Chakras

Origin and etymology

"Chakra" comes from Sanskrit cakra, which means "wheel" or "disc", evoking the image of a spinning energetic vortex. The concept appears for the first time in the Upanishads and in tantric texts of the 8th-12th centuries AD, especially the Sat-Cakra-Nirupana by Purnananda Yati (16th century), which systematised the seven-chakra model that is now standard.

In Tibetan traditions there are five-chakra systems; in some Hindu schools twelve or more are spoken of. The Western version popularised in the 20th century — influenced by theosophy and then by New Age — fixes the system at seven main chakras, assigning rainbow colours and correspondences with endocrine glands, a modern association that does not appear in classical Sanskrit texts.

The seven main chakras

Muladhara (root, base of the spine, red): survival, security, connection to the earth. Svadhisthana (sacral, below the navel, orange): sexuality, creativity, pleasure. Manipura (solar plexus, yellow): personal power, will, self-esteem. Anahata (heart, green or pink): love, compassion, connection.

Vishuddha (throat, blue): communication, expression, truth. Ajna (third eye, between the eyebrows, indigo): intuition, inner vision, wisdom. Sahasrara (crown, top of the head, violet or white): spiritual connection, universal consciousness. Each chakra can be balanced, blocked (stagnant energy) or hyperactive (uncontrolled), generating recognisable physical and emotional symptoms.

Activation and cleansing

Traditional practices for working with chakras include specific yoga asanas, sound mantras (each chakra has its sacred syllable: LAM, VAM, RAM, YAM, HAM, OM, silence), visualisation meditation with corresponding colours and shapes, pranayama (breath control) and crystals of corresponding colours. Allopathic medicine does not recognise chakras as anatomical entities, but the practices that work with them have documented psychophysical effects.