Harnessing Energy
The 4th Yama: Brahmacharya
Brahmacharya /bruh-mah-CHER-yah/ is one of the more challenging yamas to understand and apply to modern life, and often the most ignored by modern yogis.
A quick web search for a definition of “brahmacharya” provides a variety of interpretations centered around sexual energy - “pure conduct”, “right use of energy”, “impeccable conduct”, “celibacy”, “sexual restraint”, “stay in conduct with one’s own self” - as well as the literal translation “to follow Brahman”, referring to Hindu god Brahman, the creator - i.e., behaving in a way that aligns with divine energy. Brahmacharya is broadly understood as harnessing and “rightly” directing one’s sexual energy, either by abstaining from all sexual activity (partnered or solo) or through mindful use of sexual energy (we’ll get into what that means further down).
In a culture that has historically been sexually repressed and restrictive, where many people struggle to openly explore their innate sexuality without shame or fear, adding ideas like “purity” and “restraint” to the conversation seems oppressive. If a yogi’s life journey involves coming to terms with and celebrating their sexuality, how do they reconcile that with a yogic precept suggesting celibacy? Brahmacharya is often perceived by western yogis as judgment or admonition over something deeply personal and emotionally-charged - and it feels easier to bypass this yama entirely instead of digging in to understand the true intention.
Obviously, my own understanding of brahmacharya is what I’m going to share here. I’m not claiming this is the only or right way to understand and practice this yama - just that this is what makes sense to me after decades of study, practice, and energy work. My personal preference is to think of brahmacharya as “harnessing energy”, which gets to the root of the intention without feeling restrictive or judgmental to modern ears.
What is Kundalini?
Caduceus of Hermes
In the yogic version of the Human Energy System, we carry a primal life energy called kundalini, visualized as a coiled serpent sleeping in the root chakra (1st chakra, located in the pelvic floor at the end of the spine). Kundalini energy consists of a feminine energy called ida and a masculine energy called pingala. When activated through pranayama, asana, and meditation, the ida and pingala unravel from their coil and spiral up the spine, crossing each other at the major energy centers we call the chakras. (The representation of the ida and pingala coiling up the spine is strikingly similar to the caduceus, the staff of the Greek god Hermes - still used today as a symbol for medicine and healing - with two snakes entwining up a staff, representing the need for balance and homeostasis in the body to achieve optimal health.)
When we awaken our kundalini through yoga, it rises up the spine, activates our chakras, and we experience higher states of consciousness - i.e., enlightenment. Tantra and tantric yoga (as outlined in the Kama Sutra) are yoga practices that focus entirely on brahmacharaya as the path to enlightenment; in modern western culture, these practices are often used simply as a way to spice up a couple’s sex life, but the original intention is entirely spiritual and energetic.
I feel it’s important to recognize and understand the distinction between this yama’s root intention and the judgments or assumptions our cultural background may cast on it: brahmacharaya isn’t an admonition to abstain or restrict sexual impluse for moralistic reasons, and it’s not simply a way to enhance sexual pleasure. Brahmacharya is about awakening kundalini energy - life force energy, sexual energy, the balance of masculine and feminine energies, the primal drive to be alive - and harnessing instead of expending it.
Harnessing Energy
Orgasm is the most common way to experience a spark of this kundalini energy, hence the emphasis on brahmacharya as a practice of controlling sexual energy. With a single-climax orgasm, that energy is experienced in one moment and we’re left feeling good, but often depleted (i.e., it drains our kundalini). There are more lasting, transcendental experiences available through learning to harness sexual, or kundalini, energy. When we practice yoga regularly - learning breath control, awakening the core, and unblocking the chakras - orgasms begin to last longer, become more intense, and can be experienced repeatedly. A common metaphor for the experience: a single orgasm is climbing a mountain peak and immediately descending, whereas the transcendental experience occurs like a mountain chain - kundalini rises, the initial peak is reached, there’s a slight descent, then it rises to another (often higher) peak and this process repeats again and again. With long-term practice, this sustained ecstatic state can potentially last for hours.
Brahmacharya trains the body to reach the state where these multiple, lasting peaks are possible. Breath is key, as is learning to let go; many people hold their breath and tense up during the peak experience of orgasm, which inhibits the rise of kundalini and ensures a burst of energy release as opposed to harnessing and prolonging that altered state. Because of differences in reproductive anatomy, men have more of a challenge when it comes to sustaining this state: orgasm is usually concurrent with ejaculation, which expends kundalini and biologically ends the sexual experience. Tantra and brahmacharya provide techniques that, with dedicated practice, allow men to not only reach orgasm without ejaculation, but also sustain the energetic experience for long periods of time.
While kundalini energy is, by definition, primal life-force or sexual energy, it isn’t limited to sexual activity or experienced only as orgasm; these are simply the most direct ways to get the kundalini rising. Chakra work, energy work, breath work, bodywork, shamanic work, meditation - all of these are paths to awakening the kundalini and opening physically and mentally to the energetic experience of kundalini. Even people who’ve never done yoga or any other energetic practice have experienced “kundalini awakenings”.
When the kundalini is free-flowing and fully activated (“awakened”), there’s a certain “high on life” experience that comes with it: a deeper sensitivity to the energy within and around you, a felt sense of expansiveness and connection to everything, an exuberance for life that isn’t forced by the mind. If a person hasn’t prepared their body and mind for the experience with a practice like yoga - if they have a spontaneous kundalini experience - it can be quite scary and disorienting, and may feel a little like mania.
By practicing brahmacharya, we “follow Brahman” (the creator of all things, the birther of life) in harnessing our sexual energy (the primal impulse to create life) to experience our innate divinity (enlightenment). Most people, even yogis, don’t usually experience the full awakening of kundalini - true enlightenment - but cultivating our bodies and energy fields through yoga expands our sensitivity and awareness to invite the experience in.
Practicing Brahmacharya
While I don’t go into detail about this yama in group classes, we do practice harnessing energy on the mat!
Pranayama teaches us how to control our breath, move breath within our bodies, and sync up our bodies’ movements with our breath - all of which facilitate the rise of kundalini. Asana opens up stuck, blocked areas of the body, thereby unlocking the chakras and energy flow throughout our system. Corework (abwork and bridges) stimulates the rise of kundalini through the pelvic and solar plexus chakras. Learning to relax and release into intense sensation down-regulates the fight-or-flight response and teaches the body how to let go enough to allow kundalini to rise during sexual experiences.
If you’re interested in exploring the more overtly sexual aspects of brahmacharya on your own, you can try the following awareness and relaxation techniques:
Breathing - notice if you hold your breath during the climb to or peak of orgasm. Learn to breathe in and out (doesn’t have to be slowly or deeply!) during the experience. Initially, choosing to breathe may decrease arousal - the nervous system isn’t used to breathing during this process and reacts by numbing the sexual response - but this is why it’s a practice that requires dedication! It may be more effective to practice breathing into orgasm solo rather than with a partner.
Controlling Orgasm - also known as “edging” or “peaking”, this is the practice of climbing the mountain and stopping short just before reaching the peak, often done repeatedly before allowing the full climax. This re-regulates the fight-or-flight responses (which are an integral part of reaching orgasm), trains your body to regulate orgasm, and allows the kundalini to rise higher and higher. Long-term practice of this technique allows for stronger, more sustained orgasms, as well as more open energy centers throughout the system.
Letting go - this is undoubtedly one of the biggest hurdles to tantric experience we face in our culture. Many people struggle with their minds and bodies blocking the basic experience of sexual pleasure due to anxiety, intrusive thoughts, trauma resurfacing during sexual experiences, vaginismus, erectile dysfunction, exhaustion, depression, etc., etc., etc. Hearing “just let go” as a solution can sound daunting or even dismissive of these very real issues - but, like everything in yoga, it’s a practice that ultimately frees us. If this is something you choose to practice during sexual experience, take it in small steps. It helps to start by practicing solo, but can also be done with a patient partner willing to focus only on your experience. Lay in a comfortable position, where you can focus on your body relaxing and allowing your breath to open up. As you climb toward the peak, be aware of where your body tenses - feet, legs, glutes, shoulders, neck, etc. - and choose to let go of the tension moment to moment. As you first practice letting go, you may find your arousal decreasing when you relax. With consistent practice, the nervous system will become familiar with the sensation of release and stop blocking the orgasm experience. The next stages of letting go would be to let your body to be almost floppy while you reach the peak, allowing it to move organically, and to allow your voice and jaw (5th chakra) to open up while you experience orgasm. For social reasons (living wall-to-wall with other people, etc.), we learn to clamp down with the jaw and close off the throat during orgasm to avoid making sound, but these tensions cut off the kundalini and often shut down the sustained energetic experience.
Kama Sutra - for anyone with a fair amount of flexibility, a trusted partner, and very sturdy furniture, this ancient text can take practitioners to the next level of brahmacharya with a variety of coital asana (positions) to unlock and stimulate the rise of kundalini. The poses are practiced with the previous bullet-points in mind; they’re intended to create the sustained orgasmic experience that leads to long-term energetic expansion and that heightened state of awareness we call enlightenment. (This is next-level stuff, however - like everything else in yoga, it’s best work with the modifications above until you develop some familiarity and control with them before attempting the more advanced versions!)
As always, if you’ve had interesting experiences with brahmacharya or questions about how to approach it, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!