The Sanskrit word kundalini means 'coiled-up'. The coiled Kundalini is the female energy existing in latent form, not only in every human being but in every atom of the universe. It may frequently happen that an individual's Kundalini energy lies dormant through his or her entire lifetime and he or she is unaware of its existence. The object of the tantric practice of Kundalini-yoga is to awaken this cosmic energy and cause it to unite with Shiva, the Pure Consciousness pervading the whole universe.
In the concept of the Yoga Kundalini Upanishad:

"The divine power,
Kundalini shines
Like the stem of a young lotus;
Like a snake, coiled round upon herself,
She holds her tail in her mouth
And lies resting half asleep
At the base of the body."

The static, unmanifested Kundalini is symbolized by a serpent coiled into three and a half circles, with its tail in its mouth.
In the microcosm of the human body, the Goddess Kundalini appears as a dormant energy, but able, when she wakes up, to destroy the illusion of life and lead to liberation. She can be awakened through the practice of what is known as Kundalini-Yoga, a unique branch of esoteric Tantra.
When the Kundalini is ready to unfold, she ascends from the Muladhara Chakra to unite above the head with Shiva at the Sahasra Chakra. But before this merger she must ascend and pass through each of the five remaining chakras. As Kundalini reaches each chakra, that lotus opens and lifts its flower; and as soon as she leaves for a higher chakra, the lotus closes its petals and hangs down, symbolizing the activation of the energies of the chakra and their assimilation in Kundalini. The increasing number of lotus petals, in ascending order, may be taken to indicate the rising energy of the respective chakras, each functioning as a 'transformer' of energies from one potency to another.

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