Krishnamacharya on Kundalini

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Krishnamacharya on Kü¿alin¿ explores a distinctive teaching of 'the father of modern yoga', T. Krishnamacharya. Whereas most yoga traditions teach that kü¿alin¿ is a serpentine energy that rises, Krishnamacharya defined it as a serpentine blockage that represents avidy¿ (spiritual ignorance) and prevents pr¿¿a (breath or life-force) from rising. In this book, Simon Atkinson draws on over 20 years of study and practice under teachers following Krishnamacharya, and combines the analysis of quotations from yoga workshops with a detailed study of traditional Sanskrit texts. He traces the textual origins of Krishnamacharya's position to two sects of Vi¿¿u-worshiping temple priests, and shows how it is compatible with a stream of South Asian thought where snakes represent something to be overcome. Atkinson challenges claims that Krishnamacharya's position can be found in his religious tradition of ¿r¿vai¿¿avism. He questions the tradition's reliance on textual sources, showing how the coherence of Krishnamacharya's position can only be maintained by employing elaborate arguments and rejecting texts that teach otherwise. He also explores how Krishnamacharya's teaching on kü¿alin¿ influences how yoga is practised. He argues that Krishnamacharya's position is best viewed as a model for experience that guides practice.

Simon Atkinson has been practising and studying yoga in the broad tradition following Krishnamacharya since the 1990s and has been learning Sanskrit since 2001. He teaches academic English and academic skills at the University of Cambridge.