Chakras
1. Subtle energy is all around us. It is in the ground we walk upon, it allows us to think, it regulates our breathing.
2. There is more to ourselves than the physical image we see in the mirror. Many people will say we cannot see the chakras but for that matter, we cannot see the air we breathe.
3. Yoga has known for thousands years that there is a subtle energy body associated with our physical body. Within this energy body we describe the chakras as a system of subtle energy. Just as common electrical devices control energy in our network, so the chakras control the energy in the subtle body and deeply affect us, both physically and psychically.
4. At a very basic level, chakras are subtle organs of the body that manage energy, just as the heart manages the circulatory system. There are major and minor chakras i.e. chakras with more work to do and chakras with less work to do.
5. At a deeper level, chakras are dynamic energy centers. They are connected in innumerable (asankhya) ways to different aspects of our being. From the most gross in our physical health to more subtle planes of thoughts, emotions and sensations. To the body’s electrical system, to subtler categories of vibration such as colours, sounds and of course, the working of the elements. They are involved in every aspect of our daily life (pasu) and are keys to a life of health and happiness. Which is why you will see a plethora of chakra medicines or chakra sounds doing the rounds these days.
6. Even though different systems of yoga elaborate on a varying number of chakras, for our study, we will talk about the normal six to seven chakra system and then add the chakras which Mr. Tavaria has spoken of.
7. If one were to visualize it, a chakra can best be described as a rapidly spinning wheel of light. Some chakras spin clockwise and some spin counter-clockwise. If we slowed it down, we would see it as a whirlpool (vamad) with vortexes (chakar).
8. The chakras resemble the petals of a flower. That is why in many systems they are described as lotuses.
9. There are fourteen of these tornados – seven emanating from the front of the body and seven from the back of the body (utpan). That is, every chakra has a front and back. They can be connected to different plexuses in the physical body. They extend in the front and back beyond the physical body.
10. First the hips, second the abdomen, third the solar plexus, fourth the heart, fifth the throat, sixth the forehead, and top of the head is the seventh.
11. The Sanskrit names are Muladhara, Svadhisthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishudhi, Ajna and Sahasrara. To these we will add Kundli, Taluka and Bindu.
12. These chakras are anchored in the plexuses of the physical body but remain at a subtle level. They perform innumerable functions, from controlling the energy in their area to managing the surrounding organs.
13. The chakras are connected to the endocrine glands. They control different elements in the body, they circulate the vital breath or prana, they carry and manipulate sound, they have different impulses, and they have a general impulse called kundalini.
14. The front sides of the chakras are connected to our current reality and the back portions to our subconscious and unconscious minds.
15. Every chakra has the possibility of spinning clockwise and anticlockwise, although in their natural state they have a spin movement to them.
16. Just as a chakra has a front and back, it also has an inner sphere and outer sphere. In Gurdjieff’s terms, the outer sphere is related to our personality and the inner to our essence.
17. The soul programs the inner sphere at the seventh month of pregnancy. It holds many keys - our dharma, our path, it contains everything. The outer sphere is how we are going to enact our karma.
18. Let’s look at the functions of chakras before they are charged with conscious energy. We will study three main functions - physical, psychological and spiritual.
19. Physical: The main chakras have a body location. They are attached to certain organs and glands. To a nerve plexus. They respond to certain colours or sounds. The chakras are also connected to our physical senses. They have a certain density of vibration, the lower being denser than the higher.
20. Psychological: It is the chakras that are responsible for all our conditioning. Our beliefs, prejudices, patterns, attitudes, habits, all lie in the chakras.
21. Spiritual: Each chakra is a channel for a specific spiritual quality. We will take a few examples.
The Muladhar is located in the pelvic plexus. It controls the hips, the coccygeal vertebra, anus, bladder, rectum and other body parts. If you have a bladder infection, there may be an imbalance of energy in this chakra and so you have to visit the bathroom often. The hips regulate the first chakra and so we see the importance of pelvic floor exercises. Many times we may have some block in that area - perhaps caused by painful memories - which can lead to pain for no reason.
22. Psychologically, the Muladhara is related to security and safety. If we feel insecure, if we feel not loved. But if we are full of gratitude, we want to give love, then we offset these feelings.
23. Mr. Tavaria used to place a lot of emphasis on what the mother thinks and feels during a pregnancy. If the mother did not want the pregnancy, then the child would hold a pattern of being unwanted, rejected. Sometimes the death of someone close.
24. Chakras interact with energy in different planes. That is, they are in communication with ten dimensions simultaneously. These dimensions can be known and accessed through an expansion of consciousness. Length. Breadth. Thickness. Time. Two kinds of eternities. And seven to ten is the possibility of entering other universes. 25. Chakras are also storehouses of sound with each chakra associated with several sounds. As we shall see, each chakra houses an element and the bija sounds are actually not the sound of the chakras but of the element within vibrating.
26. Earlier, we have seen that sound is the energy of akasha. It manifests as fifty-two letters which arrange themselves in the chakras. These chakras are Dev Nagri — the abode or city of the Gods.
27. These are primordial sounds. It is a natural progression of sound energy as expressed from subtle to gross vibration, not arranged in that order exactly but in the sequence in which they progress in the human mouth. These sounds are original expressions of The Absolute as Sabda or truth. The language came later.
28. The etymology of Sanskrit words — ena udgam sthan — is tonal (swar sabandhi) rather than semantic (related to meaning). Each letter is associated with one of the petals or vortexes on the chakras.
29. That Absolute as Sabda is divided into fifty two aspects (pasu, laksana). Each of the letters is an aspect of the Absolute. The tone specific to returning to the absolute is anuswara. The ‘m’ clears the pathway from the particular attribute to the whole.
30. Each of the chakras has a beej assigned to it which is not of the chakra but of the element in the chakra — others do say it is the comprehensive of the petals.
31. Every letter is a particular goddess which manifests as sound. These sounds are humming away in the chakras every moment. But we have not trained ourselves to hear these internal sounds. 32. So even though the chakras are seen as energy in the form of light, they are actually grades of sound.
33. Let us look at each chakra in detail.
34. Muladhara is the root and basis of existence. It is in the perineum. At the root of the reproductive organs. Above the anus at the base of the spinal column.
35. The Muladhara has four branches. And is in the shape of a red triangle. Bhaga.
36. Just above the muladhara but within its petals is situated the kanda i.e. bulb or root. It is an egg-shaped nadi. It is said that the sleeping kundalini lies here in three and a half coils. It has four vortexes of energy or petals caused by the humming of sound waves of the four letters. The three main nadis rise from here.
37. The four petals, vam — joy, sham — natural pleasure, sham — controlling passion and sam — the ability to concentrate blissfully.
38. It is the seat of the prithvi vibration with its seed lam. All these are mkaras.
39. The Muladhara is called the root chakra. It has its Shakti called Dakini — this is a special efferent impulse situated in the chakra. It exerts an inhibitory influence on the working of the sympathetic nervous system i.e. those organs which are unconsciously activated by the sympathetic nervous system.
40. There are unconscious efferent impulses and consciously created ones. The unconscious ones remain as apana vayu. These efferent impulses are called apana vayu in yoga but when consciously done, the apana impulse becomes a new prana impulse.
41. This apana impulse is connected with elimination. At the physical level, this includes urine, stool, semen and foetus, and the sex act.
42. At a subtler level, the apana impulse gets rid of waste products in the lungs through the air we breathe out.
43. At the level of impressions and brain activity, it influences mental excretion i.e. daydreaming. A continuous film of waste images based on past perceptions and unfulfilled desires. This is pure exhaust. When outer impressions are quietened, we see it as dreaming in sleep. But dreaming goes on night and day.
44. When we practice the ashwinimudra, we are trying to create the ground to transform the apana impulse into prana. But for this, we must reach a state of psychic ashwini.
45. The unconscious impulse stimulates the sex organs and sexual fluids, leading to passion and excitement. The conscious apana (prana) impulse will pause this. It activates the pelvic nerve. This very pause allows the kundalini to rise.
46. The Muladhara chakra is connected with experiencing primal needs, such as sleeping, eating and drinking, survival and later, sex.
47. So we use the Shakti to rise above these primal needs.
48. When we are low on energy, we should stimulate this area through the pelvic floor exercises.----Ashwini. 49. Because the Muladhara’s primary colour is red, it represents raw energy. The secondary colour is black – the colour of gravity.
50. (Jati andashaya.) The activation comes from the adrenal glands, the impulse, the urge, and so even though the real connection with the adrenals is in the manipura we are activated here. ADRENALS.
51. Usually, the adrenals are imbalanced — too much secretion in today's world. In our busy society, stress leads to adrenal secretion. Worry, fear, guilt, the powerlessness to do. This can lead to low blood pressure which can turn into high blood pressure, blood sugar fluctuation and exhaustion, and continuous mental chatter.
52. This first chakra is connected with these body parts — Muscles, bones, mainly the hips, bladder, rectum, genitals (guhya indriyo), kidneys.
53. The sense associated with muladhara is the sense of smell.
54. Because the tattva is prithvi — the action organ is the feet.
55. Illnesses associated with this chakra are — Obesity and eating disorders, Piles, Constipation, Sciatica, Fibromyalgia, Chronic fatigue, Leg, knee and foot problems,Varicose veins, Arthritis, Skin problems, Disorders of bowels, anus, large intestine, Drug addiction, alcoholism, Sexual dysfunctions
56. I’s to observe: Greed (Lobha) - Overeating. The immediate rasa is getting something for nothing. Worrying I’s. Guilt I’s - Instinctive center is identification with smell. Chattering I’s - connected with internal considering. All I’s connected with safety, people do not appreciate me (sex functions). Primal feelings—rage, resentment. 57. Exercises - Grounding cord exercise. Visualize a white beam of light from the top of the head through the spine and into the earth. Standing or sitting. Om with lam. The alternate breathing first. Special nose exercise.
58. To access this chakra, Perform the nasikagra drishti, which involves gazing at the tip of your nose until you develop the ability to smell psychic fragrances over time. This practice is also called the agochari mudra, the gesture of invisibility. Here is how to perform this exercise: Sit comfortably and gaze ahead as you normally do, breathing normally. Relax your shoulders and place your palms on your knees. Slowly move your eyes so you are staring at the tip of your nose. Keep your gaze here for only a few seconds, holding your breath while doing so. If you feel pain, return your gaze to normal. Repeat this process at one sitting for as long as you can and then return to it at a later time, making sure not to strain your eyes. Practice for several months and see if you can develop a higher state of consciousness, including the sense of smell if you are thinking about a certain event, person, or situation.
--- Rajen Vakil