some way. Saint John wrote of the “seven spirits before the throne” and the “seven seals on the back of the Book of Life.” Other early Christians are said to have used the term “seven churches in Asia.” The Tibetans call them “Khor-lo”; the Hopi, in their creation story, speak of energy centers; the early alchemists spoke of seven metals by which crude matter was transmuted into “gold.”
Clustered around each chakra are the vrttis, or the mental tendencies that are controlled by that chakra and its relationship to associated physical glands. An increase or decrease or an imbalance in glandular secretions can make the vrttis more or less active. Yoga postures can help balance and regulate the activity of the chakras and thus the glands and vrttis.
According to yoga science, the mind stores reactive “momenta” — the plural of momentum—or samskaras, a type of energy created by desire. Some people call it “karma,” though technically karma means the reaction you experience as a result of your reactive momentum. Samskaras are like deposits you make in a bank, to be withdrawn at a later date. They can be inborn, such as the child prodigy who is born with the samskara for musical genius; they can be imposed by parents or society; or they can be acquired throughout life. Everyone has a vastly different set of samskaras, constantly ripening and being expressed. What you think, say, and do, according to yoga philosophy, comes back to you.
According to your particular set of reactive momenta, vrttis are formed; their expression and control depend upon the chakras. The chakras vibrate according to the reactive momenta, and their vibrational expression causes hormones to be secreted. These hormones affect your mental state and thus your actions and reactions. When you can control the chakras, you control the expression of these mental tendencies. You are no longer pulled here and there, tossed about on a sea of emotions, desires, fears, and aversions. Your mind achieves a state of equilibrium in which your samskaras can be expressed in a healthy way and released. Control of the chakras—and thus the glandular secretions and finally the mind — is the object of many meditation practices and yoga postures.
The process of controlling the chakras, and thus the vrttis and physical glands, was invented by yoga master Astavarka in India over 2000 years ago. He called this process “Rajadhiraja Yoga,” and taught the system in the area of Bengal, India. Later, the sage Patanjali organized a system he called “Raja Yoga,” which included an eight-fold process of holistic health and selfrealization. These are not sequential steps, but components of a holistic approach to spiritual development:
(1) Yama (ethical behavior): kindness, honesty, responsibility, unity, simplicity.
(2) Niyama (spiritual behavior): clarity, acceptance, sacrifice, understanding, spirituality.
(3) Asanas (yoga postures).
(4) Pranayama (control of the breath).
(5) Pratyahara (withdrawing the mind from the physical world).
(6) Dharana (intense concentration).
(7) Dhyana (true meditation).
(8) Samadhi (communion with the Deep Self or Supreme Consciousness).
In yoga, all of the systems of the body, the mind, and the spirit are seen as a whole, inextricably linked, each with its part to play in the daily destiny of human beings. None can be affected exclusively; any impact on one part of any of these systems affects each of the others. In this spirit of wholeness, let’s look at the chakras and all of the activity connected with them.
The first chakra is located at the base of the perineum. It controls the solid factor of the body and is related to the excretory functions. It is controlled by the conscious layer of mind. It is here where the spiritual and evolutionary journey begins; this is the densest expression of creation, where consciousness, both in the macrocosmic universe and in the microcosmic reflection of mind in the individual, has been solidified to the greatest degree. It is here that the static energy of kundalini, the latent force of cosmic energy in the individual, resides.
When the kundalini awakens, you realize “Brahma exists” — a state associated with this psychic center. This realization is one of great joy. It is not an intellectual process but a state of consciousness in which you sense your oneness with infinite consciousness. You suddenly realize that God is real and exists within your reach, in the core of your own being.
First Chakra: Muladhara
Meaning: root
Shape: square
Color: golden
Acoustic root: lam (pronounced “lung”)
Called: the root chakra, terranian plexus
Location: the lowest point of the last bone of the spinal column
Element: earth
Factor: solid
Vrttis: spiritual aspiration, psychospiritual longing, psychic desire, physical lust
Physical malfunction: constipation, sciatica, hemorrhoids, obesity, anorexia
Psychological issues: survival, ambition, will to live
Controlled by: conscious layer of mind
Body function: excretory
Glands: gonads (ovaries, testes)
Activities to strengthen: “grounding” exercises such as Body Level, (p. 90); yoga posture Yogamudra (p. 95)
Foods to strengthen: proteins in the form of grains, beans, and dairy products
Color therapy to strengthen: red
The second chakra is located a little higher, at the base of the pelvis. It controls the liquid factor of the body, is related to the sexual functions, and is controlled by the subconscious layer of mind. As the kundalini pierces this chakra, you realize “Brahma is everywhere, Brahma is all that exists.”
Second Chakra: Svadhisthana
Meaning: sweet
Shape: crescent
Color: milky white
Acoustic root: vam (pronounced “wung”)
Called: fluidal plexus
Location: spinal cord, directly behind root of the genitals
Element: water
Factor: liquid
Vrttis: indifference, lack of common sense, fear of death, lack of confidence, hopelessness, crude behavior
Physical malfunction: impotence, kidney and bladder