CHAKRA SYSTEM AND ITS CONNECTION TO YOGA
What is the Chakra System?
Chakras are the major energy centers that are aligned with our central channel (SUSHUMNA in yoga) and function like vortexes or clearing houses of energy, where we generate and process energy, information, emotions and also transform energy for being used in our lives. Basically, the chakra system is a MAP for us that we can use for understanding how our body is connected to our energy, mind and emotions, how different parts of our body are interconnected with different aspects of our life.
How Chakra System is connected to Yoga?
Chakras are correlated with endocrine system and located close to our major endocrine glands. So, our hormones and endocrine system has a straight effect on our emotions, thoughts that we are thinking, our physical health and vitality of our organs, tissues and general functioning of our body. Yoga and specific asanas are a great way not only for stretching and strengthening to benefit your physical health but also a great first step to access mental and emotional health through the physical body, using an energetic connection of BODY, MIND & SPIRIT. Each chakra has certain balanced characteristics and also deficient or excessive aspects. If one of them is deficient, most probably the next chakra will try to overcompensate and become excessive.
By observing aspects of each chakra you may understand how to bring yourself back to balance.
Let’s take a look at some signs of imbalances and see which yoga asanas can be used for support of our First Chakra, which located at the very base of the spine:
Root chakra/ Muladhara (red color) - our foundation, what we are standing on, our roots that anchor our life as well as sense of self & psychological foundation. It governs by our sense of feeling secure, stable, strong and safe in the world, knowing that our needs are going to be met. The opposite - having mistrust of the world, feeling hard to keep things under control, stand for self, frustration , psychological problems, paranoia, lack of connection with our physical body, childhood traumas with parents from in utero till 12 month (example: lack of physical, emotional connection with mother), abuses, pregnancy or feeding problems. Balanced Root Chakra makes us feel grounded, comfortable with our physical body, world, feeling focused, in a good mood. Recommended yoga poses are any stabilizing/ balancing poses, like tree pose ( Vriksasana) in the picture.
