You might be wondering, what in the world is a chakra? If you haven't heard of it don't worry! You're not alone. The word Chakra itself comes from the Sanskrit word that translates to 'wheel' or 'disk'. The term is used in relation to yoga often when referred to the wheels of energy throughout our bodies, and it helps amateur and professional yogis alike to imagine their conciousness and their energies meeting as one along our spinal cords. The chakras embody an invisible energy known as Prana that helps keep us the free flowing, vibrant humans we are every day.
There are seven main chakras that all serve different purposes in our bodies. They contain nerves, organs as well as psychological, emotional and spiritual well being. When one of these chakras are blocked, our energy is unable to flow, which is why it's so important to keep your chakras open and balanced through mindfulness, balance, and connection. Now let's get into a little bit of detail about what these amazing little disks mean.
The first three are known as the chakras of matter. They begin at the grounding point of our bodies, the base of our spine and are physical in nature.
Chakra One | Muladhara - the chakra of stability, security and our basic needs. It encompasses the first three vertebrae, bladder, and the colon. When this lovely chakra is open, we feel safe, secure, fearless.
Chakra Two | Svadhisthana - this is our creative chakra and sexual center. It is located above the pubic bone and below the navel, and helps us form our creative expressions.
Chakra Three | Manipura - this chakra means 'lustrous gem' and encompasses the area from our navel to our breastbone. This is our source of personal power.
The fourth chakra is very important. This has to do with the connection between matter and spirit.
Chakra Four | Anahata - located at the heart center, it is at the middle of the seven, and unites the lower chakras of matter and the upper chakras of spirit. This is a spiritual chakra, but also serves as a bridge between our mind, body, emotions and spirit. It is also known as the source of love and connection.
As we learn to work our energies through physical chakras, we are able to open our spiritual chakras more fully.
The final three chakras are called the chakras of spirit.
Chakra Five | Vishuddha - is located in the area of our throats. This is our main source of verbal expression and our most genuine ability to speak our highest truth. It encompasses the neck, thyroid, parathyroid glands, jaw, mouth and tongue.
Chakra Six | Ajna - this chakra is located between the eyebrows and is referred to as the third eye chakra. This is the center of our intuition. When we focus on opening this chakra, we are able to be in better tune with our natural intuition
Chakra Seven | Sahaswara - this chakra is also known as the"thousand petal lotus" and is located at the crown of the head. It is the chakra of enlightenment and spiritual connection to our higher selves, others and the divine.