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routes, and others are short and simple. For the purpose of awakening prana, several important psychic passages must be purified and opened before beginning the actual practice of prana vidya.
Usually the first psychic passage to be opened and experienced is part of the frontal passage, which extends between manipura kshetram at the navel and vishuddhi kshetram at the throat pit. This is the passage used in the first stages of ajapa japa. The full frontal psychic passage extends from mooladhara to ajna, just as the sushumna nadi extends in the spine. The chakra kshetrams, trigger points for activation of the chakras in the spine, lie along this frontal passage.
The most powerful psychic passage is the sushumna nadi, which rises straight up through the centre of the spinal column. This is the path through which the awakened kundalini travels from mooladhara to sahasrara. The main chakra points and the experiences of their awakening are situated along this passage. The points located along the spine are known as chakra sharira, body of the chakra.
After sushumna, the ida and pingala nadis are the most important psychic channels. However, only pingala is used as a psychic passage. If ida were used in this manner, the mental force would become dominant, which could cause loss of pranic vitality and mental stability.
Ajna chakra is the meeting place of ida, pingala and sushumna nadis, from where the three proceed as one flow of consciousness. After ajna there is no difference between prana and consciousness; there is just cosmic awareness, moving upward.
The practice of prana vidya enables the practitioner to experience the flow and colour of prana as it passes upward through the pingala passage. Sometimes it is seen like the strand of a spider's web, shining and translucent at dawn. One may also see tiny points of luminous light or sparkling jewels suspended on a silver thread. They are the subtle and mysterious chakras located along sushumna. These experiences arise gradually as one purifies oneself through yogic
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