The chakras are seven energy centers in the body that run from the base of the spine to the top of your head. In Sanskrit, chakra means wheel, and each energy center is believed to be a sort of spinning vortex. With the rise in popularity of yoga, the chakras have become a trendy topic.
The Vedas
The description and meaning of the chakras originated from the Vedas, which are considered to be the most ancient sacred literature of Hinduism. Today, it is commonly believed that the Vedas were written in Sanskrit near the end of the third century BC. The word chakra is influenced by the wheels on the chariot that carried the Aryans, or the Indo-Europeans that invaded India. Chakra also represents order and balance, as it is a metaphor for the sun, or wheel of time, since the sun circles the earth.
The Seven Chakras
The Vedas list seven chakras that run along your spine. The first chakra is located at the base of the spine and represents earth and grounding; health, prosperity and security are identified with this chakra. The second chakra is located in your abdomen and lower back and relates to emotions and sexuality. The third chakra is located in the solar plexus and relates to your metabolism and personal power. The heart chakra is the fourth and considered the middle chakra, as it lies between the three lower and three upper chakras. The heart chakra represents love, compassion and self-acceptance. Located in the throat is the fifth chakra, which represents self-expression, communication and creativity. The third eye, located on your forehead, is the sixth chakra and represents physically and intuitively seeing, along with identity and self-reflection. On top of the head is the final chakra, which represents consciousness and awareness.
Balancing the Chakras
As each chakra represents a function in the body, it has long been believed that having them be balanced is important to living a life of physical and spiritual well being. External experiences and the way that you perceive and internalize them, can cause an imbalance in the particular relating chakra. For example, people who have continual health and money issues are said to have an imbalanced root or first chakra. Or those that have an eating disorder may have an imbalanced third chakra. If you were sad and unable to love, you would need to balance your heart chakra. And if you had trouble speaking up for yourself, you may need to work on your throat chakra.
Yoga
Yoga is a historical and purportedly effective way to balance your chakras, and each chakra has specific poses that will help it to be stable and heal. For example, heart openers, such as back bends, will help to bring your heart chakra into balance. The grounding nature of standing and seated poses, such as Warrior I, standing forward bend and child’s pose, can help to balance your root chakra. Poses that strengthen your core, such as boat pose, sun salutations and leg lifts can bring your third chakra into balance.
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