Life is filled with energy—everything and everyone we interact with is energy. What Kundalini Yoga does is awaken you to the power of that energy. It doesn’t take long to see how this practice affects the energy and emotion in your body. 

To understand how Kundalini works you first have to understand the idea that you have a snake in your spine. The Sanskrit word kundal means “circular or the curl of the hair of the beloved,” and it can be a noun for a coiled snake. The feminine kundalī means a ring, bracelet, or coil of rope. This concept was adopted as kundalinī into Hatha yoga in the 15th century.

So when we talk about Kundalini we’re referring to “a spiritual energy or life force located at the base of the spine,” which is usually conceptualized as a coiled-up serpent. Of course, this is a wonderful visual but you don’t have an actual coiled up serpent in your spine! The practice of Kundalini yoga is supposed to arouse the sleeping energy from its coiled base through the six chakras along the spine, and through the seventh chakra, or crown.

It’s quite simple - we generate the pressure of the praana and mix it with the apaana, and when the two join together, you generate heat in the praanic center.

Praana is the life force of the atom. Apaana is elimination or the eliminating force. These are two forces, positive and negative, right and left. When we join these two energies, and we mix the praana with the apaana, that pressure we create brings the Kundalini up.

Through breath and applying locks of energy, the release, direction, and control of the flow of energy is achieved.

From the rectum to the vocal cord is known as the silver cord. From the neck to the top of the head is the passage. From the third eye to the pineal gland is the gold cord. To make the energy rise in these cords and passages, you must apply hydraulic locks. You have to put pressure.

You know how we take the oil out of the ground? Put a lot of pressure and that pushes the oil out. Think of your spine as a staircase of energy.

All it is, is creating the praana in the cavity and mixing it with apaana and taking it down (as we create pressure to push the oil) and bringing it up. This is Kundalini.

When you put it all all together, you have a kriya—or a set of exercises. Kriya means “action,”. Kriyas are designed to activate the navel, spine, and put pressure on the meridians (energy points). They work on your glandular system and your nervous system.