What is a chakra?
The Sanskrit word CHAKRA means “plexus,” “wheel,” or “vortex.” It refers to a number of centers in the subtle anatomy of the human being, with each center corresponding to a different level of consciousness. Chakras are known by various names, including pranic centers, psychic centers, psycho-energetic centers, and cerebrospinal centers.
The yogic tradition mentions different chakra systems, out of which the seven chakra system is the most popular.
As I describe them, chakras are energy doors that connect our being in all its layers to the external world, so it's the connection between the inside and the outside of our existence. They are the gateway for us to absorb the energy we need to stay balanced and to release the energy which does not serve us anymore. Chakras are not visible as they are mainly located in our second Kosha, our energetic layer. (more about Kosha below and in future posts)
The function of the chakras is to spin and draw in this energy to keep the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health of the body in balance.
The seven main Chakras and their body locations are:
Sahasrara or Crown Chakra - Close on the top of the brain
Ajna or Third Eye Chakra - Between eyebrows
Vishuddha or Throat Chakra - Throat area near the larynx
Anahata or Heart - Heart Chakra - Chest center behind physical heart
Manipura or Solar Plexus Chakra - Along spine in the upper abdomen
Swadisthana or Sacral Chakra - Behind and a little below the navel
Muladhara or Root Chakra - Base of the spine
Though those are considered the 7 main and most known chakras, there are plenty more all over our being. There are many different points of view on the argument from many different schools, some say we have 12, others go up to 33 and others say we have hundreds of them all over ourselves.
Each of these centers is associated with specific organs, endocrines, issues, emotions, colours, and elements. Balancing these centers can have a physical, emotional, and spiritual effect on an individual.
It is not only important that each individual chakra is balanced, but they also need to be balanced in relation to each other. The lower three chakras are considered masculine in nature and call us to action. They help to ground us and are usually concerned with the material world. The higher three chakras are feminine in nature and are associated with self-reflection and the spiritual aspects of life. The heart chakra is balanced in masculine and feminine energy and can help to balance other chakras.
There are many ways an individual can maintain or re-balance his chakras system, music can be used, crystals, mantras, meditations, colours, alimentation are a few of those but also techniques as Yoga, Reiki, Qigong, Tai Chi, and Feng Shui but not limited to it.
When a chakra is closed, obstructed, or weak it can lead to disease and sicknesses, feeling weak and unbalanced, loss of lucidity, confusion, bad emotions, and many more problems. That's why it's so important to take care of your chakra system, a balance energy flow will not only improve your health but also your whole life!
What about our being's 5 layers? I have not forgotten about it!
I'll quickly introduce the 5 Kosha of our beings here but they will be discussed deeper into future blogs, please follow me to receive updates and be the first one to receive new posts! Also, check out the blog The energy field of humans
Here is a quick look at our Kosha:
1 - Annamaya: We all well know the first of the 5 Kosha, we all see it every day, it's visible, tangible and we can feel it, that's our physical body!
2 - Pranamaya: The second level is energy, our energetic body, here we find our chakras and from here the layers are not exactly visible with our eyes, though our energetic body can be seen with practice, this is another topic for another day. We may not see this layer but we feel it every day, with a little bit of attention
3 - Manomaya: In this layer, we find our mind, emotions, and feeling. From this layer, we start taking distance from the physical world we are used to seeing every day
4 - Vignanamana: Our wisdom, higher self, our inner voice which very often we forget to listen to but which always says the truth
5 - Bliss: Our spiritual layer, the connection with THE self (will discuss "THE Self" in a future post) the connection with nature and everything in existence
We are going to conclude today's post quickly touching on our Meridian system. What are meridians? The meridians are energy channels running all over our body, used by the energy to move all around our physical being and bring our life power to its full expression. Those channels are as important as our chakras system, actually, they are connected, energy flow in and out of our chakras and then flows through the meridians to reach every cell in our body. Chakras are also said to be located on the connections of our meridians.
A quick view of our meridians system:
And this is all for today!
Stay tuned, I will post more information about each chakra and how to balance them, I will also discuss further Kosha and Meridians
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Love and Light
Stefano