A framework of awakening
Hatha Yoga Pradipika 3.104 onward introduces several names for Kundalini and describes awakening Shakti. The Gheranda Samhita’s corresponding section also places Kundalini at the base and relates awakening to a path of ascent. These belong to the traditions’ account of subtle forces and liberation.
A practice composed of other elements
The texts connect this subject with posture, breath, and bodily operations. Gheranda additionally links Shakti Chalana with Ashvini and Yoni mudra; Sivananda describes particular versions in his mudra chapter. The overlap explains why a list of names cannot serve as an adequate instruction manual.
How this library presents it
The page explains the relationships without constructing an awakening exercise, a forceful-breath drill, or a promise of extraordinary experiences. It does not identify tingling, dizziness, or another bodily sensation as proof of Kundalini. Read the chakra guide for its distinctions between subtle-body traditions and anatomy, and the Kumbhaka page for the retained-breath vocabulary.
Sources and scope
Main edition
Hatha Yoga Pradipika, chapter 3
Passage for this reading
- Hatha Yoga Pradipika, chapter 3
Sanskrit verses 3.104–120.
Svātmārāma; Sanskrit and Pancham Sinh’s 1914 translation. English paragraph numbering sometimes diverges from the Sanskrit verses.
- Gheranda Samhita, Sanskrit
3.49–60.
SanskritDocuments transcription. Coordinates refer to this transcription; Mallinson’s edition uses different numbering in chapter 3.
- Kundalini Yoga
“Mudras and Bandhas: 11. Shakti Chalana Mudra”.
Swami Sivananda; Divine Life Society, tenth edition 1994, authorized web edition 1999. Traditional teaching, not clinical evidence.
What this edition covers
An original reference essay comparing the traditional descriptions. It is not a translation of the entire source chapter.
Limits and differences
The prose above identifies material differences. Traditional explanations and promised attainments are attributed to their sources; they are not clinical evidence. Review date: September 11, 2026.