A Wisdom Archive on Nadis

Yoga Nadis

Nadis are the astral tubes made up of astral matter that carry psychic currents. The Sanskrit term Nadi comes from the root Nad which means motion. It is through these Nadis (Sukshma, subtle passages), that the vital force or Pranic current moves or flows. Since they are made up of subtle matter they cannot be seen by the naked physical eyes and you cannot make any test-tube experiments in the physical plane. These Yoga Nadis are not the ordinary nerves, arteries and veins that are known to the Vaidya Shastra (Anatomy and Physiology). Yoga Nadis are quite different from these.

The body is filled with innumerable Nadis that cannot be counted. Different authors state the number of Nadis in different ways, i.e., from 72,000 to 3,50,000. When you turn your attention to the internal structure of the body, you are struck with awe and wonder. Because the architect is the Divine Lord Himself who is assisted by skilled engineers and masons Maya, Prakriti, Visva Karma, etc.

Nadis play a vital part in this Yoga. Kundalini when awakened, will pass through Sushumna Nadi and this is possible only when the Nadis are pure. Therefore, the first step in Kundalini Yoga is the purification of Nadis. A detailed knowledge of the Nadis and Chakras, is absolutely essential. Their location, functions, nature, etc., should be thoroughly studied.

The subtle lines, Yoga Nadis, have influence in the physical body. All the subtle (Sukshma) Prana, Nadis and Chakras have gross manifestation and operation in the physical body. The gross nerves and plexuses have close relationship with the subtle ones. You should understand this point well. Since the physical centres have close relationship with the astral centres, the vibrations that are produced in the physical centres by prescribed methods, have the desired effects in the astral centres.

Whenever there is an interlacing of several nerves, arteries and veins, that centre is called Plexus. The physical material plexuses that are known to the Vaidya Shastra are: Pampiniform, Cervical, Brachial, Coccygeal, Lumbar, Sacral, Cardiac, Esophageal, Hepatic Pharyngeal, Pulmonary, Ligual Prostatic Plexus, etc. Similarly there are plexuses or centres of vital forces in the Sukshma Nadis. They are known as Padma (lotus) or Chakras. Detailed instructions on all these centres are given elsewhere.

All the Nadis spring from the Kanda. It is in the junction where the Sushumna Nadi is connected with the Muladhara Chakra. Some say, that this Kanda is 12 inches above the anus. Out of the innumerable Nadis 14 are said to be important. They are:le Nadis 14 are said to be important. They are:

Again Ida, Pingala and Sushumna are the most important of the above 14 Nadis, and Sushumna is the chief. It is the highest and most sought by the Yogins. Other Nadis are subordinate to this. Detailed instructions on each Nadi and its functions and the method of awakening the Kundalini and passing it from Chakra to Chakra are given in the following pages.

Excerpt from the book Kundalini Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Nadis: Kanda

This is situated between the anus and the root of the reproductory organ. It is like the shape of an egg and is covered with membranes. This is just above the Muladhara Chakra. All the Nadis of the body spring from this Kanda. It is in the junction where Sushumna is connected with Muladhara Chakra. The four petals of the Muladhara Chakra are on the sides of this Kanda and the junction is called Granthi-Sthana, where the influence of Maya is very strong. In some Upanishads you will find that Kanda is 9 digits above the genitals.

Kanda is a centre of the astral body from where Yoga Nadis, subtle channels, spring and carry the Sukshma Prana (vital energy) to the different parts of the body. Corresponding to this centre, you have Cauda equina in the gross physical body. The spinal cord extending from the brain to the end of the vertebral column tapers off into a fine silken thread. Before its termination it gives off innumerable fibres, crowded into a bunch of nerves. This bunch of nerves is Cauda equina in the gross body. The astral centre of Cauda equina is Kanda.

Introduction and links to related topics

Below are some short introductions. Click on the blue hyperlinked word to get more related articles.


Nadi - Nadi (Sanskrit) A tube, vessel, or channel; that along which something flows, be it a liquid or the current of a force. Applied indiscriminately to blood vessels and nerves, and to the three mystic channels that really form the spinal column, and which carry vital and other important currents in the human constitution.

The nadis are all intimately connected in function and structure with the chakras, being the influent and effluent channels to and fro as between nadi and other nadis and the body generally; for the chakras, although mainly functional in the astral part of the auric body, nevertheless have corresponding organs in the physical body.

Nadi - A channel in the subtle body through which the vital force flows. The three main nadis are the sushumna nadi, the central spinal channel; the ida, feminine or lunar channel, which is on the left of sushumna; and the pingala, masculine or lunar channel, which is on the right side of sushumna..

Nadi - (Sanskrit) "Conduit." A nerve fiber or energy channel of the subtle (inner) bodies of man. It is said there are 72,000. These interconnect the chakras. The three main nadis are named ida, pingala and sushumna.

ida nadi: (Sanskrit) Also known as chandra ("moon") nadi, it is pink in color and flows downward, ending on the left side of the body. This current is feminine in nature and is the channel of physical-emotional energy.
pinga nadi: Also known as surya ("sun") nadi, it is blue in color and flows upward, ending on the right side of the body. This current is masculine in nature and is the channel of intellectual mental energy.
sushumna nadi: (Sanskrit) The major nerve current which passes through the spinal column from the muladhara chakra at the base to the sahasrara at the crown of the head. It is the channel of kundalini. Through yoga, the kundalini energy lying dormant in the muladhara is awakened and made to rise up this channel through each chakra to the sahasrara chakra.
See: chakra, kundalini, raja yoga, tantrism.

Ida - Ida (-nadi) (Sanskrit) (from ida refreshment + nadi tubular vessel)

One of the three channels forming the spinal column of the body, which are the main avenues for not only the psychovital economy of the body, but likewise for spiritual and intellectual currents between the head and the body proper. In occultism the spinal column plays many physiological roles, but is especially threefold in its functions.

The central channel is called the sushumna-nadi, with a channel on either side: the pingala-nadi on the right, and the ida-nadi on the left, although sometimes these positions are given as reversed. All the chakras are connected with the spinal column and the nadis "by the nervous and sympathetic systems as well as by the blood vessels.

In occultism the spinal column is not only an organ, but it is actually threefold in its functions, being the foundation of the pranic vitality of the body, driven by the kama of pingala and more or less controlled by the higher manasic or directing attributes of ida" (FSO 462).

Pillars - Pillars The straight line and circle combined will make a cylinder, or pillar, which may be either a column or a disc, according to which element predominates. Thus the pillar denotes the positive creative potency or spirit as contrasted with matter.

One principal use of the pillars in ancient temples, especially when four were used in the form of a square, was for the representation either of the four cardinal points, or of the four lower cosmic elements. This idea was likewise followed by the Jews in their erection of the Tabernacle. "It is the idea taken from the pyramids in Egypt and in Tyre, where the pyramids became pillars, the Genii, or Angels have their abodes in the four respective points" (SD 1:347).

To all intents and purposes the pillars set up by the Jews in front of their temples were similar to the lithoi placed before images of Siva in India. The two pillars, Jachin and Boaz, placed before the Temple of Solomon, however, referred to the dual forces in manifested nature, producing the pairs of opposites. The two pillars are to some extent interchangeable with the two serpents of the Greek caduceus, and appear in India in mystical references to the two nadis -- pingala and ida, on the left and right (or right and left) of the vertebral column.

This duality has its geometrical analog in the right and left handed spirals. By taking the central or balancing third, as in the sushumna-nadi or the central pole of the caduceus (sometimes represented as s third serpent), we have the triad. This triad of pillars is represented in the three columns of the Sephirothal Tree, called the Pillars of Severity, Mildness, and Mercy. In one description of the Sephirothal Tree, it was surrounded by seven pillars: the world pillars or rectores.

Chakra - literally meaning circle or wheel, in yoga this refers to the energy centers lying along the confluence of the nadis (energy channels)

Subtle Body - In the Vedic tradition it is believed that the physical body has a subtle counterpart made not of gross matter but of a finer substance, or energy. The chakras, nadis are the basic structures of the subtle body.

Sound - Shabda. As the darshana, or "seeing," of the Divine is a central article of faith for Hindus, similarly, hearing the Divine is spiritually indispensable. The ears are a center of many nadis connected to inner organs of perception. Gurus may when imparting initiation whisper in the ear of disciples to stimulate these centers and give a greater effect to their instructions.

During temple puja, bells ring loudly, drums resound, conches and woodwinds blare to awaken worshipers from routine states of consciousness.

Meditation on inner sound, called nada-anusandhana, is an essential yoga practice. Listening to the Vedas or other scripture is a mystical process. Traditional music is revered as the nectar of the Divine.
See: Aum, nada, Siva consciousness.

Earrings - Decorative jewelry worn in the ears by Hindu women and many men. Yogis, especially those of the Natha tradition, wear large earrings to stimulate the psychic nadis connected to the ears. Traditionally, the ascetic Kanphatis ("split-eared ones") split the cartilage of their ears to accommodate massive earrings. Ear-piercing for earrings is said to bring health (right ear) and wealth (left ear).
See: Kanphati, samskaras of childhood.

Ardhanarishvara - (Sanskrit) "Half-female Lord." Lord Siva in androgynous form, male on the right side and female on the left, indicating that: 1) Siva (like all Mahadevas) is genderless; 2) Siva is All, inseparable from His energy, Shakti; 3) in Siva the ida (feminine) and the pingala (masculine) nadis (psychic nerve currents) are balanced so that sushumna is ever active. The meditator who balances these through sadhana and yoga becomes like Siva. In the unity of Ardhanarishvara all opposites are reconciled; duality vanishes back into the one source. This icon especially represents Siva''s second perfection: Pure Consciousness (Satchidananda or Parashakti).
See: kundalini, nadi, Shakti, Siva.

Brahmadanda - Brahmadanda (Sanskrit) Spinal column or sushumna; "the rod or stick of Brahma, . . . symbolized by the bamboo rod carried by ascetics, the seven-knotted wand of the Yogi. The seven knots are the seven Nadis along the spinal cord" (BCW 12:701). {BCW 12:616}.

Pingala - Pingala (Sanskrit) Reddish brown, reddish tawny; one of the three nadis (channels) actually forming the spinal column of the body, which are the main avenues for not only the psychovital economy of the body, but likewise of spiritual and intellectual currents as between the head and the body proper.

In occultism the spinal column plays many roles in the physiological economy of the living body, but is especially threefold in its functions. The central channel is called the sushumna-nadi, and the two mystical channels on either side of it are the pingala-nadi on the right (or left), and the ida-nadi on the left (or right).