---

---

Kundalini and the Spine

Kundalini is one of the most important (if not, THE most important) concepts in yoga to understand.

Kundalini is the dormant energy latent within every human being.

The general idea of kundalini was laid out in the Upanishads over 3,000 years ago, and became the driving theory behind almost every aspect of yoga we know of today.

The purpose of practicing yoga, we are told, is to lift the kundalini energy in the spine all the way up into the brain and out the body, thus experiencing samadhi, bliss, and even enlightenment.

This energy resides at the cocyx (the base of the spine), and makes its way up the spine toward the brain as we live our normal lives. This is the gradual progression towards enlightenment.

Controlling the Kundalini Cycles

It takes many “cycles” of this energy moving up and down to reach that enlightened state; but luckily, the science of yoga has figured out a shortcut: meditation.

SEE ALSO: How to Do a 5 Minute Meditation

Meditation is the active practice of accessing the peace that Kundalini movement brings. 

---

---

By using certain pranayam techniques (breath control), visualization, and mantras, the kundalini can be controlled and moved at a more rapid pace up and down the spine.

There are many meditation styles that do this, such as Kriya yoga as taught by Paramahansa Yogananda.

Yogananda had this to say about the kundalini force in his book, God Talks with Arjuna:

“The yogi reverses the searchlights of intelligence, mind and life force inward through a secret astral passage, the coiled way of the kundalini in the coccygeal plexus, and upward through the sacral, the lumbar, and the higher dorsal, cervical, and medullary plexuses, and the spiritual eye at the point between the eyebrows, to reveal finally the soul’s presence in the highest center (sahasrara) in the brain.”

This is why the force of kundalini is important to learn and control; because with it, you can establish a strong anchor and knowledge of spirituality.

If you want to take your meditation practice deeper, check out Metaphysical Meditations written by Yogananda.