3 to 5k years ago Yogi’s practiced Self Awareness and during this meditative practices they used to observe their bodies for extended periods of time.
They realized that some parts of the body are more sensitive and hence important for the functioning of the body.
The physical expression of chakras is the Endocrine glands Pineal, third eye etc.
Seven controlling points of life energy called Prana.
Towards the end of the video we will discuss about 5 WAYS TO BALANCE YOUR ENERGIES
Yoga is a science of how body and mind are related.
Where are your emotions originating from ?
By learning and becoming aware of our emotions and energies, we can create the life by design.
Before we go deeper into chakra let’s discuss Prana. Prana is the fuel running both Physical and Energy body. Prana is referred with different names in different cultures Chi , Ki , Life Force Energy, call it what you will, the living body, human or animal, radiates its warmth and energy. To balance these energies we use different practices ChiGong for Chi, Reiki for Ki and Pranayanama for Prana.
Its recognized that this energy in our system is looking for an expression. Also this energy gets expressed in different ways within different people depending on their Karma. Karmic memory essentially directs this energy in a positive or negative direction.
According to tantra our lifes are not measured in the number or years, months and day but in the number of breath we take. So we breath fast and shallow we die young and use up the prana faster. The key is to breath deep and slowly.
Prana can be compared to electricity. Just like electricity can express through a light bulb to bring light in the room, the same electricity can express through “Electric Chair” for death punishment. In other words the way this prana is handled within the body is subject to the level of awareness the person is operating from.
In vedic system these levels are refered to as 7 Chakras or diffrent levels of our awareness.
To understand chakras we need to understand that Prana in a human being is always trying to find higher expression, in other words seeking evolution. Evolution is a universal process as all life is evolving and humans are no exception. Life creation and evolution are the stages in the unfolding of human consciousness. We humans are evolving not only individually but also as a race.
The muladhara chakra is located at the perineum, the spot that touches the ground when we sit in the lotus position. As the name suggests Mul means root adhar is base.
When a person is operating at this level of awareness their life’s energies are focused on survival mode and is the foundation of the physical body. Therefore the satisfaction is also derived from fulfilling the basic needs of food and shelter.
For example: If the baby is feed and has safe surrounding they are blissful and happy.
Further more each level of awareness or Chakra is associated with an Element i.e. Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. The element associated with the Root Chakra is Earth.
We will go deeper into each chakra in the coming videos.
That brings us to the second level of our awareness Sacral Chakra also called Swadhisthana. This Chakra represents desire center of the body and seat of emotions. See when a person is starving the only problem that exist.. is how to satisfy the hunger. However, once the person is fed, then all the other problems appear.
Similarly, when the basic necessities of food and shelter in a person are satisfied then this person seeks sensual pleasures.The pleasures through the sense organs Eyes, ears, tongue, Touch and Smell.
A kid who’s starving in the 3rd world country would be satisfied with a piece of bread as compared to the kid’s in wealthy nations who would throw a temper tantrum if they are not fed their favourite food. This can be explained by basic human emotion of seeking pleasure from the senses. When our energies are predominantly operating at the Sacral chakra we become pleasure seeker. Our whole life becomes a chase to seek and acquire the next pleasurable thing. In other their life is ruled by their sense pleasures. The Element associated with this Chakra is Water.
Third is the Solar Plexus also known as Manipura, the physical location for this chakra in the navel region. This element associated with this chakra is Fire and it controls the digestion, temperature regulation throughout the body. This is considered the most important chakra in the human evolution as it is the meeting point for all the nadis in the energy body. This is also considered the seat of Ego and identity. As babies we were connected with the mother at this center.
Once the person has risen above the basic necessities of food and shelter and their sense of pleasure. The energy rises to express through creation from will power. When the person is operating from this level of awareness, the focus becomes to create something unique or contribute to this world and leave something of value behind. At this level person is still operating at the physical preservation level but the expression is more refined. This person seeks to become part of the community and creates their Identity by exercising their Will Power.
The first three Chakras take care of our basic needs and is described in different cultures. In the west a famous psychologist Abraham Maslow created Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. Only after fulfilment of the basic needs can a person focus on Self-Actualization. According to tantra practices, while we are stuck with mundane and struggling with basic needs, our kundalini rises up to manipura chakra then returns to muladhara.
However, when Kundalini crosses the astral bridge which is a barrier between manipura and Heart chakra also known as Anhata. Heart chakra is a transition stage between the physical preservation and meta physical /Beyond physical exploration. This element associated with this chakra is Air. Once the prana energy starts operating at this level person is no longer anxious or worried about the basic necessities, sense pleasure or making a name for themselves in the community, here the person experiences evolution of their consciousness. They start developing oneness with the world around them. Looking at other people as different expressions of the same consciousness. This essentially transforms the feeling of competition to collaboration. Here a person develops absolute trust in fellow human beings. An example of Trust and heart chakra open is:
When you swing a baby in the air, they laugh !! You might wonder why they laugh ?
Because they trust that you are there to catch them on the way down. That’s trust ! in the next videos we will go deeper in what can possibly create Heart chakra imbalance and how we develop distrust.
Next Level is Throat Chakra. When you have mastered your energies at the lower level of awareness you become a force of nature. You essentially become a channel for the creation to happen through you. This element associated with this chakra is Either. However, at this level of awareness you express your True gifts to humanity. Your creation is not fueled by Ego or Will Power but comes from surrendering to the Divine intelligence.
Yet another level up is Third Eye. This element associated with this chakra is All five elements. Have you noticed how some people somehow get what they desire effortlessly. At this level you operate at the level of “Field of All possibilities”. You desires and intentions are in line with the universal intentions and their fulfillment is instantaneous. Your will is the Divine Will. It’s called a third eye as you can see through all the illusions of life. Everything in your life and around you start making perfect sense. You are one with your intuition. Here you understand the deeper significance of so called Co-incidences. When you create at this level you create without the Ego and this takes the Doer out of the doing. When there is no I in the doing there is no Effort.
The highest expression the energy can take within the human body is at the level of Crown chakra and is associated with Self Actualization. Also called Sahasrara is our connection to Higher Self or Higher Consciousness.
During the process of evolution the world remains the same but the perception of the world changes, resulting in Sat-Chit-Ananda, a state of eternal peace and bliss within.
There are many different forms of healing developed across different cultures to balance the energies. Here are the 5 ways to bring overall balance and harmony throughout all the chakras in the body.
- Yoga : Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years as an effective tool to improve physical, mental and spiritual harmony. The world yoga is a sanskrit word and means Union of individual consciousness and cosmic consciousness. Find a local yoga studio and make it a habit.
- Pranayama : Control of Prana or breathing. This breathing techniques can be combined with Yoga postures and locks (holding patterns) is called Kriya Yoga. An important and useful pranayama can be practiced is called Alternate nostril breathing. Please refer my Alternate nostril breathing video to go in detail. I will link in the description.
- Mudras: Mudra means “Seal” Mudra is a body and finger posture. Mudras have been used for thousands of years in indian spiritual practices to seal the prana in the body. Mudras are integrated in classical indian dances. According to ayurveda most of the energy imbalances are a result of imbalances of the five body elements. Mudras achieves to bring equilibrium of the basic elements of earth, water, fire, air and ether by using fingers of our hands in a scientific manner. I will be doing a future video on the mudra.
- Mantra Meditation: Various cultures promote meditation but the ultimate aim is to promote tranquil state of mind devoid of thoughts and connection to universal consciousness. Chakra meditation. Fundamental mantras associated with the first five chakras on every website you can Google actually do not belong to those chakras per se, but rather to the five Elements installed in them. Elements such as Earth, water, fire, air and ether
- Aromatherapy: Aromatherapy is the modern way of using plant essential oils to promote physical and mental wellbeing. Used as a form of medicine throughout ages, essential oils are rhe most gentle gifts of nature to us and promote prana by balancing the elements in the body. Essential oils work at different levels physical, physiological and psychological levels.