The first time I recall being introduced to prana, kundalini and the chakras in a meaningful way was in May 2018. The date is clear because that’s when I spent six days trekking along the Larapinta Trail in the Northern Territory.

I had joined a group of women in the red centre led by my amazing yoga teacher Jacqui for a six day retreat. The week was full of walking, meditation, sunrise and sunset yoga. We ate around the campfire, washed ourselves using a bucket of water and slept in a swag under the stars on a dry river bed. It was a glorious retreat.

One day we walked through Serpentine Gorge in the West McDonnell Ranges. It’s a beautiful and deeply spiritual area that is a sacred site to Western Arrernte Aboriginal people. During the walk we stopped at a secluded place to rest and meditate. We had journals and coloured pencils and pens which Jacqui encouraged us to use as we noted our thoughts after the meditation was done. She started with a beautiful visualisation and explained the channels of prana, the chakra system and their meanings and locations in our body. She then guided us through some breathing exercises and finally we meditated for around 30 minutes – the longest I’d ever sat still in one place. Later, in a kind of half -conscious state of bliss, I made notes in my journal with doodles, notes and a visual of the chakra system using all the colours of the rainbow.

Afterwards we gathered our things and carried on with our trek, walking in silence to allow what had emerged to resonate and settle. It was a beautiful experience and I found a new level of deep spiritual energy connecting me to the surroundings.

Recently I’ve been reintroduced to the chakras. In term 1 of our teacher training we spent some time learning about life-force energy, the yogic physiology of prana and so much more. It’s been fascinating.

I want to capture what I’ve learnt and what has really landed for me so far. Some of the definitions I’ve used below come from TKV Desikachar’s ‘The Heart of Yoga’ and I’ve used bits and pieces from my teacher training notes plus other readings to pull it all together.

Prana = life force energy

Prana is the life force behind all movement. Sounds so grand and broad, but what actually, is it? To help me understand prana, I started with something more tangible - pranayama.

Sometimes it’s helpful for me to understand the sanskrit terms to break down the meaning. Here, ayama means ‘stretch’ or ‘extend’ (the action of breathing) and prana means ‘that which is infinitely everywhere’. When we do the breathing exercises in yoga, or pranayama, we’re working with the breath to regulate it so that we can calm and focus the mind for meditation. Pranayama is conscious breathing and it’s a formal, advanced practice.

Getting back to prana…this subtle life force energy is the foundation of all life, of the whole universe. Prana is the vitality that flows continuously from somewhere inside us, filling us and keeping us alive. This mystical energy that you can’t see or touch or taste is at the heart of yoga.

Kundalini = coiled or serpent energy

This was another element that started out being a little confusing for me in terms of how kundalini is defined.

The free flow of prana through our bodies can sometimes be blocked, and that block is symbolised by a coiled snake, or kundalini. This depiction of a coiled snake at the base of the spine runs through all of the descriptions of kundalini, but they differ a little depending on the context.

Not only is kundalini a way to describe energy blocks, it’s also a style of yoga. Kundalini yoga is an ancient practice to help channel and transform your energy. As you practice kundalini yoga, you awaken the coiled snake and pull the energy up from the base of the spine to the crown of your head. This free flow of energy helps you connect to an expanded state of consciousness.

Kundalini is also described as the divine cosmic force in our bodies, a form of divine feminine energy or shakti, the ‘great goddess’.

Sometimes kundalini is referred to as a state of consciousness accompanied by the concept of avidya or ‘incorrect comprehension’. Avidya is the root cause of the obstacles that prevent us from recognising things as they really are.

So there are a few ways to describe what’s going on with the blocks or obstacles to free-flowing prana, depicted by kundalini. However it’s described, we need to understand kundalini to understand chakras. And to understand the chakras, you need to understand nadis.

Nadis = subtle energy channels in the body

Prana can enter or leave the body through channels, or nadis, and where those channels meet or intersect in the body, are the chakras. Kundalini spirals up the spine through the main chakras.

There are heaps of nadis or invisible channels running through our bodies – there are supposed to be around 72,000! But there are three that are the most important.

Ida (pronounced ‘eeedah’)

This is the feminine or moon energy channel that starts on the left side of the muladhara or root chakra (we’ll get to that!) and ends in the left nostril. This channel has a cooling and calming effect.

Imagine this ‘pale pathway’ channel running up and down the spine, criss-crossing from left to right.

Pingala

Starting on the right side at the base of the spine and ending in the right nostril, this channel is associated with the sun and masculine energy.

Imagine this ‘reddish pathway’ crossing over the spinal column and back a few times.

This criss-crossing action is important to understand, because at certain points the ida and pingala channels that are winding up and down the spine connect at specific places along the spine.

Sushumna

This is the central ‘most gracious’ channel that runs straight up from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. THIS is where the chakras come together – those places where ida and pingala cross over each other and meet up. The sushumna nadi is regarded as the ideal path for prana to flow throughout the body.

Chakras = wheel or spiral

The points where these three nadis meet in our bodies are the charged energy centres called chakras. The sanskrit translation means a ‘wheel’ or ‘ring’ and there are seven main chakras located along the central axis of the spine.

So we finally got there! Now the concept of chakras makes a bit more sense. There is more to uncover, like the details around each chakra and their symbolism, spiritual meaning and inner work that can take place when you dive in.

More to come…