Nadi (yoga) - WikiHQ

thumb|A view of the [[subtle body as per Sahaja Yoga beliefs, showing the three major nadis or channels, the Ida (B), Sushumna (C), and Pingala (D), which run vertically in the body]]

() is a term for the channels through which, in traditional Indian medicine and spiritual theory, the energies such as prana of the physical body, the subtle body and the causal body are said to flow. Within this philosophical framework, the nadis are said to connect at special points of intensity, the chakras. All nadis are said to originate from one of two centres; the heart and the kanda, the latter being an egg-shaped bulb in the pelvic area, just below the navel.) runs along the spinal cord in the center, through the seven chakras. The Shiva Samhita treatise on yoga states that, out of 350,000 nadis, 14 are particularly important, and among them, the three just mentioned are the three most vital.]]

Several of the ancient Upanishads use the concept of nadis (channels). The nadi system is mentioned in the Chandogya Upanishad (8~6 cc. BCE), verse 8.6.6. and in verses 3.6–3.7 of the Prasna Upanishad (second half of the 1 millennium BCE). As stated in the last,

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.

Functions and activities

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.

Three channels (nadis)

Central channel (Sushumna)

Sushumna is the central and most important channel. It connects the base chakra to the crown chakra. It is important in Yoga and Tantra. It corresponds to the river Saraswati.

Side channels

Left channel (Ida)

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. It courses from the left testicle/ovary to the left nostril and corresponds to the Ganges river.

thumb|upright=1.25|The practices of [[yoga work together to force prana into the central Sushumna channel, allowing kundalini to rise, leading to moksha, liberation. The shatkarmas purify the nadis, while the mudras trap prana, and other practices (not shown) force the prana out of the Ida and Pingala channels.]]

Right channel (Pingala)

Pingala is associated with solar energy. The word pingala means "orange" or "tawny" in Sanskrit. Pingala has a sunlike nature and masculine energy.

Other traditions and interpretations

Other cultures work with concepts similar to nadis and prana.

Chinese

Systems based on Traditional Chinese Medicine work with an energy concept called qi, analogous to prana. 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

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.

The Vajrayana practice of Trul Khor is another practice used to direct and control the flow of energy within the body's energetic meridians through breath control and physical postures.

European

The three main nadis have been compared 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".

Notes and references

Sources

Sandra, Anderson (2018). "The Nadis: Tantric Anatomy of the Subtle Body". Himalayan Institute. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
"The Three Main Nadis: Ida, Pingala and Sushumna". Hridaya Yoga France. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
"The Ida and Pingala". Yin Yoga. Retrieved 2021-04-03.