Chakra means 'wheel' in Sanskrit. In this context, charkas are wheels of energy — continuously rotating. They are sub-atomic energy centres located along the spinal column. Each vortex carries a special energy level that causes the chakra to rotate at a speed of its own. They are stations along the central axis of your being. The spine acts as an lightning rod, conducting vertical energy flows into the head, down the spine, through the feet into the earth. Each one is a point at which energy can be expressed in a certain set of actions, attitudes and emotions. The Chakra is a map of the soul which you must move along for healing to happen. An underactive chakra is usually one in which the energy is blocked or congested which results in lack of energy. People are believed to fall ill when their charkas loose alignment.

There are Three Master Chakras (Root, Heart, Crown), Four Major Chakras (Spleen, Solar Plexus, Throat, Brow) and over 300 Minor Chakras.

From the survival and ego focus of the first three chakras (Root, Spleen, Solar Plexus) to the transpersonal and transcendent aspirations of the upper chakras (Heart, Throat, Brow, Crown), let us focus on each one of them and note their properties -