Beyond the physical spine that supports the body and houses the spinal cord lies a subtler pathway — the astral spine, or sushumna. This luminous channel is the true highway of consciousness, the vertical axis along which the soul ascends from the base of material existence to the crown of spiritual illumination. And at its very summit waits the practice of Jyoti Mudra — the sealing of the inner light.

The Astral Spine — The Sushumna

The yogic tradition describes three primary energy channels (nadis). On the left is ida, the lunar channel, cooling and receptive; on the right is pingala, the solar channel, warming and active. Between them runs sushumna — the central channel, the astral spine, the pathway of liberation.

The sushumna is not identical to the physical spine, though it runs parallel to it. It exists in the astral body — the template of light that underlies the physical form. While the physical spine is made of bone, the astral spine is made of light; while the physical spine carries nerve impulses, the astral spine carries consciousness itself.

At its base sleeps the kundalini — the coiled spiritual energy that is the potential divinity within every human being. When awakened through Kriya practice, this energy rises through the sushumna, opening the chakras as it ascends, until it reaches the Sahasrara at the crown and the soul realises its oneness with the Infinite.

“The spine and the brain are the altars of God. That is where the candles of your spine are lighted. That is where the light of your soul can be seen.”— Paramahansa Yogananda

Jyoti Mudra — The Sealing of Light

The word jyoti means “light” or “flame” — the divine radiance that shines at the spiritual eye. Mudra means “seal” — a technique that gathers the dispersed rays of attention and seals them at the point of inner light. In essence, the practice turns the attention upward to the point between the eyebrows and rests it there, in the perception of inner light.

For beginners this may appear as a vague luminosity or a sense of pressure at the forehead. With sustained practice, the tradition describes it becoming a brilliant star of light — a five-pointed star within a deep blue field, encircled by a ring of golden light. This is the single eye of which Christ spoke: “If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”

The Role of Jyoti Mudra in Kriya Practice

In the full Kriya system, Jyoti Mudra typically follows the core pranayama. After the rounds of Kriya have drawn the life-force upward through the spinal centres, the practitioner enters Jyoti Mudra to consolidate the awakened energy at the spiritual eye.

This sequence is deliberate: the pranayama awakens and lifts the energy; Jyoti Mudra stabilises it at the sixth chakra. Without this stabilisation the energy might fall back down the spine, dissipating the gains of the practice. Jyoti Mudra is the seal that locks the light in place.

Over time, the regular practice develops the faculty of inner sight. The yogi begins to perceive the astral world — the world of light, colour, and sound that underlies the physical universe — until ultimately all visions dissolve into the formless light of pure consciousness.

The Single Eye

Jyoti Mudra is the gathering of all the scattered rays of attention — dispersed across a lifetime of outward-looking — and focusing them at the one point within where the Divine reveals itself. It is the single eye that fills the whole body with light; and when that light becomes steady and permanent, the soul has found its way home. What is Kriya Yoga? →