Chakra Basics for Beginners

There is no lack of mythical, powerful energy used in our favorite anime’s. We have our Saiyan’s from Dragon Ball shooting energy beams from their hands, Baki executing punches and kicks faster than the human eye can follow and although not officially considered an “anime”, but is inspired by the Asian culture, Aang, from Avatar: The Last Airbender who embraces his chakras that provides him the ability to enter his “avatar” state.

For those unfamiliar with this storyline, Aang is a young monk who finds out that he is the Avatar: The peacekeeper of the world and has the responsibility to bridge the gap between the physical and spiritual world. On his journey to protect the world from the Fire Nation, Aang learns to unlock all his chakras to save the world from destruction.

I think I can speak for most of us when I say, it would be amazing if we could manipulate these chakras to yield such mythical powers. Unfortunately, in our human warrior world, this doesn’t exist and I don’t think it will ever exist in our lifetime. However, if we come to terms that this doesn’t exist (yet), our world does include chakra practice, but not how we see it in these fictional story lines.

As a disclaimer, although, I personally practice yoga and meditation, I am not a yoga, meditation, or chakra professional. Information provided is merely information I collected to personally learn more about chakras myself and share with you all.

Overview:

What is Chakra?

The 7 Chakras

Unblocking Chakras

What Does Science Say?

Final Thoughts

What is Chakra?

If you’ve ever attended a yoga or meditation class, you may have heard the term “chakra” or cakra in sanskrit meaning “wheel”. In between these wheels are energy channels that allow energy to flow from one area of the body to another. Chakras are an ancient energy system that was first mentioned in the Vedas aka “knowledge” text, which are the oldest hindu texts dating back to 1500 to 1000BC. With the growing popularity of yoga, meditation and mental health practices, chakra is becoming more well-known.

What are the 7 Chakras?

Chakras are various energy focal points on the human body used in yoga and meditation practice. These Chakras start at the base of your spine and extend up to the crown of your head. Each Chakra is said to have different benefits and abilities.

1. Root Chakra (Muladhara)

Location: Base of spine

Purpose: Maintains feet, legs and spine health

Meaning: Security, stability and grounding

Under Active Side Effects: Fearful, nervous

Over-Active Side Effects: Greedy

2. Sacral Chakra (Swadhisthana)

Location: Below naval

Purpose: Maintains reproductive system, bladder, kidneys and abdomen region health

Meaning: Sexuality, pleasure, creativity

Under Active Side Effects: Closed off

Over-Active Side Effects: Overly sensitive

3. Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura)

Location: Stomach

Purpose: Maintains stomach, liver, intestines and digestive system health

Meaning: Self-esteem, confidence, integrity

Under Active Side Effects: Passive and indecisive

Over-Active Side Effects: Aggressive

4. Heart Chakra (Anahata)

Location: Chest

Purpose: Heart, Lungs, Circulatory System Health

Meaning: Love and connection

Under Active Side Effects: Unfriendly

Over-Active Side Effects: Too loving

5. Throat Chakra (Vishuddha)

Location: Throat

Purpose: Throat, thyroid, neck and jaw health

Meaning: Communication and expression

Under Active Side Effects: Introverted

Over-Active Side Effects: Too extroverted

6. Third-Eye Chakra (Ajna)

Location: Center of forehead

Purpose: Brain, neurological system, eyes, ears and nose health

Meaning: Intuition, vision, awareness

Under Active Side Effects: Confused and helpless

Over-Active Side Effects: Daydream and detached from reality

7. Crown Chakra (Sahasrara)

Location: Top of head

Purpose: Brain health

Meaning: Spirit

Under Active Side Effects: Rigid thoughts and unconnected to spirit

Over-Active Side Effects: Ignore body’s essential needs

Unblocking Chakras

If you’ve mastered keeping all chakras balanced, this means all your chakras are “unblocked” and you’re living a life of complete balance and health. However, if imbalanced or “blocked”, this can initiate mental, emotional, physical or spiritual ailments. If you feel tired, lethargic or unhappy, this is a sign to examine your chakras and determine which chakra needs attending.

Some methods to unblock chakras can include the following:

Chanting Mantras

A mantra is a short reptition chant that can be considered as a form of sound healing.

Tapping

The practice of tapping requires you to use your fingertips to tap on certain chakra focul points throughout your body allowing your body to release emotions that may be blocking your chakras.

Essential Oils

Using certain essential oils can help unblock and rebalance your chakras.

Yoga

Movement can increase flow of energy thus unblocking your blocked chakras.

Nutrition

Each chakra correlates with certain foods so including a variety of healthy foods can suppot rebalancing your system

Breathing

Intentional deep breaths can be one of the most effective options to rebalancing your chakras to their natural harmonious state. When practicing, direct all your energy to your unblanced chakra as you inhale and bring awareness to your breath as you relax and exhale.

What Does Science Say?

No scientific evidence supports chakras in a spiritual sense however, scientists have argued that chakras correspond to the Central Nervous System within the brain and spinal cord and the Peripheral Nervous System which connects the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body via "energy canals" or in human antomy terms, nerve fibers. Although, this is a good theory, not everyone agrees with this interpretation and more scientific research needs to be conducted.

Final Thoughts

Since implementing yoga and meditation into my training routine I grew this curiosity for chakras. Although it lacks research and has not been scientifically proven to exist or provide any health benefits, the concept of chakras can help provide warriors direction when it comes to finding balance in these areas of health both physically and mentally. Overall, I understand mastering all chakras can take time, so for now, I will first learn to examine the current state of my chakras, focus on these chakras during my yoga and meditation practice, then we'll see how it goes from there.

Disclaimer: All information presented and written within this article are intended for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other health-care professional.