Deconstructing the Chakras

We have been talking about the chakras in my yoga classes these past couple of weeks and I thought I would share some of the conversation. The Yogic Chakras are similar in many aspects to the western concepts of psychology, physiology, and quantum physics. At the Chakras’ root lies the concept that everything vibrates. We can glean some understanding about this notion from science. Atoms are always moving, therefore the floor is vibrating, the wall, the table, our bodies, everything around us and within us is constantly moving and vibrating—and everything vibrates at a specific frequency. When an opera singer hits a powerfully high note, the specific vibration from the sound waves shatter the crystal glass, lasers vibrate at a certain frequency and efficiently shatter gallstones.

Thousands of years ago, ancient yogis studied the human body and observed how it interacted with the world. Among many fascinating findings, they noticed that certain sounds affected the body in different ways. They believed that emotions, feelings and thoughts, though invisible to the eye, nonetheless had a powerful affect on the body—that they in essence created sound waves that echoed within and through us, affecting us in positive or negative ways—resulting in distress and ‘dis-ease’ or happiness and fulfillment.

The concept of law of attraction runs parallel to this type of thinking. When we send thoughts, feelings, words and actions out into the world they each create a vibration. The sum accumulation of all these vibrations creates resonance—which in turn can be translated into either a predominantly negative vibration, or a positive vibration depending on what we are thinking or feeling the majority of the time. The type of signals we send out into the world will determine what type of experience bounces back to us—like ripples in a pond after we have tossed in a pebble.

The chakras are akin to spinning discs of energy which align along the spine. Starting at the tailbone, there are seven chakras in Hatha yoga and the highest is at the very crown of the head. Each chakra is responsible for the transference of certain types of energy, or vibrations. They are the door the portal. Energy enters and assimilates within our body, mind and spirit or exits and intermingles with the world around us. Each chakra governs its own types of energies, its own vibrations and frequencies, though they all intermingle and affect one another in countless ways.

Join me for a journey through the chakras. Please feel free to leave comments or ask questions; I will do my best to answer! In my next blog I will discuss the first chakra, Muladhara!

In gratitude,

Marissa