Chakras
Exploring Yoga Philosophy and Spirituality: The Role of Chakras in Mindfulness and Consciousness
By Dennis Bluthardt, Namaste Studios
Yoga is not just physical exercise. It is a deep journey into spirituality and the exploration of the self. The rope connects the mind, body, and spirit; once connected, once we ‘get it,’ peace ensues. Not because life is not full of obstacles, curveballs, heartbreak, etc., but because we understand that it is all just an experience.
The seven major chakras are an integral part of this spiritual journey because they are the energy within us that allows us to operate on the physical, emotional, and spiritual plane of existence. Understanding the chakras and the behavior of our life energy keeps us mindful.
Paying attention to what your body is saying allows you to become aware of changes as they occur. This knowledge can transform the emotional and spiritual plane of existence.
Practicing yoga asana (postures) incorporating the chakras will enhance the above qualities. From this perspective, yoga asana is not simply a good stretch or a workout.
Instead, the experience becomes a journey through the body of emotions and behaviors, past and present events, areas of the spirit, and aspects of the personality.
Understanding Yoga Philosophy
Yoga philosophy, based on the ancient Indian texts, the Vedas, the Upanishads, and more, shapes its main ideas from these conversations about spirituality and serves as the foundation for yogic thinking. There are many additional philosophies, connected with different practices and mantras, that you can study in the historical context of Yoga (i.e., the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, part of classical yoga philosophy, which many teachers will guide you through in your foundational yoga teacher training).
Mindfulness is the lynchpin, the foundation.
Mindful thinking guides your mind to lay down the tracks to a destination where you can decipher truths about yourself by clearly and calmly uncovering the noise of your thoughts, reactive tendencies, pent-up emotions, and physical discomfort.
The reader’s mind is the palette, and the author paints the ideas; when the reader (you) becomes the author of said painting, this becomes a different practice.
The hope of using the outline of the Eight Limbs in sequence, or where necessary, is to help you understand impressions of what an emotional and thinking landscape may contain for you and from you.
Where you go from there and how you practice the Eight Limbs via Asana is the enlightened destination of your choosing. This way, you’ll learn how to become more sustainable and observational.
The Spiritual Aspect of Yoga
Yoga is an exploration of our inner world and, ultimately, the world of the spirit. Yoga utilizes body and consciousness to explore our “selves” and seek enlightenment. From this perspective, Yoga, with all its physical postures, breath control, and meditation, is a form of spirituality.
Self-realization necessarily involves the body and its relationship to the external environment.
Yoga practice results in heightened sensitivity and awareness, two primary ingredients in the mystical experience of the divine. These experiences involve periods of intense focus on the breath.
Mindfulness is when we add the discipline of regularly bringing our mind and body together for scheduled practice. Then, having developed the ability, we can observe our thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations in almost any aspect of our daily lives, both on and off the mat. Students learn to develop self-awareness from this foundational knowledge and skill development platform, which generates greater empathy, self-confidence, and a sense of purpose.
Introduction to Chakras
The 7 Chakras are our energy centers within the body. The concept is from an ancient Indian tradition, and there are seven main chakras aligned with the spine, each related to different physical, emotional, and spiritual properties:
Root chakra (base of the spine) is our foundation and feeling of being grounded; it relates to stability and security.
The sacral chakra (lower abdomen) relates to pleasure and the enjoyment of life, creativity, connection, and the ability to accept others and new experiences.
Solar plexus chakra (upper abdomen) our ability to be confident and in control of our lives, to feel “good enough,” self-esteem
Heart chakra (center of chest) our ability to love
Throat chakra (throat) is our ability to communicate well and speak our truth clearly.
The third eye chakra (in between eyebrows) is our ability to focus on and see the big picture, intuition.
The crown chakra (top of the head) is our ability to connect to our inner and outer beauty.
Balancing our chakras may be a basic self-care need for optimizing meditation. Some consider that aligning and balancing your chakras will give you the best possible connection to yourself at the highest self-care level. You can practice mindfulness more effectively because you will have released imbalances in your physical and emotional “body” as much as possible before beginning your practice. You can lie in savasana and place your crystals according to these associations after focusing on letting go of what isn’t serving your highest good.
Mindfulness centers on not only self-awareness but also an awareness of what is going on around you. Becoming more present and aware is crucial to enhance your spiritual journey. Meditating on your chakras can assist you with feeling more secure. You gain self-esteem partly because you have performed something to serve yourself rather than others. Incorporate this work during ritualistic practices. You can clear humanity’s collective negative emotional energy through such focused practices.
Integrating Chakras into Your Yoga Practice
Each of the seven chakras is associated with specific yoga poses, and moving through these poses can help align your energy and increase your spiritual awareness. The Root Chakra activates through the Mountain Pose (Tadasana), which gives you a sense of grounding. The Sacral Chakra can wake up through poses like the Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana) and is associated with creativity and emotional balance. The Solar Plexus Chakra is enacted with poses like the Warrior Pose (Virabhadrasana), giving you a sense of power and instilling confidence. The Heart Chakra is opened with the Camel Pose (Ustrasana) and is associated with love and compassion.
Mindfulness practices such as meditation can increase the power of your spiritual journey by including practices such as intentional breathwork. By breathing in while visualizing your breath associated with the color of each chakra, you can harness the power and energy of the spiritual and physical realms in association with one another. Doing so connects the mind and heart connection in the body, making it whole.
Understanding yoga philosophy and spirituality is fundamental for understanding your “chakras.” Yoga is not about the human body. It’s about the human being. You have a body, but you are not your body: effortlessly, you are in the human plane. Knowing all philosophical wisdom implies that you reached Samadhi, so you reached mindfulness.
Many scientific studies show that as a yogi at peace, you have fully developed your prefrontal brain cortex; everything is clear. You are the king of the human plane.
In (our model of) the plane, chakras are simply seven plain dots, drawn on a sketch in an exercise book, that locate the seven macro-areas where your life energy rules your well-being. Everybody knows about chakras, but chakras are not physical points or organs of your body. Chakras are the seven main drivers of each of your life dimensions or aspects; abstractly designed; these dimensions locate your plane of life existence. You could subdivide human life into two old-age sides rather than seven dimensions; indeed, seven is primarily symbolic.
The human hatha, or breath of life path of Yoga, is the first personal source. Each “hidden box” is opened by specific postures through all of Asanas’ released information, so it comes to your knowledge. You re-emboss the guidelines on your body maps so you can do your project. Practicing mindfulness has the same effect on the development of your human chakras, where mindfulness swiftly gives you more consciousness than maintains your drive to life and an alive face. That is the human quest of consciousness, not to glow (your ego).
