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The Seven Chakras: A Yogi’s Introduction
If you’ve ever attended a yoga class at AmaSer, or browsed our delicious smoothie menu, you’ve probably seen or heard a reference to the chakras. Other words that usually come hand in hand with chakras are ‘blocked’, ‘open’ and a range of body parts and colours. Read on if you’d like to discover more about the seven chakras and how they relate to yoga!
What is a chakra?
The concept of chakras is embedded into the ancient tradition of Hinduism. The Vedas, ancient and sacred texts of spiritual knowledge which date back over 3,000 years, have mention of chakras. In recent years, chakras have become more widely known, with the increase in popularity of yoga.
chakra is an ancient Sanskrit word that means "spinning wheel". In yoga, the chakras are intersections, or wheels, of the body’s energy channels. According to the concept, these energy fields that surround the body make up the physical human body alongside the bones, muscles, organs, and skin.
The main chakras run from the top of your head to the base of your spine and correspond to organs, nerves, the endocrine system, and areas of our energetic body that affect both physical and emotional well-being.
What are the main chakras?
The seven main Chakras are located along the spine and each have a corresponding color and health focus. Here are the names of the seven Chakras and their corresponding colors and glands:
- Crown Chakra (Sahasrara) - Violet or white – Pineal Gland
- Third Eye Chakra (Anja) - Indigo – Pituitary Gland
- Throat Chakra (Vishuddhi) - Blue – Thyroid Gland
- Heart Chakra (Anahata) - Green – Thymus Gland
- Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura) - Yellow – Pancreas
- Sacral Chakra (Svadishthana) - Orange – Adrenal Glands
- Root Chakra (Muladhara) - Red – Sexual Glands
Image source: Healthline
What is a blocked or unbalanced chakra?
Your chakras must be open, or balanced, in order to function optimally. You may feel physical or emotional symptoms relating to a specific chakra if it becomes blocked. For example, a person suffering from difficulty speaking and expressing themselves or a sore throat could indicate an imbalance of the throat chakra.
It could be that there is a lack of or excess of energy in one area, and this is when they become blocked. Blockages in the energy flow between the seven chakras can arise from factors such as stress, trauma and loss.
How are chakras and yoga linked?
Yoga and the chakras go hand in hand because yoga postures, breath work and meditation help to promote balance, or keep the chakras open by creating alignment in the physical body. During a yoga class, you may hear that a specific pose is helping to open or balance a specific chakra.
Interested in learning more about the chakras? Keep an eye out for our upcoming blog posts which will go in depth about each of the seven chakras and how to keep them functioning optimally!
