1. Kundalini and Chakras
Part 2: Chakras
Subhash Mittal
Integral Yoga Studio
www.integralyogastudio.com
919-926-9717 subhashmittal@gmail.com
2. Overview
• What is Chakra?
• Kundalini and Chakras
• Details of each chakra
• Nadi system
• Methods of Awakening Kundalini
• Koshas and Chakras
• Chakra/element cleansing practice
• Summing Up
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3. Chakras
• In Sanskrit, chakra translates as quot;wheel”
• Center of activity that receives, assimilates,
and expresses life force energy (prana)
• Spinning sphere (vortex) of bioenergetic
activity emanating from the
major nerve centers
• seven main chakras aligned in an ascending
column from the base of the spine to the top
of the head
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6. Muladhara (Root) Chakra
• Meaning: “root support”
• Location: perineum, base of spine
• Element: earth/smell
• Petals: four –vam, sam, sam, sam
• Air: apana vayu – excretions
• Seed sound: lam
• Function: survival, grounding
• Malfunction: weight problem,
constipation, sciatica, arthritis
• Animal: elephant
• Lotus: yellow square, downward
triangle, Shiva Lingam with
kundalini coiled around 3.5 times
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7. Muladhara Chakra (Cont.)
Symbolism of Muladhara Psychological/Behavioral
• •
Four petals: (vermilion and red) Relates to physical body, health,
represent the energy (vibration) of survival, material needs, fears
four nadis at the center • Grounding: here and now, alive
• Triangle: serpent coiled 3.5 times with earth’s vitality, humility,
around Shiva Lingam samskaras (roots), helps cope with
stress, only a tool not the goal
• Vehicle of bija: elephant; seven
•
trunks represent seven constituents Survival: financial security, freedom
of body: earth, fluids, blood, flesh, from sickness, job security, proper
fat, bone, bone marrow housing, self-worth etc.
• •
Deity: child Brahma – his four Body: ‘annamaya kosha’,
heads represent: physical self, understand, accept and heal the
rational self, emotional self, body; use it as gateway to the inner
intuitive self world
• Vrittis (4): dharma (psycho-
spiritual), artha (wealth), kama
(physical), moksha (spiritual)
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8. Muladhara Chakra (Cont.)
• Asanas/exercises for stimulating Muladhara
– Knee to chest
– Bridge pose
– Half and full locust
– Head-to-knee post
– Elephant (bending forward, alternately fold and
straighten the knees)
– Spot jumping, jogging, massage, rest and sleep
– Deep progressive relaxation
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9. Swadhishthasana (Sacral) Chakra
• Meaning: One’s own abode
• Location: sacrum, genitals
• Element: water/taste
• Petals: six – bam, bham, mam, yam,
lam, ram
• Lotus: circle with crescent moon
(light blue), petals are vermilion or
orange-red
• Air: vyana – all over the body
• Seed sound: vam
• Function: desire, pleasures,
sexuality, procreation
• Malfunction: impotence, frigidity,
uterine/kidney problem, stiff lower
back
• Animal: crocodile (crocodile tears)
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10. Sacral Chakra (Cont.)
• Deity: Vishnu the preserver; Psychological/behavioral
four heads: • Imbalance causes: credulity,
– Conch: pure sound brings suspicion, disdain, false
liberation knowledge and pitilessness
– Wheel: dharma – cycle of time • Vrittis (6): indifference,
(cosmic rhythms)
stupor/lack of common sense,
– Metal club: control over earth
over-indulgence, lack of trust,
– Lotus: pure, soothing defeatism, cruelty
• Shakti: two heads – one • Pleasure: distinguish between
focused inward, the other joy and temporary pleasure;
outward pleasure without attachment
• Focus on desire and fantasy – • Sexuality: sublimation not
seat of ‘samskara’, past repression, left-hand tantra,
impressions (unconscious celibacy to be understood
mind) properly
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11. Sacral Chakra (Cont.)
• Asanas/exercises to stimulate sacral chakra:
– Lying down bound-angle pose
– Pelvic rock
– Bicycle move in lying down position
– Standing hip rotation
– Yoga mudra
– Rapid breathing (release of emotions)
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12. Manipura (Navel) Chakra
• Meaning: ‘mani’ means a gem
and ‘pura’ is a city, so ‘city of
jewles’
• Location: navel/solar plexus
• petals: ten, blue, ten pranas
• Seed sound: ram
• Element: fire/sight
• Function: will, power,
assertiveness
• Glands: pancreas/adrenals
• Malfunction: ulcers, diabetes,
digestive problems
• Animal: ram
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13. Navel Chakra (Cont.)
• Associated with the sun and fire Psychological/behavioral
• Helps digest and assimilate food • Vrittis (10): shyness, sadistic
into pranic energy; distributes tendency, envy, staticity/lethargy,
subtle pranic energy; melancholia, peevishness,
yearning for acquisition,
• Air: samana – digest and
infatuation, hatred/revulsion, fear
distribute essence of food
• When not active: poor health,
• Meditation on Manipur –
depression, lack of motivation
knowledge of whole body (YSP:
and commitment
3.30)
• Extrovertedness; rajasic – activity,
• By reversing flow of ‘apana’,
intensity
kundalini can be awakened
• When balanced: prejudices,
• Animal Ram: dynamism,
complexes, biases drop away, no
indomitable endurance
fear of fire, freedom from
• Deity: Rudra, giver of boons and disease, selfless service, dharma
remover of fear
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14. Navel Chakra (cont.)
• Asanas/exercises to stimulate Navel chakra:
– Breath of Fire (Kapalabhati)
– Bhastrika (forced inhalations and exhalations)
– Navel lock (uddiyana bandha), nauli kriya
– Jogging
– Boat pose (repeated rhythmically with breath)
– Bow pose (dhanurasana)
– Front stretch pose (purvottanasana)
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16. Heart Chakra (cont.)
• Center of consciousness • Vrittis (12): hope, anxiety,
(atma/soul) endeavor, attachment, vanity,
discrimination, nervous
• Seat of emotions – bhakti yoga;
breakdown, ego, greediness,
unconditional love (not the sexual
hypocrisy, argumentation,
love of chakra 1 and 2);
repentance
overcomes ego; empathy
• When balanced:
• Seat of creativity; pathway to
– wisdom and nobility
transcendence
– senses under control, mental
• Seat of Vishnu knot – bondage of concentration, non-attachment
emotional attachments and optimism
• Symbolism: upward triangle: – free will becomes active – can go
Shiva (consciousness); downward beyond ‘prarabdha karma’
triangle: Shakti (manifestation, • Kalpataru – wish-fulfilling tree
individuality); candle flame (soul) • By meditation on the heart
chakra, complete knowledge of
mind (YSP 3.35)
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17. Heart Chakra (cont.)
• Asanas/exercises to stimulate Heart chakra:
– Standing forward bend with the arms behind the back
and hands clasped together and raised
– Cobra pose
– Fish pose
– Deep yogic breathing
– Kapalabhati (breath of fire)
– Alternate nostril breathing
– Bandhas (locks – chin, navel and root locks)
– Meditation
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19. Vishuddhi (Throat) Chakra
• Nectar and poison center – • Vrittis (16): seven musical
distribute nectar, discard notes, OM, humm,
poison practicality, mundane,
welfare, nobility, surrender
• Faculty of higher
to supreme, repulsion,
discrimination
immortality
• Ether: gateway to
• By meditation on this
realization after senses are
chakra –control over thirst
controlled
and hunger (ysp 3.31)
• Elephant: vehicle of
• Kurma nadi associated with
consciousness
Vishuddhi – by focusing on
• Sharp communication skills this nadi, one’s mind
– ability to understand become stable (ysp 3.32)
‘unspoken’ words
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20. Throat Chakra (cont.)
• Asanas/exercises to stimulate Throat chakra:
– Neck rolls
– Shoulder stand
– Plough pose
– Fish pose
– Jalandhar bandha (chin lock)
– Half bridge pose
– Vow of silence
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21. Ajna (Third Eye) Chakra
• Meaning: To learn, command,
permission
• Location: Third eye
• Element: Mahat (unmanifest
parkriti), light, eyes
• Gland: pineal
• Function: seeing, intuition
• Malfunction: blindness,
headache, nightmares, blurred
vision
• Seed sound: OM
• Lotus: two white petals with a
golden triangle pointing
downward
• Guna: sattva
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22. Third Eye Chakra (cont.)
• Symbolism: • When awakened:
– half-man, half-woman symbol – cross the bounds of gunas
representing union of – become free of sins, and move
Shiva/Shakti toward self-realization
– Two petals representing Shiva – ida and pingala merge into the
and Shakti, merger of ida and central channel Sushumna,
pingala thus eliminating all duality
– Circle representing total void – – Understanding of law of karma
mind free of attachments – cause and effect
– Seed sound: OM, the – One becomes a detached
primordial sound of creation witness
• Sense organ: mind – Intuition supersedes
knowledge through the senses
• Kosha: vijnanamaya (wisdom)
kosha
• Vrittis (2): worldly knowledge,
spiritual knowledge
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23. Ajna (Third Eye) Chakra
• Asanas/exercises to stimulate Ajna chakra:
– Eye exercises:
• vertical, horizontal, circular movement of eyes with the
head steady;
• palming with awareness on the third eye chakra
• Trataka – gazing at a candle flame, closing the eyes and
internally gazing at the after-image of the flame
– Visualization and imagery
– Meditation with awareness at the third eye chakra
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24. Sahasrara (Crown) Chakra
• Meaning: thousandfold
• Location: top of head
• Element: thought
• Function: understanding,
bliss
• Gland: pituitary
• Malfunction: depression,
alienation, confusion,
apathy
• Petals: thousand
(approaching infinity)
• Guna: sattva
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25. Crown Chakra (cont.)
• Lotus: within the crown chakra is full moon, with
a triangle inside shining like lightning; Petals are
lustrous white
• Abode of Shiva; seat of cosmic consciousness,
enlightenment
• Manifest ‘shakti’ (prakriti) goes back to its
unmanifest form and merges with Shiva
• Equivalent of ‘samadhi’ in yoga; one transcends
the individual ego as well as the three gunas
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26. Kundalini Awakening
• Methods of awakening: birth, mantra, austerities
(tapah), herbs, purification of body and mind, samadhi,
pranayama, kriya yoga, mudras and bandhas, tantric
initiation, shaktipat, self-surrender
• When awakened, travels up through Sushumna nadi,
crossing the six chakras on way, merging finally with
Shiva, supreme consciousness at Sahasrara chakra
• Awakening results in greater sensitivity, control of
senses, slower aging, a greater sense of calm,
increased intuitive wisdom, and a more palpable
experience of spirituality
• Important to be aware of risks and precautions –
proper guidance is needed
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29. Chakra/Element Cleansing
• A simple routine that will guide you through
the various chakras, purifying the chakras and
the associated elements in the process
• Prepare you for a deeper meditative
experience
• Follow along with the audio recording
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