Can Yogis Really Float? Secret Behind The Art Of Levitation

Last Updated on February 1, 2023

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This article can be unbelievable or superstitious to someone who has never heard about Yogis floating while in deep meditative states. It is believed that there are still many Aghoris and Sadhus who fly or float at will and they do so through years of Tapasya (which is the self-discipline to achieve higher ends of life).

Our body consists of more than just its physical shell; rather, it has five sheaths (or “Pancha Koshas”) that each contribute to the functioning of the whole. When we die, we shed the annamaya kosha, the food sheath, and the other four koshas, and travel to different realms based on our karma.

Chandogya Upanishad discusses the five Koshas and according to it, the sukshma sareera, also known as the subtle body, assumes the form of the new physical body during the process of rebirth.

However, anyone familiar with Yogic practice will know that a true Yogi is not bound by the constraints of their physical form. From ancient times until now, sadhus and yogis have been able to float through the air, and in this article, we’ll learn their secret.

How Does a Yogi Float in The Air?

A Yogi’s ability to float in the air, or even walk on air, is not the result of a change in the density of his body during intense meditation, but rather the result of the Yogi’s practice of a particular type of Yoga and pranayama (control of prana Vayu). In a number of religious books, this phenomenon is referred to as Vayu-Siddhi or Laghima Siddhi.

There is a book named ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ which is on the life of Yogi Yogananda, where he explains the concept of levitation in Chapter 7. He talks about a levitating Sage named Bhaduri Mahasaya in Calcutta. Yogi Bhaduri Mahasaya was an extraordinary expert in hatha yoga and practiced Bhastrika pranayama because of which he used to float.

The book quotes:

Upendra: “How does he remain in the air, defying the law of gravitation?”


Yogananda/Mukunda: “A yogi’s body loses its grossness after use of certain pranayamas. Then it will levitate or hop about like a leaping frog. Even saints who do not practice a formal yoga have been known to levitate during a state of intense devotion to God.”

“The consciousness of a perfected yogi is effortlessly identified, not with a narrow body, but with the universal structure. Gravitation, whether the “force” of Newton or the Einsteinian “manifestation of inertia,” is powerless to compel a master to exhibit the property of “weight” which is the distinguishing gravitational condition of all material objects. He who knows himself as the omnipresent Spirit is subject no longer to the rigidities of a body in time and space. Their imprisoning “rings-pass-not” have yielded to the solvent: “I am He.”

“A yogi who through perfect meditation has merged his consciousness with the Creator perceives the cosmical essence as light; to him, there is no difference between the light rays composing water and the light rays composing land. Free from matter-consciousness, free from the three dimensions of space and the fourth dimension of time, a master transfers his body of light with equal ease over the light rays of earth, water, fire, or air. Long concentration on the liberating spiritual eye has enabled the yogi to destroy all delusions concerning the matter and its gravitational weight; thenceforth he sees the universe as an essentially undifferentiated mass of light.”

What Are Siddhis And How Does a Yogi Attains It?

According to Shrimada Bhagavatam, the practice of yoga can lead to the attainment of eight different siddhis, also called ashta Aishwarya.

In this holy scripture, Lord Acyuta explains Uddhava the power of every Siddhi. He explains that, three of the eight primary mystic perfections involve changing one’s physical form: achieving aṇimā (becoming smaller than the smallest), mahimā (achieving greatness), and laghimā (achieving lightness).

He further explains, if you master prapti, you can have anything you want in this world or the next, and if you practice prākāmya-siddhi, you can enjoy anything you want, here or in the afterlife. The subpotencies of Maya can be controlled with īśitā-siddhi, and the three modes of nature can be overcome with vaśitā-siddhi, the controlling potency. A person who has mastered kāmāvasāyitā-siddhi is able to obtain anything, anywhere, to the fullest extent of their power.

A person achieves these Siddhies through extreme meditation and devotional practices otherwise it is impossible to attain such power.

According to Sadhguru, there are certain Kriyas through which a person becomes unaffected by Gravity. In one of his interactions, he said that through the vigorous practice of Hatha Yoga one can do it but it is something that a Yogi does in private as this miracle is not to grab someone’s attention or be cool in front of people. This art of levitation is something that comes with dedication and years of practice which disconnects you from the Maya and you break through illusion.