What Is Kundalini?
Kundalini Shakti, also known as Kundalini, is a Sanskrit term that describes a force and process within the human body.
It is often depicted as a dormant coiled serpent resting at the base of the spine.
This concept, deeply rooted in the traditions of Yoga, refers to an indwelling energy that supports an ongoing evolutionary and transformative process in individuals, once awakened.
Kundalini awakening is a universal human phenomenon, not limited to the Yogic paradigm.
Given the mystical, mysterious, and highly individualized nature of Kundalini awakening, defining it precisely can be challenging.
The experience and interpretation of Kundalini awakening can vary significantly among individuals, influenced by their unique spiritual, cultural, religious, and personal contexts.
To honour the complexity of Kundalini awakening, we present multiple definitions and descriptions from various trusted direct experiencers in the field.
“Kundalini is a Sanskrit term from ancient India that identifies the arising of an energy and consciousness which has been coiled at the base of the spine since birth, and is the source of the life-force (pranic energy, chi, bio-energy) that everyone knows.
Yogic science suggests that this energy triggered the formation of the child in the womb, and then coils 3½ times at the base of the spine to hold the energy field in stasis until we die, when it uncoils and returns to its source.
Kundalini may unravel and arise from the base of the spine (or sometimes from the feet) due to spiritual practices or in response to life events, and when this happens it may move gradually, uncoiling like a snake, or quickly and explosively, into the gut, the heart or the head. This event can be startling and chaotic, frightening or blissful, and it usually triggers months and years of new sensations and changes in the person who awakens it. It may feel like the body’s wiring has moved from 110 to 220 and it takes time to adapt to it. It is understood in the eastern tradition to be a significant adjunct to spiritual realization, but it is rarely recognized as such in western traditions, although Christian mystics have often been said to have intense energetic or physical problems.
It is possible to find acknowledgement of this spiritual movement in many yogic and tantric traditions, Tantric Buddhism, Taoism, gnostic mystical tradition and some Native American teachings, and indigenous societies. An image of a rising snake in the body signifies its existence in the esoteric art of many cultures. The capacity to intensify and raise energy in the body has been explored for thousands of years. It is a natural human potential.”
- Dr. Bonnie Greenwell
“Traditionally, Kundalini is described as an energy that lies dormant at the base of our spines which can be awakened in some conducive circumstances. This energy is said to then rise to the head where it opens the crown chakra and causes enlightenment.
This description is not wrong but is extremely simplified. It is akin to saying that sexuality lies dormant at the base of the spine in children, awakens in puberty, rises to the heart and causes a loving relationship with a spouse. Everybody will probably agree that it is not as simple as that and that it takes a lot more than puberty to establish a loving marriage.
The same can be said about a Kundalini awakening. Just like puberty awakens in us the desire for romance, sexuality and relationships, so does Kundalini awaken the desire in us for higher spiritual states. This desire is just as strong and pervasive as the new desires awakened in puberty and in neither scenarios can it be switched off again, even if we desire to go back to the innocence and unawareness of our previous state.”
- Tara Springett, M.A.
“The signs of spiritual energy/Kundalini awakening have been described in sources that range from the ancient texts on yoga, to books by modern yogic gurus and teachers, to the works of contemporary philosophers, psychologists, and psychiatrists. The mystical traditions of the world’s major religions allude to a spiritual energy or force that can produce bodily symptoms, and activate spiritual transformative experiences and long-term spiritual transformation of consciousness.”
- Dr. Yvonne Kason, M.D.
Touched by the Light: Exploring Spiritually Transformative Experiences
“Kundalini is a term from the yogic tradition for the power of the Divine. It is Kundalini who creates the universe and knows Its Self as Creator. Kundalini has been called “the face of God.” Just as we recognize someone by his or her face we recognize the Divine by Its power of Consciousness, Kundalini. It is Kundalini that clothes the formless in form, that gives the Absolute a face to adore, a presence to inspire, traditions to revere and a body of wisdom to serve and guide. She is the esoteric goal of all yogas, the awakened mind of the thatagatas and the transcendent vision of saints and sages. By knowing Her, all is known and life becomes suffused with ananda – sublime joy. The source of that joy is our very own Self, forever present, nearer than our breath, waiting in Stillness to be revealed. Drown the ordinary ego-mind in Stillness if you truly want to know the Knower.
The Eastern traditions revere Kundalini as a Goddess, the Great Mother who gives birth to all that is. She is seen as taking on limitations, contracting and condensing to form the material world. She is the essential energy, more fundamental than nuclear power, that is the basis of who we are and all that we experience. When our limited mind is infused with Her transcendent power of Consciousness we know directly the truth of our unity with the Divine and all Its creation. Every spiritual tradition has its name for Kundalini – Holy Spirit, Grace, Shekhinah, Anima, Chi, Bodhicitta – and every saint and mystic has known Her blessing. Seekers on all paths need Her grace to succeed on their journeys. For this reason shamans, yogis, monks, priests, nuns and aspirants of all types approach Her as suppliants. Being the Great Mother, the Great Lover, She’s willing to take whatever shape and bare whatever name Her children wish to use as they bow to Her.
Kundalini is often used to refer to the power of the Divine present in each person. She has two aspects. One maintains the entire existence of our body, mind and spirit. The other aspect, considered dormant, is the power of Consciousness to know the Divine in Its infinitude as Self. This potential power, innate to all of us, can propel our awareness from the paltry limitations of individual existence, with all its wants and needs and deficiencies, to Unity Consciousness – the sublime awareness of our Divine Self, infinite and all-encompassing. Symbolized by a coiled serpent asleep in the center of earthbound consciousness, this aspect of Kundalini awaits the great awakening, the most profoundly important event in the long life of the soul, a life that extends over countless cycles of physical birth and death.”
- Dr. Lawrence Edwards
"Kundalini Shakti is the divine spiritual power within every human being. Known by many names in many lands, this sacred inner presence is the divine within, the sacred light and love that illumines each of us and guides us to union with the One, the ultimate Reality beyond all phenomena, from which she is inseparable and of whom she is the subtlest manifestation. Kundalini Shakti is each individual’s own personal spiritual director, who strives to lead us to constant awareness of the Source. It is Kundalini Shakti who empowers our striving for spiritual attainment and who works to lead us to full spiritual realization. All human beings, regardless of era, religion, or culture, are vessels of this holy omnipotent, luminous presence that ardently urges us to cooperate with her efforts to increase our spiritual awareness and growth. It is each seeker’s task to understand how best to assist her in her dedicated service for our enlightenment.
More refined and profound than energy, Kundalini Shakti is enveloped in the mantle of her own manifestation, the subtle body, which includes our energy, mind, and discerning wisdom. Within this raiment, Kundalini Shakti resides in either a contained or a released state. In her contained state, she is a tightly coiled static power that maintains the ordinary person’s life functions, talents, and consciousness. Upon her release, Kundalini Shakti rises through one of several pathways in the subtle body and reaches whatever level is possible, based on the conditions at the time of the rising. In her released state, Kundalini Shakti is dynamically active and strives to improve her spiritual status and complete her rising, pressing to elevate to the One, despite whatever blocks may impede her ascent. Her ultimate goal is our spiritual fulfillment.
There are a variety of perspectives on Kundalini provided by current texts and experts, each with their own special contribution. From our perspective, Kundalini is not a path in itself but a universal process. It is the essential common factor that is the key to all spiritual experiences regardless of an individual’s religious or spiritual orientation. Kundalini Shakti is the means for deepening our connection to our spiritual endeavor and to the Divine Source itself.”
- Bri. Joan Shivarpita Harrigan, Ph.D.
Patanjali Kundalini Yoga Care
“The unfolding of Kundalini is the most important process in our spiritual evolution. To describe it within the limited confines of scientific terminology deprives the reader of its poetry and significance…
The aspect of Kundalini we refer to when we use the term Kundalini awakening is the Shakti Kundalini. This spiritual, potential energy is said to be stored in the etheric body below the base chakra. When it becomes sufficiently energized, it emerges out of its potential state and begins to move throughout the subtle nervous system, which consisists of 72,000 nadis. It moves through the central nadi, or sushumna. Once activated, it begins a process of cleansing.”
- Dr. Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
Spiritual Nutrition: Six Six Foundations for Spiritual Life and the Awakening of Kundalini