The Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga

Two works on Laya-yoga, translated from the Sanskrit, with introduction & commentary. Written by a leading authority on Shaktic & Tantric thought, this book is considered the prime document for study & application of Kundalini yoga. It probes the philosophical & mythological nature of Kundalini, the esoteric anatomy associated with it, the study of mantras, the chakras, or psychic centers in the human body, etc. Sir John George Woodroffe (1865–1936), aka Arthur Avalon, was a British Orientalist whose work helped to unleash in the West an interest in Hindu philosophy & Yogic practices. His The Serpent Power is a source for many modern Western adaptations of Kundalini yoga practice. It's a philosophically sophisticated commentary on, & translation of, the Satcakra-nirupana ("Description of & Investigation into the Six Bodily Centres") of Purnananda (dated c.AD 1550) & the Paduka-Pancaka ("Five-fold Footstool of the Guru"). The term "Serpent Power" refers to the kundalini, an energy said to be released within an individual by meditation techniques.