CHAKRAS, PRANA, KUNDALINI

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Mr. Miyagi: When you feel life out of focus…always return to basic of life.

Daniel: What, praying?

Mr. Miyagi: Breathing. No breath, no life.

– Karate Kid II

The flow of energy within your body, your life force, is described in Hinduism and Buddhism as a system involving chakras, prana, and kundalini. Other religious and spiritual traditions discuss the movement of life force energy (our “chi”/ “qi” for example in Chinese medicine), however in the West, the chakra/prana/kundalini model is the most familiar as it is often referenced in yoga practices.

Chakras: 

Chakra is a Sanskrit word with a literal translation of “wheel”. These turning wheels are the focal points in one’s energy body. The term “energy body” is specifically referring to the life force circulatory system in our body, as opposed to the blood circulatory system. Some traditions speak of five, six, eight, or even twelve major chakras, and there are thousands of minor/small chakras. However, the most familiar version defines seven major chakras: the root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, and crown chakras. 

• The root chakra is located at the base of your spine. It provides you with a base or foundation for life as energy here helps you feel grounded and able to withstand challenges. It is responsible for your sense of security, stability, and survival instincts. 
• The sacral chakra resides just below your belly button and is responsible for your sexual and creative energy. It is also linked to how you relate to your emotions as well as the emotions of others. 
• The solar plexus chakra is in your stomach area. It is responsible for confidence and self-esteem, as well as helping you feel in control of your life. 
• The heart chakra resides in the center of your chest and is responsible for our ability to love and show compassion. 
• The throat chakra is linked to knowledge and our ability to effectively communicate verbally. 
• The third eye chakra is located between your eyes and is responsible for timeless wisdom, intuition, and linked to imagination. 
• The crown chakra is located at the top of your head. It represents your spiritual connection to yourself, others, and the universe, and plays a role in your life’s purpose (transpersonal awareness).

When energy resides and flows through a chakra, it unlocks that corresponding aspect in the brain and opens that pathway of thoughts, feelings, and awareness. An individual’s energy flows along the chakras, but can also reside in one, or become blocked in one. Meditation with crystals and acupuncture are among the common methods to release such blockages and resume the flow of energy. The chakra levels where one’s energy mostly resides, as well as the overall balance among chakra energy, can be used as a tool to assess spiritual unfoldment. Energy travels up the body through the chakras and the highest point where it resides is an indicator of one’s spiritual and consciousness development.

Prana:

Prana is our life force energy, our chi/Qi. This energy flows in all living things and performs vital functions, implying that it possesses an inherent intelligence/consciousness, enabling it to carry out the life-sustaining processes.

The term prana is also used to refer to the breath. Prana flows up in the astral spine in conjunction with the inhalation, and down with the exhalation of breath. This link between breath and the flow of prana is central to many of the techniques of meditation. By controlling the breath, which is easily felt, we can influence the flow of prana, which is much more subtle and difficult to feel. 

The prana/energy travels upward while the breath is automatically drawn into the lungs. As a result, the mind is drawn outward to the world of the senses. The energy then travels downwards which is accompanied by physical exhalation and signifies a rejection of external circumstances. As Mr. Miyagi told Daniel, when life is out of focus, return to the basics, the breath. This practice of breathing and focusing on the flow of prana is a tool to work on your physical and mental wellbeing and quality of life.

Kundalini:

The kundalini energy is not different from prana, but rather a different manifestation and flow of prana. Usually, our prana flows up and down the astral spine, while kundalini (“coiled”) is powerful feminine prana that, when awakened, rises in the spiritual body taking us ultimately to enlightenment. 

Visually represented as a serpent coiled at the base of the spine, kundalini is thought to be energy released within an individual using specific meditation techniques. There are numerous reports of full kundalini experiences culminating with a transcendental out-of-body state of consciousness. In fact, many people consider this experience to be the ultimate path to enlightenment. The basic premise is to encourage the flow of kundalini energy up the spine and toward the top of the head—the crown chakra—thus projecting your awareness into the higher dimensions of the universe. The result is an expansion of consciousness into spiritual realms. 

This developmental sequence may take years of meditative work and is not without risk. There are reported cases where an individual has awakened their kundalini “serpent” without guidance and supervision, resulting in an unbalance in their life force that may take years to resolve. An unintended and uncontrolled awakening of kundalini energy can result in what is called a “spiritual crisis” as it is too powerful an experience for the average person to manage and may require professional assistance to bring an individual back from the higher/altered states of consciousness. 

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