Kundalini conscious energy (Yoga)

The awakening of the spiritual energy of consciousness (kundalini) is the ultimate aim of hatha-yoga, kundalini yoga and various forms of tantra. Spiritual energy is said to lie in the lower abdominal region, described as a serpent coiled at the base of the spine, blocking the energy channel, shushumna. When kundalini is awakened it travels up the spine and each spiritual centre (chakra) is charged with power. This condition, when all the chakras are activated, is referred to as [chakrabandha]

. If kundalini has risen up to the top of the head the yogi experiences illumination in the unsurpassable joy of samadhi. The experience may be undergone in any of five ways, described as: (i) creeping upward like an ant; (ii) swimming upward freely like a fish in the sea; (ii) leaping up to the top of the head like a monkey onto a branch; (iv) hopping upward from one branch to the next like a bird; (v) zigzagging steadily upward like a snake.