Chakras and Energy Channels: A Complete Guide to Self-Knowledge

Chakras and Energy Channels: A Complete Guide to Self-Knowledge

Knowing ourselves means understanding not only the mind and emotions, but also our energetic structure. Chakras and energy channels represent a fundamental map for interpreting the deeper functioning of the human being on the physical, psychological, subtle, and spiritual levels.

In this introductory guide, we will explore what chakras are, how they operate within the aura and subtle bodies, how they relate to the energy channels, and why their balance is considered essential for well-being and inner growth. We will also examine several lesser-known but highly significant chakras, together with key concepts such as Sushumna, Ida, Pingala, Kundalini, and Antahkarana.

“Man is a rainbow,
he contains all seven colours within himself:
this is his beauty, and it is also his problem.
Man is multidimensional; he has many facets.
His being is not simple; it is an incredible complexity,
and from that complexity arises the harmony
that we call God: the divine melody. […]
Man is a rainbow, I say, because a rainbow
will provide you with the overall perspective through which man can be understood:
from the lowest point to the highest.
The rainbow has seven colours;
man has seven centres of being.
The symbolism of seven is very ancient;
in India it took the form of the seven chakras:
the lowest is Muladhara, the highest is Sahasrara,
and between these two are five steps, five other chakras.
Man must pass through all seven chakras, seven steps towards the divine.”

Osho
Excerpt from the book Chakra: The Energy of Life

Chakras and Energy Channels: What Are Chakras?

Chakra is a Sanskrit word that means “wheel” or “disc”. In esoteric terminology, it refers to each of the centres through which energy is received and transmitted within the human body. Chakras are described as intelligent, rotating entities through which the human body metabolises universal Prana, both receiving and releasing it, thereby nourishing and energising the psychophysical system.

As fundamental components of the aura and subtle bodies, chakras perform a vast number of essential functions related to our health, functioning, spiritual growth, and evolution, depending on their position within the body. Each chakra is associated with different levels of consciousness, dimensions and invisible realms, archetypal elements, stages of human development, colours, sounds, and many other aspects of existence.

Clean, harmonious, and healthy chakras are considered the foundation of well-being.

Traditional texts speak of 88,000 chakras. This means that every part of the body is energetically supplied and that even the smallest part possesses its own chakra, however minute. There are therefore countless secondary chakras, around forty of which are considered particularly significant. They are distributed throughout the body in correspondence with organs, smaller glands, joints, and other anatomical structures.

Most esoteric schools focus only on the seven chakras regarded as the principal ones, both because they correspond to the major endocrine glands and because of their size. Some traditions, however, drawing inspiration from the esoteric writings of Alice A. Bailey, include additional centres. Pranic Healing, for example, works with eleven chakras, considering them—quite reasonably—to be of considerable importance.

Here we will examine chakras in general, while also introducing several other centres whose delicate functions should not be overlooked. We will also discuss the energy channels, since they are closely connected to the circulation of Prana, and offer a few observations on how energy moves through them. Later, we will dedicate a separate section to each chakra and examine it in detail.

How Chakras Function Within the Energy Body

Each principal chakra is positioned along the spine, beginning at the sacrum and extending upwards to the highest point of the head, at the centre of the skull.

Only the first and the last face downwards and upwards respectively. The others open towards the outside of the body, primarily at the front and, in some cases—such as the solar plexus chakra and the heart chakra—also at the back.

Each of these centres is connected to the major nerve plexuses branching out from the spinal column.

In general, chakras absorb and assimilate Prana from the sun, air, and earth and distribute it throughout the body. Since they are regarded as intelligent entities, they are believed to regulate the flow of energy both into and out of the body, helping to optimise the functioning of the human body and mind while preparing the inner conditions required for spiritual evolution.

The seven major chakras have the delicate function of controlling and energising the endocrine glands. Those located from the heart area upwards are also associated with the development of psychic qualities, which is one of the reasons they are considered principal chakras.

Secondary Chakras of Relevant Importance

Four other highly important chakras deserve greater consideration because of the roles attributed to them:

• The Spleen Chakra, located near the spleen—the largest secondary lymphoid organ in the lymphatic system—plays an essential role. It is considered an entry point for the vitality globules contained in the air, allowing the other chakras to receive sufficient energy. Because it lies close to the spleen, which also has its own chakra, it is also believed to contribute to purifying the blood of disease-carrying germs.
• The Meng Mein Chakra, located at the back of the body in the lumbar region, between the base chakra and the navel chakra, at the level of the kidneys and adrenal glands. It is said to regulate and energise these structures, control blood pressure, and pump Prana upwards from the base chakra towards the other chakras. If this centre is deficient, the other chakras may not receive an adequate supply of energy.
• The Navel Chakra, which is closely connected to the intestines and is considered responsible for the individual’s vitality.
• The Forehead Chakra, located slightly above the Ajna chakra, or third eye. It is believed to regulate the entire nervous system and, together with the crown chakra, to control and energise the pineal gland.

Anatomy of a Chakra

When observing their structure, each chakra is traditionally depicted as being composed of petals. The number of petals varies from one chakra to another and increases as we move upwards through the body. This explains their association with flowers and why they are also called lotuses.

Like flowers, chakras are described as having a root that extends into the corresponding energy channel, a stem, and a crown. They are also said to possess a protective membrane that filters incoming energies and shields the system from harmful influences.

As with flowers, their size varies according to their development and degree of opening or closure. These conditions are believed to influence the health of the organs and systems associated with each chakra, as well as the psychological state of the individual.

A chakra may be depleted and therefore underactive, or even closed. Alternatively, it may be congested and overactive, and therefore excessively open.

Chakras, Emotions, and Psychological Conditioning

On the psychological level, chakras are believed to retain the thought-forms we have produced throughout our lives in response to our experiences, particularly those of early childhood. These experiences give rise to beliefs, behavioural conditioning, and mental attitudes concerning ourselves and the world around us.

When we experience trauma, the energetic congestion associated with it may accumulate within a particular chakra and eventually form a blockage that prevents us from living in a harmonious and fulfilling way.

According to this perspective, each chakra retains the emotional imprints of an individual’s experiences, together with the way those experiences were interpreted and integrated. These imprints form the foundations of behavioural habits and influence the person’s ability—or inability—to express their full potential in different situations.

These patterns are commonly described as conditioning and may manifest through low self-esteem, victimhood, lack of acceptance, fear, difficulty expressing feelings, isolation, rejection, and many other behaviours.

Carl Gustav Jung, whose analytical psychology drew deeply on esoteric alchemical knowledge and Eastern wisdom, regarded the journey into the depths of the unconscious as a process connected with opening the chakras and releasing the energy congested within them.

He called this process individuation.

For Jung, individuation represented the awakening of the potential lying dormant within every human being. When properly undertaken, it led the individual towards fulfilment along the path from the ego to the impersonal Self.

According to Eastern disciplines, a similar process is called enlightenment. Like Jungian individuation, it corresponds to liberation from unconscious patterns and behavioural habits, followed by an elevation of consciousness and the full manifestation of the individual’s true nature.

The Energy Channels: Sushumna, Ida, and Pingala

On the energetic level, the chakras are connected to the main energy channel known as Sushumna, located within the spinal cord.

Sushumna extends along the spine from the sacral base—where Kundalini is said to lie dormant—to the centre of the head. Kundalini is traditionally described as a divine energy present in a latent state within every individual.

Energy is believed to flow through Sushumna both from below upwards and from above downwards.

On either side of Sushumna are two smaller channels known as Ida and Pingala.

Ida is considered the feminine channel. As it carries Prana, it is believed to have a calming influence, promoting serenity and activating the psychic dimension.

Pingala is considered the masculine channel. It is associated with willpower, vitality, creativity, and active expression.

Both channels begin at the sacrum. Ida ends at the left nostril, while Pingala ends at the right nostril.

Sushumna, Ida, and Pingala form part of the network of energy channels known in Hindu philosophy as the Nadis. Like the chakras, the Nadis are said to exist throughout the human body in vast numbers and, in particular, to operate within the nervous system.

Kundalini and the Movement of Energy Through the Chakras

When Kundalini energy is awakened appropriately, it is believed to rise from the sacrum at the base of the spine towards the crown through Sushumna.

Along the way, it passes through the pineal gland, activating it and generating an awakening of higher consciousness.

As Kundalini moves through each chakra, it is said to activate a process of purification and raise the capacity of the chakra’s auric field to resonate with and connect to more refined energetic frequencies.

This process is believed to transmute energetic blockages and congestion, restoring the individual’s aura to its original integrity.

The person may then become capable of experiencing reality more directly, as it is, in the “here and now”, without the filters and distortions produced by past experiences.

When a chakra is depleted, congested, or blocked, it may prevent energy from flowing freely through Sushumna. This is believed to influence the other chakras and affect the individual physically, mentally, and psychologically.

The central purpose of this movement of vital energy is to allow the invisible to manifest within the visible through an ascending and descending flow.

These two energetic movements are traditionally called the descending or manifesting current and the ascending or liberating current.

Energetic Polarity and the Currents of Manifestation

Life is characterised by polarity. Its manifestation within the subtle bodies of the human being and throughout every plane of existence occurs through the continuous movement of vital energy between two opposing poles.

Creation therefore unfolds through a constant process of ascent and descent, inhalation and exhalation, intake and release, attraction and repulsion, and many other complementary movements.

In this way, we encounter Yin and Yang, day and night, light and darkness, life and death.

Each polarity contains the seed of its opposite and, through the cycles of transformation, gradually becomes the other—just as day becomes night within a twelve-hour cycle.

Men and women are traditionally described as being polarised in opposite ways, meaning that the positive energetic charges of a man correspond to the negative charges of a woman. Their chakras are therefore also said to rotate alternately in opposite directions.

For example, the female base chakra is traditionally believed to rotate to the left, while the male base chakra rotates to the right, with the direction alternating as one moves upwards through the chakra system.

Inhalation and exhalation do not occur only within the microcosm—the human being—but also within the macrocosm. The waxing and waning phases of the Moon may be viewed respectively as examples of inhalation and exhalation.

To visualise this principle, we can imagine the Current of Manifestation, the flow of Consciousness, as an iridescent white light entering through the crown chakra.

As it moves downwards, it creates the Path of Immanence.

In the same way, we can imagine the Current of Liberation, the flow of Matter and Energy, as an iridescent white light entering through the base chakra.

As it moves upwards, it creates the Path of Transcendence.

Our ability to remain properly grounded in the Earth while also rising towards higher planes of consciousness depends on maintaining an appropriate balance between these two currents.

If the Current of Manifestation were predominant, we might become excessively attached to the material and physical dimensions of existence and encounter obstacles in our evolution.

Conversely, if the Current of Liberation were excessive, we might become absorbed in our inner world and lose the ability to create within the physical plane or manage practical and material matters.

Meridians, the Vertical Dimension, and the Horizontal Dimension

Traditional Chinese Medicine also describes a system of Meridians. This forms an equally organised energetic structure based on the Yin–Yang polarity and connected both to the organs and to the Five Elements of Chinese philosophy: Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, and Fire.

What we have described so far concerns what esoteric teachings call the vertical dimension.

Because the human being is regarded as a combination of spirit and matter, and because the seed of divine realisation exists within us, both the vertical and horizontal dimensions coexist within the human experience.

On the horizontal level, the principle of Giving and Receiving, also called the Law of Reciprocity, influences the individual’s evolution.

This law is based on two corresponding energetic currents: the Current of Reception and the Current of Expression, which flow through each chakra.

When one current is excessive or deficient in relation to the other, energetic blockages may arise. These blockages can be resolved only when the resulting conflicts between the two equal and opposing forces are reintegrated and the currents restored to balance.

Such conflicts arise when an experience or event disturbs the coexistence of the physical, psychological, hereditary, anthropological, and other dimensions within the individual.

This meeting of the vertical and horizontal dimensions finds its archetypal symbol in the Christian Cross, which is often associated only with the widely known meaning of the suffering endured by Jesus.

Higher Chakras, the Soul, and the Antahkarana

These energy currents do not end at the boundaries of the human body.

As we explained in our article on the aura and subtle bodies, they continue beyond the physical form, stimulating the individual’s evolution.

A series of additional chakras and energy bodies are said to extend upwards from the centre of the head, or crown, reaching beyond the physical body into increasingly subtle and refined planes of existence.

The chakra immediately above the crown is called the Incarnated Soul Chakra.

This centre is located several centimetres above the head and is said to oversee the personality, nourishing it with its energy whenever possible while waiting for the personality to establish conscious contact, integrate with it, and allow itself to be guided.

The Incarnated Soul Chakra is, in turn, connected to the Higher Soul Chakra, where the Spirit is believed to reside.

The relationship between these two chakras may be compared to that between a large jug and a cup. The Incarnated Soul Chakra represents the cup that receives energy from the larger vessel, the Higher Soul.

Countless other chakras are also believed to extend all the way to the divine source, which some esoteric traditions consider to be located at the centre of the Milky Way.

To the experienced esoteric practitioner, these centres appear aligned one above another, forming a column of light known as the Antahkarana.

At first, this column of light is said to be as thin as a strand of hair. It must therefore be developed and strengthened through meditation so that contact with the higher planes can remain stable.

The awakening of human consciousness does not occur unconsciously, as it does in the lower kingdoms of nature, but requires voluntary effort.

Building the Antahkarana represents the human being’s true journey of return to the Father. This occurs when the individual first unites with the Incarnated Soul and then with the Spirit.

When this happens, the chakras connected to matter also participate, and the physical body itself becomes infused with Spirit.

When matter reunites with Spirit, what is known as Christ Consciousness arises within the individual.

On the vibrational level, this consciousness resonates with the energy of the Christ and is finally able to unite with it through the process known as enlightenment.

The Christ represents the Love principle of the Hierarchy of Great Beings. Through the awakening of humanity—beginning with those who consciously aspire towards it—these Beings prepare both individuals and the entire planet Earth to receive this principle, promoting redemption and healing from low and disharmonious energies.

Building the Antahkarana also means creating bridges: between human beings and the Great Beings of the Spiritual Hierarchy, between the Earth and other planets, and between our solar system and other solar systems.

The process described above is also called the Path of Return.

It is called this because the planet and humanity are believed to have reached a stage at which they are ready to become consciously aware of their divine nature and begin the ascending phase of evolution.

At the dawn of life on planet Earth, by contrast, the Descent, or descending phase described in the Old Testament, was regarded as necessary for evolution.

This was the process of incarnation and identification with matter, together with all the experiences and manifestations associated with physical existence.

Seven-Year Cycles and the Evolution of the Chakras

Movement, change, creativity, and continuous rebirth are fundamental characteristics of existence on every plane.

Nothing remains the same, and everything is transformed through fractal cycles in which similar experiences return at a higher octave, allowing new knowledge to be integrated and drawing consciousness progressively closer to the higher planes.

According to Anthroposophy, the cycles that characterise a human life are clearly defined and each lasts seven years.

During these stages of development, the individual is believed to receive particular influences and encounter specific experiences that allow every aspect of each chakra to mature.

This process takes place on the physical level, through the renewal of the body’s cells, as well as on the mental, psychological, and soul levels, with the individual moving to the next chakra at the end of each seven-year cycle.

Only the seven major chakras are considered in this system.

The process begins with the base chakra and continues, at the end of each cycle, with the chakra immediately above it.

Each stage is itself divided into seven one-year periods. Every year corresponds to one chakra, again beginning with the base chakra and moving upwards.

The cycle of seven stages is completed at the age of forty-nine.

At that point, a new cycle begins at a higher octave, integrating the experiences and influences appropriate to the new phase.

If an individual reaches the age of ninety-eight or beyond, another cycle opens at an even higher octave.

It is also useful to know that, according to this perspective, the chakras pass through developmental stages before birth, but in reverse order.

During this process, vital energy descends from the crown and nourishes all the other chakras until it reaches the base chakra, where the complete development of the foetus and its connection with the earthly world take place.

 

 

Chakras and Energy Channels: The Seven Major Chakras

The main chakras are the following:

Base or Root Chakra — MULADHARA

The root chakra is the first of the seven major chakras and represents the foundation upon which the balance of all the other energy centres is built. It is associated with grounding, security, survival, and physical vitality. This energy centre represents our connection with the Earth and our inner stability.

Located at the base of the spine, in the area of the coccyx, it controls the adrenal glands and sexual organs. It energises the entire body, including the bones, muscles, blood, and internal organs. It influences general vitality, body temperature, and the growth of infants and children. As previously mentioned, it is the centre of individual survival and self-preservation.

It connects us with the Earth and the physical world. Stability and the ability to achieve. It has four petals. Mantra: LAM.

The first chakra is the centre of grounding, basic security, and the fundamental right to exist. It is associated with physical identity, incarnation, the body, the home, nourishment, protection, and the sense of belonging to earthly life. Its element is Earth, its movement is stability, and its central psychological theme is survival.

When this chakra is balanced, the individual feels present, practical, centred, able to inhabit their own body and face reality with a fundamental sense of trust. It is the inner place in which we develop the feeling that we can be in the world, that we have the right to occupy space, and that we can exist without constantly needing to defend ourselves.

When Muladhara is weak or disturbed, fear, instability, survival anxiety, difficulty feeling safe, mistrust of life, disconnection from the body, or excessive attachment to material control may emerge. When it is excessively charged, it may manifest as rigidity, accumulation, heaviness, closure, and a compulsive need for self-protection.

From a symbolic perspective, the first chakra is the foundation upon which all the others rest. When that foundation is insufficient, the higher centres also tend to function unstably. This is why authentic spiritual work must be grounded before it can rise: the body, the breath, presence, our relationship with the Earth, material order, and inner security are not secondary elements, but the very foundation of evolution.

Sacral or Sexual Chakra — SVADHISTHANA

Located in the pubic area. Associated with the sexual organs, bladder, and legs. The lower or physical creative centre. Primary feelings. Flowing with life, sensuality, eroticism, wonder, and enthusiasm. It has six petals. Mantra: VAM.

The second chakra is the centre of feeling, fluidity, pleasure, sexuality, and the ability to enter into relationship with another person without losing contact with oneself. Its element is Water, and its language is therefore movement, change, flowing emotion, receptivity, desire, the ability to experience pleasure, and the willingness to be touched by life.

Here, the fundamental right is the right to feel. This centre concerns emotional identity, our relationship with pleasure, the ability to receive emotional nourishment, and the possibility of living our sensuality in a vital and guilt-free way. It is also the place where life begins to move beyond mere survival and becomes experience, taste, contact, and participation.

When Svadhisthana is harmonious, a person is able to feel, desire, enjoy, form bonds, and allow themselves to be transformed by experience without breaking. There is flow, adaptability, openness to intimacy, embodied creativity, and pleasure that is not separated from awareness.

When it is blocked, guilt, shame surrounding pleasure, emotional repression, fear of closeness, dryness, emotional or sexual dependency, or uncontrolled oscillation between attachment and withdrawal may emerge.

This chakra is closely connected with the creativity through which life takes form. If the first chakra teaches us to exist, the second teaches us to feel alive. It is the centre of taste, polarity, the dance between self and other, and the ability to allow experience to move through us without becoming rigid.

Solar Plexus Chakra — MANIPURA

It is divided into a front and a back aspect. The front solar plexus chakra is located in the hollow area between the ribs. Together with the back solar plexus chakra, located at the corresponding point on the back of the body, it controls the diaphragm, pancreas, liver, stomach, and, to some extent, the small and large intestines, appendix, and other internal organs.

It acts as an energetic balancing chamber. It also regulates the body’s heating and cooling system. The expression of the personality. The assimilation of experiences and emotions. The structuring of the individual self. Influence, power, strength, growth, and wisdom gained through experience. It has ten petals. Mantra: RAM.

The third chakra is the centre of personal power, will, autonomy, individuation, and the ability to act in the world. Its element is Fire: it transforms, digests, selects, directs, and gives direction. Its fundamental right is the right to act.

Here, a healthy ego identity is formed. This does not mean ego in the sense of arrogance, but the sense of oneself as a subject capable of choice, initiative, defining boundaries, taking responsibility, and acting effectively.

When Manipura is balanced, the individual experiences energy, clarity, determination, self-esteem, the ability to say yes and no, to protect personal boundaries, and to bring inner understanding into action. When it is deficient, passivity, indecision, helplessness, people-pleasing, and difficulty asserting oneself may arise. When it is excessive, it may degenerate into control, aggression, domination, extreme competitiveness, or the need to prevail.

The third chakra is also the place where we “digest” not only food, but experience. This is why it is associated with the integration of what we live through, the ability to learn from experience, transform chaos into direction, and convert energy into action. If the second chakra allows us to feel, the third allows us to choose and direct. It is the individual’s inner sun, the centre in which energy gathers and organises itself into conscious will.

Heart or Cardiac Chakra — ANAHATA

It is divided into a front and a back aspect. The front heart chakra is located at the centre of the chest, while the back heart chakra is positioned at the corresponding point on the back of the body. The front aspect controls the heart, thymus gland, and circulatory system. The back aspect controls the lungs, heart, and thymus gland.

Qualities of the heart: love, compassion, participation, empathy, altruism, devotion, identification, and sincerity. It has twelve petals. Mantra: YAM.

Anahata is the centre of balance between the lower and upper chakras, the bridge between matter and spirit, instinct and transcendence. The fourth chakra is the centre of love, authentic relationship, compassion, acceptance, and openness. Its element is Air, which combines lightness, breath, space, and the movement of the heart. Its fundamental right is the right to love and be loved.

Here, social and relational identity develops: the capacity to meet another person not through need or control, but through genuine participation and emotional presence.

When the heart chakra is harmonious, the individual experiences human warmth, benevolence, balance between giving and receiving, openness to relationship, the ability to forgive, emotional trust, and contact with tenderness. When it is closed or wounded, pain, isolation, coldness, excessive defensiveness, fear of loving, emotional dependency, or difficulty receiving may arise.

Anahata does not represent an abstract or sentimental form of love, but the ability to integrate higher and lower, self and other, vulnerability and strength. It is the centre in which the individual stops asking only, “What am I lacking?” and begins to ask, “How can I be fully present?” Here, the spiritual path ceases to be only self-development and becomes an opening of the heart, service, compassion, and awareness of our connection with the whole.

Throat Chakra — VISHUDDHA

Vishuddha is the throat chakra, the centre of communication, expression, and inner truth.

It is located at the centre of the throat. It controls the throat, thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, and lymphatic system. Communication and the manifestation of one’s creativity and truth. Evolution, autonomy, inspiration, and higher creativity connected with access to the subtler levels of being. It has sixteen petals. Mantra: HAM.

The fifth chakra concerns communication, truth, listening, vibration, language, and creative expression. Its element is Ether, or sonic space, and its fundamental right is the right to speak and be heard.

This chakra is closely associated with creativity as expression: not merely producing something, but giving voice to who we are, transforming experience into words, song, gesture, teaching, art, or testimony.

When Vishuddha is balanced, the person communicates with clarity, authenticity, and proportion. They are able to speak the truth without causing unnecessary harm, listen deeply, create, name their experience, and give it form. When it is weak, shyness, self-censorship, fear of judgement, difficulty expressing needs and experiences, a restrained voice, or the feeling of having no right to speak may appear. When it is excessive or unbalanced, it may manifest as excessive talking, dogmatism, the need to impose oneself through words, dispersion, or the use of communication as a defence.

The fifth chakra is also the centre in which experience is purified through expression. What is felt in the heart is named here; what is intuited in the soul seeks form and vibration here. For this reason, it is fundamental both relationally and spiritually: a consciousness that cannot express itself remains incomplete, while words rooted in truth can become instruments of healing, coherence, and creation.

Ajna or Third Eye Chakra — AJNA

It is located between the eyebrows. It controls the pituitary gland, the endocrine glands, and, to some extent, the brain. It also controls the other major chakras and their corresponding vital organs. Intuition, discernment, the development of inner vision, a broader perspective, the integration and harmonisation of the cerebral hemispheres, and the use of the abstract mind. Will, the ability to manifest, and achievement. It has ninety-six petals, arranged as two groups of forty-eight. Mantra: KSHAM.

Ajna is the centre of vision, intuition, symbolic understanding, discernment, and the ability to perceive the deeper patterns of reality. Its fundamental right is the right to see. This chakra corresponds to the inner faculty that unites mind and intuition, reason and imagination, perception and meaning. Its element is Light, because it illuminates, reveals, organises, and makes the subtle meaning of things visible.

When Ajna is balanced, the individual develops clarity, disciplined imagination, contemplative capacity, understanding of symbols, broad vision, reliable intuition, and discernment. When it is deficient, confusion, difficulty recognising connections, mental rigidity, mistrust of intuition, or excessive dependence on other people’s perceptions may emerge. When it is excessive or poorly balanced, it may manifest as intellectualism disconnected from the body, ungrounded fantasies, projections, distorted interpretations, or escape into the mind.

The third eye does not refer only to clairvoyance in the esoteric sense, but to the ability to perceive with depth and coherence. It is the centre of a mind capable of contemplating without fragmenting, of symbolic thought, synthesis, and visionary wisdom. If the fifth chakra expresses, the sixth understands. If the third organises will, the sixth organises meaning. Here, the human being begins to see life from a broader and less egocentric point of observation.

Crown Chakra — SAHASRARA

Located at the top and centre of the head. It controls the brain and pineal gland. Enlightenment and inner contemplation. Union with Being and Universal Consciousness. The thousand-petalled lotus. Mantra: OM.

The seventh chakra is the centre of pure consciousness, transcendence, spiritual understanding, and union with the universal principle. Its fundamental right is the right to know, or, more deeply, to know through consciousness. The crown corresponds to universal identity: no longer only “I am this,” but “I participate in Being.”

Its function concerns connection with ultimate meaning, the sacred, and totality. When Sahasrara is harmonious, the individual experiences a sense of unity, contemplative openness, deep faith, inner silence, perception of the transcendent, breadth of vision, and a surrender to life that is not passive, but illumined.

When it is closed, nihilism, spiritual cynicism, lack of meaning, despair, or separation from the sacred may arise. When it is excessive or disconnected from the lower centres, it may degenerate into abstract spiritualism, escape from the body, idealisation, mystical confusion, or rejection of practical life.

The crown does not cancel the lower chakras, but brings them to completion. It does not take us out of life, but into its broadest centre. Here, consciousness recognises that it is not separate from the whole, and everything built through the previous chakras—grounding, feeling, power, love, speech, and vision—finds a higher synthesis. The seventh chakra does not replace the human journey: it illuminates it.

A final mention should be made of the chakras located below the root chakra. There is little reason to examine them in detail, because although they are believed to exist, the human being is said to have already transcended them, leaving them behind like abandoned shells.

How to Rebalance the Chakras and Energy Channels

Techniques for working with the chakras, purifying them, and restoring them to their original integrity can be learned and practised both on oneself and on others. Some of the most established systems, such as Reiki and Pranic Healing, as well as inner-development paths more generally, provide tools for energetic purification.

They also offer the possibility of entering a state of acceptance and relaxation, which is the starting point for transforming any condition. These techniques may be integrated with natural tools that help the chakras resonate in their pure state with their corresponding harmonious vibrations, free from blockages and congestion. These tools include crystals, essential oils, sounds, colours, and contact with nature.

“[…] It therefore seems that passing through
the sufferings of everyday life represents an almost
unavoidable process. To this we must add the fact
that Gold is obtained through the
transmutation of Lead. Yet, as Alchemy states,
one must already possess a small quantity of Gold.
This means that our very manifestations
of difficulty and suffering constitute the basic
substances for transformation in a higher direction,
but only if, within us, our Heart has already been
activated, at least to a small degree, and if we are
already capable of producing a minimum amount
of conscious Presence in the midst of mechanical
manifestations. Without these two conditions,
nothing can be achieved, because we would not
even know where to begin.”

Salvatore Brizzi
Excerpt from The Laws of Inner Change, from the blog “La Porta d’Oro”

“[…] Well,
the first thing to understand about man
is that he does not yet exist:
he is only a possibility, a potential.
The human being can be; man is a promise.
A dog exists, a rock exists, the sun exists…
the human being can be.
From this arise anxiety and anguish:
that opportunity may also be missed;
there is no certainty.
You may blossom, or you may not blossom;
from this come the trembling, the inner upheaval,
the apprehension:
‘Who knows whether I will succeed or not?’”

Osho
Excerpt from the book Chakra: The Energy of Life

Conclusion

Understanding the chakras and energy channels means coming into contact with a broader vision of the human being. Every chakra contributes to our balance, well-being, and evolution, while the energy channels allow vital force to circulate and sustain the connection between body, mind, emotion, and consciousness.

Taking care of the chakras does not simply mean becoming interested in energy in an abstract sense. It means learning to know ourselves more deeply, observing our blockages, fostering inner harmony, and rediscovering a more conscious relationship with life.

This is THE MINDFUL LAB

A space where Mindfulness, Neuroscience, Spirituality, and Human Experience come together to promote self-knowledge and personal growth.

If you found this article helpful, leave a like, share it with someone you care about, subscribe to our newsletter, and explore our YouTube channel.

Bibliography and References

• The Chakra Handbook: From Basic Understanding to Practical Application by Shalila Sharamon and Bodo J. Baginski;
• Miracles Through Pranic Healing by Master Choa Kok Sui;
• Eastern Body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System as a Path to the Self by Anodea Judith;
• Online sources.

Suggested Internal Links — THE MINDFUL LAB

• WHY ANXIETY FEELS SO REAL: When the Future Invades the Present
• Are You Loving the Other Person or Your Story? The Neuroscience of Projection and Expectations
• What Kind of Relationships Are You Really Living? The Neuroscience of Human Connection and Co-Regulation
• Are You Really Overreacting? The Neuroscience of Stress, Trauma and the Nervous System
• WHY CHRONIC STRESS CAN LEAD TO INFLAMMATION: The Neuroscience of Persistent Threat
• STRESS AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM: What Happens in the Body When You Live in a Constant State of Alert
• WHERE STRESS COMES FROM: The Real Reasons Behind Your Discomfort
• ARE YOU LIVING ON AUTOPILOT? Why It Happens and How to Break Free
• WHY DO YOU KEEP THINKING ABOUT THE PAST?
• HOW TO CALM YOUR MIND WHEN IT WON’T STOP: Understanding the Busy Mind
• WHY THE MIND NEVER STOPS THINKING: Neuroscience Explains It

 

 

 

     

Please, feel free to contact us: