Nadi (yoga)
Nāḍī (
Overview
Nadi is an important concept in
The nadis play a role in yoga, as many yogic practices, including
Early references
Several of the ancient
3.6 "In the heart verily is
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]
Functions and activities
In
Yoga texts disagree on the number of nadis in the human body. The
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]
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.[13][14] 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.[15] It courses from the left testicle to the left nostril and corresponds to the Ganges river.
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.[15] Its temperature is heating and courses from the right testicle to the right nostril. It corresponds to the river Yamuna.
Unblocking the channels
The purpose of
Other traditions and interpretations
Other cultures work with concepts similar to nadis and prana.
Chinese
Systems based on
Tibetan
Tibetan medicine borrows many concepts from Yoga through the influence of
The Vajrayana practice of
European
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]
See also
Notes and references
- ^ a b c d e f B. K. S. Iyengar (2010). Light on Pranayama. the Crossroad Publishing Company. pp. Chapter 5: Nadis and Chakras.
- ^ a b c Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 172–173.
- ^ spokensanskrit.de
- ^ a b Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. Chapter 6, especially pages 228–229.
- ^ Varaha Upanishad, c. 1200–1600 CE
- ^ Varahopanisad V, 54/5.
- ^ For reference to Chandogya Upanishad 8.6.6 and interpretation as an early form of the occult physiology see: McEvilley, Thomas. "The Spinal Serpent", in: Harper and Brown, p. 94.
- ^ Nāḍikās are small nadis.
Udâna are often translated as "out-breathing" in this context. Perhaps a metaphor for death. - ^ Prasna Upanishad, Question 3 § 6, 7.
- ^ Sat-Cakra-Nirupana, Purnananda Swami
- ^ Sat-Cakra-Narupana, The Muladhara Cakra, transl. Sir John Woodroffe in The Serpent Power: Being the Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpana and Pādukā-pañcaka
- ^ "Nadis". Yoga Dharma. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 122, 173, 178, 187, 190, 194, 197, 202.
- ^ Samuel, Geoffrey (2010). The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century. Cambridge University Press. pp. 255, 271.
- ^ a b Three fundamental nadis
- ^ Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 4–6, 323.
- ^ a b c d Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 178–181.
- ^ Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 228–233.
- ^ Arthur Avalon, The Serpentine Power (collection of yoga-tantric texts)
- PMID 23439630.
- ^ Georgios, Halkias (October 2019). "Ascending to Heaven after Death: Karma Chags med's Commentary on Mind Transference" (PDF). Revue d'Études Tibétaines (52): 70–89.
- ^ Chaoul, M. Alejandro (October 2003). "Yogic practices in the Bon tradition" (PDF). Wellcome History (24): 7–8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-29. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ C. W. Leadbeater, Chakras, Adyar, 1929
Sources
- OCLC 928480104.
- 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.