The chakras are like subtle energy transformers. They take in the life force all around us and transform it into the frequencies we need, bringing it into our subtle energy system.
There are seven basic chakras, beginning with the root chakra at the base of the spine and ending with the crown chakra at the top of the head. The frequency and refinement of the energy increase with each one: the root chakra holds very basic energy, and the crown chakra’s energy is highly refined. The chakras shape the kinds of consciousness operating in our subtle body, and they connect to the whole spectrum of human experience. There are also chakras above and below these seven, and minor chakras in the hands, feet, knees and elsewhere. Each chakra is connected to the energy channels of the spine, and each is associated with a deity, color, sound, sense and set of asanas.
The nadis: ida, pingala and sushumna
The nadis are the channels through which prana circulates; nadi means stream. The Shiva Samhita names fourteen principal nadis, and of these, three are considered most important.
- Sushumna is the central channel at the core of the spine, connecting the root chakra to the crown. It is associated with the river Saraswati. Within it lie three still subtler channels, vajra, chitrini and brahma nadi, through which kundalini rises from just below muladhara to sahasrara.
- Pingala is the right channel: red, masculine, heating and solar, associated with the river Yamuna. It originates in muladhara and ends at the right nostril. Pingala means “tawny” in Sanskrit. It is the extroverted channel.
- Ida is the left channel: white, feminine, cooling and lunar, associated with the river Ganga. It originates in muladhara and ends at the left nostril. It is the introverted channel.
Ida and pingala rise from the base of the spine and spiral around sushumna, crossing at the nodes between the chakras, a pattern often compared to the double helix of DNA. They are also often linked to the two hemispheres of the brain.
Below is a guide to each chakra, the deities associated with it, and the practices we use to balance it. If a chakra feels blocked, like a wheel that is stuck, you can also work with the chakra above or below it to help it open.
1. Muladhara: root chakra
Muladhara concerns your connection with the earth, your birthplace, your culture and your foundation. It is the center of physical energy and vitality, grounded in material reality: the center of manifestation. The feelings most associated with it are fear, grief, desire, anger and attachment.
- Deity: Ganesha, who dwells at muladhara in every being, supporting and guiding all the other chakras
- Color: red. Element: earth. Sense: smell. Bija mantra: LAM
- Location: base of the spine and pelvic floor, where kundalini lies coiled
- Body: bowels, bladder, legs, feet and bones
- Balanced qualities: stability, security, grounding, health, courage, patience, stillness, mastery of the body
- Imbalanced qualities: insecurity, greed, anger, self-centeredness, over-concern with survival, tension in the spine, constipation
- Asanas: garland (malasana), child’s pose, easy seat, lotus, chair, tree, mountain, locust, bridge
- Mudra: bhumisparsha, “touching the earth”: the right hand reaches down over the right knee with fingers touching the ground, the left hand rests palm up in the lap, recalling the Buddha calling the earth to witness
- Pranayama: rechaka, slow, controlled exhalation
- Mantra: Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha
2. Svadhisthana: sacral chakra
Svadhisthana means “one’s own dwelling place.” Located just above muladhara, it helps awaken prana shakti. Its symbol, the crescent moon, represents receptivity, the womb and the feminine, surrounded by six lotus petals.
- Deity: Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity, both material and spiritual
- Color: orange. Element: water. Sense: taste. Bija mantra: VAM
- Location: lower abdomen, one to two inches below the navel
- Body: reproductive organs, bladder, kidneys, sacrum, hips, pelvis and lower back
- Balanced qualities: giving and receiving, healthy emotion and pleasure, passion, embracing change, new ideas, tolerance, surrender, working creatively with others
- Imbalanced qualities: overindulgence, confusion, purposelessness, jealousy, possessiveness
- Asanas: pigeon, Sufi circles, ankle-to-knee, bound angle, Warrior I and II, triangle, wide-angle forward bend, splits (hanumanasana), gate pose
- Mudra: kshepana: clasp the hands with the index fingers pressed together and pointing down, releasing what no longer serves
- Pranayama: sitali, the cooling breath
- Mantra: Om Shreem Maha Lakshmiyei Namaha
3. Manipura: solar plexus chakra
Manipura means “city of jewels.” It is the storehouse of prana, and its development is key to working with vital energy.
- Deities: Durga and her fierce aspect Kali, goddess of time, change, power and transformation; Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu; and Hanuman, Rama’s devoted servant
- Color: yellow. Element: fire. Sense: sight. Bija mantra: RAM
- Location: above the navel, below the chest, at the solar plexus
- Balanced qualities: personal will and power, energy, self-control, radiance, warmth, transformation, humor, laughter
- Imbalanced qualities: taking in more than one can digest, over-emphasis on power or recognition, anger, fear, digestive trouble
- Asanas: revolved triangle, boat, crow, side crow, revolved half moon, chair and chair twist, twists, arm balances and inversions
- Mudras: abhaya (the open right hand raised to shoulder height, palm out, offering fearlessness) or mushti (a fist with the thumb over the ring finger)
- Pranayama: energizing breaths such as bhastrika (bellows breath) and kapalabhati (skull-shining breath), practiced with a qualified teacher
- Mantras: any mantra to Durga or Kali
4. Anahata: heart chakra
Anahata means “unstruck.” It is the seat of anahata nada, the most subtle cosmic sound, heard only in the deepest states of meditation. It is called unstruck because no external friction causes it.
- Deities: the divine lovers, Radha and Krishna, and Sita and Rama
- Color: green. Element: air. Sense: touch. Bija mantra: YAM
- Location: the heart
- Balanced qualities: unconditional love, forgiveness, compassion, understanding, balance, oneness with life, acceptance, peace, openness, harmony, contentment
- Imbalanced qualities: repressed love, emotional instability
- Asanas: wheel, camel and other backbends, upward-facing dog, fish, cobra, crescent lunge, forearm stand, bow, locust, devotional warrior, eagle arms, cow face arms and binds
- Mudras: anjali (prayer), dhyana (hands resting in the lap, right over left, thumbs touching to form a triangle) and lotus (heels of the hands, thumbs and little fingers touching, the other fingers blossoming open in front of the heart)
- Pranayama: breath of joy
- Mantras: chants to Sita and Rama, Radha and Krishna, or Hanuman
5. Vishuddha: throat chakra
Vishuddha means purity. It is the center of communication, of creative focus, self-discipline, initiative and responsibility, and it corresponds to the thyroid gland. Tradition says that nectar falls from the crown into this center; when it is open, it generates vitality, creative expression and true wisdom.
- Deity: Saraswati, goddess of the arts, learning, speech and music
- Color: blue. Element: ether (space). Sense: hearing. Bija mantra: HAM
- Location: the throat
- Balanced qualities: the power of the spoken word, true communication, creative expression, truth, knowledge, honesty, loyalty, gentleness and kindness
- Imbalanced qualities: difficulty communicating, knowledge used unwisely, lack of discernment
- Asanas: shoulder stand, bridge, camel, plow
- Mudra: shankh (conch): the right hand wraps around the left thumb, the left fingers resting against the right fist
- Pranayama: bhramari (bee breath): gently close the ears with the thumbs and the eyes with the fingers, inhale deeply, and hum on the exhale; and nadi shodhana (alternate-nostril breathing)
- Mantras: chants to Saraswati, or the Gayatri mantra
6. Ajna: third eye chakra
Ajna means “command.” Also called the guru chakra, it is where ida, pingala and sushumna merge into one stream of consciousness flowing up to sahasrara. Known as the third eye, the eye of Shiva or the eye of intuition, it gazes inward rather than outward. It is called divya chakshu, the divine eye, and jnana chakshu, the eye of wisdom, because through it the seeker receives insight into the nature of existence.
- Deities: Shiva, from whose third eye the world is said to spring, and Ardhanarishvara, the united form of Shiva and Parvati
- Color: indigo. Element: beyond the elements. Sense: the mind. Bija mantra: OM
- Location: the center of the forehead
- Balanced qualities: self-realization, intuition, insight, imagination, concentration, peace of mind, wisdom, devotion, perception beyond duality
- Imbalanced qualities: poor concentration, fear, cynicism, tension, headaches, bad dreams, over-detachment from the world
- Asanas: tree and other balances, head-to-knee forward bend and other forward folds, child’s pose, forearm stand, handstand, arm balances, restorative poses and savasana
- Pranayama: nadi shodhana
- Mantras: rolling OMs, or Om Namah Shivaya
7. Sahasrara: crown chakra
Sahasrara, the seat of supreme consciousness, is at the crown of the head. It is sometimes said not to be a psychic center at all, because it lies beyond the realm of the psyche. Its symbol is the thousand-petaled lotus in full bloom: total openness to the light. Here individual identity dissolves and we merge with all that is. This is self-realization, whose peak experience is called samadhi.
- Deity: the inner guru, in whom all deities, masculine and feminine, are unified
- Color: violet. Element: none. Bija mantra: OM, or silence
- Location: the crown of the head, associated with the pineal gland and nervous system
- Balanced qualities: union of the higher Self with the personality, oneness with the infinite, inspiration, divine wisdom, selfless service, continuity of consciousness
- Imbalanced qualities: lack of inspiration, confusion, alienation, hesitation to serve
- Asanas: headstand, restorative poses, mountain, standing forward fold, devotional warrior, savasana
- Pranayama: bhramari
- Mantra: So Hum, “I am that”
Energizing breath practices and inversions are not right for everyone. Learn them from a qualified teacher, and skip them if you are pregnant or have high blood pressure, heart, eye or neck conditions.
