In Yoga, the "nadi" system is not the physical body nervous system.
It is the most important component of the subtle body.
It is the channel of activated energy; it is an etheric channel.
The energy that is carried by this channel is called the "prana" energy.
We may refer to a nadi - as wireless energy in motion.
The term "prana" can also stand for "nadi" - since both mean energy in motion.
A nadi, in short, is a very subtle astral tube.
According to Yoga, the cosmic energy, which lies in the micro and macrocosms, runs through the nadies.
The nadis are the positive and negative currents of the cosmic energy.
Since prana energy flows through the nadis - they are called "prana-vahini".
According to the "Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika" - there are about 72,000 nadis, which spread and move the cosmic energy in the body.
The chief nadis are ten in number.
They are :-
1) ida, 2) pingala, 3) sushumna, 4) gandhari, 5) Hasti-jihva, 6) purusha, 7) Yashasvini, 8) alambusa, 9) kuhu, and 10) shankhini.
All these nadis start from the "kanda" above the anus.
The spinal cord tapers down into a bunch of soft threads called "filium terminale" - which is the portion of the "kanda".
The ida, pingala and sushumna are the most important nadis.
The middle nadi "sushumna" has different names like - pillar of fire, shunya / zero position, sting of a musical instrument veena, mula / root / original nadi, Brahma-nadi, Shambhav nadi, jnana - nadi.
The sushumna, which resembles the fine fibre of lotus stalk, passes through the spinal cord - from mula / basic chakra - right up to the crown chakra - the sahasrara.
The yogins consider the sushumna to be just like a tree with its innumerable branches covering the whole of the human body like a network, the root being upward - at the sahasrara (crown) and the branches downward. The aim of the yoga-sadhana practice is to get at this root (for the yoga of - absorption of cosmic energy & connecting with the supreme God consciousness).
The ida and the pingala stand to the left and the right of the sushumna respectively.
Taking their origin from the navel, the ida has its terminus at the left nostril and the pingala terminates at the right nostril.
These two nadies signify opposite poles.
They are described as male-female components within each individual.
The ida and pingala are described as possessing the following contrary characteristics :-
The ida :- left eye, day, exhalation, food, vowel, semen, creation, prana, samsara, shakti, Moon.
The pingala :- right eye, night, inhalation, consumer, consonant, ovum, destruction, apana, nirvana, Shiva, Sun.
[From the book - The Yoga of Sidd
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