Tag: Chakras

Sadhguru: A Night in Coimbatore

Second of a two part account of a road ride through the hills of far south Karnataka down onto the plains of Tamil Nadu. We were heading for the city of Coimbatore and from there taking an excursion 30 km or so west of it to the ashram of an Indian spiritual teacher by the name of Sadhguru. Known as Isha Yoga Centre, it is a place of some considerable size and a magnet for many thousands of visitors throughout the course of the year.

After a rest on my bed in the Kiscol Grands, where I was fighting off a headache from the ride to Sadhguru’s Isha Yoga Centre, I was due to meet Sonam Tashi and Ranga down in the foyer at seven in order to go and find somewhere to eat. I did a bit of searching on Google for restaurants in Coimbatore and saw that our best bet was gonna be a place called Barbecue Nation which was located in the Hotel Metro City. It was five stars all the way as far as the reviews were concerned and for some reason I felt a little bit of meat eating was in order. Dunno why, usually I try to be veg as much as I can, but just there an’ then I wanted to eat some chicken. Maybe the need to ground myself was kicking in after my close shave with that headache, a possible thumper, anyway whatever, Barbecue Nation was the place I came up with so that was what I suggested to Sonam Tashi and Ranga when I met up with them. Thankfully the effect of those Nurofens I popped was already kicking in and I was beginning to feel more like facing the blinding lights and dust clouds of evening time Coimbatore, which was probably just as well because on the roads it was going be a take no prisoners situation, with headlights full beam and all manner of vehicles coming at us from wherever we looked.

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Sadhguru: Trip to Isha Yoga Centre

First of a two part account of a road ride through the hills of far south Karnataka down onto the plains of Tamil Nadu. We were heading for the city of Coimbatore and from there taking an excursion 30 km or so west of it to the ashram of an Indian spiritual teacher by the name of Sadhguru. Known as Isha Yoga Centre, it is a place some considerable size and a magnet for many thousands of visitors throughout the course of the year.

By 7.50 I was out of the guest house in the Dhondenling Tibetan Settlement of Kollegal, which is located in the far south of the state of Karnataka, and making my way to my brother in law Sonam Tashi’s quarters halfway up a nearby hill, at the gates of which his driver Ranga was cleaning the windscreen of the car which was going to take the three of us down to Coimbatore. There was a slight delay before we got under way due to the fact Sonam Tashi couldn’t find the keys to his motor, despite the fact all the doors were open because of Ranga’s cleaning and shining. Somehow in the process of the work the keys had got mislaid, but how and when that had happened was all a bit of a mystery. Eventually they turned up, but only after a whole load of searching, having escaped to a corner on the floor by the front passenger seat, but once retrieved we were soon on the road and out of the settlement, heading south to the border.

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Kundalini: The Ancient Power

“Everybody, whether householder or sannyasin (renunciate) must remember that the awakening of kundalini is the primary purpose of human incarnation.” – Swami Satyananda Saraswati.

Kundalini is the energy which brings alive our subtle body system by way of activating the chakras. It is traditionally said to lie as a serpent coiled three and a half times deep within the depths of our foundational chakra, the muladhara. The aim of the practitioner of kundalini yoga is to blast open the muladhara in order to release this ancient energy. The chakra is located on the perenium right at the base of the spine and it is said to be the secret abode of Lord Ganapati, the Remover of Obstacles. Once the energy has been activated it ascends the subtle yogic channel known as sushumna which runs the length of the spine and into the brain. Its resting place is the brow chakra, ajna, known in meditation as the Place of Command which rests on the pineal gland. From ajna it might then be possible for this kundalini-shakti to ascend higher, to the crown chakra, the sahasrara, otherwise known as the Thousand Petalled Lotus which once opened showers indescribable bliss down through the whole of the body both subtle and physical.

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Vishuddhi Chakra

The header image for this article is a photograph taken by Johannes Plenio as found on Pexels.

Vishuddhi

Throat Chakra

The purpose of this piece on the vishuddhi chakra is simply to clarify, for my own reference, the notes that I have taken over the years from two primary sources, the books Kundalini Tantra and Kundalini Yoga for the West. There are slight differences in their interpretations of various aspects of the chakras, in these notes both interpretations are listed, more often than not.

These notes below are taken from the book Kundalini Tantra by Swami Satyananda Saraswati –

The vishuddhi chakra is known as the “purification centre“. The Sanskrit word means “to purify“. In this chakra the purifying and harmonizing of all opposites takes place. It is also known as the “nectar and poison centre“. Nectar, which drips down from bindu, is said to split into pure form and into poison, the latter is discarded, the pure nectar however enriches the body, ensuring health and longevity. Continue reading “Vishuddhi Chakra” →

Muladhara Chakra

The header image for this article is a photograph taken by Johannes Plenio as found on Pexels.

Muladhara Chakra

Root Chakra

The purpose of this piece of work on the muladhara chakra is simply to clarify for my own reference notes that I have taken over the years from two primary sources, Kundalini Tantra by Swami Satyananda Saraswati and Kundalini Yoga for the West by Swami Sivananda Radha. These works have slight differences in their interpretations of various aspects and workings of the chakras, therefore in these notes both interpretations are sometimes listed.

These notes below are taken from the book Kundalini Tantra by Swami Satyananda Saraswati –

Muladhara is the root, the foundation of the whole chakra system, and its influence is at the root of the whole of our existence. Impulses rise through the body from muladhara and find the widest expansion of our awareness when in sahasrara, the crown chakra. Muladhara is understood as moola prakriti, the transcendental basis of physical nature which is the original source of all evolution. In tantra the muladhara is the seat of kundalini shakti, the basis from which the possibility of higher realization arises. Kundalini lies dormant as a coiled serpent. Once awakened it makes its way through the sushumna nadi in the spinal cord until it reaches sahasrara in the crown of the head, the place where the experience of enlightenment occurs. The sushumna nadi is known as the central channel. Continue reading “Muladhara Chakra” →