chakra fundamentals.

"Chakra" is a term familiar to many in modern yoga. However, most yoga practitioners are unsure what a chakra is or why the concept matters. 

I have been spending some time with this question, and it has led me to explore different ways they have been thought of and used throughout the history of yoga. In modern practice, we are used to referencing a set of seven chakras, usually in association with some modern psychology or a concept called the hierarchy of needs. This method is efficacious for many, as demonstrated by its prevalence and my conversations with individuals who use it. This interpretation speaks to the Western mind; however, it loses the subtle profundity of the Indic understanding of Reality and consciousness. 

The concept of something like the chakras necessitates understanding the body as more than physical matter. 

We all experience our intellect, emotions, sense perceptions, and energy levels on a given day; these are all a part of the subtle body. Subtle here refers to the intangible and subjective nature of this layer of the embodied experience. The philosophical systems of yoga have separated the body into three main categories, as seen in the Mandukya Upanishad. 

Physical body - the body you can touch, feel, see, smell

Subtle body - your thoughts, intellect, emotions, sense perceptions, energy level

Causal body - the cause of the subtle and physical body - Absolute Consciousness,

one could also reason it to be something akin to the spirit or soul.  

Within the traditions of yoga, there are many different chakra systems, and there are countless ways they are experienced within meditative practices. Most often, they are described as vortexes, places in the subtle body where there is an increased amount of energy. These points are assigned a location in the physical body, which merely references the subtle body. This is a point that is often missed, so to restate in another way, as the subtle body is the cause of the Physical body, any reference to a chakra being in a physical location is only an approximation of the subjective and individualized experience of the subtle body. 

 

The subtle body is separate from the physical body: it is your life-force energy, emotions, mental faculties, and energetic field. 

When we look at the various available traditions, we see that there is not just one idea of where the chakras are. Lineages and traditions give the practitioner a general road map or a framework; from there, it is personal practice and direct experience. What we can say is common amongst these interpretations is that the chakras are organized on a central column called the sushumna nadi, the physical approximation being the spinal column. I will use a six-chakra system corresponding to the five foundational elements (mahābhūtas) and the mind (Antahkarana) to elaborate on his model. 

6 Chakras in ascending order

chakra	location	element
mūlādhāra (मूलाधार)	perineum	earth
svādhiṣṭhāna (स्वाधिष्ठान)	the center of the pelvis	water
maṇipūra (मणिपूर)	navel	fire
anāhata (अनाहत)	chest	wind
viśuddha (विशुद्ध)	throat	space
ājñā (आज्ञा)	the center of the brain	mind, sense of self, & intellect

The obvious question at this point is, why would one want to experience the chakras?

In yoga, the main objective is first to use physical practice to keep the body healthy, increase the flexibility and suppleness of the physical structure, and allow for optimal movement of blood and lymph. Because the physical body is viewed as a product of the subtle body, the physical practice allows for optimal movement of the five prāṇas (the five main movements of life force energy in the body). 

After the channels (ṇadis) through which the prāṇa moves, are clear, the objective becomes learning to control that life force. This comes by way of prāṇāyāma, often translated as breath work. The practice of focusing the breath and learning to retrain and manipulate it trains the practitioner to be able to feel and control prāṇa. The breath is the tool correlated to the physical body, which is used to move to the more subtle layer of life force. The concentration power developed and the rhythmic control of the breath results in the harmonious movement of life force, increasing the potency of one's prāṇa. 

The Five Winds of Life-force. Panchaprāna

prāṇa (प्राण) - moves from the chest up to the head

apāna (अपान) - moves from the abdomen down to the pelvis

samāna (समान) - circulates in the abdomen 

udāna (उदान) - moves from the throat up through the crown of the head

vyāna (व्यान) - radiates in all directions from the body

Strong, well-flowing prāṇa is necessary for a well-functioning physical and subtle body, which allows for optimal physical, mental, and emotional health. However, a yogi is not yet satisfied. Once the control of the prāṇa is gained at this level, the focus becomes on channelizing it up the Sushumna nadi. This moves the prāṇa to what is called the sahasrada (thousand-petaled lotus), above the crown of the head.

The first objective is to harmonize the flows of the five movements of prāṇa and second is to bring them all into one strong current moving upward. This is where the chakras come back into the picture. As the concentrated pranic force moves up the central channel, it progressively moves through each chakra. This takes the practitioner into progressively profound mental states of meditation and has the potential to alter how they experience the world and Reality completely. 

In the next blog post, I will delve into ways in which the chakras can be concptualized:

panchakosha, five layers of the body as seen in the Taittiriya Upanishad.

saptaloka, seven vedic realms, as taught by Sri Ramakrishna.