The Subtle Body : The Nadis, Sushumna, Ida and Pingala
There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.
Martha Graham
In order to fully understand the function of the chakras and the nature of the subtle bodies, it is important to understand how energy moves through them individually and as a whole. All energy and information is transported through the subtle bodies via energy channels called nadis. The function of the nadis is to transfer or funnel energy into an,d out of the chakra. There is a nadi connected to each side of the chakras in each of the bodies where they transport energy and information from the world around us through the subtle body to nerve ganglia (bundles of nerve cells that lie outside the central nervous system) in the physical body.
Subtle Energy Bodies Element: The Nadis
The nadis are made up of fine threads of energetic matter that exist purely on subtle levels. These energetic structures connect one chakra to another and work to direct and transfer energetic vibrations in the same way our veins and arteries direct and carry blood through our body or like a phone cord carries our conversations over its copper wire. Sources have described up to 72,000 nadis in the subtle body.
The Make-up Of The Subtle Energy Body
The seven major chakras are connected to each other via a vertical column of energetic matter that runs up and down the spine, which according to Yogic traditions is called the Sushumna. The Sushumna’s function is to transport energy through the subtle bodies, which provides power and energy to each of the chakras. Where the nadi can be thought of as functioning like an electrical wire or like an individual nerve that runs through our body, the Sushumna, can be thought of as a major electrical power bus or as functioning similar to our spinal cord that acts as an electrical highway for nerve transmission.
By means of a nadi that extends out of the 7th chakra, energy is funneled into the body and transported through the Sushumna to the 1st chakra. Energy exits the Sushumna through a nadi that is connected to the 1st chakra, where it is ultimately grounded. The flow of this energy can be thought of as functioning like a DC or direct current circuit. A DC circuit is an unbroken path through which an electric current flows from positive to negative. That is it moves from a power source such as a battery to an output or to ground where the excess electricity is dissipated.
When a circuit is complete, that is, when all of the connections are made properly, current flows. If the connections are not made properly and the circuit is broken the current cannot flow. Likewise, if the circuit that makes up the Sushumna is broken, the flow of energy through the chakras stops. Like the electrical circuit, if there is no power or energy coming in via the 7th chakra, or if the circuit isn’t grounded by means of the 1st chakra, energy will not flow as well.
Subtle Energy Bodies Element: The Ida and Pingala
Also moving up the spine and intertwining the Sushumna are the Ida and Pingala nadis. The Ida is located on the left side of the spinal column and is associated with the feminine, negative and yin aspect of our being. The Pingala in turn is located on the right side of the spinal column and is associated with the masculine, positive and yang aspects of our being. These nadis move upward from the 1st chakra alternating from left to right as they travel up the spine where they surround and activate each chakra. It is believed that when these two aspects of ourselves are balanced, our spiritual energy or Kundalini can unfold.
Chakras And Their Associate Nadis
Attached to each side of our 2nd thru – 6th chakras are nadis as well. Each of these chakras has both a front and a back aspect to them where energy flows in perpendicular to the stream of energy through the Sushumna. Barbara Brennan, in her book, Hands of Light has identified the functioning of the front of each chakra as being related to our feelings and the rear of each chakra as being related to our wills. Another way to look at the dual nature of the chakras means that the front of the chakra relates to things we are processing on a conscious level, while the back correlates to things we have pushed behind us or are processing on an unconscious level.
Physically, we are able to look at or see what is in front of us, but are unable to see, or have difficulty seeing, what is going on behind our backs. The same holds true on energetic levels. Typically, we carry the information that we are actively processing in the front of the chakra and energies and issues that we are unable to or unwilling to process in the back. It does not mean that we aren’t experiencing the effects of this energy; it is just that it is outside of our conscious awareness. “Why couldn’t I see that” is a phrase we use to reflect this idea. When we are hurt, we “push it behind us”, or at times find ourselves feeling as if we were “stabbed in the back” when something hurtful is done to us in a sly, sneaky or deceiving way.
Now that we understand how energy moves through the subtle energy bodies, lets move on and take a look at how energy and information is transported, received and assimilated by and between each of the subtle bodies.
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