Source
*A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya Swami Satyananda Saraswati
The nadis are pathways along which prana or
bioplasmic energy travels. In acupuncture
these pathways are known as meridians (at
least in modern western terminology). Various
ancient yogis said that there are seventy two
thousand nadis in the psychic body. Others
said the number is in the region of three
hundred and twenty thousand. Whatever the
number, we can definitely say that they are
numerous.
Of these nadis three are particularly important.
They are known as the ida, pingala and
sushumna. The most important one is the
sushumna, which runs within the spine2. It
should not be confused with or identified with
the physical spine that we are normally aware
of. This nadi runs from the region of the
perineum (between the anus and sexual organs)
to the region of the brain. It connects the
mooladhara chakra (chakra meaning pranic
or psychic centre) in the perineum to ajna
(mid-brain) chakra at the top of the spine
passing through various other chakras enroute.
Again these chakras should not be
regarded as physical entities; they are part of
the bioplasmic or pranic body. As such they
are located within but are not of the physical
body.
Emanating from the left side of the mooladhara
chakra and passing through the
intervening chakras in turn in a curving, crisscrossing
path, finally ending up on the left
side of the ajna chakra, is the ida nadi. Emerging
from the right side of the mooladhara chakra
and passing in a similar but opposite sense to
that of the ida nadi, up to the right side of ajna,
is the pingala nadi.
The ida and pingala nadis are the pathways
of the two different aspects of prana. They
represent the two opposite poles of the same
energy. The ida is denoted as being negative
and is also known as the chandra (moon) nadi.
The pingala, on the other hand, is positive and
is often called the surya (sun) nadi. Associated
with these two nadis are various attributes or
qualities.
These two nadis are associated with the two
nostrils: pingala with the right and ida with the
left. The ancient yogis, with their detailed
awareness of the human body, found that the
flow of breath did not pass equally through
each nostril. In fact at any given time it was
more than likely that the flow of air through
one nostril would be greater than the other
nostril. This is an aspect of our body that even
physiologists have never seriously researched.
No one seems to have asked the question:
"Why have we got two nostrils?" There should
be a good reason and perhaps it is directly
related to ida and pingala. Incidentally, the
reader can test this for himself taking care to
remove all mucus from the nose. Merely block
each of the nostrils in turn and you should
find that the flow is greater through one than
the other. If you don't find this to be so, then
try at a later time for occasionally the flows are
equal.
The yogis of antiquity discovered that when
the left nostril had the predominant flow of air
then the pranic flow in ida nadi was also
predominant. And when the right nostril had
the greatest flow the pingala had the greatest
flow of prana. The flow of air through the
nostrils and consequently the pranic flow
continually alternates. Under normal conditions
the flow through the left nostril is
predominant for about an hour and then the
right flow becomes predominant for about an
hour. During changeover from one to the
other, flows are equal and the prana flows
through the sushumna nadi. This generally
lasts for a few minutes. These flows can also be
artificially altered in response to individual
needs. The study of these flows, their meaning
and implications in life is the subject of the
science of swara yoga.
