Sahaja Yoga 

The tree of life-1

The nadis

Recall the previous article Discover the Peace within, which was a brief introduction to Sahaja Yoga where we mentioned that in every human being, there are seven main chakras (plexus) and three main nadis (nervous systems), which are the energy centres where complete manifestation of our physical and emotional behaviour takes place. Let's focus on the three main nadis:

Ida nadi (left channel)
Pingala nadi (right channel) and
Sushumna nadi (central channel)

Ida nadi (left channel)

The left channel, Ida nadi, is located on our left sympathetic nervous system. It represents the feminine, lunar aspect within us, and the past. It is the channel that manages our emotions. On a physical level, the left channel controls the left-hand side of the body and the right hemisphere of the brain, while on a subtle level it expresses our pure desire to seek the truth. People who are left-sided, that is to say who make excessive use of this channel, are emotional and often dwell on the past. They often feel guilty and are easily dominated by others. Such people are self-effacing in company, and in extreme cases, they may fall prey to lethargy and depression. The left channel is represented by blue in the picture.

Pingala nadi (right channel)

The Pingala nadi is located on our right sympathetic nervous system. It represents the solar, masculine aspect and the future. It gives us the physical capacity for action and the mental capacity for analysis and planning. It is the source of our artistic creativity. On a physical level, the right channel controls the right-hand side of the body and the left hemisphere of the brain. Right-sided people are often futuristic. They are always planning and are very active. In extreme cases, they become aggressive and dominating (ego). The right channel is represented by yellow in the picture.

Sushumna (central channel)

The most important and the highway to achieving our goal of self-realisation is the central channel. The Sushumna nadi, is located on our central parasympathetic nervous system, which is also known as the autonomous nervous system. The central channel begins in the triangular bone or sacrum and rises along the spinal column until it reaches the top of the head (the fontanelle bone). It is responsible for our spiritual evolution and our physical, mental and emotional balance. The central channel has been described in many religions and philosophies. Prophet Lao Tse describes it as the middle way in his work 'Tao Te King'. At a physical level, this channel controls all spontaneous functions, such as breathing, heartbeat, etc. In Sahaja Yoga our goal is to tread the central path i.e, raise our Kundalini through our central channel, which is the path of balance and inner peace and joy. 

Kundalini, the spiritual force within us, rises through our subtle system until it reaches the top of our heads, thus enlightening the seventh subtle centre, which gives us our 'Yoga' or 'Union with the Divine'. At this point, we are connected to the energy that created us. 

Sahaja Yoga is different from the other types of Yoga because it begins with self-realisation. After self-realisation we are able to feel a gentle cool breeze flowing above the head and also from the centre of our palms. We can feel on our fingertips any blockages in our energy centres and are able to clear them using this energy, which has been awakened in us (Kundalini). Thus, through regular meditation, we become automatically very dynamic, creative, confident and at the same time very humble, loving and compassionate.

For more Information please visit:
www.tnsahaj.org  or Contact: V Sivakumar at siva@sahaji.net

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Published on Nov 25^th, 2004