3.32 Samyama on the Tortoise Channel

3.32 Meditative integration (samyama) on the tortoise channel (kurma nadi) gives steadiness.

In Sanskrit, a nadi is a vein, artery, nerve, or any other tubular organ in the body. Some people suggest that the nadis are indeed the channels throughout the body, including the circulatory system, lymphatic system and nervous system, as well as the more recently discovered primo-vascular system; other people state that the system of the nadis is not a physical system but a virtual system of patterns of life energy (prana) flowing through your body. According to Vyasa, the tortoise channel (kurma nadi) is below the pit of the throat. Other authors indicate that the tortoise channel extends from the lower abdomen to the throat underneath the sushumna nadi (mentioned in aphorism 3.27), while still others say that it is a tortoise like bundle of nerves in the chest area, the lotus of the heart. The result of samyama is translated here as steadiness. However, as it tends to happen with many Sanskrit words, the meaning of the word used here, sthairyam, include solidity, hardness, constant, fixedness, stability, permanence, and steadfastness. A few other meanings useful in understanding this sutra include delight in, calmness, tranquility, perseverance and patience. To apply this sutra, you may inquire into the kurma nadi:

• Does it exist?
• Can you feel it slightly below the top of your sternum and a half inch in?
• Or is the kurma nadi a channel connecting your lower abdomen to your throat?
• Could it be at the center of your trachea?
• Or is it perhaps at the center of your chest?
• Is focusing on one of these areas more effective in creating an experience of solid tranquility and calm permanence without rigidity?
• Does this practice enhance your capacity to persevere and be delightfully constant?
• Is a deep meditation on any of these areas resulting in tranquil physical stillness?

As usual, one more way of exploring the meaning of this sutra is by chanting it.
You can choose to chant it in its traditional form with some of the words coming together:

3.32 kūrmanāḍyāṃ sthairyam
कूर्मनाड्यां स्थैर्यम् ॥३२॥

Another option is to chant each word in the sutra individually:

• kūrma
• nāḍyāṃ
• sthairyam

If you prefer, you may listen to the podcast:

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