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Sodarshan Chakra Kriya
Posted on February 19, 2018 by Anne Taylor April 28, 2018
“Medical science says the vagus nerve is important, Kundalini yoga says it is Kundalini Meditation &
very important”–Yogi Bhajan the Vagus Nerve
February 19, 2018
An important nexus between Kundalini yoga and Western medicine lies in Raising the Roof on
their respective understanding of the importance of the vagus nerve in
Your Vibration
health and well-being. Breathing is the rst line of defense in reducing December 19, 2016
stress, anxiety, and stress-induced depression.
Stress and hair loss: can
meditation help?
The vagus nerve “wanders” (vagus, Latin for wander) through the body and December 3, 2016
a ects all major organs and their functioning. It is the second largest nerve
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in the body, second only to the spinal cord. Originating deep within the October 18, 2016
brain, the vagus nerve wanders through the neck, a ecting speech, voice,
continues through the thorax a ecting all the organs of the body, and
continues to the pelvic oor. Categories
Heart rate, blood pressure, sexual response, breathing, and the release of
anti-stress hormones are examples of functions regulated by the vagus Transformation
nerve. The vagus nerve provides the gateway between the sympathetic and
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parasympathetic parts of the autonomic nervous system. All ten cranial
nerves, including the vagus nerve, occur in pairs, right and left. The right
vagus nerve innervates (goes to) the sinal-atrial (SA) node of the heart, the How To Relieve Stress
heart’s natural pacemaker, and speeds up or slows down the heart rate. The Naturally
degree of vagal tonality is an indication of healthy cardiac functioning.
meta Heart Center
Events
Essentially, all autonomic somatic processes are regulated by the vagus
nerve. The vagus nerve can be thought of as a bi-directional biological data
bus, where most of the communication is e erent, moving information from
the organs to the brain. Researchers at HeartMath® Institute report that
“The heart sends more information through the nervous system to the brain
than the other way around – as much as 80% – 90% more.” Similarly, yogis
refer to the vagus nerve as the “mind nerve,” because the heart sends
intuitions, images, and creative ashes to the brain. Developing a strong
nervous system is foundational to Kundalini yoga on which virtually
everything is dependent upon. A weak nervous system cannot support the
emergence of the evolutionary energy of kundalini.

Although vagal tonality cannot be directly measured, HRV is an important

indirect indicator of the functioning of the vagus nerves. In The Cleveland
Clinic Journal of Medicine, researcher Robert W. Shields, MD of the
Neuromuscular Center, Cleveland Clinic, reported in “Heart rate variability
with deep breathing as a clinical test of cardiovagal function” that HRVdb
[with deep breathing] is a reliable and sensitive clinical test for early
detection of cardiovagal dysfunction in a wide range of autonomic disorder”
(Vol. 76, Supplement 2, April 2009, p S37). If low HRV is a predictor of
morbidity (refer to section on research studies), then improving vagal
tonality, measured indirectly with HRV, may improve overall health and well-
being.

Typically, the autonomic nervous system runs on “auto-pilot” without our

conscious awareness, for example, we don’t have to think about breathing
in our sleep, By practicing Kundalini yoga and meditation, one consciously
manipulates the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic
nervous systems and veri es the e ect with the measurement of one’s own
HRV. This combined method provides a powerful tool for stimulating the
vagus nerve non-invasively and assurance that the outcome is favorable.

Vagus Nerve: Central Tuning of the Body

Ancient yogis referred to the vagus nerve as the “central tuning string of the
body,” because when it vibrates at the proper frequency, the heart
generates an electromagnetic eld that is harmonious and coherent. When
the vagus nerve oscillates coherently, it sets the frequency to which the
nervous system aligns itself. Like a tuning fork, the vagus nerve sets the
frequency with which all the 72,000 vibratory strings or “surs” begin to
resonate. When the vagus nerve is out of tune, then the rest of the body
falls into a state of incoherence, including the heart.

From a Kundalini yogic perspective, the portion of the vagus nerve that
travels from the heart to the crown of the head is identi ed as the “mind
nerve,” because the wisdom of the heart communicates its impressions and
images to the brain. This is known as One-Star spirituality, or Ik Tar. The
yogis referred to the heart center (not to be confused with the heart chakra)
as “Ik Tar,” or one-star. Ik Tar relates to that portion of the heart that lies
slightly to the right of the sternum. The Sanskrit word Hrdayam is
synonymous with Ik Tar, neither directly translatable into English with a
single word or two. “According to the teachings of Yogi Bhajan, Hrd”
translates to “that which sucks everything in,” and “ayam,” means, “this” and
“expansion,” together meaning the core of one’s heart and the light of one’s
heart.

Sages and Saints from all Wisdom traditions have a speci c name for this
unique aspect of the heart; lotus of the heart, secret cave of the heart, ame
of the heart, and others. This imagery is has endured and embedded into
Western Science. Consider the logo for the American Heart Association:

From a Western perspective, the SA (sino-atrial node) resides in the left

portion of the heart. The SA node is the body’s natural pacemaker. directing
the heart to beat based on the impulses of the right vagus nerve. The vagus
nerve innervates the SA node, and either slows or speeds up the heart rate.
When you inhale the heart rate should gradually speed up and when you
exhale the heart rate gradually slows down. When the vagus nerve (central
tuning string) is healthy the heart (one star) beats in rhythmic and coherent
fashion. The vagus nerve and the heart act in concert, and when the vagus
nerve lacks tonality, the heart rate becomes erratic. The heart takes it cues
from the vagus nerve.

HRV provides a dynamic window into ANS activity, and thus indirectly, vagal
nerve tonality. Simply put, HRV serves as a vagal nerve activity index.
Inhalation inhibits the vagal nerve as heart rate increases, and exhalation
activates the vagal nerve as heart rate slows down. The vagal nerve is the
primary “brake” on heart rate and other autonomic functions, evidenced by
increased parasympathetic activity.

HRV feedback session performed with HeartMath® Desktop Pro while

practicing left nostril breathing. The waveform is approaching a sine wave,
the gauge is 88% green, and the spectral data at the lower right is
concentrated close to the 0.1 Hz marker.

Vagal nerve stimulation through non-invasive yogic techniques including

pranayam (speci c breathing exercises), yoga postures, and mindfulness
meditations are excellent technologies for stimulating the vagus nerve.

The rst line of defense in improving vagal nerve tonality may well be the
aforementioned non-invasive techniques before surgical options,
speci cally, implantable vagus nerve stimulator, (VNS) which electrically
stimulates only the left vagus nerve through an implantable device. Due to
the fact that the right vagus nerve goes directly to the heart’s SA node,
arti cial stimulation with electric impulses is not desirable. Whereas this
device may be highly e ective in its originally designed use of treating
epilepsy, the FDA has also granted approved for its use in treating
depression. See the research section for studies linking low HRV,
depression, and heart disease.
Vagus Nerve Toning through Kundalini Yoga

Vagal Nerve Stimulation, through Kundalini Yoga, focuses on yogic

techniques to help rebalance the autonomic nervous system after enduring
long periods of stress, trauma, or stress-induced depression.
Parasympathetic nervous system performance is overshadowed by the
sympathetic activity during excessively long periods of stress, anxiety,
and/or depression. Improved parasympathetic activity may lessen
depression and conceivably help prevent stress-induced illnesses and
conditions.

E ectiveness of vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) can be measured by

monitoring daily HRV (heart rate variability), an index of cardiac vagal nerve
tone as Kundalini yoga is practiced and mastered. One example speci c to
vagal tonality is “Sodarshan Chakra Kriya,” as detailed in Chapter 4, Section
22. Richard P. Brown, M.D. and Patricia L. Gerbarg, M.D. of the Columbia
University College of Physicians and Surgeons suggests that “Sudarshan
Kriya may work like electronic vagal nerve stimulation, which has been
shown to be e ective for depression,” (“Yogic Breathing and Meditation:
When the Thalamus Quiets the Cortex and Rouses the Limbic System” P.
17.)”

As a yoga practitioner, you determine for yourself whether the exercise is

getting you into a state of heart coherence by measuring his or her own
HRV. This is the power of Self-mastery.

Autonomic Nervous System and Kundalini Yoga

To build a bridge between Western medicine and Kundalini yogic anatomy,

a few basic terms will be explained. The Eastern concept of nadis is distinct
from the Western nervous system, yet the two are homologues. In other
words, one might think of the nadis as being one step removed from the
nervous system, aligned with yet subtler than the physical nervous system.

Kundalini energy releases through the primary central energy pathway, the
sushmana nadi, which in Western terms is associated (but not identical) with
the spinal column. The two biological systems work hand in hand, easily
demonstrable through HRV and hormonal testing. The ANS and hormonal
systems straddle between the subtle energy and gross physical systems of
the body, both of which may be mastered by the yogi or yogini.

Kundalini yoga has speci c protocols, posture sequences (kriyas),

modulated by primal sound currents (mantra), and breath (pranayam), to
safely and e ectively raise kundalini energy. The power of kundalini
underlies all yogic traditions, and historically the objective of yoga was to
awaken and raise the kundalini energy in order to elevate the consciousness
of humankind.
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Raising the Roof on Your Vibration Sodarshan Chakra Kriya

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