Where are the chakras located?
What do the chakras represent?
How are the chakras related to body and mind?
Is it possible to feel chakras?
Two main flows of energy in the chakras

First ever AP article

Welcome at my very first article here at AP! In this post I will introduce you to the seven main chakras. There will be articles on each of the individual chakras too, but let me lay some groundwork first.

What are the chakras?

Chakras are centers of energy in your body. They are not physical, but they do have a physical location in the body and they sure can be felt. The energy that passes through them is known all over the world. Some traditions call it Qi, others Prana and again others Kundalini. The name chakra means ‘wheel’. The seven major wheels of energy connect many more smaller ones, and those connect even smaller ones. This network is also used and manipulated in Acupressure and Acupuncture.

Where are the chakras located?

The main chakras are located as depicted in the image below. The chakras have beautiful Sanskrit names like Muladhara (“Root”), Swadhisthana (“Sweetness”) and Anahata (“Unstruck”). They are represented either by symbols or by flowers. We start counting them from the bottom. Every chakra has one or two funnels of energy that are meant to interact with the environment. The funnel of the first chakra faces down, the one of the seventh faces up. The other chakras have a horizontal funnel at the front and one at the back.

What do the chakras represent?

Every chakra is related to specific themes, psychological aspects, parts of your body, and philosophical constructs. And these have a very logical relationship, as we will see later on. The bottom three chakras, those closest to the ground, mostly deal with earthly matters. Security, survival, movement, action, and so on. The three chakras at the top deal with much less tangible aspects like images, thoughts, concepts and symbols. All these items meet in the middle and are connected in the Heart chakra. Which happens to be the chakra related to relations and balance.

When we move up through the body, we move up to higher levels, or higher frequencies. This is also expressed in the colors related to the chakras. We go from red (the bottom) following the rainbow up to violet (or even white). Red is the most dense color with the lowest frequency, purple has the highest frequency.

This same order can be discovered when we look at the parts of the body that correspond to the chakras. The bottom chakra is related to the bone structure, teeth, etc; the most dense parts of the body. The 7^th chakra that tops the system (and is conveniently called the Crown chakra) deals with the brain, memory and cognition; the least dense aspects of the body.

How are chakras related to body and mind?

Almost every form of physical discomfort has a psychosomatic nature. This means that if you feel pain in your body, that pain often has a psychological reason or it is the (very long term) result of your thinking. The chakras are at the very center of this mechanism. Any problem in the body or the mind will also show up in the chakras. Let me show you.

People with low self-esteem often let themselves be pushed around by others. They may feel a lack of power and start holding grudges. Instead of working on their own self-worth, they may crawl into their shell, while feeling ashamed. Their body often responds with poor digestion. These people usually seem worried all the time. In Dutch there is a saying ‘to have something on your liver’, which means ‘to feel troubled by something’.

The root cause here is not being aware of one’s own power or not being able to use that power in a healthy way. Which brings us to the third chakra, the yellow one, with the Sanskrit name ‘Manipura’. This name usually translates into ‘lustrous gem’ and this chakra is the throne of the Ego. It is the chakra of power, energy, activity, autonomy, pro-activity and the will. This chakra also corresponds to the digestive system – and yes, also to the liver.

Its element is fire, its mechanisms are combustion and transformation. Note that digesting food means transforming matter so it becomes usable as fuel for the body. This fuel (like fats, proteins and carbohydrates) is then burned (combusted) by the right cells in your body to generate energy.

Each chakra has a so called ‘demon’ that shows up if the chakra is not in balance. The demon of the third chakra is ‘shame’. To overcome issues related to this chakra you need to transform. Ignoring issues related to this chakra over time often leads to feeling that notorious knot in your stomach, at the very location of this chakra. See how it all connects?

Is it possible to feel chakras?

I am able to feel the energy that flows through chakras, in myself and usually also in others when I tune in. Many people can do this, and many people can do this far better than me. But even if you cannot feel it, you can definitely see the results of these energetic mechanisms expressed in the body and behavior. Paying a little bit attention and knowing what to look for is all it takes.

Two main flows of energy in the chakras

I will round up by pointing out that there are two major flows of energy going through all of the chakras. One goes up, the other goes down.

The flow that goes up represents evolution. It is our development, and therefore our liberation. The one that goes down represents manifestation, which means translating thoughts, ideas and insights into actual actions. Making (heavenly?) concepts visible on this physical earth. These flows move in spirals, along a center path that can be found in our spine. Now where have we seen this before…..? Oh yes! It forms the very symbol of health care all around the world. Nothing new under the sun, right?

This introduction surely doesn’t do justice to the amazing system of the chakras, but I think we’re off to a good start.

Would you like to know more about the exciting chakras? Stay tuned here at AP, because there is a lot more to come! Meanwhile, if you really want to dive in, there is an excellent book by Anodea Judith called ‘Eastern Body, Western Mind’ (or ‘Handboek Chakrapsychologie’ in Dutch). You can buy it through this website at Amazon or Bol.com and in doing so you will support this blog.

Please leave a comment below and tell me what you think of my first ever blog post!

Thanks for reading and… see you next time!