Chakra Anusandhana

Chakra Anusandhana: Session 3 of the 20 Tantric Kriyas

With Mugs McConnell

Last month I introduced you to the practice of moving your mind along the 2 psychic passageways known as Arohan and Awarohan. This practice was a foundation to many of the future practices I will introduce to you. If you haven’t been practicing this through the month, please review it again on our SOYA You Tube channel here so you are reminded of the rotation of consciousness.  Arohan and Awarohan on YouTube.

So now we continue onto the second Tantric Kriya, Chakra Anusandhana. You can read more about this on page 149 in Letters from the Yoga Masters. “Anusandhana” means to investigate. We are investigating the locations of the chakras from a perspective of inner knowledge, not just where we think they are as seen in a book. This is the key focus of this practice. We want to “feel” the location of the chakras energetically within our own body. In this way we are moving beyond the physical idea of where these chakras are, and attaining an inner knowing of them, individual to our self.

Sit in a comfortable seated position with the spine erect. Close your eyes and begin to observe your natural flow of breath. When you feel ready, look down and begin, moving the head in the process, breathing in slowly up arohan, the ascending psychic pathway from the muladhara to svadhisthana, manipura, anahata, vishuddhi, and across the throat to bindu at the back of the head. As you come to each chakra, repeat its name and try to feel the inner location. Then exhale down the awarohan passageway from the bindu, over to ajña, across the throat to vishuddhi, and down the back of the body to anahata, manipura, svadhisthana, and muladhara.

 Repeat this process 9 times. Then relax and enjoy the sensations resulting from the practice.

To be guided through this practice, follow this video below.

Hints and Reminders.   

• The flow of consciousness is elliptical, and in a figure 8.
• In this practice the eyes are closed to facilitate the inner investigation.
• Your head moves with the process – you begin with your chin lowered and you have a downward gaze toward muladhara. As you inhale up the chakras, the head moves up. At the throat, the chin is parallel to the floor, and when your attention moves to the bindu, the chin is slightly upward. The head moves in reverse as you exhale back down.
• The process should be without strain. If coordinating the inhalation up and exhalation down is too challenging, then just do the inner investigation of each chakra breathing normally. Then try again with the proper breath movement.
• The more familiar you become with the location of each chakra, the easier this becomes.