What is Kundalini? Exploring the Vital Life Force Energy Within Each of Us
- Stephanie Gonzalez
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
At Delta Groove Yoga, one of the styles of yoga that we teach is called Kundalini Yoga. Also known as the “Yoga of Awareness,” Kundalini Yoga employs specific postures, hand positions, meditation techniques, and chanting with the underlying goal of awakening Kundalini.
But what is Kundalini itself? Is Kundalini Yoga the only path through which one can awaken Kundalini? And what does it mean to awaken your Kundalini, anyway? In this blog post, we’ll explore these topics.
What is Kundalini?
Kundalini is the life force energy that exists in you and every other living thing on this planet. It is the stuff of creation itself, the will to thrive, the transcendent quality that makes you want to climb that mountain, paint that masterpiece, love to your heart’s fullest, see the beauty in everything that exists, and understand the inherent connectivity of everything.
It is not something you achieve, but, instead, Kundalini exists in you already because you are alive. Kundalini exists in every person, and the beliefs, conditioning, trauma, habits — the stuff we acquire as humans living on this planet — obscures this transcendent energy's full potential and it lies in wait.
According to the Upanishads, Sanskrit texts dating to around 800 BCE, Kundalini sits coiled like a serpent at the base of the spine, waiting to be awakened in every person. By arousing this divine creative energy and coaxing it up the sushumna nadi, which is the central energetic pathway in the subtle body and follows the path of the spine, it moves upward through the chakras, clearing karma and energetic blocks, eventually reaching the crown chakra.
Yoga is the technology by which a person attempts to awaken the Kundalini, clear away karma, purify the body, and eventually unfold the path of enlightenment. Different lineages of yoga do this in different ways:
Karma yoga is the way of action.
Bhakti yoga is the way of devotion.
Jnana yoga is the way of knowledge.
Raja yoga is the way of meditation. Also known as the “royal path,” Raja Yoga was codified by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras and includes the eight limbs of yoga most modern practices are based on today.
All types of yoga have the same aim: liberation of the human spirit, also known as enlightenment.
What does it mean to awaken your Kundalini?
When I first began studying yoga, I thought enlightenment was something that you achieved from the outside in. I imagined a golden ray of light descending upon someone meditating on a mountain top and them living in a different state of being from that point forward, half here and half somewhere else. In reality, the concept is much more nuanced and subtle than that.
From the moment we are born, our brain begins to form based on the conditions that surround us, the people that nurture us, and the society and communities we belong to. These are all aspects of karma, and they obscure our true nature, which is pure, concentrated awareness.
Think about a baby: how they look around at the world, at new faces, how they react to new things. It’s with an innate sense of curiosity. As we grow older and those families, experiences, and communities color our perspectives, that curiosity is covered by layers of conditioning. We think we know what will happen given a certain set of circumstances because we’ve seen it before, or because our caretakers’ opinions on a subject became our own, or because the mythology of the society we’re raised in teaches us what the outcome of a situation will be.
To understand this more concretely, think about the last time you had to speak in front of, or even socialize with, a new group of people. Did you react with pure, open curiosity? Probably not. You probably had some preconceived ideas about what the people would be like, how you would be received, how you would feel, and what the outcome would be.
Enlightenment is the process by which you become aware of these habits, behaviors, and conditioned beliefs (aka your ego). Once you are aware, you can decide what to keep and what to discard with the goal of connecting and engaging with that innate curiosity and consciousness that exists at your core — and recognizing that this is what’s at the core of every other person as well. And it's believed in the yogic traditions that the way you do this is by activating or awakening your Kundalini.
What is Kundalini Yoga?
Kundalini Yoga falls under the Raja Yoga lineage and is closely related to Kriya Yoga and Laya Yoga. The Kundalini Yoga Upanishad describes the Kundalini Yoga process as one of using bandhas, pranayama, and shaking. Now, 3,000 years after that description was first written, this method of yoga — like all methods of yoga — has evolved as its grown and spread around the world.
Kundalini Yoga was originally a closely guarded practice passed on from family to family under the guidance of a guru. The fascination with Kundalini in the West began long before (C.G. Jung wrote a book on Kundalini!) a man commonly referred to as Yogi Bhajan popularized it in the 1960s amidst hippie counterculture. It’s important to note that this man did not invent Kundalini Yoga and that it continues outside of his teachings.
This style of yoga involves the use of kriyas, which can be thought of as recipes or formulas, that are specifically designed to engage energy in different ways. Components include:
Asana: These are physical body positions that open energy channels to allow for the flow of energy; they create balance and strength in the body to help us perform the other parts of yoga.
Pranayama: Often described as breath control, pranayama is actually much more. Prana is the carrier of life force energy that exists in everything in the universe. We access it through our breath.
Mantra: Mantra is sound vibration. Sound waves, light waves, even matter particles all vibrate. Mantra uses that vibration and repetition to help us move energy and dissolve into oneness with existence.
Mudra: Mudras are typically hand positions but can employ other areas of or the entire body. They channel energy and help arouse particular states of mind.
Bandhas: Yoga tells us there are locks, or gates, throughout the body that must be engaged in order to allow for energy to flow freely. Engaging bandhas open or close these gates, encapsulating and releasing energy.
Drishti: This is a focal point employed with the eyes, even when closed. A common one is between the brows about an inch or two inward, which corresponds with the third eye.
Sadhana: Sadhana is personal spiritual practice and refers to the idea that Kundalini awakening is a process that you work on for years (truly lifetimes). It takes discipline to the path and to connecting with your inner core, your higher self over and over.
As you can see, Kundalini Yoga employs a very diverse group of practices. Any of these practices on their own can lead to a Kundalini awakening, but Kundalini Yoga uses them together for a truly powerful practice.
Ready to explore more about Kundalini and Kundalini Yoga? Check out our yoga class schedule and swing on by!
Want to go deeper? Consider enrolling in the Delta Groove Yoga School Kundalini Yoga Training. Our next cohort begins this fall in Chattanooga, or sign up to get notified about future trainings.
