Health and Balance⚖️ Guide ➕
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The 7 Chakras for Healing and Energy
IMPORTANTANC OF 🙏YOGA 🧘♀️LIFE
Medically Reviewed by Jabeen Begum, MD on December 01, 2023 Written by Kristin Mitchell, WebMD Editorial Contributor, Nechama F. Sammet Moring
What Are Chakras?
Origin of Chakras
The Seven Chakras
Chakra Healing
8 min read
What Are Chakras?
Chakras are thought to be focal points of energy throughout your body.
Some spiritual views hold that our body is more than just physical and mental, it’s also an energetic system. "Chakra" is a word in Sanskrit, an ancient language from India, that means "wheel" or "cycle." In many Eastern and spiritual belief systems, chakras are seen as spinning wheels or circles that life energy flows through. When your chakras are in balance, life energy is able to move through them and connect you to the world around you.
There are seven main chakras situated along the spine, from the base of your spine to the crown of your head. This age-old belief has become integrated into many New Age styles of thought.
Chakras are thought to provide subtle energy that helps your organs, mind, and intellect work at their best level. Chakras and spiritual energy have not been thoroughly examined in medical studies, but they may help you think about your own mind and body like any religion or belief.
If you feel unwell, in addition to using spiritual practices like chakras, it's important to talk to your doctor or other health care professional.
Chakras are thought to be focal points of energy throughout your body. There are seven main chakras that run along the spine, from the base of your spine to the crown of your head. (Photo credit: Olga Zelenkova/Dreamstime)
Chakras are thought to be focal points of energy throughout your body. There are seven main chakras that run along the spine, from the base of your spine to the crown of your head. (Photo credit: Olga Zelenkova/Dreamstime)
Origin of Chakras
Beliefs about chakras started in India, at least 1,000 years ago, as part of Hindu and Buddhist spiritual traditions. Some people think chakra beliefs are even older, going back to 1500 BCE or further. Chakras are mentioned in ancient Hindu spiritual books like the Vedas and the Yoga Upanishads. People probably believed in chakras before the information was ever written down.
In India and other parts of the East, beliefs about chakras were included in many systems of healing and spirituality, including Ayurveda, yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism, and others. These systems developed around the idea of a life energy that flows through our bodies and the universe. The use of the chakras is thought to help connect with this life energy in different ways. For example, yoga uses breath and movement to bring energy into the body, and move it through the chakras. Ayurveda uses herbal medicine, meditation, and other practices to open the chakras and balance energy.
Chakras became popular in the West beginning in the 1960s-1970s as part of “alternative” spiritual movements. Western traditions that sometimes use chakras include psychology and complementary medicine, as well as spiritual practices.
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The Seven Chakras
Most belief systems about chakras, especially in the West, talk about seven main chakras. These chakras form a line up the center of your body, beginning with the root chakra at the bottom of your spine, and moving up to the crown chakra right above your head.
Each chakra has a name and symbol in Sanskrit. When they became popular in the West, people also associated a specific color with each chakra. Some yoga practices link different yoga poses or movements with each chakra. Chakras can also be associated with many things, including acupuncture points, natural elements, life stages such as childhood or middle age, and Buddhist mantras (words or phrases used during meditation).
The root chakra:Muladhara
The root chakra, or muladhara in Sanskrit, is the first and primary chakra, believed to be located at the base of your spine. It is linked with the color red and the element earth.
The root chakra is thought to affect how you connect to the world and to control feelings of survival, ambition, dependency, and stability. As the primary source of energy, its unbalance can lead to feelings of deep fear and insecurity that hurt your drive to succeed, causing feelings of frustration and lack of purpose.
When the root chakra is balanced, it is thought to create feelings of security, positivity, energy, independence, and strength.
The sacral chakra: Svadhishthana
Below the navel, the svadhisthana chakra radiates the color orange and represents the element water. The sacral chakra is considered to be responsible for sexuality, creativity, intuitiveness, self-worth, compassion, and adaptability. When the sacral chakra is unstable, it’s thought to cause emotional outbursts, a lack of creativity, and sex-obsessed thoughts.
The solar plexus chakra: Manipura
The Sanskrit name of the solar plexus chakra, manipura, means city of jewels, and it’s believed to be found between the ribcage and the navel. Its color is yellow, and it is tied to the fire element.
The solar plexus chakra is considered to be the center of self-esteem and emotions like ego, anger, and aggression. It is thought to present itself on a physical level through digestive problems, liver problems, or diabetes. On an emotional level, if the solar plexus chakra is imbalanced, it is believed to cause feelings of depression and low self-esteem. When it’s balanced, it would become a source of energy, productivity, and confidence.
