Showing posts with label chakra series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chakra series. Show all posts

Friday, March 1, 2013

Chakra #1: Mula or Root Chakra



The first in the series of 7 chakras (do you ever feel like lots of this kind of stuff ends up being in 7s? 7 deadly sins, 7 dwarves...) This chakra is considered to be located at the perineum. That's doctor talk for... well, the space between your front business and your back business. I told you yogis we're disturbingly preoccupied with bowel movements; that obsession likely has something to do with the importance of the mula chakra in tantric and vedic theory. This is the place from which all your energy, or prana, or qi, or whathaveyou emanates.  Obviously this system was thought of primarily by men; who else would think that the source of all knowledge, power and health emanates from the pudenda?
Anyways, just like an out-of-balance dosha is associated with ailments, your chakras can be "blocked," and a root chakra problems fall into 2 categories
  1. Overactive: greedy, angry, narcissitic, sexually promiscuous, sadistic; basically, you're a jerk
  2. Underactive or blocked: feeling unsettled or nervous, sciatica, fatigue, insomnia, feelings of inadequacy or self-loathing
When this chakra is open, it is said to evoke feelings of bliss, innoncence, and pure joy. Sounds pretty great? Who knew? Turns out your junk is even more important than you thought.

Learn more after the jump!

Chakra Kahn!



So, back by popular demand, I'm reposting my popular Chakra series. Let's do it!

Besides doshas, which I discussed earlier, part of the ayurvedic/yogic tradition also address the bodies little mills of energy, or chakras. The chakras are linearly located along the spine, and are considered centers of energy flow, or prana, and also places of potential blockage. Theorectically, yoga works by opening these channels, thus allowing for prana to flow, bringing balance and therefore good health to the body. You'll probably notice the similarity this has to the Qi Gong and Chinese theories re: chi or qi.


The chakras are as follows, in order, from bottom to top:

1) Root (muladhara)

2) Pelvis (swadhisthana)

3) Navel (manipura)

4) Heart (anahata)

5) Throat (vishuddha)

6) Third eye (ajna)

7) Crown (sahasrara)

So get ready, we'll talk about each chakra in turn.