Your Chakra Guide: Unravel The Mystery, The History And How Chakras Can Transform Your Life
If you do yoga then you’ve probably heard the term chakra. And if you don’t do yoga, well I’ll bet you’ve heard it too. Whilst this word has become familiar across the world, you may still be wondering what everyone’s talking about 🤔
This article hopes to clear up a little of the mystery. Because chakras, although far from common to the rules of western science, are extremely powerful. And tapping into their energy can be highly transformative.
Something that rings very true for me these days is, just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
As a yoga and meditation facilitator, I think it’s important to communicate my understanding of chakras, where they correspond in your body, where the concept originates and how their energy can be applied to improve your life.
These are ancient pockets of wisdom passed down through thousands of years and thankfully, now spreading into all corners of the planet so that people like you and me can benefit from them.
This article will explore:
✔ What chakras are
✔ Homage to the history and origin
✔ How chakras can help?
✔ How to work with chakras in everyday life to enhance your growth journey
Before I go on, I would definitely like to add here that although the concept of chakras originates from the Tantrik Yoga tradition, spoken about in ancient texts, modern interpretations of the chakras don’t necessarily correspond directly to these original descriptions which were culturally specific and relevant to a different era.
As chakra philosophy grew in popularity and spread across the world, its significance also diversified. Today’s understanding of chakras is largely based on analysis of modern texts and interpretations, and adopted by psychologists such as Carl Jung and more recently, Anodea Judith, to encourage healing and growth.
Whilst this can be incredibly helpful as a tool for visualisation, self-healing and to assist in self-realisation, it is not necessarily the original form. You may be interested to check out Christopher Wallis’ blog where he provides a scholarly account of the chakras and a helpful, alternative overview from what we are taught in modern practice. I find he makes some interesting points
In this respect, something that resonates and has always underpinned my spiritual practice and teachings, is that there is nothing concrete or ‘one rule fits all’ about energy work or the experiences of an individual along their personal growth path. These teachings are valuable guides, but will always be interpreted by the individual in a way that speaks to them as they explore their own truth.
I don’t know about you but I find a lot of freedom in that. We try to categorise everything into rules and logic, but in my humble opinion, this is a contained approach.
Personally, I have found chakra work to be a highly useful tool to enhance my consciousness, healing and growth and I’m certainly not alone in that experience.
You, however, will need to make up your own mind…
What are chakras?
Chakras are part of a wider picture known as the subtle body, or energy body. The subtle body is a non-physical system made up of 72,000 energy channels called nadis that run throughout our beings. At the point where these channels converge, a higher intensity of energy culminates and here chakras occur.
So chakras are energy centres in our bodies. In Sanskrit, the word chakra translates to ‘wheel’ which explains why they are often described as spinning disks or vortexes. This imagery also helps translate their potency. They are often depicted with the image of a lotus flower. Another description of chakras that I particularly like is ‘subtle centres of consciousness’. This theory has been developed into a common modern interpretation as a way to transform consciousness (Pam Gorst). There are multiple different chakra systems, and it’s thought there are thousands of chakras in total, however, the most common chakra system applied in modern teachings consists of 7 main chakras.
Modern understanding associates each chakra with different areas, qualities, symptoms and states.
Here is a brief overview of the 7 main chakras and their significance:
Muladhara - the earth chakra. Situated at the base of the spine. Colour deep red. This chakra governs safety, security, sense of self and feeling you have all your needs met. If this chakra is out of balance you may feel fearful, lethargic or unrooted.
Svadhisthana - the sacral chakra. Situated in the pelvis between the two hip bones. Colour orange. This chakra governs emotions, creativity, sensuality. If this chakra is unbalanced you may feel overly sensitive, erratic, disconnected sexually and creatively.
Manipura - solar plexus chakra. Situated below the sternum. Colour yellow. This chakra governs motivation, confidence, drive, ego. An unbalanced Manipura chakra can express as an inflated ego, lack of motivation, inability to move forward with plans and goals.
Anahata - heart chakra. Situated in the centre of the chest. Colour green (or pink in some traditions). This governs your ability to love and be loved, to forgive, have compassion, empathy and joy. If this chakra is imbalanced it can express as feeling closed, lonely, isolated, people-pleasing, self-hatred or feeling you don't belong.
Vishuddha - throat chakra. Situated at the neck, throat, ears. Colour light blue. This chakra governs self-expression, confidence speaking your truth from the heart, clear communication. An imbalance here can express as lack of vocal confidence, lack of ability to listen, lack of honesty, over or under dominance in conversation.
Ajna - third eye chakra. Situated on the forehead in the centre of the eyebrows. Colour indigo/purple. This is your centre of intuition, insight, wisdom and clarity. An imbalance in this chakra expresses as feeling lost or disconnected. An inability to look past problems and see the wood through the trees. Also brain fog and disconnection to your intuition.
Sahasrara - crown chakra. Situated on the top of your head. Colour white/ultraviolet. This is the place of higher knowledge, consciousness, awareness and peace. An imbalance in this energy centre is expressed as overwhelm, information overload, cynicism, spiritual disconnection or over-connection, apathy, illusions of grandeur, obsession.
Homage to the history and origin
Chakras originated in India and are discussed in ancient Hindu & Buddhist texts. There’s mention of chakras (cakra) in the Vedas and specifically, the Upanishads. These texts span from around 1500BC to 300BC, exact dates are difficult to pinpoint.
The primary form of inheritance for this sacred knowledge was verbal, passing information down through generations in oral and practical teachings, therefore before the texts, it is impossible to know how long these ideas date back. It’s highly likely they go back a great deal longer than we know. But still, 3500 years is a long time!
With time, the meaning of chakras has evolved.
Yogic philosophy and the chakras largely remained an eastern interest until the 16th century when Swami Purananda wrote Sat-Cakra-Nirupana, which means “description of the six centers.” This laid the foundation for the most common interpretation of the 7 chakra system observed today. Around 1919 ‘new age’ texts started to emerge such as The Serpent Power – The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga by Sir John Woodroffe and multiple books by Alice Bailey.
Carl Jung also recognised the significance of this system and incorporated it into his work. All these texts have later influenced modern writers such as Anodea Judith, and are used as tools to accompany Psychospiritual healing.
It is interesting to learn that the chakra colours and many other attributes are modern additions. It was Charles W. Leadbeater in 1927 who most prominently brought chakra philosophy to western attention through his studies of theosophy and occultism, and assigned characteristics such as colours to the chakra system.
Although these modern characteristics weren't seen in early chakra teachings, the chakras have been intensely studied and worked with on a holistic level since, exploring energy work and how it can benefit personal growth, the evolution of consciousness and psycho-physical healing.
Practices evolve with the changing of time and each framework for understanding tends to be culturally specific. In my opinion, this doesn’t discount their potency but instead gives a richer and broader picture for different human minds to grasp, understand and apply.
How chakras can help
It is taught that if the energy centres of the subtle body are in balance, then we will feel mental, spiritual and physical harmony.
If energy gets stuck, blocked or depleted, this can lead to imbalances that affect our daily lives, the way we view ourselves, our relationships and how we interact with the world. It can make personal growth difficult and can contribute to that shared human experience of always bumping up against the same old problems time and time again…
How to work with chakras in everyday life
How you relate to the chakras will depend on variables such as your personality, your environment, the stage in your life, your past, your present circumstances and your interpretation. You may relate to certain chakras more closely at different times in your life.
However, there may also be certain chakras that feel generally under or over-developed, stuck or in need of that little bit of extra regular work. As I mentioned before, the way you relate to these energies will be unique to you as an individual.
You can use visualisation, meditation, mantra, yoga, pranayama (breathwork), crystals, scents, journaling and movement to connect with chakra energy. It is understood that physical body alignment promotes balance energetically. Mindful movement assists in removing blocks, cleansing stuck energy and creating space in body and mind. Physical, energetic and psychological methods combined are most effective in bringing balance and positive change.
If this subject spurs your interest then there’s a wealth of resources and guides to assist you in finding your path with chakra energy. Anodea Judith’s audiobook was valuable to me when I first started exploring chakras, and I found the journey highly transformational which contributes to why I incorporate chakras into my own practice and teachings.
If you would like guidance through the chakras with yoga and meditation then join us online for the 7 weeks, 7 chakras guided course where you’ll have access to live or recorded chakra classes, meditations, journaling and more. If this sounds supportive then head here for your 7 day free trial!
