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How to Meditate
Meditation is something everyone can do. Practicing can help improve your health and wellbeing.
Explore MeditationKundalini Meditation
What is Kundalini Meditation and how do you do it? Discover free guided practices for breathwork, chakra activation & spiritual awakening.
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What is kundalini meditation?
Kundalini meditation is a transformative spiritual practice aimed at awakening the primal, feminine energy coiled at the base of the spine. Typically combined with kundalini yoga, the experience of kundalini meditation can lead to profound insights, heightened awareness, and, ultimately, spiritual enlightenment. While some kundalini meditation sessions may vary, they usually include the following:
Using the techniques above, practitioners can awaken and raise kundalini energy — shakti rising — through the chakras, also known as the energy centers along the spine.
Begin your kundalini journey: Explore Insight Timer's collection of kundalini meditations led by expert teachers around the world. Discover how kundalini can take your spirituality and meditation practice to a new level. Try one of our free kundalini meditations from the app below.
Principles of kundalini meditation: pranayama, energy flow, mantras and chanting
Breathwork (pranayama)
Breathwork, also known as pranayama, is a fundamental principle of kundalini meditation. This practice involves yogic breathing techniques designed to regulate and control the flow of prana, or life force energy, within the body. These techniques not only help to increase oxygen intake and improve respiratory function, studies confirm, but also help calm the mind, enhance focus, and facilitate the movement of kundalini energy along the spine.
Breath of fire
The breath of fire is a breathing exercise that involves rapid and rhythmic breaths through the nose while engaging the diaphragm. The breaths are quick and powerful, emphasizing the exhale and creating a steady and consistent flow of breath. This breathing technique is believed to detoxify and energize the body, increase oxygenation, and activate kundalini energy.
Long deep breathing
Long deep breathing involves slowly breathing into the lower abdomen to expand the diaphragm and fill the lungs, followed by a controlled, complete exhalation. This technique can increase oxygen supply, calm the nervous system, and provide stress relief. In kundalini meditation, long deep breathing is core to preparing the body for deeper meditation and energetic activation.
Seed sounds
Mantras and chanting are integral aspects of kundalini meditation, often involving the repetition of "seed sounds" known as bija mantras. These seed sounds are powerful syllables or phonetic vibrations that correspond to specific energy centers (chakras) in the body. Examples of bija mantras include "Sat" for the crown chakra, "Vam" for the sacral chakra, and "Ram" for the solar plexus chakra, among others. The rhythmic repetition of bija mantras can help quiet mental chatter, deepen meditation, and enhance spiritual awareness.
Chanting
As mentioned above, chanting involves repeating mantras aloud or silently in a rhythmic pattern. This practice helps to deepen concentration and create a meditative state conducive to spiritual exploration. Mantras used in kundalini meditation can be traditional Sanskrit phrases or sacred sounds that carry vibrational energy, such as "Sat Nam" (meaning "truth is my identity") or "Om Shakti Om" (invoking the divine feminine energy). Chanting these mantras during meditation assists in aligning the practitioner's energy, promoting inner balance, and creating a deeper connection to the divine.
Awakening
Kundalini roughly translates to “coiled one,” referring to the concentrated primal energy wrapped around the base of the spine. With kundalini meditation, you can awaken and activate that energy. Through intentional practices such as breathwork and movement, kundalini energy is encouraged to flow and rise upward along the central energy channel (Sushumna).
As the kundalini energy ascends, it purifies and balances the chakras along the spine, promoting physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. This awakening can be a transformative process that:
- unlocks unmanifested potential
- expands awareness
- facilitates spiritual growth and enlightenment
Chakras
Chakras are subtle energy centers located along the spine, each associated with specific organs, emotions, and spiritual qualities. As mentioned above, kundalini energy can have purifying and balancing effects as it ascends through the chakras. The aim is to work from the root chakra at the base of the spine to the crown chakra at the top of the head, clearing blockages and allowing energy to flow freely.
Prana
Prana is the vital life force that animates all living beings. It is believed to permeate the universe and the human body, flowing through energy channels called nadis and interacting with the chakras. Kundalini meditation aims to cultivate and direct prana for spiritual awakening and healing. By engaging in pranayama techniques, practitioners enhance the flow of prana, which supports the awakening of kundalini.
Kundalini meditation practices
Awaken your kundalini energy with Insight Timer’s kundalini tracks and courses. With 200,000 free tracks and 80+ new guided meditations added daily, there’s something for any stage of your journey. Here are some kundalini meditations to get you started.
Silent meditation
One of the most common types of kundalini meditation is silent meditation. This involves sitting in a comfortable position with your eyes closed and focusing inward on the breath or a specific mantra or intention. Silent meditation aims to:
- quiet the mind
- cultivate inner stillness
- deepen awareness of the present moment
This can help us connect with our inner selves, access higher states of consciousness, and experience profound peace and clarity.
Guided visualization for raising kundalini energy
In guided visualization, a meditation instructor leads practitioners through mental images and scenarios. You’re encouraged to vividly imagine scenes, sensations, or experiences that evoke specific emotions or intentions. This practice can help:
- deepen relaxation
- enhance concentration
- manifest desired outcomes
- promote healing and spiritual growth
Enhance your practice with kundalini yoga
Asanas are physical poses used in yoga and meditation to prepare the body for the awakening of kundalini energy (and other energies) in the body. Each asana is believed to activate specific chakras and release energetic blockages. We’ll review a few below.
Cobra pose
The cobra pose, known as bhujangasana in Sanskrit, is a fundamental asana in kundalini yoga and meditation practices. This posture involves lying on your stomach and lifting your chest off the ground using the strength of your back muscles. Incorporating the cobra pose in your practice can help activate the root and sacral chakras, facilitating energy flow and promoting vitality and grounding during meditation.
Camel pose
The camel pose, or ustrasana, is a powerful asana that opens the heart center and promotes emotional release and energy flow. Performing the camel pose involves the following steps:
- kneeling on the floor
- arching your back
- reaching for your heels with your hands
This posture helps expand the chest, increase lung capacity, and stimulate the throat chakra, enabling better communication and self-expression.
Kriyas
Kundalini kriyas refer to specific sets of yogic and meditation techniques that include:
- physical postures (asanas)
- breathing exercises (pranayama)
- hand gestures (mudras)
- chanting (mantras)
- meditation to activate energy centers (chakras)
We explain some of the most common kriyas below.
Are you interested in trying a moving Kundalini practice? Check out this guided meditation.
Spinal flex
In kundalini yoga and meditation practices, the spinal flex kriya is a dynamic exercise that involves rhythmic flexing of the spine while sitting in a cross-legged position. As you inhale, you arch your spine forward, lifting your chest and rolling your shoulders back. On the exhale, you round your spine back, bringing your chin towards your chest. This movement helps to release tension and stimulate the flow of prana throughout the body.
Learn how to practice gentle spinal movements with this guided kundalini meditation:
Ego eradicator
The ego eradicator kriya is a powerful technique aimed at reducing ego-driven thoughts and promoting spiritual awareness. Incorporating this kriya into your kundalini practice can help stimulate the third eye chakra (Ajna), clear energy blockages, and enhance focus and intuition during meditation.
This kriya can be performed by:
- sitting in a comfortable position
- raising the arms overhead at a 60-degree angle
- placing the fingers in a mudra, with the thumbs pressing against the palms and fingers extended
- practicing the rapid breath of fire (detailed in an earlier section)
Benefits of kundalini meditation
Increased energy
Kundalini breathing techniques, studies confirm, can help enhance blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain, naturally boosting energy levels. Many people who practice kundalini meditation report feeling more awake, alert, and energized after their sessions.
Improved flexibility
Kundalini yoga meditation, studies confirm, can improve flexibility by incorporating specific yoga postures and movements known as kundalini kriyas. These dynamic practices involve stretching and bending to target different muscle groups and joints, helping release tightness and increase suppleness and ease of movement.
Reduced stress
Research has shown that the combined practices of kundalini positively affect mental health by decreasing stress levels. By activating the parasympathetic nervous system and triggering the pineal gland in the brain, kundalini meditation and yoga help counteract the effects of stress hormones like cortisol. Regular kundalini practice can be used as a form of self-care to enhance resilience to stressors, allowing individuals to manage daily challenges more effectively.
Enhanced focus
Kundalini meditation requires sustained attention to the breath, mantras, or visualizations, which helps train the mind to stay present and focused. The meditative state achieved during kundalini practice can help reduce mental overload and distractions, allowing for more profound levels of concentration.
Heightened awareness
Regular practice of kundalini meditation can help activate regions of the brain associated with introspection, self-awareness, and transcendence. This can lead to:
- a heightened sense of awareness
- meaningful spiritual insights about the nature of existence
- a greater understanding of yourself and your purpose
Connection to your higher self
Kundalini meditation can facilitate an intense connection to one's higher self and spiritual essence, nurturing a sense of unity with the universe. By using kundalini practices to elevate consciousness, you can strengthen your intuition and tap into your inner wisdom.
Resources and tools for kundalini meditation
Insight Timer’s free meditation app
If you’re looking to enhance your kundalini meditation practice further, Insight Timer’s free meditation app offers hundreds of thousands of meditations from top teachers around the world. Access different types of meditations and yoga practices to uplevel your wellness routine and spiritual journey.
It’s essential to find your community and embrace support from those on similar spiritual journeys. Explore Insight Timer’s many groups to connect with others steeping themselves in the teachings of kundalini meditation. For example, join one of these specialized kundalini rising groups.
Premium kundalini meditation tracks
Dive into Insight Timer’s structured meditation courses focusing on kundalini meditation. Here are a few to get you started:
Disclaimer: This article is for information only and should not be considered as medical advice. If you have concerns about anxiety or any other conditions mentioned in this article, please seek a medical professional for help.
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References
Arambula, P., Peper, E., Kawakami, M., & Gibney, K. H. (2001). The physiological correlates of Kundalini Yoga meditation: a study of a yoga master. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 26(2), 147–153. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1011343307783
Dey, A., Bhattacharya, D. K., Tibarewala, D., Dey, N., Ashour, A. S., Le, D., Gospodinova, E., & Gospodinov, M. (2016). Chinese-chi and Kundalini yoga Meditations Effects on the Autonomic Nervous System: Comparative Study. https://reunir.unir.net/handle/123456789/11235
García-Sesnich, J., Flores, M. G., Ríos, M., & Aravena, J. G. (2017). Longitudinal and immediate effect of Kundalini Yoga on salivary levels of cortisol and activity of alpha-amylase and its effect on perceived stress. International Journal of Yoga/International Journal of Yoga, 10(2), 73. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.ijoy_45_16
Rajam, A., Saradha, M., & Nagarasan, K. (2017). Influence Of Asana And Simplified Kundalini Yoga On Flexibility On College Woman Students. International Journal of Yoga and Allied Sciences, 6, 2278–5159. https://indianyoga.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/v6-issue2-article3.pdf
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