Before beginning with anything, we must internalize the concept that our body is not just a physical one, but instead, has five sheaths, known as Pancha Kosha. The external visualization is the annamaya kosha, the food sheath, and when we die, we leave this annamaya kosha and four koshas to go to other realms, depending on our karma. The sukshma sareera (subtle body) takes the new physical body, the rebirth, according to Chandogya Upanishad.
The Yogis know that they are atman – the pure consciousness, and will never be subjected to laws of space, time, and other laws of sheaths. They are not limited to the rules of the physical body.
In the book ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ which was published in 1946, Yogananda explains about all the miracles of the siddhis and yogis. In the seventh chapter of the book, he talks about Bhaduri Mahasaya who is known to be the levitating sage. He writes:
“Indeed it is true! He has lived indoors for the past twenty years. He slightly relaxes his self-imposed rule at the times of our holy festivals, when he goes as far as his front sidewalk! The beggars gather there because Saint Bhaduri is known for his tender heart.”
“How does he remain in the air, defying the law of gravitation?” (asks Upendra)
(Yogananda/Mukunda says) “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.”
He further goes on to say that the consciousness becomes mass free and they see the whole cosmos as an undifferentiated mass of light. Chapter 30 talks about this:
“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.”
In the Shiva Samhita, there are verses that talk about the Yoga. The first stage, according to Shiva Samhita, is where the Yogi begins to perspire. When it does so, he rubs it well so that he doesn’t lose the dhatu. The body trembles in the second stage, and in the third stage, he jumps like a frog. With practice, the yogi can even walk in the air. The point at which he can rise in the air and leave the grown while remaining in Padmasana is known as Vayu-siddhi, the success over the air, and is said to destroy the darkness in the world.
There are many powers that Yogis can acquire: Vakya siddhi (prophecy), transporting himself everywhere at will (Kamachari), clairvoyance (duradrishti), clairaudience (durasruti), subtle-sight (sukshma drishti) and the power of entering another’s body (parakayapravesha), turning base metals into gold them with his excrements and urine and the power of becoming invisible, and moving in the air.
Also, Yogi can use the Anahata Chakra, which is ruled by the Vayu Tattva. He can master on the chakra by contemplating on it, and then achieve master the Vayu on the air. When he gains that mastery, he can walk on the air successfully. (Read – 7 Chakras)
Translation: He then sees the Yoginis, the Goddesses, and then obtains the power of kechari, when he can conquer all that move in the air.
Translation: By contemplating on Banalinga (which is in the Anahata Chakra), he obtains the perfection of kechari – moving in the air, and Bhuchari – going at will all over the world.
With all these scriptures and words on the power of yogis, one can conclude that a highly adept yogi can thus float or walk in the air.
But what is the science behind this? Let’s break it down:
This phenomenon is proven with the scientific concept of superconductivity. So what is superconductivity? It is a phenomenon when the electrical resistance of materials becomes exactly zero, below a temperature, usually, that is below the zero degree Celsius. For instance, cuprate-perovskite materials can become superconductors at -183 degrees Celsius. In the superconductor, the magnetic lines do not pass through them and can float in the air. This is demonstrated in the practical life by using liquid nitrogen and superconductor material, whereby the superconductor material floats in the air. Perhaps, when Yogis float in the air, the same principle of superconductivity applies.
In Dnyaneshwari, Rishi Dnyaneshwar describes the power of Kundalini energy in the body. He states that the body becomes insanely cold when the Kundalini drinks the blood and eats up all the flesh. After the process, the body regenerates itself and the body becomes new.
There is quite some possibility that the temperature of Yogi decreases when they meditate and seek towards the supernatural powers. When they achieve it, their body becomes the superconductor. As we know, gravity acts as a magnet pulling us towards the center, the reason why everything falls to the ground. But as the body becomes a superconductor, magnetic lines do not pass through it and thus the body then can float in the air.
With that being said, it is to be noted that this, not a proven fact. It is just speculation and a possibility for science. However, one cannot deny that the concept of Yogis floating in the air is not a superstition.