Shakti is the Sanskrit word for power, energy, or force: the dynamic, creative, and activating principle that underlies all existence. In the philosophical framework of Tantra, which forms the background for much of the yogic teaching on kundalini, Shakti is understood as the feminine aspect of ultimate reality, the inseparable counterpart of Shiva, which represents pure, undifferentiated consciousness. Shiva and Shakti are not two separate entities but two aspects of the one reality, consciousness and its power to manifest, as inseparable as a flame from its heat.
Kundalini is the Sanskrit term for the coiled form of Shakti within the individual body. The word comes from kundala, meaning coiled. In the subtle anatomy of the yogic tradition, kundalini is described as a dormant energy residing at the base of the spine in a chakra called muladhara. It is imagined as a serpent coiled three and a half times around a point called kanda, the root of the subtle body’s energy system. In the vast majority of people, this energy lies dormant: not absent, but not active in the way that becomes possible through dedicated practice.
The Chakras
The system of chakras, literally wheels, provides the map through which kundalini’s movement is described. There are traditionally seven major chakras arranged along the central channel of the subtle body, the sushumna nadi: muladhara at the base of the spine, svadhisthana in the region of the sacrum, manipura at the navel, anahata at the heart, vishuddha at the throat, ajna between the eyebrows, and sahasrara at the crown. Each chakra is associated with particular qualities of awareness, particular elements, and particular forms of psychological and spiritual development. The movement of kundalini upward through these centers is described as the progressive expansion and purification of consciousness.
The Purpose of Preparation
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika states that all the practices of yoga, the postures, the breathing practices, the mudras, the bandhas, rest ultimately on the kundalini. The goal of the hatha practices is to prepare the body and the energy system as a vehicle capable of receiving and conducting the awakened kundalini energy. If the subtle channels are impure and the body is not adequately prepared, the awakening of kundalini can be destabilizing. If the preparation has been thorough, the same energy becomes the direct vehicle of liberation.
Kundalini awakening can occur gradually or suddenly. In the gradual case, it is a long, incremental process of purification in which the practitioner’s capacity to hold and work with higher energies expands over years or decades of consistent practice. In the sudden case, an intense experience may arise through the transmission of a teacher (shaktipat), through an extreme life event, or spontaneously. Shaktipat is the direct transfer of energy from teacher to student, described in the tradition as a grace that removes obstacles and opens a doorway the student’s own practice might have reached only slowly. Even with shaktipat, the recipient must have done enough preparation to assimilate the experience without being overwhelmed.
Signs and Symptoms
The signs of kundalini awakening vary considerably. They may include intense heat in the spine or particular chakras, spontaneous movements of the body called kriyas, experiences of light, deep states of absorption, and a pervasive shift in the quality of awareness. They may also include difficult physical and psychological experiences, periods of disorientation, heightened emotion, or disrupted sleep, particularly when the awakening has outpaced the practitioner’s preparation. A healthy body, a balanced breath, a stable emotional life, and a grounded understanding of the process all matter before attempting to accelerate kundalini awakening through intensive practice.
The Goal: Union
The goal of the whole process is described in the Tantric tradition as yoga in its most literal sense: the union of Shakti, the awakened kundalini that has risen to the crown, with Shiva, the pure consciousness at sahasrara. This union is not symbolic. It is the direct experience of what the Yoga Sutras call the Seer resting in its own true nature: consciousness recognized as the ground of everything, not a product of matter or mind, but the awareness that was always already present. In the language of Tantra, the two that always were one are finally recognized as such.
