A guide to the 7 main chakras | energy centers in the body

Chakras, I heard of them for the first time when I started practicing yoga.
I didn’t really gave them much attention when I just got into all the ‘spiritual things’, but.. diving deep at one point was something unavoidable for me!
I did some research on chakras and that was that, but it wasn’t until my yoga practice got more ‘serious’ when I started to truly feel the essence. In meditation I experienced shifts of energy and as I continued the spiritual practice I started to be aware of how my inner world was changing. I noticed this in daily life. Like I was slowly climbing up a ladder, but couldn’t come back all the way down.
It was not like I was focused on opening my chakras or anything, it just happened as I was walking this spiritual path.

In our philosophy class at the yoga teacher training we talked about chakras.
One of the reasons why I did a ytt was that I wanted guidance on this spiritual path. More depth.
Then and there I realized I’ve been sort of slowly climbing up the ‘chakra ladder’..
You’ll get what I mean with this as you learn more about it, let’s talk about chakras!

Chakras are energy points that circulate energy through our entire body, that’s why they are called ‘chakras’.
The word chakra is sanskrit for wheel or circle, but it’s often more interpreted as whirlpool.
The chakras don’t just spread energy, but also soak up perceived energy. Positive AND negative energy.
It’s powerful when you start to be aware of this and are able to ‘choose’ whose and what kind of energy you take in.

There are many chakras in our body, but there are 7 main chakras which most spiritual teachings talk about. These 7 are located on our spine. The other minor chakras are scattered through our body and come down to the same concept, but these are just smaller focal points where the energy crosses.

Each chakra vibrates energy on a different level and that’s why each of them has it’s own color(since every color vibrates energy on a different level).
Their colors follow the colors of the rainbow:
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet(or white).
The colors are constantly changing just as our emotions. It indicates your current physical, emotional and spiritual state..

It all starts at the root, the tailbone area at the base of our spine.
This is where the root chakra is located.

‘’For a flower to grow and bloom beautifully it needs strong roots’’


* Root chakra(muladhar, Lam)
So like I said, this chakra is located in the base of the spine, the tailbone area.
It represents our foundation and feeling of being grounded.
Some key words describing this chakra are confidence, security, power, anxiety, fear, spiritual development.
Emotional connection: survival issues/instincts. For example financial independence, fight or flight instinct
Physical connection: spine, rectum, legs arms, circulatory system

* Sacral chakra(svadisthan, vam)
It’s located in the lower abdomen, 2 inches below the navel and 2 inches inwards.
This chakra is about self-establishment, imagination, creativity, sexuality and reproduction>being stabilized in yourself
Emotional connection: sense of abundance, well-being, sexuality, pleasure
Physical connection: reproductive organs, kidneys, bowels, immune system

* Solar plexus chakra(Manipur, ram) 
It’s located around the lower abdomen in the stomach area.
In it lies our personal power and ability to channel, be confident and in control of our lives.
It’s energy is related to our digestion.
Emotional connection: self-worth, self-confidence, self-esteem
Physical connection: reproductive organs, kidneys, bowels, immune system

* Heart chakra(anahat, yam)
It’s location is the center of the chest above the heart.
The heart chakra is about love, relationships and self-acceptance. Our ability to love and feeling bliss.
Emotional connection: love, joy, inner peace
Physical connection: heart, thymus, lower lungs, circulatory system, immune system

* Throat chakra(vishuddhi, ham) 
It’s located in our throat.
The throat chakra is about self expression, our ability to communicate, purification, connection between head and body and it has impact on your food intake.
Emotional connection: communication, self-expression of feelings, the truth
Physical connection: thyroid, respiratory system, teeth, vocal cords

* Third eye chakra(ajna, am)
The third eye chakra is located on the forehead between the eyes, also called the brow chakra.
It is about the ability to see and focus on the big picture. Our sense of purpose and direction in life.
Your third eye chakra is the key to your intuition!
It can also balance the other chakras by ‘instructing’ them.
Emotional connection: intuition, imagination, wisdom, ability to think and make decisions
Physical connection: pituitary gland, eyes, sinuses

* Crown chakra (shahesrar, om) 
The crown chakra is on the very top of our heads.
It represents our ability to be fully connected spiritually and having a connection to the divine.
When we fully open this chakra and access it.. we have found pure consciousness and eternal bliss
Emotional connection: inner and outer beauty, our connection to spirituality, pure bliss.
Physical connection: pineal gland, brain, nervous system

So this was some ‘basic’ information on the 7 main chakras!
I feel like this is alreade a lot to process (it still is for me!), but I hope the information is clear for you all 
The plan is to dive more deep into this topic in future posts and talk about the kundalini energy, nadis, opening/balancing chakras and so on.
Stay tuned for that, and DO share your knowledge and experiences with me when it comes to chakras.
I’d love to hear it

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