020 8132 5148

What Do You Know About the Chakras?

blog Jul 23, 2022
What Do You Know About the Chakras?

What are the ‘chakras’? Most of you have probably heard the word in a yoga class or guided meditations, but unless you have undertaken yogic studies, the term might be a bit ambiguous to you. So here, in this blog, we are going to share some basic facts about the chakras and give answers to the following questions:

  • What is a Chakra?
  • How many Chakras are there in the human body?
  • How do the Chakras affect us on a physical, energetic and emotional level?
  • What are the advantages of having our Chakras balanced?
  • How do I find out if my chakras are balanced?

We invite you to keep an open mind whilst reading, as this topic relates to the subtle world of Energy.

 

What Are The Chakras?

According to the Vedas - one of the ancient yogic texts, the chakras are part of each person’s energy body. The literal translation from Sanskrit means ‘wheel’ and these spinning energy centres are aligned along our spine all the way to the crown of the head. According to the ancient texts there are numerous chakras in the body but there are seven main ones. Each one of them governs specific organs in the body and influences different areas of our life. The chakras affect us not just on a physical level but also emotionally, psychologically and spiritually.

 

The Seven Chakras

Below is a list of the seven chakras and the areas of our lives they govern in ascending order:

  1. Root Chakra – Basic Instincts & Stability
  2. Sacral Chakra – Sexuality & Creativity
  3. Solar Plexus Chakra – Power & Confidence
  4. Heart Chakra – Love & Healing
  5. Throat Chakra – Communication & Authenticity
  6. Third Eye Chakra – Intuition & Awareness

As you can see, the bottom three energy centres are mostly related to our physical existence whilst the top four govern the spiritual realm of love, communication, intuition and wisdom.

Are My Chakras Balanced?

As we mentioned above - each Chakra governs various physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of our existence. Depending on whether a person feels comfortable in a particular area of their life, the Chakras can be described as balanced or unbalanced, underactive or overactive. This level of balance manifests itself in our physical, psychological and emotional life. If you would like to know the state of your chakras you can try one of the many online quizzes.

For example, the Root Chakra is related to our basic instincts of survival and to the feelings of security and safety. If this chakra is unbalanced we might feel ungrounded, experience loneliness and insecurities, give in to addictions and various obsessions. On a physical level this energy centre governs the groin, hips, legs, reproductive and excretory systems and misbalance manifests itself in the form of lower-back pain, sciatica, constipation, diarrhoea, impotence.

Likewise, the rest of the chakras are closely related to different physical parts of our body and to various areas of our daily life.

 

How Do The Chakras Affect Us?

Depending on how ‘open’ or ‘closed’ the seven Chakras are, we experience the world differently from one another. Thus, some of us with a strong Solar Plexus chakra may be more energetic and positive; the ones with a weak third chakra tend to be more lethargic and sceptical. If we have an open Third Eye chakra we are more in tune with our intuition whilst those with a ‘closed’ sixth chakra function mainly using their logic.

In summary, we can see that the state of our Chakras form our personality and how we perceive the world. This knowledge alone is a valuable tool in understanding ourselves better. In addition, through the use of various practices like yoga, Qi Gong, the use of crystals & aromatherapy, we can initiate the process of changing the aspects of our lives that hold us back from expressing our full potential.

 

Achieving Balance

When we achieve balance in all the seven Chakras, i.e. they are neither too active nor under active, then our energy starts flowing uninterrupted along the spine. This in turn, means that each part of our body is supplied with sufficient amounts of energy. Emotionally we become more integrated and manage the balance between our masculine and feminine energies better. On a more spiritual level this free flow of energy upwards helps illuminate the higher centres of human consciousness.

So to conclude, the Chakras are those vital points in our energy body, through the balancing of which, the Yoga practitioner opens the pathways to higher states of consciousness and enlightenment. However, for those whose goal is not enlightenment, but simply maintaining a healthy, balanced body-mind connection, the knowledge of the Chakras can be a key to healing yourself from various health conditions and past traumas.

 

By Evelina Gadzhova | BEAM ACADEMY TEACHER

 

 

Sign Up For Our Monthly Newsletter

Receive monthly emails with news, blogs and articles about teacher training courses, yoga, mindfulness, education and so much more.

We hate SPAM. You'll only get quality content.

We're supporting Starlight Children's Foundation Charity. Find out how.