Ida Pingala And Sushumna Nadis Pdf

[Oreo Huppe]

Thenadis play a role in yoga, as many yogic practices, including shatkarmas, mudras and pranayama, are intended to open and unblock the nadis. The ultimate aim of some yogic practices are to direct prana into the sushumna nadi specifically, enabling kundalini to rise, and thus bring about moksha, or liberation.[4]

The medieval Sat-Cakra-Nirupana (1520s), one of the later and more fully developed classical texts on nadis and chakras, refers to these three main nadis by the names Sasi, Mihira, and Susumna.[10]

In the space outside the Meru, the right apart from the body placed on the left and the right, are the two nadis, Sasi and Mihira. The Nadi Susumna, whose substance is the threefold Gunas, is in the middle. She is the form of Moon, Sun, and Fire even water also; Her body, a string of blooming Dhatura flowers, extends from the middle of the Kanda to the Head, and the Vajra inside Her extends, shining, from the Medhra to the Head.[11]

In hatha yoga theory, nadis carry prana, life force energy. In the physical body, the nadis are channels carrying air, water, nutrients, blood and other bodily fluids around and are similar to the arteries, veins, capillaries, bronchioles, nerves, lymph canals and so on.[1] In the subtle and the causal body, the nadis are channels for so-called cosmic, vital, seminal, mental, intellectual, etc. energies (collectively described as prana) and are important for sensations, consciousness and the spiritual aura.[1]

The Ida and Pingala nadis are sometimes in modern readings interpreted as the two hemispheres of the brain. Pingala is the extroverted (Active), solar nadi, and corresponds to the right side of the body and the left side of the brain. Ida is the introverted, lunar nadi, and corresponds to the left side of the body and the right side of the brain.[12]

Ida is associated with lunar energy. The word ida means "comfort" in Sanskrit. Idā has a moonlike nature and feminine energy with a cooling effect.[15] It courses from the left testicle to the left nostril and corresponds to the Ganges river.

Pingala is associated with solar energy. The word pingala means "orange" or "tawny" in Sanskrit. Pingala has a sunlike nature and masculine energy.[15] Its temperature is heating and courses from the right testicle to the right nostril. It corresponds to the river Yamuna.

The purpose of yoga is moksha, liberation and hence immortality in the state of samadhi, union, which is the meaning of "yoga" as described in the Patanjalayayogasastra.[16][17] This is obstructed by blockages in the nadis, which allow the vital air, prana, to languish in the Ida and Pingala channels. The unblocking of the channels is therefore a vital function of yoga.[17] The various practices of yoga, including the preliminary purifications or satkarmas, the yogic seals or mudras, visualisation, breath restraint or pranayama, and the repetition of mantras work together to force the prana to move from the Ida and Pingala into the central Sushumna channel.[17] The mudras in particular close off various openings, thus trapping prana and directing it towards the Sushumna. This allows kundalini to rise up the Sushumna channel, leading to liberation.[17][18][19]

Systems based on Traditional Chinese Medicine work with an energy concept called qi, analogous to prana.[20] Qi travels through meridians analogous to the nadis. The microcosmic orbit practice has many similarities to certain Indian nadi shuddha (channel clearing) exercises and the practice of Kriya Yoga.

Tibetan medicine borrows many concepts from Yoga through the influence of Tantric Buddhism. One of the Six Yogas of Naropa is a cleansing of the central channel called phowa, enabling the transfer of consciousness to a pure land through the sagittal suture.[21]

Sometimes the three main nadis are related to the Caduceus of Hermes: "the two snakes of which symbolize the kundalini or serpent-fire which is presently to be set in motion along those channels, while the wings typify the power of conscious flight through higher planes which the development of that fire confers".[23]

Modern scientists give importance to breathing exercises only from the viewpoint of oxygen intake. Their concern is with the absorption of oxygen in large enough quantities to vitalize the nervous system. But in the science of breath, this is a minor consideration. More detailed knowledge and experience is needed to study the finer forces of life than the mere intake of oxygen and output of carbon dioxide. The ancient manuals of yoga anatomy, for instance, describe a network of several thousand nadis (subtle channels) through which the currents of prana flow, energizing and sustaining all parts of the body as well as the several thousand nadis.

According to some manuals the number of nadis is 72,000 (others mention 350,000). Fourteen are more important than the others, but the most important among these are six: ida, pingala, sushumna, brahmani, chitrani, and vijnani. Among these six, three are the most important: pingala (surya), which flows through the right nostril; ida (chandra), which flows through the left nostril; and sushumna, which is a moment when both nostrils flow freely without any obstruction. Expansion of that moment is called sandhya. For meditation, the application of sushumna is of prime importance, for after applying sushumna, the meditator cannot be disturbed by noise or other disturbances from the external world, nor by the bubbles of thought arising from the unconscious during meditation.

These three major nadis originate at the base of the spine and travel upward. The sushumna nadi is centrally located and travels along the spinal canal. At the level of the larynx it divides into an anterior and a posterior portion, both of which terminate in the brahmarandhra (cavity of Brahma), which corresponds to the ventricular cavities in the brain. The ida and pingala nadis also travel upward along the spinal column, but they crisscross each other and the sushumna before terminating in the left and right nostrils, respectively.

The junctions where the ida, pingala, and sushumna nadis meet along the spinal column are called chakras (wheels). Just as the spokes of a wheel radiate outward from a central hub, so do the other nadis radiate outward from the chakras to other parts of the body. There are seven principal chakras: the muladhara chakra, at the base of the spine at the level of the inferior hypogastric plexus in the physical body; the svadhishthana chakra, at the level of the superior hypogastric plexus; the manipura chakra, at the level of the solar (celiac) plexus; the anahata chakra, at the level of the cardiac plexus; the vishuddha chakra, at the level of the pharyngeal plexus; the ajna chakra, at the level of the nasociliary plexus; and the sahasrara chakra, at the top of the head. The anterior portion of the sushumna passes through the ajna chakra, and the posterior portion passes behind the skull, the two portions uniting in the brahmarandhra.

Yoga anatomy and physiology are clear and accurate to those who systematically study and practice the science of yoga, and they find that it reveals more about the internal functionings of the human body than any modern scientific experiment or explanation. It is true, however, that the ancient descriptions of nadis and chakras bear a remarkable resemblance to modern anatomical descriptions of nerves and plexuses, respectively. Some scientists have tried to establish a correspondence between the two systems, but the assumption behind such an attempt is that the nerves and plexuses belong to the physical body while the nadis and chakras belong to what is known in yoga science as the sukshma sharira (subtle body). In other words, they are the subtle counterparts of the nerves and plexuses, respectively. The currents of prana flowing through these nadis are the subtle counterparts of the nerve impulses.

The physical body is built around the subtle framework of the nadis and is sustained by the flow of pranic energy through this network. In the average individual, the dynamic and creative aspect of prana is only an infinitesimal fraction of the total energy of prana, the major part of it remaining in a potential, or seed, state. Yoga manuals refer to this latent, stored energy as kundalini, which is symbolically represented as a sleeping serpent coiled in the muladhara chakra at the base of the spine. Further, in the average individual, prana flows through ida and pingala, but not through sushumna, this nadi ordinarily being blocked at the base of the spinal column.

The techniques of pranayama are aimed at devitalizing ida and pingala and at the same time opening up sushumna, thus allowing the prana to flow through this middle channel. The yogi then experiences great joy and is freed from the bondage of time, space, and causation. Then, having opened up the sushumna nadi, the yogi rouses the sleeping serpent at the muladhara chakra and guides this tremendous energy upward along sushumna, piercing the six chakras, to the seventh chakra, the sahasrara, which is represented as a thousand-petaled lotus at the crown of the head. This arousal and ascent of the latent kundalini energy and its merging in the sahasrara is synonymous with the union of shakti (cosmic potency) with shiva (cosmic consciousness). With this union the yogi achieves liberation from all miseries and bondage. He thus merges his individual soul, atman, with the cosmic soul, Brahman.

We investigate the ida and pingala nadis, embodying lunar and solar energies. Their interplay in balancing yin and yang within the body. Examining the paths of these nadis, their influence on physical and mental states, and different interpretive views. Comparing prana and kundalini energies highlights their transformative roles in spiritual practices.

We further touch upon the significance of nostril dominance in breathing, as influenced by the ida and pingala, and its relevance in yogic practices and daily life, offering insights into the profound impact of these nadis on spiritual awakening and holistic balance.

3a8082e126