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Imagine you could harness, at will, the mind-body connection responsible for the heightened mental states giving rise to creative genius, inspiration, bliss, mystical experiences, and possibly even enlightenment?
You may have noticed how sciences such as biology, physics, medicine, and even theology increasingly overlap, with energy and consciousness at the center. Energy medicine is revolutionizing our approach to health, as science gives us ever-increasing evidence for the inseparability of mind and body.
But what is this thing called "energy"? You may accept that it exists—even welcome assistance by various energy healers from disciplines such as acupuncture, Qigong, EFT, Jin Shin Jyutsu and others. But do you understand exactly what they're doing or how it works? If someone asked you to describe this energy, you might struggle to come up with a definition.
It's not easy to wrap our heads around things we cannot see, hear or touch, and it's even more challenging for scientists to quantify it.
An ancient concept called "Kundalini" provides us with a framework for understanding this nebulous idea, and Kundalini Yoga gives us a way to work with it. This article is Part 1 in a two-part series about Kundalini as an intelligent life force, and Kundalini Yoga as the practice that can help it awaken.
"One of the first results of research on Kundalini, in my view, would be to show that the human brain is already evolving towards a higher predetermined state of consciousness, a state that has been the crowning vision of the mystics and prophets." - Gopi Krishna
The Yoga of Awareness
Kundalini Yoga is the most comprehensive of yoga traditions. The primary objective is to awaken the full potential in each of us. Kundalini Yoga helps us to cultivate inner stillness so we can truly listen, expand our awareness and achieve excellence in all that we do.
"Kundalini" literally means "the curl of the lock of hair of the beloved," alluding to the flow of energy and consciousness that exists within each of us, enabling us to "merge with the Universal Self."
Kundalini Yoga blends meditation and ancient mantras with physical exercises (asanas), hand positions (mudras), breathing techniques (pranayama), and sound (naad). All of these are merged into carefully choreographed exercises called kriyas that open up energy flow in the body, channeling it in a way that begins stripping away the veils of consciousness. This type of yoga balances and purifies all of the systems of the body, while at the same time calming and sharpening the mind.
Kundalini Yoga should not be taken lightly. One teacher describes it as "an express train that shakes us up and wakes us up." The significance of this cannot be appreciated without some understanding of the nature of Kundalini.
Kundalini: Ancient, Intelligent, and Powerful
"Energy is like the wind, invisible but with visible effects such as waves on a pond stirred by a breeze." – Chinese Proverb
Prana is the Sanskrit word for "life force," the intelligent energy that permeates all living things—and in fact everything in the cosmos. Just like we cannot see protons and electrons, we cannot see prana, although some can feel it shifting and moving through their bodies.