What are the Nadis?

Nadis in yoga practice have a place as important as the one of pranayama and alternate breathing, for example. Nadi in sanskrit words means vibration. Even if the control of this breath requires much more time and experience, both concepts are essential in a coherent practice. Read this article to learn more about the principal nadis : Ida, Pingala and Sushumna.

What is a Nadi?

In the Indian tradition, our essence is composed of multiple «institutions».

We will stop this study in the vibrating crown chakra, Nadis and the famous Kundalini body, that are related to the crown of the head.

We are not designed to perceive them in normal times. Humans are too excited about their natural needs of their subtle body. However, by properly practicing yoga, we can go beyond the limits set by nature, the sun and the moon. This body is basically made of nadis. These little tubes that transmit our energy themselves form chakras where they gather.

Their place in yoga

We can visualize nadis as thousands of very fine central energy channels that cross our bodies and even extend.

The numbers in the yoga text are different, whether you have 72,000 or 35,000, the practice of yoga doesn’t help much in practice.

Without realizing it, the Nadis are extremely important in our lives. They convey our subtle energies that will make our important functions work, our emotions are produced, our survival mechanisms are fed, and many other things.

By using electricity, which is similar to Nadis, people can more easily understand how they work.

Usually we don’t see electricity, but electricity is always around us, and we often use it without understanding how it works. We used pipelines for transportation and activated our machines. Our energy is the same. We can’t see them, but they put all of our mechanisms into practice.

The root chakras are the places where the Nadis concentrate, they form a crossroads of energy.

Shiva Svarodaya tells us:

Near the navel is a bulbous centre. From there, 72,000 arteries spread throughout the human body.

Ten of these arteries are more important and of these ten, three have a predominant role. They are called Idâ Nadi, Pingalâ Nadi and Sushumnâ nadi.

How to purify these Nadis?

A nadi is composed of 3 superimposed layers, like an electric wire.

• sira: the inner layer
• damani: the intermediate layer
• nadi: the outer layer and the whole

This precision provides us with interesting information. It is said that in yoga, injuries, mental or physical discomfort can cause blocked nostrils. By striking the wire, the energy flows will not spread to the affected area. We can imagine that this is like us. It is interesting to work on your nadis from an early age, and it is possible by finding a dedicated child training course.

In the context of pranayama, this information is also important. When we start to breathe, it is better to do it gradually and to practice alternate nostril breathing. Excessive pressure can cause damage to the nostrils.

It is also said that the nostrils have the shape of energy tubes, very similar to veins. It is recommended that people who resume exercise walk quietly and do not prepare too much vibration for the venous system. The same is true for nadi shodhana pranayama, which greatly increases the flow of energy in the nadis. Whoever wants to go further will take care of his horse.

The practice of âsanas and pranayama generally aims to balance and increase our energy in these nadis. Especially in Idâ and Pingalâ, because of their abundance of energy, they will merge with Sushumnâ in the center of the Nadis. This allows us to enter into a state of deep meditation through rigorous practice. 

 The other Nadis to know

Have you learned more about what nadis are? We hope so, because that means we did our job properly. You have certainly understood that this is a rather vast subject that needs to be explored in order to master it, but all of this is obviously at hand for a motivated and well-rounded yogi.

If through this article you have expanded your knowledge, then you will probably be interested in joining our great Community which is growing day by day. By simply joining us by email, you will be directly informed of our latest articles like the one on the padottasana, offers on our shop, and will receive exclusive gifts that we will soon reveal to you!