practices were commonplace within Hatha Yoga sects. They found their way into the four main Hatha Yoga texts (as well as many others), the Hatha Yoga Pradapika, the Gheranda-Samhita, the Goraksha-Samhita, and the Shiva-Samhita. Likewise, nearly every modern scholar of Yoga mentions the arousal of the dormant kundalini energy as a central goal of Hatha Yoga. (One exception is T.K.V. Desikachar, son of the great T. Krishnamacharya. See his discussion of an alternative theory of kundalini in The Heart of Yoga, Developing a Personal Practice [Inner Traditions, 1995, p. 138].) I personally think an understanding of this energy, even in a theoretical sense, helps the student of Hatha Yoga see the logic behind the more common, traditionally preparatory, practices. (Also see the article, “Kundalini: Miracles and Mischief” on page 27.) The Serpent Power: Kundalini Hatha Yoga practice induces peak experiences in a person who has undergone adequate preparation: non-ordinary, expanded, or supra-sensory states of awareness. One way that Yoga practice does this is by awakening a usually dormant (and therefore unavailable to most people) energy that resides at the base of the spine. This energy is called kundalini shakti (pronounced koon-duh-lin-ee shuk-tih), which means “coiled up energy,” and is often referred to as simply kundalini . It is represented as a snake in sacred imagery. When this energy is aroused it often feels like pulses of heat or electricity rising in one’s spine or in one’s pelvis. It also creates a spectrum of experiences that vary widely from person to person. It can sometimes be disruptive, so must be approached carefully and only under expert guidance. kundalini arousal usually causes one’s body to move involuntarily, in jerks, rocking motions, gentle shaking, or head or arm movements. This experience is almost always physically pleasurable, although it can be frightening for someone who doesn’t know what’s happening to him or her. Once successfully aroused, kundalini shakti simply adds more energy to the vital forces one uses for living, thinking, and acting. In other words, it increases one’s vitality. This increase in vitality is useful for achieving results with the advanced concentration practices of Hatha Yoga. Chakras, Wheels of Energy, and Kundalini’s Ascent Hatha Yoga’s higher concentration practices direct first the life force (prana) and then the kundalini shakti into the central channel (nadi) of the spine, called sushumna nadi (pronounced soo-shoom-nah nah-dee, most gracious channel). These energies, prana and kundalini , are directed by concentration practices to rise through the seven subtle body centers called chakras, which extend from the base of the spine to the top of the head. Ideally the passage of super-charged energy opens each chakra, or center, as the energy passes through it, activating the chakra’s physical, emotional, mental, and psychic potential. When the kundalini shakti passes through and opens the sixth chakra in the middle of the head, the seventh chakra at the top of the head opens automatically and one experiences samadhi, the state of unblemished pure awareness, freedom from misconception, and ecstasy. Eventually, Hatha Yoga teaches, the yogin’s repeated but temporary “realizations” change his understanding of who he is, of who he believes himself to be, and he identifies more and more with his True Self, and less with his egoic body-mind. We could appropriately view Hatha Yoga’s other practices as all leading to this ability to channel the kundalini through the chakras; indeed, all of Hatha Yoga’s practices may have been developed by ancient yogins who experimented with how to safely arouse kundalini and open chakras with it. Caution: The program of practice to which I am alluding, that which involves kundalini energy, can only be used safely and successfully if you are under the guidance of a competent guru or expert teacher. Ravi Dykema, Yogiraj, is a senior teacher in the Tantra Yoga tradition of Swami Gitananda of Pondicherry, India. He was an Adjunct Professor of Yoga at Naropa University for 16 years, heading the Yoga Department within the Traditional Eastern Arts Department. He is the author of the university textbook, Yoga for Fitness and Wellness (Wadsworth 2005; available at wadsworth.com, search “yoga”), from which this article was adapted. Learn more about Ravi’s yoga therapy work at kundaliniproblems.com.