Within Kundalini Yoga, the techniques of breathing exercises, visualizations, mudras, bandhas, kriyas, and mantras are focused on manipulating the flow of subtle energy through chakras.
In both the Hindu kundalini and Buddhist candali traditions, the chakras are pierced by dormant energy residing near or in the lowest chakra. In Hindu texts, she is known as Kundalini, while in Buddhist texts she is called Candali or Tummo (Tibetan: gtum mo, “fierce one”).
Information courtesy of Wikipedia.
Description
According to William F. Williams, Kundalini is a type of religious experience within the Hindu tradition, within which it is held to be a kind of “cosmic energy” that accumulates at the base of the spine.
When awakened, Kundalini is described as rising up from the muladhara chakra, through the central nadi (called sushumna) inside or alongside the spine reaching the top of the head. The progress of Kundalini through the different chakras is believed to achieve different levels of awakening and a mystical experience, until Kundalini finally reaches the top of the head, Sahasrara or crown chakra, producing an extremely profound transformation of consciousness.
Swami Sivananda Saraswati of the Divine Life Society stated in his book Kundalini Yoga that “Supersensual visions appear before the mental eye of the aspirant, new worlds with indescribable wonders and charms unfold themselves before the Yogi, planes after planes reveal their existence and grandeur to the practitioner and the Yogi gets divine knowledge, power and bliss, in increasing degrees, when Kundalini passes through Chakra after Chakra, making them bloom in all their glory…”
Kundalini Experiences
Yoga gurus consider that Kundalini can be awakened by shaktipat (spiritual transmission by a Guru or teacher), or by spiritual practices such as yoga or meditation.[19][page needed]
There are two broad approaches to Kundalini awakening: active and passive. The active approach involves systematic physical exercises and techniques of concentration, visualization, pranayama (breath practice), and meditation under the guidance of a competent teacher. These techniques come from any of the main branches of yoga, and some forms of yoga, such as Kriya yoga, Kundalini yoga and emphasize Kundalini techniques.
The passive approach is instead a path of surrender where one lets go of all the impediments to the awakening rather than trying to actively awaken Kundalini. A chief part of the passive approach is shaktipat where one individual’s Kundalini is awakened by another who already has the experience. Shaktipat only raises Kundalini temporarily but gives the student an experience to use as a basis.
Information courtesy of Wikipedia.