Chakras
Nov 30, 2020
Lalana (soft palate chakra)
Other Names: talumula, talu, talana, kala chakra
Location: resides between the bindu chakra and the vishuddhi chakra, just above the soft palate of the mouth
Mudra: Nabho Mudra and Khecari Mudra
Form: Lalana has 12 red or white petals that correspond to the virtues of respect, contentment, offense, self-control, pride, affection, sorrow, depression, purity, dissatisfaction, honor and anxiety.
Characteristics
Lalana chakra or talu chakra is an obscure psychic center closely associated with the vishuddhi chakra. When the amrita (nectar of life, similar to prana) drips down from the bindu chakra, it is held first in the lalana where it is regulated before it finds its way down to the vishuddhi.
Some texts suggest that from Lalana, the amrita either goes down to Manipuraka into the jathara agni (digestive fire) where it is burned down, or amrita goes to the Vishuddhi chakra where it is purified into the nectar of immortality.
Lalana chakra is both a receiver of astral consciousness, as well as the main conduit in our communications with astral entities.
Lalana Chakra and Vishuddhi Chakra
Lalana is the 'fork on the road' because it is where the amrita coming from bindu divides into either good or bad experiences in life. When vishuddhi chakra and lalana chakra are not awakened, life tends to be painful - the nectar becomes poison or dark energy. But when these 2 chakras are awakened, then the nectar remains in the form of bliss. Life becomes a source of joyful experiences. Such is the importance of the vishuddhi-lalana chakras.
Khechari Mudra
Khechari is an extreme mudra where the practitioner gradually cuts the frenulum of the tongue and pulls it out with a tong to elongate it. Over time, the tongue will be longer and not be too attached to the base of the mouth. The purpose is to get the tongue to roll back beyond the soft palate and into the nostril cavity, going up. This process awakens the lalana chakra and activates amrita flow. Though it is a physical technique it induces more subtle changes on a psychic level.
Nabho Mudra
Nabho, though not as powerful as khecari mudra, is also designed to activate the amrita flow. The practioner simply rolls his tongue up and presses the tip of the tongue against the soft palate - this activates lalana and triggers amrita flow.
Lalana Chakra resides on the roof of the mouth just above the soft palate
Pranayama-Meditation Practice to Awaken Lalana Chakra (Amrit Pan Method)
- sit in a comfortable asana -
padmasana (full lotus),
ardha padmasana (half lotus),
siddhasana,
vajrasana, with straight back and upright head
- keep the eyes closed
- do nabho mudra, pressing the tip of the tongue against the soft palate - firmly but not forcefully
- exhale to empty the lungs completely
- concentrate on the manipuraka (navel chakra)
- inhale with ujjayi breath (long slow deep steady breathing while constricting the throat to 'funnel' the air through) and visualize that the power of the breath is pushing the amrita fluid up the spine from the manipuraka chakra, passing through anahata, then to vishuddhi. The in-breath should finish here. Hold the breath
- do maha bandha mudra (squeeze the mula bandha, then squeeze the uddiyana bandha and then the jalandhara bandha with straight back)
- this time, concentrate on the amrita become ice cold in the vishuddhi chakra while holding the breath and performing the maha bandha mudra
- on the ujjayi exhale, feel the cool nectar flowing up along the nectar passage from vishuddhi to the lalana chakra. Exhalation should finish at the lalana chakra
- feel the breath and nectar disperse and evaporate at the lalana
- immediately, focus awareness back to the manipura chakra and repeat the process 9x
Ending Thoughts
Lalana's crucial role is regulating ambrosia, another name for the amrita or nectar of life. Additionally, since there is a physical mudra (nabho mudra and khecari) that directly works on it (unlike svadisthana or manipuraka), developing Lalana seems more accessible in activating amrita flow. Whenever I do my maha bandha mudra where the tongue is free, I always include the nabho mudra. Or I just might meditate with the nabho mudra engaged. Lately, there has been a surge of vitality in me...not unlike that of an 18-year old flushed with hormonal outburst. I'm doing many things in my practice so I can't say it's a direct result of amrita flow, but I wouldn't be surprised.
--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
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Reader Comments:
Parvati
(May 15, 2024) Greetings and bright blessings. I have been visiting your site. Thank you for the wisdom shared. My comment is a question, in regards to the Lalana chakra virtues. I am unaware and confused as to how offense, self-control, pride, sorrow, depression, dissatisfaction, and anxiety are 'virtues'. I sincerely hope you can enlighten me.
Gigit
(May 16, 2024) That's a nice catch. To be honest, that was an answer provided by a reader in Quora, "Closely related to Vishuddha is a minor chakra, located in the roof of the mouth, called Lalana. It is described as having 12 red or white petals that correspond to the virtues of respect, contentment, offense, self-control, pride, affection, sorrow, depression, purity, dissatisfaction, honor and anxiety.". My knee-jerk reaction to that is to ask the same question you asked.
But here's my take on that...and this might be a stretch. 'Offense, pride, sorrow, depression, dissatisfaction, and anxiety' are all at one end of the 'virtue spectrum'. On the other end are 'respect, contentment, self-control, affection, purity, and honor'. Why on the same spectrum? In yoga (much like Friedrich Nietzsche), you only know happiness because you have experienced sadness - thus both are on the extreme ends of the same spectrum. Thus all those contrasting traits fall under the 'virtue spectrum' - just extreme ends of it. Why are they present in our existence? Because we need them to learn from our human experience (instead of being pure consciousness). Why the human experience? Because pure consciousness by itself doesn't know the taste of chocolate. My 2 cents.
I'm not suggesting that 'I"m there'. I'm simply saying that I'm wrapping my head around these esoteric concepts to guide me when life becomes challenging.
Sources:
- Swami Satyananda Saraswati - A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya
- Ranjay Ghosh - What is Lalana chakra?
- Dean Ramsden - Talu Chakra
- Ancient Science - Chakra
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