Kundalini is a Sanskrit word meaning either "Coiled up" or "Coiling like a Snake". There are a number of other translations of the term usually emphasizing a more serpent nature to the word "Serpent Power".

The Caduceus symbol of coiling snakes is thought to be an ancient symbolic representation of Kundalini Physiology. The concept of Kundalini comes from the yogic philosophy of an ancient India and refers to the mothering intelligence behind yogic awakening and spiritual maturation.

According to the yogic tradition Kundalini is curled up in the back part of the root chakra in three and one-half turns around the sacrum. Yogic phenomenology states that Kundalini awakening is associated with the appearance of bio-energetic phenomena that are said to be experienced somatically by the yogi.