The chakras are vortices of energy that exist within us. They are centers in which many energy pathways come together forming what look like funnels. The small tip of the funnel sits close to your physical body and the wider end opens outwards.
They are like major highways for energy movement. Almost everything comes in and goes out of the chakras. If our bodies have countless energy streams (or meridians) that act like side streets, then the chakras can be said to function as our major energy highway systems.
When the energy pathway (or chakra) is not clear, the stuff we have tends to get stuck or backed up. Think of a traffic jam on a major highway. It’s like a 5 car pile up happened and the left 3 lanes are closed. Now every energy meridian is trying to get through the one open lane. It causes heaps of trouble for us in the energetic system. Things build up and start to cause us problems. When one or many of these energy centers become blocked, or closed, it can lead to physical health problems. Blockages in the chakra system can also lead to other dysfunction in our lives as well (mental and emotional disturbance, anxiety, psychosis, etc.)
Now, the chakra system actually originates from the Hindu tradition. It is related heavily to the Hindu religion and each chakra has associated deities. All the knowledge of these energy centers comes from the ancient text The Upanishads. The chakra system, then, is spiritual in nature. You will see below each chakra has a bija mantra. Simply put, when the word is spoken, sounded, or chanted, it has healing benefits to that specific chakra.
Here is a very “scratch the surface” synopsis of each individual chakra:
Root – Color: Red. Bija mantra: LAM. This chakra rules the physical body. It is related to things such as family of origin, familial trauma/ties, ancestors, security and safety, trust, control. Think of it as your root (like the roots of a tree). The physical location of this chakra is around the gonads.
Sacral – Color: Orange. Bija mantra: VAM. This chakra rules the emotional body, or your emotions. This is where you feel joy. The physical location of this chakra is the reproductive organs/pelvis/sacral bone.
Solar plexus – Color: Yellow. Bija mantra: RAM. This chakra rules the mental body, or your thoughts and mentality. This is our power center where we experience drive. The physical location of this chakra is right below where the rib cage comes together, underneath the breasts, at the top of the diaphragm.
Heart – Color: Green/pink. Bija mantra: YAM. This chakra (obviously) rules love and forgiveness. The 3 chakras below this are related to the physical and the 3 chakras above this are related to spirituality. This is the bridge between physical and spiritual. It is located at the heart, in the center of the chest.
Throat – Color: Blue. Bija mantra: HAM. This chakra rules communication and will. This is where we speak our truth or tell our story. The location is at the center and base of the throat.
3rd Eye (Brow) – Color: Indigo. Bija mantra: OM/AUM. This chakra rules our insight or intuition. It’s focus is compassion, intuition, wisdom, and imagination. It is our higher sense of vision. It is located between the eyebrows.
Crown – Color: White/purple/violet. Bija mantra: OM. This chakra rules divinity or connection to spirit. It integrates the spiritual and physical. This is the place of mystical connection and relates to our central nervous system. Arguably, the most important chakra as it is where all of life comes from. It is located at the top of the head.
Each chakra is associated with certain body parts, organs, and glands (but we will save that for a future post). And each chakra is also related to a specific element (again, saving that for later or this would be really long).
It is most important to know that when we feel dysfunction in our body and medical science doesn’t have an answer for it, it’s most likely metaphysical in nature. Metaphysical here simply means “beyond the physical”. The chakra system isn’t a thing you can touch or feel. It exists in another dimension. That doesn’t make it any less “real”. We do, however, have technology that can take a picture of our energy bodies (called kirlian photography).
The fact of the matter is, the chakra system plays an important role in our health, too. I like to think of it as an organ of the body. If the kidneys aren’t functioning well, you would stop and get them fixed, right? Or else this could lead to problems with the ureters, bladder, blood, liver, and eventually death. The same goes for the chakras and energy body. If we don’t stay on top of the health of our energy system, it leads to more problems down the road.
Feel free to reach out to me with any questions about the chakras. I can educate and also lead you to appropriate resources.
Kylie