Nadi

Nadis

(Energy Channels)

In Sanskrit, word ‘Nadi’ means current or flow. The plural of the word ‘Nadi’ in Sanskrit is ‘Nadiyan’ and some books started referring to them as ‘Nadis’.  The ancient Yogic and Ayurveda Scriptures say that there are 72000 Nadis present in the subtle body. Once a yogi attains success, he gets access to his own subtle body. Through the subtle body one can see these Nadis light lines through inner vision.

In the modern age, these Nadis are called as nerves but these are made of subtle elements. Most important Nadis among all are three:  Ida, Pingala and Sushumna. Among these three, Sushumna is the most important.

Sushumna Nadi is located in the center of the spinal cord. Though physically, we cannot see the same. It starts from the base of spine, i-e Mooladhar Chakra. From Mooladhar Chakra it passes through spine and completes its journey in Sahastrar Chakra (Crown Chakra) in upper head.

Ida Nadi starts from Mooladhar Chakra. This Nadi is on the left hand side of the body. This is invisible but very powerful. This Nadi travels through left of Sushumna Nadi, crossing each chakra through left and right consecutively in a serpentine manner. This Nadi completes its journey into the Agya Chakra (Third eye chakra) from the left side.

Pingala Nadi originates from the right side of Mooladhar Chakra. This Nadi travels through right hand side of the body and cross each chakra in a serpentine manner. This Nadi terminates at Agya Chakra (Third eye chakra).

Two opposite energies are there in our body systems, like negative and positive. These are being represented by Ida Nadi and Pingala Nadi.  Ida Nadi represents and possesses passive, introvert and feminine characteristics, which is also known as "Chandra Nadi (Moon Channel)". Pingala Nadi represents and possesses active, extrovert and manly characteristics, and is also known as "Surya Nadi (Sun Channel) ".

Nadis and changes in the breath flow patterns

Everyone does many tasks every day. Human activities are affected by the change in the flow in Nadis. These flow changes from one Nadi to another in about every 60 to 90 minutes. But through some yogic practices  and techniques, one can alter these Nadis flow, as per their wish.

For example, if your Pingla Nadi  is more active and you need to perform some mental work, you can deliberately change the flow to Ida Nadi so as to have more suitable energy available for mental work. Similarly one can alter other way round according to your wish and requirements.