Nabhi Kriya: Ignite Your Inner Fire and Personal Power

Do you feel like it’s time to make a change and take more ownership of your life? Nabhi Kriya is all about stepping out of victimhood and making bold, empowered choices for yourself. 

Ancient yogis knew that when people were on a journey and wanted to transform, shift, and see big change, that the most effective way to do that was to work with the energy around their navel. This part of the body is where the 72,000 nadis, or energy channels originate. You can think of this as the Grand Central Station (the hub) of the energetic pathways in your body. 

If you want to change your energy in a very short amount of time or step into your own strength – you work with your core. Nabhi Kriya is the most simple and effective way to do this.

The yogis say that prana generated at the navel is vastly more intelligent than the intellect or the conscious mind. Allow the intelligence of this energy that you’ll generate to penetrate every cell of your body.

What Is Nabhi Kriya?

To put it simply, Nabhi Kriya is a firestarter and is a great choice for a 40 Day Kriya practice. Nabhi Kriya is designed to stimulate the nerves in and around the navel point and supports you in developing strength in your abdominals while also igniting your personal power, confidence, determination and courage.

Nahbi, a Sanskrit word that translates to “navel” or “center,” refers to the nerve plexus (chakra) at your navel point. You can think of Nahbi as your Third Chakra (Manipura) aka Solar Plexus Chakra. Opening of this chakra is associated with transformation, courage, and personal power.

Nabhi Kriya stimulates the Solar Plexus and in the process increases and balances the circulation of energy in this area of the body which can help to improve digestion, and enhance focus. The Third Chakra is often considered the body’s “second brain” and plays a significant role in emotional regulation, confidence, and mental clarity.

While we often think of the fire element aspect of the Solar Plexus Chakra (the color associated with this chakra is yellow), Manipura is often translated to mean “city of jewels” or “resplendent gem.” I love to think of it in this way as I work in this kriya. Nabhi Kriya is a challenge. There is no getting around that fact. Imagine as you work in Nahbi Kriya that you are polishing the gem that charges you up, making it (and your inner fire energy) super sparkly. Send your self-confidence and joy soaring.

Nabhi Kriya Benefits

Nabhi Kriya is an energizing core builder. In addition to empowering and stabilizing your core muscles, some of the benefits Nabhi Kriya bestows on the physical body and energy system include:

1. Improved digestion: When you activate the Solar Plexus you help stimulate your digestive system and this may help to relieve constipation and other digestive issues.
2. Energy balance: Your work with the Third Chakra can help you experience regulation in energy levels and overall vitality. 
3. Emotional well-being: The Solar Plexus is associated with emotions like confidence and self-esteem. Strength work in this area of the body may help reduce fear, stress, and anxiety. It encourages action, transformation, and inner power. Nabhi Kriya is believed to help release negative emotions which leads to a greater sense of emotional balance.
4. Increased mental clarity: It’s believed that balancing energy at your Solar Plexus can also sharpen your mind, improve concentration, and heighten decision-making abilities.

Caveats to Consider for Your Nahbi Kriya Practice

Please be aware that as you begin to work with Nahbi Kriya you may begin to experience some uncomfortable feelings like irritability and exhaustion.

Nahbi Kriya and Irritability

There is a belief that as humans we hold anger in our navel. Many people report that they feel emotions like anger in their stomach area, however, there is no concrete evidence of this. It’s worth considering, given that there are strong nerve pathways between the gut and the brain. This may mean that stress or emotions can manifest as physical sensations in the abdomen.

Given this connection, your work on the Third Chakra with Nahbi Kriya may ignite latent energy in your Solar Plexus. It is not uncommon to feel irritable or angry as you begin to work with this kriya. Know that you may experience grumpiness and it will pass as your system settles and finds balance. Pay attention to how you react to situations and take extra care with yourself and others as you engage with this practice.

Nahbi Kriya and Exhaustion

In relation to extra self-care, make sure you take time for a full savasana after you finish Nahbi Kriya. Aim for a full 10-15 minutes in this posture to let the energy that’s stirred up in your body integrate and balance properly. This is an important step. Without this time for rest, some people report that Nahbi Kriya, especially as a 40 Day practice, can leave them feeling exhausted.

Take my quiz to learn if YOUR kundalini energy is awakened 👇

How to Practice Nabhi Kriya

No doubt about it, Nabhi Kriya requires and builds core strength. Make sure that you take lots of breaks as needed. Gift yourself grace and compassion. 

I provide ranges below for how long you should aim to practice each posture. Start with the lower amounts and increase to the longer exercises as you become stronger and more familiar with the kriya. 

Focus on your breath. As you inhale think Sat and as you exhale think Nam. You can also try to keep your focus on your Third Eye. This will help you stay present with your experience in this kriya and keep your mind from wandering or fixating on the physical work.

Nabhi Kriya resets the electromagnetic field around your body. I invite you to feel for an experience of this as you lay in savasana at the end.

Follow along in this YouTube video, or read through the steps below.

Tune In

As with many Kundalini practices, we begin by tuning in. Check out my best Tune In tips in my free workshop, Refine Your Tune In.

Are You Chanting Correctly? Refine Your Tune with Me! 👇

Alternate Leg Lifts (Supports the lower digestive area)

Lay on your back with a slight pelvic tilt (no sway or arch), legs straight and extended on the ground. Arms alongside your body, palms facing down on the ground.

Inhale and lift your right leg up above you, forming a 90 degree angle between your torso and leg. Exhale, lower your leg back to the ground.

Repeat with your left leg.

Go at a slow pace. Please prioritize form, structure and steadiness over speed here.

Continue alternate leg lifts for 5-10 minutes.

You may want to experiment with placing your hands, palm face down, underneath your seat to reduce strain in the low back. 

Double Leg Lifts (Supports the upper digestion area and solar plexus)

Stay laying on the ground.

Reach both arms straight up above your torso (arms and torso will form a right angle). Palms of the hands face toward each other. Maintain this arm position for the duration of this posture for balance and energy.

Inhale both legs up to form a 90 degree angle with your body. Exhale and lower both legs to the ground. 

Repeat for 3-5 minutes.

These can be pretty difficult as you first work with this posture. You are invited to take the same hand placement here as you did with Alternate Leg Lifts. Ensure that you engage your abdominals and pull your waist down into the floor as you lift and lower your legs. This will help to stabilize you. Another great way to modify this is to not take the legs down very far. The closer the heels get to the ground, the more challenging this move becomes and the more potential strain on the low back.

Knees to Chest (Eliminates gas and relaxes the heart)

Remain laying on the ground. Bring your knees into the chest, wrap your arms around your legs and hold, head rests on the ground.

Relax in this position for 3-5 minutes. Breath naturally.

Contract / Extend (This charges and changes the magnetic field around the body)

Begin with knees pulled into your chest.

Inhale, open your arms straight out to your sides and onto the ground. Engage your core while you simultaneously extend your legs to form a 60 degree angle with the floor. Maintain engagement in your legs and hold them together, point your toes.

Exhale, return to the starting position, with knees bent, wrap your arms around your legs as they return to your chest. Let this become like a moving meditation.

Repeat for 7-15 minutes.

Rapid Leg Raises (Sets the hips and lower spine)

A variation to Alternate Leg Lifts. 

Hold your left knee into your chest.

Inhale to lift your right leg to 90 degrees, exhale and lower leg. Do this as fast as you can. Modify the range of this movement as you need to in order to protect your low back.

Repeat for 1 minute. Then switch legs to so that your left leg comes in knee to the chest and continue for 1 minute.

Repeat the exercise one more time on each leg.

Root Lock Stretch (Supports the entire spine, spinal fluid and the aura)

Come to stand.

Reach your arms over your head, think of hugging ears with your arms. Palms face the ceiling. Deep breath in.

Exhale, apply Mulbandh and bend forward from your hips. Bring your palms to touch the ground. Bend the knees.

Inhale deep breath in and come back to standing.

Repeat for 2 minutes, then increase the pace for 1 more minute.

Savasana

Totally relax on your back in savasana or meditate for 10-15 minutes.

If you choose to meditate, I invite you to visualize a luminous, golden, bright yellow energy around the area of your navel. Practice deep breathing into your power center, know that whatever you encounter in your life, you always have the choice to take responsibility. You may even like to meditate on one of my favorite Solar Plexus Chakra affirmations or try this Solar Plexus Chakra meditation.

To complete: Bring your arms above your head and stretch. Really feel into the stretch, from your fingers to your toes. Take a few deep breaths. Do a cat stretch to each side. Rock up and down on the spine several times. Feel the entire length of the spine being massaged as you rock. Finally, come to sit in Easy Pose to close your practice with a long Sat short Nam mantra.

Want to practice Nabhi Kriya with me? You’re in luck! I have the kriya available for you on my YouTube channel. I also go into more depth around this kriya in Kundalini University, my and Guru Singh’s Kundalini 200 HR Teacher Training.

Closing Thoughts

Ultimately, Nahbi Kriya is asking you, will you do the work to access your inner power? 

Make the choice to stay committed, clear, and bold.

Nabhi Kriya invites you to take the reins of any situation you face and to shed the cloak of victimhood or disempowerment. This is your invitation to take charge.

Yoga offers so many opportunities to work with the energy of Solar Plexus. You’ll find that you resonate with some more than others. Here are a few of my YouTube channel practices that are my favorites. I’d love for you to explore them to see which support your the most: Sat Kriya, Kundalini Yoga for Abs and Core Strength, and this Solar Plexus Chakra Challenge class.

Want to learn more about Kundalini yoga? Check out my Kundalini Demystified course.