Ida, Pingala and Sushumna, Yin and Yang
Ida and Pingala Nadis are the subtle Nadis that carry the Sukshma Prana.
Ida is the left channel. It transmits the flow of chitta, the mental energy of consciousness. Because the lunar force is said to pass along this channel, it is also called chandra nadi. Ida acts to quieten and cool the body, and its functions correspond to the parasympathetic nervous system
Pingala is the right channel. It is the transmitter of prana or positive energy from the sun, and therefore is also known as surya (sun) nadi. Pingala emerges exactly opposite to ida on the right side of the sacro-coccygeal plexus and terminates at the root of the right nostril.
Ida nadi controls all the mental processes while pingala nadi controls all the vital processes
These opposing forces need to be balanced.
When they are balanced prana moves to sushumna.
They meet with Sushumna Nadi at the Muladhara Chakra and make a knot there. This junction of three Nadis at the Muladhara Chakra is known as Mukta Triveni. Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvati correspond Pingala, Ida and Sushumna Nadis respectively. This meeting place is called Brahma Granthi. Again these meet at the Anahata and Ajna Chakra. Triveni at Prayag corresponds to this meeting point where the three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvati meet
The Sushumna is a Nadi in the centre of the spinal column. Within the Sushumna nadi there are three more subtle channels: Vajra, Chitrini and Brahma nadi through which Kundalini moves upwards running up the body from just below Muladhara chakra to Sahasrara chakra at the crown of the head.
When the breath flows through Sushumna, the mind becomes steady.
Yin and Yang
In the Eastern philosophy we have a similar concept of Yin and Yang.
Yin and yang. Two opposing forces who are not opponents but complimenting each other flowing constantly in the Universe. The white, Yang, representing the male, similar to Pingala, sunlike; and the dark, Yin, symbolizing the female, akin to Ida, moonlike.
Each swirl contains a dot, the seed of the opposing force, representing the impermanence in the Universe, that nothing stays the same as the world flows through its constant changes. The symbol of yin-yang in Taosim is a reminder to the practitioner to accept such shifts and transformations and be able to soften in this process, letting go of the struggles.
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