Pingala, the Solar Channel

Pingala is, in the yogic and tantric physiology of India, the second of the two channels that spiral around the central Sushumna, the counterpart of the lunar Ida. Pingala is the solar channel, warm, active and associated with the right side, with the sun, with the energising and outward-directed functions and with the vital and active aspects of the self. In the classic description it winds from the base of the spine up to the region of the right nostril, crossing Ida repeatedly and meeting it at the energy centres along the spine, the two together forming the caduceus-like pattern often compared to the twin serpents.

The alternation of the breath between the nostrils is read as the alternation of these two channels, and the balancing of solar Pingala and lunar Ida, so that the central channel may open, is a central aim of pranayama and of hatha yoga. The nadi doctrine is ancient, part of the subtle anatomy described in the tantric and hatha-yoga texts, and the solar and lunar channels are among its oldest and most consistent features.