The kundalini is envisioned in Tantric Yogic prac-tice as a serpent at the base of the spine with her head turned downward. She is the embodiment of the GODDESS. When the practioner has learned to control the breath in its channels (NADIS) in the proper way, the serpent is made to turn her head upward and begin the ascent up the spine, piercing as she goes the energy centers or CHAKRAS in their various locations along the spine. This piercing activates energies of the body to create occult powers and spiritual awakening. When the kundalini goes beyond the body to a place 12 fin-gers above the head called SAHASRARA, or the place of the thousand lotuses, it joins in erotic embrace Lord SHIVA, engendering complete enlightenment and liberation in this world.
Further reading: Harish Johari, Chakras: Energy Centers of Transformation (Rochester, Vt.: Destiny Books, 2000); Sir John Woodroffe, trans. and ed., The Serpent Power, 4th ed. (Madras: Ganesh, 1950).
Encyclopedia of Hinduism. A. Jones and James D. Ryan. 2007.