Gathering the energy is the first part in kundalini yoga. Having the intent of consciousness, the direction of this energy becomes the primal directive. The tendency is gravity and gravity always flows downward, it pulls you down and we’re always overcoming that, we’re continually reversing that flow by centering ourselves, gathering the energy and starting this evolutionary cycle back to all the incarnations, going from primal single cells, all the way up to the animals, all the way up to this human incarnation and then going beyond that into the formless itself. This connection is always present. So the intent of consciousness is to experience itself in the fullness thru all these possibilities.