Name: The word moola means ‘root’ or ‘foundation’, base of chakra system derived from Sanskrit. Beeja: Lam

Relates to: Our connection to the earth, material reality, survival, physical strength, vitality, the blood of life, sexuality, the spine, the pelvis, rectum, legs, bones, feet, immune system, nervous system, emotional/mental health.

Symbolic to: Our need for logic, order and structure. This energy orients us in time and space and to our five senses. As children, we perceive and learn about the physical world through our five senses. The first chakra energy has trouble interpreting our lives symbolically, for our five senses give us literal perceptions and cause us to take things at face value.

Emotional focus: Primal feelings

Spiritual focus: Deserving to exist; physical sympathy, ability to sense physical energy

Gland: Adrenals

Physical organs: Genital organs and adrenals; bones and skeletal structure, coccygeal vertebrae, some kidney, bladder and excretory functions, skin.

Issues with: Physical family, group safety and security. Ability to provide for life’s necessities. Ability to stand up for self.

Sense: Smell

Element: Earth

Balanced Energy: healthy, fully alive, unlimited physical energy, manifesting abundance, master of oneself

Excessive Energy: Egotistic, domineering, greedy, addicted to wealth, indiscriminate use of sexual energy, nervous sexual energy

Deficient Energy: Lack of confidence, no grounded in physical reality, weak, can’t achieve goals, self destructive, feeling unloved or abandoned

Illnesses: Chronic lower back pain, rectal tumors/cancer, depression, immune-related disorders, constipation, diarrhea, urinary tract infections, cold hands/feet, kidney stones, irrational fears, financial problems.

The first chakra energetic connection is the emotional/mental body and is seen as the foundation of emotional and mental health. Emotional and psychological stability originate in the family unit and early social environment. Various mental illnesses are generated out of family dysfunctions, including multiple personalities, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and destruction patterns like alcoholism.

The sacred truth inherent in the first chakra is that All is One. We learn this truth and explore its creative power through experiences connected to tribal or group dynamics. It carries the message that we are connected to all of life and that every choice we make and every belief we hold exerts influence upon the whole of life. No one begins life as a conscious “individual” with conscious will power. That identity comes much later and develops in stages from childhood through adulthood.

The process of spiritual development challenges us to retain the tribal influences that are positive and to discard those that are not. Our spiritual power grows when we are able to see beyond the contradictions inherent in tribal teaching and pursue a deeper level of truth.

Many people are stuck in between two worlds: the old world they need to release and the world that they are afraid to enter. We are attracted to becoming more ‘conscious,’ but at the same time we find it frightening because it means we must take personal responsibility for ourselves – and for our health, career, attitudes and thoughts. Once we accept our personal responsibility for even one area of our lives, we can never again use ‘tribal reasoning’ to excuse our behaviour.

Name: The word swa means ‘one’s own’ and adisthana means ‘dwelling place or residence’. It is derived from Sanskrit.

Beeja: Vam

Relates to: The water element in the physical body, the sexual organs, large intestine, lower vertebrae, pelvis, hip, bladder, the lymphatic system, the mammary glands, and eliminative organs, the emotions, passion, feelings, imagination

Emotional focus: All feelings

Spiritual concern: Ability to express feelings; psychic capability of feeling sympathy, through which you can sense others’ feelings

Gland: Ovaries in women and testes in men

Physical organ: Part of kidney system, intestines; some aspects of reproductive system, including the womb; bladder; prostate; sacral vertebrae and nerve plexus; the neurotransmitters determining emotional responses to stimuli

Issues with: Blame, guilt, money, sex, power, control, creativity, ethics, honour in relationships

Sense: Taste

Element: Water

Balanced Energy: Friendly, optimistic, concerned for others, sense of belonging, creative, imaginative, attuned to your own feelings.

Excessive Energy: Emotionally explosive, aggressive, overly ambitious, manipulative, caught up in illusion, overindulgent, self serving, obsessive thoughts of sex.

Deficient Energy: Extremely shy, timid, immobilized by fear, overly sensitive, self-negating, resentful, buried emotions, burdened by guilt, distrustful, clinging, guilty about sex, difficult conceiving, abused.

Illnesses: Chronic lower back pain, sciatica, gynecological problems, pelvic/low back pain, sexual potency, urinary problems

The second chakra is the partnership chakra. Its energy begins to pulsate and become distinct around the age of seven. At the age of children start interacting with other children and adults, more independently of their parents and outside the home environment. Through these initial interactions they begin to individuate, form relationships, and explore their power of choice.

The energy in this chakra enables us to generate a sense of personal identity and protective psychological boundaries. As we continually assess our personal strength in regard to the external world and its physical seductive forces – such as sex, money, addictive substances, or other people – the second chakra energy of a healthy physical ego keeps us able to interact with the world without having to negotiate or sell ourselves; it is the energy of self-sufficiency, a survival instinct for being in the world.

This chakra has procreative energy that is both biological and spiritual: we desire to create children and also to bring our creative ideas into physical form, which is crucial to our physical health as to our spiritual.

Name: Manipura is derived from two Sanskrit words: mani meaning ‘jewel’ and pura meaning ‘city’. Manipura literally means ‘city of jewels’.

Beeja: Ram

Relates to: Personal power, individual expression in the earth, the ability to ‘digest life’, the fire element, the conscious (waking) mind, self-image, digestive organs, diaphragm, the breath.

Emotional focus: Fears, doubt, and other feelings affecting self-esteem

Spiritual concern: Empowerment; psychic ability to perform clairsentience or “clear sensing” or mental information

Endocrine Gland: Pancreas

Physical organs: Pancreatic system, all digestive organs in the stomach area, including the liver, spleen, gallbladder, stomach, pancreas and parts of kidney system; lumbar vertebrae and solar plexus

Issues with: Trust, fear, intimidation, self esteem, self confidence, self respect, care if oneself and others, responsibility for making decisions, sensitivity to criticism, personal honor.

Sense: Sight

Element: Fire

Balanced Energy: Outgoing, cheerful, self respect, respect for others, strong sense of personal power, able to digest life, able to digest food, skillful, intelligent, relaxed, spontaneous, expressive, take on new challenges.

Excessive Energy: Judgemental, workaholic, perfectionist, overly intellectual, demanding, a need for drugs to relax, superiority complex

Deficient Energy: Depressed, lack of confidence, worry about what others think, confused, feeling that others control your life, poor digestion, afraid of being alone, need constant reassurance, jealous, distrustful

Illnesses: Arthritis, gastric ulcers, colon/intestinal problems, pancreatitis, diabetes, indigestion, chronic or acute, liver dysfunction, hepatitis, adrenal dysfunction.

Third chakra energy, the energy of personal power chakra, becomes the dominant vibration in our development during puberty. It assists us further in the process of individuation, of forming a `self`, ego and personality separate from our inherited identity. This energy center also contains most issues related to the development of personal power and self-esteem.

The third chakra completes the physical trilogy of the human energy system. Like chakras one and two, it primarily relates to a physical form of power. Where the first chakra resonates to group or tribal power, and where the second chakra resonates to the flow of power between the self and others, the third chakra relates to our personal power in relation to the external world.

The third chakra is also the place where you define your sense of integrity and your personal code of honour. The fifth chakra regulates the choices you make in expressing and living up to your honour code, but the third is the center where that code is first formed. The more fully your third-chakra values are developed throughout your life, the more positively they will be expressed by your fifth-chakra choices. This energy center resonates with your integrity, personal pride, and dignity, which are the positive aspects of the ego.

Name: Sanskrit anahata actually means ‘unstruck’ or ‘unbeaten’

Beeja: Yam

Relates to: The bridge between the physical and the spiritual, change, healing, the heart – the centre of all physical and spiritual life, the lungs, circulatory system, ribs, breasts, shoulders, arms, hands, diaphragm, the immune system, selfless love

Emotional focus: Emotions in relationship; all feelings related to love, such as gratitude

Spiritual concern: Connection to the Divine

Gland: Thymus and lymph

Physical organs: Heart, lungs, circulatory and oxygenated systems, breasts, lumbar, thoracic vertebrae, cardiac nerve plexus

Issues with: Love, hatred, resentment, bitterness, grief, anger, self-centeredness, loneliness, commitment, forgiveness, compassion, hope and trust.

Sense: Touch

Element: Air

Balanced Energy: Physically and emotionally balanced, compassion, friendliness, active in the community, discriminating mind, humanitarian, able to see good on others, able to surrender in a love relationship, healthy use of will power

Excessive Energy: Demanding, overly critical, possessive, moody, loves conditionally, withholds love or generosity, melodramatic, manic- depressive, hyper-tension.

Deficient Energy: Paranoid, indecisive, fear of letting go, fear of being hurt, fear of being free, fear of being abandoned, feelings of unworthiness in love, needing constant reassurance

Illnesses: Congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction (heart attack), cardiomegaly, asthma/allergy, lung cancer, bronchial pneumonia, upper back, shoulder pain and breast cancer.

The fourth chakra is the central powerhouse of the human energy system. The middle chakra, it mediates between the body and spirit and determines their health and strength. Fourth chakra energy is emotional in nature and helps propel our emotional development. This chakra embodies the spiritual lesson that teaches us how to act out of love and compassion and recognize that most powerful energy we have is love.

The challenge inherent in this chakra is similar to that of the third but is more spiritually sophisticated. While the third chakra’s focus is on our feelings about ourselves in relation to our physical world, the fourth chakra focuses on our feelings about our internal world – our emotional response to our thoughts, ideas, attitudes, and inspirations, as well as the attention we give to our emotional needs. This level of commitment is the essential factor in forming healthy relationships with others.

Name: Sanskrit word Shuddhi means ‘to purify’, known as the ‘purification centre’

Beeja: Ham

Relates to: Communication, speaking, perception, listening, ears, throat, thyroid, trachea, esophagus, parathyroid, hypothalamus, neck, vertebrae, mouth, jaw, teeth, nerves, muscles, musical or artistic expression, desire for spiritual development.

Emotional focus: Expression of all emotions, especially in relation to self-responsibility

Spiritual concern: Sharing divine guidance; psychic ability of clairaudience or “clear hearing”

Gland: Thyroid

Physical organ: Thyroid and parathyroid glands, larynx and laryngeal nerve plexus, mouth and auditory systems, mouth, throat, ears, lympth and lymphatic system, thoracic vertebrae

Issues with: Choice, strength of will, personal expression, following one’s dream, using personal power to create, addiction, judgement and criticism, faith and knowledge, capacity to make decisions.

Sense: Hearing

Element: Ether

Balanced Energy: Centered in the present, good sense of timing (can be a good speaker), awareness of time, pleasant voice, good communicator, musically or artistically inspired, expressive and prolific, understanding of spiritual concepts, sexual energy is used efficiently or may be channelled artistically.

Excessive Energy: Self righteous, overly talkative, addictive tendencies, dominating – sexually and otherwise

Deficient Energy: Timid, overly quiet, inconsistent, unreliable, loses track of time, devious, inability to express well, nervous.

Illnesses: Raspy throat, chronic sore throat, mouth ulcers, gum problems, laryngitis, swollen glands, thyroid problems.

The fifth chakra embodies the challenges of surrendering our own will power and spirits to the will of God. From a spiritual perspective, our highest goal is the full release of our personal will into the “hands of the Divine.” Jesus and Buddha, as well as other great teachers, represent the mastery of this state of consciousness, complete union with Divine will.

Energy connection to the emotional body: The fifth chakra resonates to the numerous emotional and mental struggles involved in learning the nature of the power of choice. All illness has a connection to the fifth chakra, because choice is involved in every detail of our lives and therefore in every illness.

Understanding the energy consequences of our thoughts and beliefs, as well as our actions, may force us to become honest to a new degree. Lying, either to others or to ourselves, should be out of the question. Genuine, complete healing requires honesty with oneself. An inability to be honest obstructs healing as seriously as the inability to forgive. Honesty and forgiveness retrieve our energy – our spirits – from the energy dimension of ‘the past’. Our fifth chakra and its spiritual lessons show us that personal power lies in our thoughts and attitudes.

The spiritual energies of the fifth chakra guide us toward that point of surrender and the greatness through love, which directs us to be as loving as possible in all circumstances. Sometimes the greatest act of love is to withhold judgement of another or of oneself. Again and again we are reminded that being judgemental is a spiritual error. Developing the discipline of will allows us to refrain from releasing negative thoughts toward others or ourselves. By being nonjudgmental, we attain wisdom and defeat our lives. This teaches us to release the need to know why things happen as they do, and to trust that whatever the reason is, it is a part of a grander spiritual design.

Name: The ajna comes from the Sanskrit root which means to know, to obey or to follow. Literally, ajna means ‘command’ or ‘monitoring centre’.

Beeja: Om

Relates to: Clear sightedness, the bringing together of opposites, inspiration, insight, telepathy, access to the Higher Self (Guru), the pineal, pituitary, brain, ears, eyes, nose, realization of full potential

Emotional focus: Feelings related to self-acceptance, such as self-love and self-awareness

Spiritual concern: Visioning

Gland: Pineal, Pituitary

Physical organs: Pituitary gland, medulla plexus and parts of the hypothalamus, olfactory and visual systems, the left eye in particular, memory storage, some aspects of the ears and sinuses

Issues with: Self-evaluation, truth, intellectual abilities, feelings of adequacy, openness to the ideas of others, ability to learn from experience and emotional intelligence

Sense: Thought

Element: Electric or Telepathic energy

Balanced Energy: Charismatic, open to guidance, not afraid of death, not attached to material things, can experience telepathy, past lives or astral travel, self- fulfilled, can be celibate, may have experienced Cosmic Consciousness

Excessive Energy: Proud, religiously dogmatic, tyrannical, demonic

Deficient Energy: Non-assertive, undisciplined, weak-willed, extreme sensitivity to the feelings (energy) of others, afraid of success, schizophrenic

Illnesses: Brain tumor/hemorrhage/stroke, neurological disturbances, blindness/deafness, full spinal difficulties, seizures.

The sixth chakra involves our mental and reasoning abilities, and our psychological skill at evaluating our beliefs and attitudes. The Mind chakra resonates to the energies of our psyches, our conscious and unconscious psychological forces. Within Eastern spiritual literature, the sixth chakra is the ‘third eye,’ the spiritual center in which the interaction of mind and psyche can lead to intuitive sight and wisdom. This is the chakra of wisdom.

The challenges of the sixth chakra are opening the mind, developing an impersonal mind, retrieving one’s power from artificial and “false truths”; learning to act on internal direction; and discriminating between thoughts motivated by strength and those by fear and illusion.

Consciousness is the ability to release the old and embrace the new with the awareness that all things end at the appropriate time and that all things begin at the appropriate time. This truth is difficult to learn to live with because human beings seek stability – the absence of change. Therefore becoming conscious means living fully in the present moment, knowing that no situation or person will be exactly the same tomorrow. As change does occur, we work to interpret it as a natural part of life and strive to “flow with it,” as the Tao Te Ching counsels, and not against it. Trying to make things remain the same is useless as well as impossible. Our task is to contribute the best of our energy to every situation with the understanding that we influence, but do not control, what we will experience tomorrow.

Becoming conscious means changing the rules by which we live and the beliefs we maintain. Our memories and attitudes are literally rules that determine the quality of life as well as the strength of our bonds with others.

Name: Sanskrit word sahasrara means ‘one thousand’, implies that its magnitude and significance is vast, in fact, unlimited.

Relates to: Intuitive knowing, connection to one's spirituality, wisdom, wholeness, oneness, cosmic energy, pituitary, pineal, nervous system, brain

Emotional focus: Related to spiritual nature

Spiritual concern: Oneness with Divine, psychic gift of prophecy or ability to sense divine plans

Gland: Pituitary

Physical organs: Pineal gland, upper skull and cerebral cortex, parts of the hypothalamus, higher learning and cognitive brain systems, parts of immune system, the right eye

Issues with: Ability to trust life, values, ethics and courage, humanitarianism, selflessness, ability to see the larger picture/pattern, faith and inspiration, spirituality and devotion.

Sense: Divine Compassion

Element: Cosmic Energy (Maha Prana)

Balanced Energy: Open to the Divine, able to work miracles, can transcend the laws of nature, access to the unconscious and subconscious, realization of immortality, awareness of death

Excessive Energy: Constant sense of frustration, unrealized power, psychotic, manic- depressive, frequent migraine headaches, destructive, sexual expression ranges from passionate too distant

Deficient Energy: Loss or lack of joy, catatonic, complete inability to make decisions, uncommunicative

Physical Dysfunction: mystical depression, diseases of the muscular system, skeletal system and the skin, chronic exhaustion not associated with physical ailments, sensitivity to light, sound and environment

Illnesses: Energetic disorders, mystical depression, chronic exhaustion that is not linked to a physical disorder, extreme sensitivities to light, sound, and other environmental factors.

The Crown Chakra is the seventh chakra and it is at the top of the "chakra ladder" which starts from the Root Chakra that grounds us on the Earth and progresses upward to the Sahasrara which connects us with the universe and the Divine source of creation. Sahasrara is located at the crown of the head. The gift of this chakra is experiencing unity and the selfless realization that everything is connected at a fundamental level.

The energy of this chakra allows us to experience mystical oneness with everyone and everything in nature. There is no intellectual knowing at the level of seventh chakra, but there is serenity, joy, and deep peace about life. You have a sense of knowing that there is a deeper meaning of life and that there is an order that underlies all of existence.

The seventh chakra is our connection to our spiritual nature and our capacity to allow our spirituality to become an integral part of our physical lives and guide us. While our energy system as a whole is animated by our spirit, the seventh chakra is directly aligned to seek an intimate relationship with the Divine. It is the power of prayer (intent). It is also our “grace bank account,” the warehouse for the energy we amass through kind thoughts and actions, and through acts of faith and prayer. It enables us to gain an intensity of internal awareness through meditation and prayer. This chakra represents our connection to the transcendent dimension of life.