If you’ve ever taken a yoga class or have immersed yourself in yoga books, you will likely have heard about chakras before. If you’re new to yoga, this might sound like a mystery. You might know chakras have something to do with energies in your body, but that’s about it. Today, we’re going to unravel this mystery for you and tell you all you need to know about chakras and yoga. After reading this blog, you will be ready to open your mind and create a new level of depth when practicing yoga.

What is a chakra?

Let’s start off with the most basic and important question: what is a chakra? We can find the meaning in Sanskrit, which is the classical language of India and the liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. In Sanskrit, “chakra” means “disk” or “wheel” and refers to the spiritual energy that centers in your body. It means disk or wheel because all of these spinning wheels or disks of energy are corresponding to nerves and organs. In short, chakras are swirling energy that connects the physical to the consciousness. It allows your mind to be in contact with your body. 

Different types of chakras

There is not just one type of chakra. In fact, it is believed by some that there are over a hundred different chakras in the human body. The most important chakras, especially for yoga, are found along your spine. They start at the top of your head and run down to the root of your spine. Along this line, there are seven main chakras, including the crown chakra which is located on the top of your head and the heart chakra which is located near your heart. The heart chakra has to do with our ability to love and show compassion.  

As the science behind chakras is pretty complex, we will not go into detail about it. It involves a lot of quantum physics, which is deemed to be the hardest part of physics and underlies how atoms work, and why chemistry and biology work as they do. Let’s be honest, this goes way over our head. 

Yoga for meditation and opening chakras

Your chakras are directly connected to your emotional wellbeing. A chakra can be blocked or unbalanced, which means that there is either an energy depletion or abundance. When a chakra has low energy, this can cause difficulty in expressing a certain emotion or quality. For example, when your solar plexus chakra which is located in your stomach is low on energy, you will likely struggle more with your confidence and self-esteem. 

When your chakras are blocked or unbalanced, you can practice yoga to open them up. This will help your chakras to be balanced and become more emotionally stable. Practicing yoga helps to relax and restore your mind and body and allows the energy in your body to flow freely. Yoga and meditation also help to be more mindful and connect your body to your mind. Yoga poses that will help to open your chakras are the warrior pose, mountain pose and bridge pose. Read more about this in our blog about yoga poses for opening chakras. 

Benefits of opening your mind to meditation and yoga

Yoga has proven to be extremely beneficial to relax your body and reduce stress or anxiety. However, it is also beneficial for your mind. Through yoga, you can open your mind and chakras which contributes to a healthier body and mind. The three most important benefits of opening your mind to yoga and meditation are: 

1. Yoga helps to calm the mind 

During a busy work week, our thoughts get tangled quickly. Especially when you have things going on in your private life as well. Yoga helps to calm the mind by reducing stress and prioritize what’s really important: your (mental) health. 

2. Yoga combats negative thoughts and emotions

If you’re feeling low, having negative thoughts or if you’re struggling with depression, yoga is a great way to relieve your mind of negative thoughts and emotions. Practicing yoga releases endorphins in our body, which are also called the happy hormones. 

3. Yoga promotes productivity

Now that we’re working from home, it can be difficult to stay focused and productive all day long. Yoga helps your mind to stay focused and will therefore promote productivity. Start your day off with a ten to twenty-minute yoga flow and you will be guaranteed to be more productive!