Pranamay Kosh

The pranamay kosh is the energy body of man. Kosh means a sheath. The pranamay kosh, made of pran, or life, substance, electrifies and gives life to our physical body. The pranamay kosh carries a charge indicated by the invisible aura or energy field surrounding the body. Just as an electric current creates an electric field around it, the pranic currents also create an auric field surrounding the body.

The energy body has 114 chakras, or energy wheels, to distribute prana to various body parts through nadis, or microscopic vessels, which are invisible to the eye. Some of these main chakras are aligned along the spinal cord.

This pranic system is used in Reiki, Chinese alternative therapies like acupuncture and acupressure, and the Indian marma therapy for healing purposes. The pranamay kosha is energised by pranayam. When the pranamay kosh is energised through yog to a threshold limit, the kundalini, or the spiritual evolutionary energy, is awakened in man, at the bottom coccyx region of the spine called Muladhar (base support for energy) in yogic terms.

However, pranayam alone may not always be sufficient to raise the Kundalini. According to the scriptures, the Kundalini Shakti gives the yogi extraordinary inte llect, creative talents and spiritual knowledge. However, it could be dangerous to try to awaken it without a guru. Adi Shankaracharya, Sant Jnaneshwar and many great saints and mystics have extolled Kundalini Shakti.