Chakras
Chakras are the energetic centres in our body . There are many definitions on what chakras are, here are three more in depth descriptions:
Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda describes a chakra as:
...[a] powerhouse in the way it generates and stores energy, with the energy from cosmos pulled in more strongly at these points. The main nadis, Ida, Pingala and Shushumna (sympathetic, parasympathetic, and central nervous system) run along the spinal column in a curved path and cross one another several times. At the points of intersection they form strong energy centres known as chakras. In the human body there are three types of energy centres. The lower or animal chakras are located in the region between the toes and the pelvic region indicating our evolutionary origins in the animal kingdom. The human chakras lie along the spinal column. Finally, the higher or divine Chakras are found between the top of the spine and the crown of the head.
Anodea Judith(1996: p. 5) provides a modern interpretation of the chakras:
A chakra is believed to be a centre of activity that receives, assimilates, and expresses life force energy. The word chakra literally translates as wheel or disk and refers to a spinning sphere of bioenergetics activity emanating from the major nerve ganglia branching forward from the spinal column. Generally, six of these wheels are described stacked in a column of energy that spans from the base of the spine to the middle of the forehead, the seventh lying beyond the physical world. It is the six major chakras that correlate with basic states of consciousness...
Susan Shumsky (2003, p. 24) states a similar idea:
Each chakra in your spinal column is believed to influence or even govern bodily functions near its region of the spine. Because autopsies do not reveal chakras, most people think they are a fancy of fertile imagination. Yet their existence is well documented in the traditions of the Far East...
Chakras are described as energy centres along the spine located at major branching of the human nervous system, beginning at the base of the spinal column and moving upward to the top of the skull, through which, believers assert, pass 3 major energy channels, Shushumna, Ida and Pingala. Chakras are considered to be a point or nexus of biophysical energy or prana of the human body. Shumsky asserts that "prana is the basic component of your subtle body, your energy field, and the entire chakra system...the key to life and source of energy in the universe."[6
Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda describes a chakra as:
...[a] powerhouse in the way it generates and stores energy, with the energy from cosmos pulled in more strongly at these points. The main nadis, Ida, Pingala and Shushumna (sympathetic, parasympathetic, and central nervous system) run along the spinal column in a curved path and cross one another several times. At the points of intersection they form strong energy centres known as chakras. In the human body there are three types of energy centres. The lower or animal chakras are located in the region between the toes and the pelvic region indicating our evolutionary origins in the animal kingdom. The human chakras lie along the spinal column. Finally, the higher or divine Chakras are found between the top of the spine and the crown of the head.
Anodea Judith(1996: p. 5) provides a modern interpretation of the chakras:
A chakra is believed to be a centre of activity that receives, assimilates, and expresses life force energy. The word chakra literally translates as wheel or disk and refers to a spinning sphere of bioenergetics activity emanating from the major nerve ganglia branching forward from the spinal column. Generally, six of these wheels are described stacked in a column of energy that spans from the base of the spine to the middle of the forehead, the seventh lying beyond the physical world. It is the six major chakras that correlate with basic states of consciousness...
Susan Shumsky (2003, p. 24) states a similar idea:
Each chakra in your spinal column is believed to influence or even govern bodily functions near its region of the spine. Because autopsies do not reveal chakras, most people think they are a fancy of fertile imagination. Yet their existence is well documented in the traditions of the Far East...
Chakras are described as energy centres along the spine located at major branching of the human nervous system, beginning at the base of the spinal column and moving upward to the top of the skull, through which, believers assert, pass 3 major energy channels, Shushumna, Ida and Pingala. Chakras are considered to be a point or nexus of biophysical energy or prana of the human body. Shumsky asserts that "prana is the basic component of your subtle body, your energy field, and the entire chakra system...the key to life and source of energy in the universe."[6
The 7 Primary Chakras
7. Shasrara (Sanskrit: सहस्रार, Sahasrāra) Crown Chakra (top of the
head; 'soft spot' of a newborn)
6. Ajna (Sanskrit: आज्ञा, Ājñā) Brow or Third Eye Chakra (pineal gland
or third eye)
5. Vishuddha (Sanskrit: विशुद्ध, Viśuddha) Throat Chakra (throat and
neck area)
4. Anahata (Sanskrit: अनाहत, Anāhata) Heart Chakra (heart area)
3. Manipura (Sanskrit: मणिपूर, Maṇipūra) Solar Plexus Chakra (navel
area)
2. Swadhisthana (Sanskrit: स्वाधिष्ठान, Svādhiṣṭhāna) Sacral Chakra
(ovaries/prostate)
1. Muladhara (Sanskrit: मूलाधार, Mūlādhāra) Base or Root Chakra
(last bone in spinal cord, the coccyx)
head; 'soft spot' of a newborn)
6. Ajna (Sanskrit: आज्ञा, Ājñā) Brow or Third Eye Chakra (pineal gland
or third eye)
5. Vishuddha (Sanskrit: विशुद्ध, Viśuddha) Throat Chakra (throat and
neck area)
4. Anahata (Sanskrit: अनाहत, Anāhata) Heart Chakra (heart area)
3. Manipura (Sanskrit: मणिपूर, Maṇipūra) Solar Plexus Chakra (navel
area)
2. Swadhisthana (Sanskrit: स्वाधिष्ठान, Svādhiṣṭhāna) Sacral Chakra
(ovaries/prostate)
1. Muladhara (Sanskrit: मूलाधार, Mūlādhāra) Base or Root Chakra
(last bone in spinal cord, the coccyx)