An Introduction to Chakras

Andrew Jay

Those familiar with the Avatar: The Last Airbender series, would not be new to the concept of chakras. In the show, the young monk Aang, the Avatar, seeks spiritual guidance from an enlightened guru, Pathik. Pathik explains that in order to fulfil his purpose as Avatar of bringing balance to the world, Aang must first bring balance to himself. This, Pathil reveals, is achieved by opening all of the body's main chakras. He likens the chakras to a series of pools, connected by channels, demonstrating that a blockage in any one of the pools would stagnate the overall water flow in the same way that sealed chakras prevent energy from flowing freely through the body.

Coming from the Sanskrit word for wheel, chakras hence symbolize movement, indicating the movement of psychophysical energy to spiritual energy. It is quite ancient in origin, and has traditionally been depicted by a blossoming lotus. There are 7 major chakras (out of 114 total) located throughout the body, each of which is introduced below.

1. Muladhara (Root) Chakra

• Location: base of the spine, in the perineum
• Element: Earth
• Color: Red
• Balancing stones: Garnet, onyx
• Yoga poses for opening: Tree pose 

2. Svadhishthana (Sacral) Chakra

• Location: center of the abdomen, 4 finger widths below the navel
• Element: Water
• Color: Orange
• Balancing stones: Carnelian, orange zincite 
• Yoga poses for opening: Goddess pose

3. Manipura (Solar Plexus) Chakra

• Location: solar plexus, at the pit of the stomach
• Element: Fire
• Color: Bright yellow
• Balancing stones: Citrine, yellow sapphire
• Yoga poses for opening: Boat pose

4. Anahata (Heart) Chakra

• Location: center of the heart
• Element: Air
• Color: Green
• Balancing stones: rose quartz, green tourmaline
• Yoga poses for opening: Camel pose

5. Vishuddha (Throat) Chakra

• Location: center of the throat
• Element: Ether
• Color: Blue
• Balancing stones: turquoise, blue lace agate
• Yoga poses for opening: Shoulder stand or bridge pose

6. Ajna (Third Eye) Chakra

• Location: between the eyebrows (third eye)
• Element: Light (represents the emotional/mental body)
• Color: Indigo
• Balancing stones: lapis lazuli, sodalite
• Yoga poses for opening: Easy pose

7. Sahasrara (Crown) Chakra

• Location: center of the crown
• Element: Cosmic energy (represents consciousness)
• Color: Purple or gold
• Balancing stones: amethyst, clear quartz
• Yoga poses for opening: Lotus pose or corpse pose

The chakras are associated with nerve bundles which govern our psychological, emotional and spiritual states of being, and being aware of them can be key in achieving true full-body health, and not just health of the physical being. A good first step to becoming aware of the chakras and awakening them is meditation, picturing the chakra's color and focusing on its location starting from sahasrara up to muladhara. Aromatherapy and healing stones have also been used, but we'll look further into those in later posts. In the mean time, are you cognisant of your main chakras? Have you tried opening them? Leave a comment letting us know!

Stay peaceful,

Lexxie