WHAT IS ALL THIS CHAKRA TALK?

Oh, the excitement is in the air for the new book to arrive. It is book birthing season!! I thought I’d share from the new book:

WHAT IS ALL THIS CHAKRA TALK? 

Wheel, lotus, vortex, all of these describe the word “chakra.” In this mysterious history of the chakra’s origin, what we have come to know through the Indian Vedic texts, Upanishads, or through the Tantric lens is that the physical body has energy centers. The number of centers is as mysterious as the origin of the chakra. The Buddhist texts mentioned four or five, whereas the Hindus believed six or seven. The number of chakras goes up to 114. Twelve chakras is bandied about by some schools of chakra-thought but most agree upon the traditional seven chakras in the body. 

This chakra system was also found in ancient Greek, Egyptian, and Chinese cultures. Traditional Chinese Medicine has invisible maps known as the meridians that run throughout the body system, connected to the organs and emotions. It is believed that the Native Americans had a system; the Pueblo Nation was said to have a connection to the Creator and the Earth and several vortexes in between. 

Worldwide, ancient cultures recognized mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects to our lives and that intuition and creativity was involved also. They recognized that there needs to be balance and flow. This was largely done through yoga, mantras, prayer, breathwork, meditation, and visualization. 

If you are completely new to energy and chakras, imagine the physical body with spinning wheels or discs, like a vortex, a whirling, three-dimensional mass, or a cone-shaped funnel extending from the body. Chakras are located in the physical body, along the spine that extends outward beyond the body. The chakras are associated with areas and organs in the physical body and with themes. Think of it this way: each chakra, in either you or your animal, holds specific information based on individual history, and it also contains the potential of what each chakra represents. Chakras categorize our experiences for us throughout the body. If we are facing a challenge, dynamic or shift in our mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, sexual, and financial world, it could be because of something inhibiting the corresponding chakra from being in its full power to groove and flow. There are behavioral, relationship, and health consequences if we are not maintaining a balance. I like to think of chakras as different, interrelated theme parks that are owned by the same company. Or even better, like distinct, beautiful national parks in one state. Traditional chakras have symbols associated with, and representing, each one. Fig. 1:

 The human chakra system: 

1. Muladhara: “Root” – base of the spine Introduction 
2. Svadhishthana: “Where the self is established” – sacral/under the belly button
3. Manipura: “Jewel City” – solar plexus 
4. Anahat: “Unstruck” – heart center
5. Vishuddha: “Purest” – throat center
6. Ajna: “Command” – brow/third eye
7. Sahasrara: “Thousand-Petaled” – crown For humans, conscious thought, clearing techniques, intention