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The nadis are subtle energy channels in the body. Various authors, ancient and modern have maintained that they are either completely non-physical, being part of the "astral body", or else associate them with various physical systems, including the nerves, the circulatory system etc. Motoyama suggests that they correspond to fluid filled connective tissue. He argues that the location of the sushumna in the center of the spinal cord precludes a direct association with the physical nerves. Other authors have suggested systems of both gross and subtle nadis. The nadis do seem to be closely related, and probably include, the East Asian chi meridians, which are much fewer in number. Unlike the meridians the nadis are not defined in the limbs. [TC]
Swami Rama suggests that the nadis are the energetic, or subtle body, correspondent to the physical nerves. [SB]
In the Yoga Upanishads the number is given as anywhere from 1,000 to 350,000, with 72,000 being most common. Of these ten, fourteen, or fifteen are deemed of particular significance. Combined these yield about 20 nadis listed in Motoyama's chart. They are said to originate from the Kandasthana, a circular region around the navel, flowing from there along the sushumna (sides, front and back), terminating in the sensory organs (nose, eyes, ears, tongue) and in the genital and perennial areas. Motoyama notes that the navel and all the connective tissue originate from the embryonic endoderm, while the nervous system originates from the ectoderm. In at least one Upanishad (the Chandogya) the gross nadis are described as being filled with a fluid that responds to the suns light. [TC]
Motoyama suggests that the Upanishads appear to locate all the nadis on the back because the clairvoyant techniques were not very accurate, and mostly showed them in relation to the sushunma. It might also be that while lateral differences where discernible, depth would be hard to perceive accurately. The result may have been a tendency to project all the lines onto a plane. [TC]
Satyanada states that the petals of the manipura chakra all correspond to nadis [TC]. I have heard it suggested elsewhere (Didi AM?) that the lotus aspect of the chakras, is due to the nadis connecting into them.
The main nadis are as follows:
Swami Rama describes it as splitting into two channels above the larynx, one passing through the Ajna chakra, the second along the back of the skull. These are said to terminate in the ventricles, or the Cavity of Brahma. [SB]
It is the proper channel for the kundalini to rise along. [LK]
This nadi is associated with the Moon, with coolness, and a decreased metabolism (physcial calming). [LK]
Although many contemporary sources describe the ida and pingala as spiraling about the sushumna, intersecting in the chakras, none of the old sources referred to by Motoyama describes any intersections. Most of these sources have them terminating in the ajina chakra. They have been compared to the sympathetic nerve trunks that wrap around the spine. Motoyama associates these with the inside (secondary) lines of the Urinary Bladder meridian. [TC]
Swami Rama describes the Ida and Pingala as criss-crossing up the spine. He says that ordinarily there is prana flowing in these two channels, but not in the Sushumna. [SB]
This nadi is associated with the Sun, with heat, and an increased metabolism. It is particularly unpleasant when the kundalini rises up the pingala rather than the Sushumna. [LK]
Motoyama discounts the one reference to the big toe for the hastijihva and yashasvini nadis, as this would imply association with the Spleen or Liver meridians, which run up the front side of the body. [TC]
In the Yoga Upanishads the number is given as anywhere from 1,000 to 350,000, with 72,000 being most common. Of these ten, fourteen, or fifteen are deemed of particular significance. Combined these yield about 20 nadis listed in Motoyama's chart. [TC]
In Tibetan tradition there are also 72,000 nadis (lun), with three main channels up the spine, central, and right and left. These start just below the navel and go over the top of the head to end at the nostrals. [CWL]
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