Chakras an Introduction

The word Chakra comes from an ancient Indian language known as Sanskrit, chakra means vortex, spinning wheel or circle. Chakras are the major centres of spiritual power in the human body and are circles of energy which balance, store and distribute the energies of life all through our physical body along the subtle body. The subtle body is the non physical body or otherwise known as our soul or spirit, which overlays our physical body.

The belief in chakras started in India, and is utilized in Ayurvedic medicine, the earliest records of Ayurvedic dates from around 2500 B.C. The word Ayurvedic comes from two Indian words Ayur meaning life and Veda meaning knowledge. Ayurvedic or life knowledge medicine may be interpreted as knowledge on how to lead a healthy life. Ayurvedic medicine observes illness as unevenness in the body, which may be treated with a mixture of meditation, physical exercise and herbal treatments. Ways to help with realigning, unblocking or balancing chakras.

Serpent is a very old, wise creature. As she sheds her skin and emerges anew, she teaches us about the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. She teaches us about vitality, sensuality, and fertility. Humans have been making images that evoke snake’s spiraling energy since the upper Paleolithic times, in sculpture, paintings, on amulets and sacred tools, as part of their sacred sites, like the carvings on the stones at Newgrange in Ireland and the earthworks of Serpent Mound in Ohio. Snake teaches us about flexibility and wise use of resources, her long body has at least 100 vertebra, and her elastic muscles allow her to move with sinuous fluidity and eat her food whole. The following begins to explore the wisdom of serpent’s winding trail, with hopes that it will plant seeds for your own exploration.

The word chakra is derived from the Sanskrit word meaning wheel. If we were able to see the chakras (as many psychics, in fact, do) we would observe a wheel of energy continuously revolving or rotating. Clairvoyants perceive chakras as colourful wheels or flowers with a hub in the centre. The chakras begin at the base of the spine and finish at the top of the head. Though fixed in the central spinal column they are located on both the front and back of the body, and work through it. Each chakra vibrates or rotates at a different speed. The root or first chakra rotates at the slowest speed, the crown or seventh chakra at the highest speed. Each chakra is stimulated by its own and complimentary colour, and a range of gemstones for specific uses.