Subtle body

A traditional model of an inner body composed of channels, winds, and vital essences. Contemplative systems use it to describe experience, practice, and transformation beyond ordinary anatomy.

Nāḍī: A channel in South Asian subtle-body models through which vital forces are said to move. Nāḍīs are the pathways that give the model its inner anatomy.
Prāṇāyāma: A family of yogic practices that regulate or refine breathing. Breath regulation is used to influence the winds associated with subtle-body channels.
Upanishads: A collection of Sanskrit philosophical texts composed in ancient India. Some early discussions of inner breath and vital force appear in Upanishadic thought.
Gross body: The ordinary physical body understood through sensory experience and biological description. Traditional subtle-body systems distinguish this visible body from their inner energetic model.
Prāṇa: A vital force associated with breath and life in South Asian traditions. Prāṇa is commonly described as moving through the subtle body's channels.
Tummo: A Tibetan tantric practice involving breath, visualization, and inner heat. Tummo provides a specific example of working with channels and winds.
Tantra: A diverse body of South Asian religious traditions emphasizing ritual, mantra, and transformation. Tantric traditions elaborated subtle-body maps as frameworks for practice.
Anatomy: The study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Subtle-body channels are contemplative structures, not structures established by anatomical dissection.
Vāyu: A vital wind or movement of life force, classified into functions in South Asian systems. Vāyus specify the different movements attributed to subtle-body winds.
Vajrayana: A form of Buddhism using tantric methods, ritual, and visualization toward awakening. The subtle body is a key framework in many Vajrayana completion-stage practices.

Linked from 13 pages