There are three channels in the subtle body: the left channel, called the Ida Nadi; the right channel, called the Pingala Nadi; and the centre channel, called the Sushumna Nadi.

The left channel is the moon side, the feminine side, the receptive side, the intuitive side, the side of the past and of the emotions.  When people are operating too much in the left side they tend to become lethargic, depressed, over-emotional and disorganised.  They can tend to be oppressed by others. 

The right channel is the sun side, the masculine side, the side of action, the logical side, the side of the future and of planning.  When people are operating too much in the right channel they can tend to become overactive, futuristic, rigid, dry and lacking in compassion, or angry and aggressive, and can tend to oppress others.  Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) tend to be right-sided due to the overactivity.

The Centre channel is the present, the channel of spiritual ascent, of growth, of maturity, of inspiration, of integration.  People operating in the central channel are assertive rather than aggressive or submissive.

Most people usually swing from the right side to the left and back again. They are not able to be “in the present”, which is “thoughtless awareness”.  When people are thinking it is usually about the past or about the future.  Being in the present means not thinking. 

It is only after Self-realisation that we can truly be in the present.  Self-realisation is the process by which the Kundalini, the residual life-force in every human being, which resides in the sacrum bone at the base of the spine, rises up through the Sushumna Nadi. It then enlightens the limbic area (the part of the brain that controls the autonomic nervous system, which controls our heart beat, our digestion, etc and is concerned with instincts), and flows out of the fontanelle bone area at the top of the head to unite with the All-pervading Power of the universe. 

This process of Self-realisation allows us to achieve total balance for the first time in our lives, and allows us to be in the present, to be awake and alert but without thinking and without reacting to our environment.  It allows us to enjoy the silence, the stillness, the space between the thoughts.

As we begin to meditate and to strengthen this connection after attaining our Self-realisation, we become less reactive to things that happen in our everyday lives.  Problems of the right side, such as anger and road rage, automatically disappear.  Left-sided problems of shyness and lack of confidence gradually fade away.  In thoughtless awareness our bad habits and negative qualities drop out, and our positive qualities are revealed and enhanced.  In addition, we can enjoy the peace and the joy that are not affected by whatever is happening on the outside, in our environment.

Sahaja Yoga meditation, developed in 1970 by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, teaches a simple way of achieving Self-realisation and thoughtless awareness.  Five minutes’ meditation in the morning and ten minutes at night is enough for us to start to feel the benefits of this truly life-changing technique.  According to the wishes of Shri Mataji, Sahaja Yoga is always taught free of charge. 

Kay Alford