Yoga BLOG

Chakras - Levels of Consciousness They are invisible, yet have such a profound influence on our consciousness, on our emotions—in short, on everything that defines us. The chakras are the places in our body where our energy is concentrated and are the centers of consciousness of our being. Everything is flowing If you've been practicing yoga for a while, you've probably already experienced that one of the wonderful effects of yoga is dissolving internal and external blockages, allowing our energies to flow again. Because life is movement. When everything is allowed to flow, we feel good. Hardly any term could better express our energy centers: "Chakra" means "wheel" and is often also described with "Padmas," the lotus. The reservoirs of our energy thus rotate like a wheel or open and close like a lotus blossom. They are a symbol of the perpetual cycle of our lives. Seven wheels for our soul Seven chakras also circulate within you (or rather, above you at the crown chakra), which serve as repositories for your life energy: the root chakra (Muladhara) , the sexual chakra (Swadhistana) , the navel chakra (Manipura) , the heart chakra (Anahata) , the throat chakra (Vishuddha) , the brow chakra (Ajna) , and the crown chakra (Sahasrara) . When standing or sitting upright, the seven chakras lie directly above one another. This means: whenever you adopt an outwardly and, ideally, also inwardly upright—straight—posture, your energies are flowing. The two poles of your being In the upright posture, you have an intense connection to the two important sources of your life: The root chakra grounds you and connects you to the earth, which sustains you and is the source of all life. The crown chakra aligns you with the highest – with light and love, which are never-ending sources. The order of the chakras A typical aspect of the teachings of the chakras is that they are associated with certain things. For example, each of your chakras, with the exception of the crown chakra, has a color and an element, a sensory perception, a god, and a goddess as its counterpart. Furthermore, as a practicing yogi, you'll be interested to know that there are specific asanas for each chakra that promote the circulation of energy—metaphorically turning the chakra wheel. It's wonderful that the sun salutation is an ideal exercise for the chakras: In Surya Namaskar, you address all of your wheels one after the other in a single, easy-to-learn sequence of exercises. Chakra and Consciousness In each wheel or lotus blossom lies a center of your consciousness. So, everything begins again with the root chakra, which helps you understand yourself as a human being on Earth. Your sexual chakra stimulates your creativity and promotes your relationships. Through the navel chakra, you develop the awareness that you are not alone on Earth, but are always a part of different groups. The heart chakra bears the meaning in its name: your heart consciousness is being developed! Your throat chakra shows you that you are not just a physical existence, but also have a soul. Your third eye, the brow chakra, awakens in you the awareness that you are an indispensable and unique part of the divine cosmos. And last but not least, it is the crown chakra that shows you that God exists, that the divine spark is ignited within you, and that you yourself are a part of the divine existence. Growing feelings - growing happiness With each stage of consciousness, we become more aware of ourselves and our place in the cosmos. This awareness is associated with understanding, with wonder, with various feelings of happiness. In concrete terms, this means for your daily yoga practice that you can trigger a whole range of effects by stimulating your chakras. One example of this is the sun salutation . It not only has the effects you are surely familiar with, such as physical strengthening, improved flexibility, or activation of the cardiovascular system. It also allows the energies that are important for your awakening and growing consciousness to flow, giving you positive and joyful experiences that simply make you happy. Chakras - listening to the signals When there are blockages in our chakras, the flow of energy we need for our daily activities as well as for our well-being is disrupted. These blockages can be triggered physically (for example, by poor posture) or emotionally (for example, by heartbreak or an injury). To help you sense the presence of these blockages and resolve them, the chakras send you signals on a mental (for example, fear, anger, jealousy, guilt, or low self-esteem) or physical level (for example, pain, inflammation, or addiction). Notice these symptoms, which you can assign to the individual chakras based on their typical characteristics, and view them not as enemies, but as aids on the path to change. This creates the basis for the natural flow of your energies—in short, this is how harmony and happiness arise. Image © ennessy / 123rf.com