What are the chakras?
According to Wikipedia, “chakras” are “wheels”, focal points used in meditation, part of the inner traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. As such, the chakras are an interesting way to compare and relate our bodies to nature.
While the chakras are ancient, the seven chakras of the the most well-known model in the western world only have origins dating to the 1880s. They are:
- 1st Chakra: Root Chakra
- 2nd Chakra: Sex Organs
- 3rd Chakra: Navel
- 4th Chakra: Heart Center
- 5th Chakra: Throat
- 6th Chakra: Third Eye
- 7th Chakra: Crown
The practice of Kundalini yoga includes breathing exercises, visualizations, mudras (gestures), bandhas (energy locks), kriyas (specific completed actions), and mantras that focus on manipulating the flow of energies through the chakras. With that in mind, Kundalini yoga adds one more chakra to the western model:
- 8th Chakra: Aura, the energy field surrounding the physical body
A Journey through the Chakras workshop
July 27 to August 1, 2025, in a chakras workshop at Sewall House in Island Falls, Maine, we will explore the eight-chakra system of Kundalini yoga, as well as the Hatha yoga poses that correspond to those chakras. In this workshop we will look at each chakra and how it impacts our lives. Discovering issues that we might have in one or more chakras can be an insightful way to continue our evolution of healing and self-growth, both physically and mentally, as well as emotionally.
The booklet included with the chakra workshop has information and case studies based on my nearly forty years of teaching and practicing Kundalini yoga. The table of contents is as follows:
- Chapter 1: Longing to Belong / The Tribe that Anchors You
- Chapter 2: Tasting Life and Relationships / Going with the Flow of Feelings and Emotions
- Chapter 3: Embracing Your Self / Empower and Trust
- Chapter 4: The Courage to Love and Live from the Heart
- Chapter 5: Finding Your Voice / Being Heard and Listening
- Chapter 6: Listening to Your Inner Voice
- Chapter 7: You are Connected to All / Be the Lotus Flower
- Chapter 8: Your Aura, Vibe & More
- Chapter 9: If Not Kundalini, How About Just “Yoga”?
- Chapter 10: No Yoga Please / Meditations as Possibilities
Different from other forms of yoga — some call it breath or spiritual yoga — Kundalini yoga is designed to address specific body systems and chakras. For example, there are sets for the liver, kidney, and heart , as well as for the navel and throat.
Why are the chakras important?
The study of chakras fascinates me as a way to further understand our being a part of the cosmos. Each of us is remarkably individual. Yet we all have common characteristics stemming from nature. In Hatha yoga, for example, all standing poses ground us, as the feet and legs relate to the 1st chakra, the Root, which is associated with the Earth element. Meanwhile, poses that stretch the arms shoulders and front of the body are especially good for the lungs, which are situated in the 4th chakra, the Heart, which relates to the Air element.
In addition, water, which covers 71% of the earth, and also comprises up to 75% of our body, relates to emotions, feelings, and creativity and the flow of life in our 2nd chakra, the Sex Organs. The other creative center in our body is the 5th chakra, the Throat, where sounds come from. The ability to speak words is a powerful part of our ability to create. The exact words we choose are powerful communication tools.
Can balanced and imbalanced chakras affect my life?
The spectrum of balance versus imbalance in each chakra gives us tools for awareness and self improvement. For example, once a word is out of our mouth, its impact is huge. The yogic goal of words is the be balanced: clear, honest, and kind. Words, can create damage when they are imbalanced: used to manipulate the truth or to be cruel.
In the chakra workshop at Sewall House, we will explore techniques from Hatha in each morning’s yoga class. In the evening yoga classes, Kundalini sets will address the chakras. In between I will teach, and we will discuss. We will offer foods that address the chakras. Each chapter of the booklet includes questions that you can answer and journal about. We’ll encourage you to dive deeply into yourself to see how each chakra is balanced or imbalanced and how that impacts your life.
