First discussed in the Vedic scriptures, the pursuit of better understanding the chakras persists in the 21st century.
Training In Power Academy reviews that the concept of chakra balancing is widely practiced within modern-day meditation, yoga, and alternative healing practices. But what exactly are chakras and why do they need balancing?
The answer is deep within.
Defining Chakras
Chakras, which means “wheels,” are generally regarded as vital points of energy in a body. Chakras are believed to be invisible vortexes of energy that are constantly spinning and should always stay aligned or “open.”
Chakras are first mentioned (in written form) in 1,500 to 1,000 B.C. in sacred spiritual texts called the Vedas that originate in India.
Chakras are a prominent concept within Hinduism and Buddhism. While some believe that there are as many as 114 unique chakras in every body, there are seven main chakras that are generally agreed upon and correspond with different parts of the body.
Each also has associated mantras, colors, elements, stones, and yoga poses. The seven, from bottom to top, are:
- The root chakra at the spine’s base and connected with feelings of being grounded.
- The sacral chakra in the lower abdomen and connected to sexual energy and creativity.
- The solar plexus chakra in the upper abdomen and stomach and connected to self-confidence and self-esteem.
- The heart chakra in the chest’s center right above the heart and connected to inner peace and love.
- The throat chakra in the throat and connected to self-expression and communication.
- The third-eye chakra in the forehead between the eyes and connected to imagination and wisdom.
- The crown chakra at the top of the head and connected to spiritual connection and outer/inner beauty.
What is Chakra Balancing?
The chakras are all connected to various elements and emotions and the so-called balancing of chakras is essential to promoting good health by increasing the body’s energy flow.
There are numerous approaches to balancing chakras. Many modern therapies, such as acupressure, reiki, color therapy, and therapeutic touch frequently integrate chakra balancing in an overall vision of healing.
Chakras and chakra balancing have always been essential to ancient yoga and continue today. In general, chakra balancing is believed to encourage well-being and promote good health by ensuring that one’s life energy, commonly called qi or prana, is freely flowing.
Treatments integrating chakras generally begin by identifying potential chakra blockages in a body. By using various meditation techniques and yoga movements, to name a few, chakra balancing is achieved.
The end goal ranges from becoming calmer throughout one’s everyday life to developing improved happiness and confidence.
How Does it Factor in Yoga and Meditation?
Yoga was fundamentally developed to provide a basic balance of chakras. Yoga movements are believed to create better physical alignment within the body through different postures that also realign the chakras.
Different poses are associated with balancing different chakras. For example, the mountain pose targets the root chakra, the plank pose targets the solar plexus chakra, and the camel pose realigns the heart chakra.
Chakra meditation usually focuses on each of the chakras to restore their energy. Some chakra meditation practitioners use color visualization since every chakra is connected to a specific color.
They may use mantras or hand gestures called mudras. Chakra meditation practices can either focus on all seven main chakras at once or focus on an individual chakra.
Before beginning chakra mediation, a practitioner will usually ask questions designed to identify chakras that are not balanced. These include asking about physical pain, frequency of moodiness, if there is a history of depression, or if there is trouble sleeping.
Making Scientific Connections
Increasing scholarship suggests that there is a science to back up the concepts of chakras and chakras balancing. According to Discover magazine, modern research links chakras to the body’s endocrine system, a network of organs and glands responsible for metabolism, growth, development, and response to stress.
Research finds that the thyroid gland correlates with the throat chakra and the thymus correlates to the heart chakra, for example.
Work to connect science with chakras began in earnest relative recently, in the 1970s. In 2005, a study explored the chakra system’s energies and noted that such energy is a healing energy that is missing from modern health care treatments.
And neuropsychology, the study of the brain and its nervous system, is branching out to explore the impact of chakras in human psychology.
Not bad for a health concept that’s countless millennia old.