Editing Kundalini yoga

{{short description|Schools of yoga}}
{{About|Kundalini yoga as exercise (as taught in yoga schools of the 20th century)|other uses|Kundalini (disambiguation)}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2015}} 
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
[[File:Oriental_MS_Indic_beta_511_Wellcome_L0029118.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Indian Tantric illustration of the subtle body channels which kundalini traverses]]
{{Hinduism}}

'''Kundalini yoga''' ({{IAST|kuṇḍalinī-yoga}}) is a spiritual practice in the yogic and tantric traditions of [[Hinduism]], centered on awakening the kundalini energy. This energy, often symbolized as a serpent coiled at the root chakra at the base of the spine, is guided upward through the chakras until it reaches the crown chakra at the top of the head. This leads to the blissful state of samadhi, symbolizing the union of [[Shiva]] and [[Shakti]]. Most yoga schools use [[pranayama]], meditation, and moral code observation to raise the kundalini.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Melton |first=J. Gordon |url= |title=New Age almanac |date=1991 |publisher=New York : Visible Ink |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8103-9402-5 |pages=160}}</ref>

In normative tantric systems, kundalini is considered to be dormant until it is activated (as by the practice of [[yoga]]) and channeled upward through the central channel in a process of spiritual perfection. Other schools, such as Kashmir [[Shaivism]], teach that there are multiple kundalini energies in different parts of the body which are active and do not require awakening. Kundalini is believed by adherents to be power associated with the [[divine feminine]], [[Shakti]].<ref name="Sarawati">{{cite book |last1=Saraswati |first1=Swami Satyananda |author-link=Sivananda Saraswati |title=Kundalini Tantra |date=1984 |publisher=Bihar School of Yoga |location=Munger, Bihar, India |isbn=978-8185787152 |pages=34–36|edition=2nd}}</ref><ref name="Anodea">{{cite book |last1=Judith |first1=Anodea |title=Eastern Body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System as a Path to the Self |date=2004 |publisher=Celestial Arts |location=Berkeley, California |isbn=978-1-58761-225-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/easternbodyweste00judi_0/page/451 451–454] |edition=Revised |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/easternbodyweste00judi_0/page/451 }}</ref><ref name="Paulson">{{cite book|last1=Paulson|first1=Genevieve Lewis|title=Kundalini and the Chakras: A Practical Manual--evolution in this Lifetime|url=https://archive.org/details/kundalinichakras00paul_984|url-access=limited|date=1998|publisher=Llewellyn Publications|location=St. Paul, Minnesota |isbn=978-0-87542-592-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/kundalinichakras00paul_984/page/n5 7]–10, 194|edition=1st}}</ref><ref name="ps">{{cite book |author=Williams, W. F. |title=Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy  |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vH1EAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT211 |year=2000 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-95522-9 |page=211 |chapter=Kundalini}}</ref> Kundalini yoga as a school of yoga is influenced by [[Shaktism]] and [[Tantra]] schools of [[Hinduism]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.dlshq.org/download/kundalini.htm|title= Kundalini Yoga|website= www.dlshq.org}}</ref> It derives its name through a focus on awakening kundalini energy through regular practice of [[mantra]], tantra, [[yantra]], yoga, laya, haṭha, [[meditation]], or even spontaneously ([[sahaja]]).<ref name="YJ Spotlight">{{cite web|title= Spotlight on Kundalini Yoga|url= http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/1336|publisher= Yoga Journal|access-date= 8 October 2013}}</ref><ref name="Swami Sivananda Radha 2004, pp 13-15">Swami Sivananda Radha,  2004, pp. 13, 15</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Indic_Manuscript_347,_side_a_Wellcome_L0024647.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Drawing of the [[subtle body]] in an Indic manuscript showing the energy centres ([[chakra]]s), the main subtle channels ([[Nadi (yoga)|nadi]]s), and the coiled serpent energy at the base of the spine ([[kundalini]]). The serpent is shown again on the left of the drawing.]]

===Name===

The Sanskrit adjective ''{{IAST|kuṇḍala}}'' means "circular, annular". It occurs as a noun for "a snake" (in the sense "coiled", as in "forming ringlets") in the 12th-century ''[[Rajatarangini]]'' chronicle (I.2). ''{{IAST|Kuṇḍa}}'', a noun which means "bowl, water-pot", is found as the name of a [[Nāga|Naga]] in ''[[Mahabharata]]'' 1.4828.
The Sanskrit feminine noun ''kuṇḍalī'' means "ring, bracelet, coil (of a rope)", and is the name of a "serpent-like" [[Shakti]] in [[Tantrism]] as early as the 11th century, in the ''[[Sarada Tilaka|Śaradatilaka]]''.<ref>André Padoux, ''Vāc: The Concept of the Word in Selected Hindu Tantras'', SUNY Press, 1990, 124-136.</ref>

What has become known as "Kundalini yoga" in the 20th century, after a technical term particular to this tradition, is actually a synthesis of Bhakti Yoga (devotion and chanting), Raja Yoga (meditation) and Shakti Yoga (the expression of power and energy)."<ref>{{cite web |title=What Is Kundalini Yoga |date=19 March 2020 |url=https://www.fitsri.com/yoga/kundalini-yoga |access-date=21 December 2021}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=December 2021}} However, it may include [[haṭha yoga]] techniques (such as [[Bandha (Yoga)|bandha]], [[pranayama]], and [[asana]]), [[Patañjali]]'s [[Kriyā|kriya yoga]] (consisting of self-discipline, self-study, devotion to God, dhyāna, and samādhi), tantric visualization and meditation techniques of ''laya yoga'' (known as ''samsketas'').<ref>[[James Mallinson (author)|Mallinson, James]]. "Dattātreya's Discourse on Yoga". 24 June 2013. accessed 25 October 2015. https://www.academia.edu/3773137/Translation_of_the_Datt%C4%81treyayoga%C5%9B%C4%81stra_the_earliest_text_to_teach_ha%E1%B9%ADhayoga . "The Yoga of Dissolution (layayoga) happens as a result of the dissolution of the mind by means of esoteric techniques (saṃketas). Ādinātha has taught eighty million esoteric techniques."</ref>

Laya may mean either the techniques of yoga or (like [[Rāja yoga]]) its effect of "absorption" of the individual into the cosmic.<ref>{{cite book | last=Woodroffe | first=John |author-link=John Woodroffe | title='The Serpent Power'. Illustrations, Tables, Highlights and Images by Veeraswamy Krishnara | pages=88–89 | access-date=25 October 2015 | url=http://www.bhagavadgitausa.com/Serpent%20Power%20Complete.pdf | quote=YOGA is sometimes understood as meaning the result and not the process which leads to it. According to this meaning of the term, and from the standpoint of natural dualism, Yoga has been described to be the union of the individual spirit with god." and "the ecstatic condition in which the 'equality' that is identity of Jīvātmā and Paramātma is realized. The experience is achieved after '''the absorption (Laya) of Prāṇa and Manas''' and the cessation of all ideation (Saṁkalpa) }}</ref> Laya yoga, from the Sanskrit term ''laya'' (meaning "dissolution", "extinction", or "absorption"), is almost always described in the context of other Yogas such as in the ''Yoga-Tattva-Upanishad'', the ''[[Varaha Upanishad]]'', the exact distinctions between traditional yoga schools are often hazy due to a long history of syncretism, hence many of the oldest sources on Kundalini come through manuals of the tantric and haṭha traditions, including the ''[[Hatha Yoga Pradipika]]'' describes the qualified yogi as practicing the four yogas' to achieve kundalini awakening, while lesser students may resort solely to one technique or another: "Mantra Yoga and Hatha Yoga. Laya Yoga is the third. The fourth is Raja Yoga. It is free from duality."<ref>{{cite book | last=Mallinson | first=James |author-link=James Mallinson (author) | date=2007-01-01 | title=The : A Critical Edition and an English Translation (Kindle Locations 100-101) and (Kindle Locations 799-825) | publisher=YogaVidya.com | edition=Kindle | quote=As Hatha Yoga, originally the preserve of the unorthodox Nathas, grew in popularity in the medieval period, the orthodox Shaivas sought to incorporate it within their soteriology, and thus may be an example of this appropriation." and "He is sure to achieve perfection in three years. He is entitled to practice all Yogas. In this there is no doubt.}}</ref>

===Hatha yoga===
{{further|Hatha Yoga Pradipika|Yoga-Kundalini Upanishad}}

The ''[[Yoga-Kundalini Upanishad]]'' is a [[syncretism|syncretistic]] yoga text related to the schools of [[Hatha yoga|Hatha]] and [[Mantra]] yoga.<ref>[[Gerald James Larson|Larson, Gerald James]] (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Yoga: India's philosophy of meditation''. Motilal Banarsidass. {{ISBN|978-81-208-3349-4}}, p. 476, 615-617</ref>

Other Sanskrit texts treat ''kundalini'' as a technical term in tantric yoga, such as the ''Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpana'' and the ''Pādukā-pañcaka''. These were translated in 1919 by [[John Woodroffe]] as ''The Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga''. He identifies the process of involution and its techniques in these texts as a particular form of Tantrik ''Laya Yoga''.<ref>Woodroffe, John. "The Serpent Power". Illustrations, Tables, Highlights and Images by Veeraswamy Krishnara. p. 11. Accessed 25 October 2015. http://www.bhagavadgitausa.com/Serpent%20Power%20Complete.pdf "when dealing with the practice of Yoga, the rule is that things dissolve into that from which they originate, and the Yoga process here described is such dissolution (Laya)"</ref>

[[File:Late Kundalini Model of Hatha Yoga.svg|thumb|upright=2|Late Kundalini Model of Hatha Yoga<ref>{{cite book | last1=Mallinson | first1=James |author-link=James Mallinson (author) |last2=Singleton |first2=Mark |author2-link=Mark Singleton (yoga scholar) | title=[[Roots of Yoga]] | publisher=Penguin Books | year=2017 | isbn=978-0-241-25304-5 | oclc=928480104 |pages=180–181}}</ref>]]

The ''Yoga-Kundalini Upanishad'' consists of three short chapters; it begins by stating that Chitta (consciousness) is controlled by Prana, and it is controlled by moderate food, postures and ''Shakti-Chala'' (I.1-2). Verses I.3-6 explain the concepts of moderate food and concept, and verse I.7 introduces ''Kundalini'' as the name of the ''Shakti'' under discussion:
:I.7. The Sakti (mentioned above) is only Kundalini. A wise man should take it up from its place (Viz., the navel, upwards) to the middle of the eyebrows. This is called Sakti-Chala. 
:I.8. In practising it, two things are necessary, Sarasvati-Chalana and the restraint of Prana (breath). Then through practice, Kundalini (which is spiral) becomes straightened.<ref>trans. K. Narayanasvami Aiyar [http://www.astrojyoti.com/yogakundaliniupanishad.htm Astrojyoti.com], based on a translation first published in 1891 in ''The Theosophist'', Volume 12.</ref>

==Modern forms==

=== Yogi Bhajan ===
{{main|Yogi Bhajan}}

In 1968, Harbhajan Singh Puri, also known as [[Yogi Bhajan]], introduced his own brand of kundalini yoga into the United States, "Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan". Yogi Bhajan founded the "[[3HO|Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization]]" (3HO) as a teaching organization. Former Kundalini teacher and scholar Philip Deslippe claims that Yogi Bhajan took yogic postures and techniques, attached them to Tantric theories and Sikh mantras, synthesizing a new form of 'Kundalini' yoga. "When placed alongside the teachings of Swami [[Dhirendra Brahmachari]] and Maharaj Virsa Singh, it becomes strikingly apparent that at least in its earliest years, Yogi Bhajan's Kundalini yoga was not a distinct practice, but essentially a combination of yogic mechanics learned from the former and the Sikh-derived mantras (''Ik Ongkaar, Sat Naam, Sri Waheguru'') and chanting from the latter", Deslippe writes.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6r63q6qn |title=From Maharaj to Mahan Tantric: The Construction of Yogi Bhajan's Kundalini Yoga |first=Philip Roland |last=Deslippe |journal=Sikh Formations |date=14 March 2013 |volume=8 |issue= 3|via=escholarship.org}}</ref>

==Principles==

''Kundalini'' is the term for "a [[Vitalism|spiritual energy or life force]] located at the base of the spine", conceptualized as a coiled-up serpent. The practice of Kundalini yoga is supposed to arouse the sleeping Kundalini Shakti from its coiled base through the 6 [[chakras]], and penetrate the 7th chakra, or crown. 
This energy is said to travel along the ida (left), pingala (right) and central, or sushumna [[Nadi (yoga)|nadi]] - the main channels of pranic energy in the body.<ref>Swami Sivananda  (4th ed. 2007) page 12</ref>

Kundalini energy is technically explained as being sparked during yogic breathing when [[prana]] and [[Prana#The Five Prāṇas|apana]] blends at the 3rd chakra (solar plexus) at which point it initially drops down to the 1st and 2nd chakras before traveling up to the spine to the higher centers of the brain to activate the ''golden cord'' - the connection between the [[pituitary]] and [[pineal]] glands - and penetrate the 7 chakras.<ref name="bhajan176">{{cite book |author=Yogi Bhajan |title=The Aquarian Teacher, KRI International Teacher Training in Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan |publisher=Kundalini Research Institute |edition=4th |year=2007 |pages=176–179}}</ref>
	 	
Borrowing and integrating many different approaches, Kundalini Yoga can be understood as a tri-fold approach of [[Bhakti yoga]] for devotion, Shakti yoga for power, and [[Raja yoga]] for mental power and control. Its purpose through the daily practice of [[kriyas]] and meditation in [[sadhana]] are described as a practical technology of human consciousness for humans to achieve their total creative potential. With the practice of Kundalini Yoga one is thought able to liberate oneself from one's Karma and to realize one's Dharma (Life Purpose).<ref>{{cite book |author=Yogi Bhajan |title=The Aquarian Teacher, KRI International Teacher Training in Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan |publisher=Kundalini Research Institute |edition=4th |year=2007 |page=20}}</ref> It is recommended to become free of desire or adopt [[vairagya]] before trying to arouse Kundalini.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Sivananda |first=Sri Swami |title=Yoga Kundalini |publisher=The Divine Life Society |year=1994 |isbn=81-7052-052-5 |edition=10th |location=Uttar Pradesh, India |pages=35–36}}</ref> Additionally, having a guru is beneficial in Kundalini Yoga, because a [[guru]] can suggest the best method to awaken the Kundalini.<ref name=":0" />

== Practice ==

The practice of kriyas and meditations in Kundalini Yoga are designed to raise complete body awareness to prepare the body, [[nervous system]], and mind to handle the energy of Kundalini rising. The majority of the physical postures focus on navel activity, activity of the spine, and selective pressurization of body points and meridians. Breath work and the application of bandhas (3 yogic locks) aid to release, direct, and control the flow of Kundalini energy from the lower centers to the higher energetic centers.<ref>Yogi Bhajan, The Aquarian Teacher, KRI International Teacher Training in Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan, Kundalini Research Institute, 4th Edition, 2007, page 177</ref>

Along with the many kriyas, meditations and practices of Kundalini Yoga, a simple breathing technique of alternate nostril breathing (left nostril, right nostril), are taught as a method to cleanse the ''nadis'', or subtle channels and pathways, to help awaken Kundalini energy.<ref>Swami Sivananda (4th ed. 2007) page 23</ref>

Sovatsky (1998) adapts a developmental and evolutionary perspective in his interpretation of Kundalini Yoga. That is, he interprets Kundalini Yoga as a catalyst for psycho-spiritual growth and bodily maturation. According to this interpretation of yoga, "the body bows itself into greater maturation [...], none of which should be considered mere stretching exercises".<ref>Sovatsky, Stuart (1998) ''Words from the Soul: Time, East/West Spirituality, and Psychotherapeutic Narrative'', Suny Series in Transpersonal and Humanistic Psychology, New York: State University of New York Press, p. 142</ref>

== Controversy ==

There have been accusations that modern Kundalini Yoga practice and related groups including [[3HO]] and Ra Ma are cult-like<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2021-12-01 |title=The Second Coming of Guru Jagat |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021/11/the-second-coming-of-guru-jagat |access-date=2023-05-20 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}</ref> in practices, financial abuse,<ref name="Orecchio-Egresitz">{{Cite web |last=Orecchio-Egresitz |first=Haven |title=Before the sudden death of its leader, Ra Ma Yoga Institute was accused by some former members of being a cult. What happens now? |url=https://www.insider.com/followers-said-ra-ma-yoga-was-cult-what-happens-now-2021-10 |access-date=2023-05-20 |website=Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> and sexual abuse.{{cn|date=November 2024}} Practices may include the use of crystals, wearing white, and restricted diets and are tied to medicine denial and encouraging practitioners to solve medical problems with costly retreats. "Norton said students were told that any problem they had  — addiction, mental-health issues, procrastination — could be solved by investing more time and money into Ra Ma events and programming. [...] Jagat's practitioners were told not to wear black because it shrinks their aura and not to wear rings on their middle fingers because it interferes with their connection to Saturn."<ref name="Orecchio-Egresitz"/>

==See also==
* [[Guru Jagat]]
* [[Sahaja Yoga]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Arambula | first1 = P | last2 = Peper | first2 = E | last3 = Kawakami | first3 = M | last4 = Gibney | first4 = KH | year = 2001 | title = The Physiological Correlates of Kundalini Yoga Meditation: A Study of a Yoga Master | journal = Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback | volume = 26 | issue = 2| pages = 147–53 | doi = 10.1023/a:1011343307783 | pmid = 11480165 | s2cid = 18448634 }}
* Cromie, William J. (2002) ''Research: Meditation Changes Temperatures: Mind Controls Body in Extreme Experiments''. Harvard University Gazette, 18 April 2002.
* Eastman, David T. [https://books.google.com/books?id=cusDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA37  "Kundalini Demystified"], ''Yoga Journal'', September 1985, pp.&nbsp;7–43, California Yoga Teachers Association.
* Laue, Thorsten: ''Tantra im Westen. Eine religionswissenschaftliche Studie über „Weißes Tantra Yoga“, „Kundalini Yoga“ und „Sikh Dharma“ in Yogi Bhajans „Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization“ (3HO) unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der „3H Organisation Deutschland e. V.“'', Münster: LIT, 2012, zugl.: Tübingen, Univ., Diss., 2011, {{ISBN|978-3-643-11447-1}} [in German] 
* Laue, Thorsten: ''Kundalini Yoga, Yogi Tee und das Wassermannzeitalter. Bibliografische Einblicke in die Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization (3HO) des Yogi Bhajan.'' Tübingen: 2008. Online at {{cite web|url=http://tobias-lib.ub.uni-tuebingen.de/volltexte/2008/3596/ |title=TOBIAS-lib - Zugang zum Dokument - Kundalini Yoga, Yogi Tee und das Wassermannzeitalter: Bibliografische Einblicke in die Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization (3HO) des Yogi Bhajan - Laue, Thorsten |publisher=Tobias-lib.ub.uni-tuebingen.de |date=2008-10-31 |access-date=2011-01-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610044331/http://tobias-lib.ub.uni-tuebingen.de/volltexte/2008/3596/ |archive-date=10 June 2009 }} [in German].
* Laue, Thorsten: ''Kundalini Yoga, Yogi Tee und das Wassermannzeitalter. Religionswissenschaftliche Einblicke in die Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization (3HO) des Yogi Bhajan'', Münster: LIT, 2007, {{ISBN|978-3-8258-0140-3}} [in German].
* {{cite journal | pmid = 2100290 | volume=34 | title=Quantitative evaluation of muscle relaxation induced by Kundalini yoga with the help of EMG integrator | date=October 1990 | journal=Indian J. Physiol. Pharmacol. | pages=279–81  | last1 = Narayan | first1 = R | last2 = Kamat | first2 = A | last3 = Khanolkar | first3 = M | last4 = Kamat | first4 = S | last5 = Desai | first5 = SR | last6 = Dhume | first6 = RA| issue=4 }}
* {{cite journal | pmid = 10454297 | volume=70 | title=Exaggerated heart rate oscillations during two meditation techniques | date=July 1999 | journal=Int. J. Cardiol. | pages=101–7  | last1 = Peng | first1 = CK | last2 = Mietus | first2 = JE | last3 = Liu | first3 = Y | issue=2 | display-authors = etal | doi = 10.1016/s0167-5273(99)00066-2}}
* {{cite book |url=http://www.dlshq.org/download/kundalini.htm |title=Kundalini Yoga |first=Swami |last=Shivananda |edition=WWW |year=1999 |orig-year=1935 |publisher=The Divine Life Trust Society |isbn=81-7052-052-5}}
* [[Sivananda Radha Saraswati]], ''Kundalini Yoga for the West'' (1979; 2nd ed. 1996)
* ''The Aquarian Teacher, KRI International Teacher Training in Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan'', Kundalini Research Institute, 4th Edition, 2007.
* {{cite journal | last1 = Turner | first1 = Robert P. | last2 = Lukoff | first2 = David | last3 = Barnhouse | first3 = Ruth Tiffany | last4 = Lu | first4 = Francis G. | year = 1995 | title = Religious or Spiritual Problem. A Culturally Sensitive Diagnostic Category in the DSM-IV | journal = Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease | volume = 183 | issue = 7| pages = 435–444 | doi = 10.1097/00005053-199507000-00003 | pmid = 7623015 }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{cite web |date=May 1996 |first=Kurt |last=Keutzer |url=http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~keutzer/kundalini/kundalini-yoga.html |title=Kundalini Yogas FAQ |access-date=2024-07-02}}

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