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#1: Prana normally flows in either Ida or Pingala: Our kundalini energy
systemisusuallymoreactiveineither the left or right sides, which are the Ida
and Pingala. Of the thousands of energy channels (nadis), three are most
important:Ida,Pingala,andSushumna(sometimescalled"silvercord"),whichis
thecentralchannel,andthemostimportant.

Solar and lunar breaths: The breath and the underlying energy, or Prana,
usually flow predominantly on one side or other, the left or the right. Breath
predominantlyintheleft nostril is described as cool, and sometimes referred to
asfeminine. The flow of Prana on the left is the lunar, and is called Ida. Breath
flowing predominantly in the right nostril is described as hot, and sometimes
referredtoasmasculine.TheflowofPranaontherightisthesolar,andiscalled
Pingala.

Nostril dominance shifts: Usually we believe that we are breathing through

both nostrils, although breath is normally dominant in one or the other. The
dominanceshiftsfromtimetotimeduringtheday.Foronewithawellbalanced
body and mind, that shift of nostril dominance happens approximately once in
ninety minutes. For other people, the shift may be much different. Sometimes
onecanbesooffbalancethatonenostrilremainsdominant,whichisasymptom
ofsomephysical,mental,oremotionaldifficulties.

Prana is the first energy: The word Prana comes from two roots. Pra means
first, and na is the smallest unit of energy. Prana is therefore the first breath,

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the primal or atomic beginning of the flow of energy. Out of this first unit of
energy manifests all aspects and levels of the human being. It is one and the
samewithkundalinishakti.

Prana flows in nadis: That kundalini, manifesting as Prana flows in certain

patterns, or lines, or channels that are called nadis. There are said to be some
72,000 such nadis coursing through the subtle body that supports the physical
body and its various systems. When the Prana flows across the latent
impressions, they spring to life in the form of awareness in the conscious mind,
inthephysicalbodyandbrain.

Intersections of the nadis are chakras: When kundalini manifests outward,

those thousands of nadis intersect here and there, forming the matrix of the
subtle body. The major intersections are called chakras (section #5), and the
fiveelementsofearth,water,fire,air,andspacemanifestaroundthesesoasto
form the gross body. Often, we speak of chakras as if they are in the body.
Actually, this is somewhat backwards. It is more like the body has been
suspendedonthesubtlechakras,withthesechakrasbeingformedorconstructed
by the major highway intersections of the nadis, which are none other than
kundalinishakti.

Caduceus of medicine: The caduceus is the symbol of

medicine. The root meaning of medicine or medicate
means attention, which is also the root of meditation.
Thus, we have attending physicians, and we pay attention
in meditation. The caduceus is a winged staff, with two
serpents,andiscarriedbytheGreekgod,Hermes,whois
said to be the messenger of the Gods. Together, Ida and Pingala form the
snakes of the caduceus, while Sushumna forms the staff. The snakes
intersect at the chakras, as do the nadis described above. At the ajna
chakra,betweentheeyebrows,therearetwopetals,oneoneitherside,just
as there are two wings at the top of the caduceus. Thus, the caduceus is a
symboloftheentiresystemofkundalinishakti.

PranadividesitselfintofiveVayus: When kundalini comes outward as Prana,

the Prana operates in the body, it divides into five major flows called
Vayus. These can be thought of as somewhat like major currents in one of the
large oceans of the world, while there may be thousands of smaller currents.
These five Vayus are the major currents that contain thousands of smaller
currents.

Prana Vayu operates from the heart area, and is an upward flowing
energy,havingtodowithvitalizinglifeforces.

ApanaVayuoperatesfromthebaseof the torso, in the rectum area, is a

downward flowing energy, and has to do with eliminating or throwing off
whatisnolongerneeded.

Samana Vayu operates from the navel area, deals with digestion, and
allowsthementaldiscriminationbetweenusefulandnotusefulthoughts.

UdanaVayu operates from the throat and drives exhalation, operating in

conjunctionwithPranaVayu,whichdealswithinhalation.

Vyana Vayu operates throughout the whole body, having no particular

center,andisacoordinatingenergythroughoutthevarioussystems.

Reversing Prana and Apana Vayu: Most significant about the five Vayus are
Prana vayu and Apana Vayu. As mentioned above, Prana Vayu is an upward
flowing energy and Apana Vayu is a downward flowing energy. One of the ways
of describing the process of intentional Kundalini Awakening is that these two
energies are intentionally reversed through a variety of practices. Reversing the
energy causes the Kundalini at the base of the subtle spine to awaken, and to
begin to arise. Although this is not necessarily an easy thing to do, it is very
useful to know that there is a basic simplicity to this process, that of reversing
these two energy flows. (See also Yoga Sutras, particularly sutras 2.492.53 on
pranayama.)

Pranadrivesthetenindriyas: Prana is the source of energy that operates the

ten indriyas. Five are the karmendriyas or instruments of actions, which are
elimination, procreation, motion, grasping and speaking. Five are the

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jnanendriyas or cognitive senses, which are smelling, tasting, seeing, touching,
and hearing. These ten operate through the chakras, and receive their power
fromthePrana.

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This site is devoted to presenting the ancient SelfRealization path of the

Tradition of the Himalayan masters in simple, understandable and beneficial
ways, while not compromising quality or depth. The goal of our sadhana or
practicesisthehighestJoythatcomesfromtheRealizationindirectexperience
of the center of consciousness, the Self, the Atman or Purusha, which is one
and the same with the Absolute Reality. This SelfRealization comes through
Yoga meditation of the Yoga Sutras, the contemplative insight of Advaita
Vedanta, and the intense devotion of Samaya Sri Vidya Tantra, the three of
which complement one another like fingers on a hand. We employ the classical
approaches of Raja, Jnana, Karma, and Bhakti Yoga, as well as Hatha, Kriya,
Kundalini, Laya, Mantra, Nada, Siddha, and Tantra Yoga. Meditation,
contemplation, mantra and prayer finally converge into a unified force directed
towardsthefinalstage,piercingthepearlofwisdomcalledbindu,leadingtothe
Absolute.

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