The Seven Chakras

The seven chakras of the Hindu/Tantric yoga model are subtle energy centers running from the base of the spine to the crown of the head, each with its own Sanskrit name, element, and set of psychological/spiritual themes.

Muladhara — Root Support

Base of the spine, perineum. Element: Earth (Prithvi). Survival, stability, groundedness, and the sense of having a safe base to stand on. In the kundalini model this is where the coiled serpent-power sleeps until awakened.

Svadhisthana — One's Own Abode

Lower abdomen, below the navel. Element: Water (Apas). Pleasure, creativity, sexuality, and emotional fluidity — the capacity to feel and to generate.

Manipura — City of Jewels

Solar plexus, above the navel. Element: Fire (Tejas/Agni). Personal power, will, and transformation — the inner fire that digests both food and experience.

Anahata — Unstruck Sound

Center of the chest. Element: Air (Vayu). Love, compassion, and balance — the midpoint of the seven, where the lower, more instinctual centers meet the higher, more mental ones.

Vishuddha — Especially Pure

Throat. Element: Ether/Akasha (Space). Communication, truth-speaking, and self-expression — the purification of what passes between inner experience and outer voice.

Ajna — Command

Between the eyebrows. Element: Beyond the five elements (mind/light). Intuition, insight, and inner perception — the seat of the guru or inner teacher, and the point at which duality begins to resolve.

Sahasrara — Thousand-Petaled

Crown of the head. Element: Pure consciousness, beyond the elements. Union, transcendence, and liberation (moksha) — the point at which, in the kundalini model, the risen serpent-power unites with Shiva and individual consciousness dissolves into the absolute.