Yoga: Kundalini Shakti

Kundalini in the concept of Dharma, refers to a kind of primal energy or shakti reported to be located at the base of the spine. Different spiritual customs teach methods of awakening kundalini for the intended purpose of reaching religious enlightenment and a range of supernormal powers.

Copy writer Joseph Campbell explains the concept of Kundalini as the number of an coiled feminine serpent a serpent goddess not of gross but of subtle substance which is usually to be thought of as residing in a torpid, slumbering state in a subtle center, the first of the seven, nearby the foot of the spine the aim of the yoga exercises then being to rouse this serpent, lift her brain, and bring her up a refined nerve or channel of the backbone to the so called thousand petaled lotus Sahasrara at the crown of the head.

She, rising from the cheapest to the highest lotus centre, will go through and wake the five between, and with each waking the psychology and personality of the practitioner will be entirely and fundamentally changed. Kundalini awakening is thought to result from profound meditation, and therefore enlightenment and bliss.

However, as every individual is exclusive, Kundalini awakenings can happen through a variety of methods not limited by deep meditation. This awakening involves the Kundalini literally moving up the central route to reach within the Sahasrara Chakra near the top of the head. Many systems of yoga concentrate on awakening Kundalini through meditation, pranayama breathing, the practice of asana and chanting of mantras. In physical conditions, the Kundalini experience is generally reported to be always a feeling of electric energy running over the spine.