What Are The Chakras: Everything To Know About Them

You may have heard them referred to in yoga class, by an acupuncturist, or in a movie. That would be the chakras. Chakras are energy centers within our bodies although what you may not know is just how extensive our relationship with them is.

What Are The Chakras?

The chakra system originated from India within the Vedas. Written around 1500 BCE the Vedas is one of the most ancient religious texts. Fast forward to the present moment the knowledge of the chakra system has become much more mainstream.

Although some teachers are able to encompass the extensive reach of chakras within their teachings it is important to explain working with them can be a powerful tool for self-realization, enlightenment, and healing.

Chakras can be understood as energy centers that are positioned around the midline of the body and work their way up the spine. They gather around major organs and can be visualized as small vortexes of energy within the body that also radiate their energy outwards about one foot.

The chakras encompass the emotional, physical, and spiritual layers that correlate to that specific chakra’s purpose. Each chakra holds a different aspect of our psyche as well as has different elements and physical organs associated with it.

The word Chakra translates from Sanskrit as “wheel” which begins to spark the understanding that chakras are continuously spinning and moving energy centers. Prana flows through them and throughout us.

Prana is the intangible essence of life that all life is sustained through. We inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide continuously in order to sustain ourselves. Similar to the way we breathe, we need to let go of what no longer serves us in order for fresh prana to circulate through us.

Yogis relate the breathe directly with prana. Through the practice pranayama which is a meditative practice to extend the breath, you can impact your chakra system and clear out blockages.

The chakra system works similarly to a river segmented into seven sections. The prana flows throughout the entire chakra system as they are all interconnected just like the entire universe we live in.

If one section (chakra) becomes clogged it will affect the water flow (prana and health) within the other sections of the river (chakras). Each chakra can become blocked by suppressed emotions, fears, and holding onto what we need to let go of for our evolution.

How Emotions Can Effect The Chakras?

With our society, it can be easy for us to brush past emotional stress and negative emotions. It is common to dive deeper into our work and to avoid being perceived as we rather than process or sit with our emotions.

Although our emotional body deserves more attention and respect than it gets. Everything is interconnected meaning that when you are emotionally blocked this also correlates to the health and vibrancy of the rest of your being.

What we do not process on an emotional level eventually presents itself in the body. Louise Hay, the author of you can heal your life, is a great resource to learn in-depth about how the body is directly affected by our thoughts and emotions. You may enjoy our article on how to turn your thoughts from negative to positive.

Each of our chakras rules a specific aspect within each of our emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual bodies. Through understanding the physical body parts correlated to each chakra you can trace back physical problems within one chakra’s territory to an emotional root within that same chakra.

Another way that understanding the chakra system can help you grow and heal is by working to support an entire chakra you can bring healing to all that encompasses. For instance if you notice you are feeling shame around your body, low self-worth, and a lack of creativity.

This relates to the sacral chakra and by using tools that support the sacral chakra you can begin to bring healing into these emotions. Although you will always need to dig to the root of the feelings themselves, supporting the chakra they relate to will make this work much easier.

To learn how to dig into healing and understanding negative emotions check out our article on shadow work or learn Byron Katie’s process for rewiring our thought process.

Now that you have a basic understanding of how the chakras encompass the entirety of your being and that your emotional body is actually of the utmost importance, we can begin learning about each of the chakras.

The Chakras

Below resources are provided for you to learn about each of the chakras more in-depth. Tools for hearing each of the chakras are also included.

The Root Chakra

Muladhara is the first chakra of our chakra system. It is associated with the color red. Enjoy the tools provided below:

The Sacral Chakra

Svadhistanna is the second chakra of our chakra system. It is associated with the color orange. Enjoy the tools provided below:

The Solar Plexus

Manipura is the third chakra of our chakra system. It is associated with the color yellow. Enjoy the tools provided below:

The Heart Chakra

Anahata is the fourth chakra of our chakra system. It is associated with the colors green and pink. Enjoy the tools provided below:

The Throat Chakra

Vishuddha is the fifth chakra of our chakra system. It is associated with the color blue. Enjoy the tools provided below:

The Third Eye Chakra

Ajna is the sixth chakra of our chakra system. It is associated with the color indigo. Enjoy the tools provided below:

The Crown Chakra

Sahasrara is the seventh chakra of our chakra system. It is associated with the color purple. Enjoy the tools provided below: