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A CHAKRA PURIFICATION MEDITATION

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Nadi and Marmas: The chakra cleansing exercise accomplishes pranayama,
pratyhara, and dharana all at once being an excellent preparation before
meditation or other practices of laya yoga. It helps us focus within toward
awareness of the energy body, based on the classic seven chakras and their
seed (bija) syllables. Each chakra has thus a corresponding vibratory sound
energy which helps us get in touch with that region. According to classic
hatha yoga there are seven chakras and their sounds are approximately:
Lam for the muladhara (earth) chakra located in the perineum area. Yellow
in Color
Vam for the swadhistana (water) chakra located in the prostate/ovaries area.
White in Color
Ram for the manipura chakra (fire) located above the navel. Red in Color.
Yam for the Heart chakra (anahat) associated with the element of air. Blue
in Color
Ham for the vishudda (throat chakra) associated with ether (akasha). Swirling
Dark Gray
Aum for the third eye
AH for the Crown (various schools use different sounds for the crown chakra,
here AH is a special mantra specifically chosen for its benign effects.
The first five seed syllables are said with a nasal “hngh” type ending more
than a mmm type ending as in lamngh, vamngh, ramngh, yamngh, and
hamngh. In the Nepalese and Tibetan tradition it is often pronounced la, va,
ra, ya, ha.
We can increase the detail in regard to colors, number of lotus petals, letters
on the lotus petals, sounds of the lotus petals turning, etc. to aid further
detailed concentrations, but this process of differentiation can be endless. It
can be even counter-productive as these details are not the chakras
themselves, but rather simply symbolic representations of corresponding
characteristics that “may” help point out as a temporary aid in which to
access the actual awareness of these vibrating energy vortexes in which
more or less detail may or may not be of help.
For those who are a bit unfocused, then the need for more details may help
their over active mental situation in which case there exist many more
detailed chakra meditations utilizing such detail. However in this chakra
purification meditation we do not trouble ourselves with such details, but
rather use the sounds as an aid to focus in on the pre-existing energy patterns
that are singing at each chakra — bring our awareness and listening to “it”,
more than projecting a sound unto it.
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We start simply by sitting in a comfortable position with the spine resting
on the upright sacrum, - grounding the tailbone to the earth, and extending
the spine and torso (in mulabandha) so that the occiput extends toward the
sky and the chin is slightly drawn in (a soft jalandhara bandha). It might
help to halfway to close the eyes gazing inside and upward touching the
tongue lightly to the roof of mouth while the eyes look up softly into the
ajna chakra.
The Practice Proper
We then visualize a brilliant bright light at the base of the spine. As we
breathe in we visualize this brilliant bright light entering the chakra and
purifying it. As we exhale we visualize the chakra opening (like the petals of
a lotus blossom) and say the seed syllable (once or up to sixteen times).
Then we again visualize a brilliant bright light at the base of the spine and as
we inhale, visualizing this light raising up to the next chakra purifying it.
Again as we exhale, we visualize the chakra opening like the petals of a
lotus blossom as we vibrate the seed syllable for that chakra out loud.
Eventually we work up to the crown kinesthetically feeling the vibratory
nature of these energies. With the awareness focused within to this energy
flow we sit in silent awareness connecting the root with the crown (sambhavi
mudra).
For example, inhale a brilliant bright light from the base of the spine into
the MULADHARA chakra. As we exhale we visualize the chakra opening
like a lotus flower while saying LAM as many times as you like (classically
up to 16 times).
On the next inhale we visualize a brilliant bright light moving up from the
base of the spine to the SWADHISTHANA chakra (below the navel) and as
we exhale we vibrate aloud the sound, VAM, anywhere as many times as
you like (classically up to 16 times) as we visualize the chakra opening like
the petals of a lotus flower.
Likewise from the base of the spine we visualize a brilliant bright light and
as we inhale it moves upward purifying the MANIPURA chakra (above the
navel) and as we exhale the seed syllable RAM vibrating aloud as we visualize
the chakra opening. Then visualizing again a brilliant bright light at the
base of the spine we inhale it up to the heart center (ANAHAT CHAKRA) and
as we exhale say the bija mantra YAM as many times as we are drawn to
(usually one to sixteen times) as the chakra opens.
Then visualizing a brilliant bright light at the base of the spine, inhaling it
up the spine as a white light into the throat chakra (VISHUDDA) and as we
exhale say HAM as we visualize the petals of the chakra opening.
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On the next inhale we breathe up a brilliant white light from the grounded
tailbone connecting into the third eye (AJNA chakra) and as the petals open
as we exhale saying a long AUM only once.
Then we visualize a brilliant bright white light at the base of the spine and as
we inhale visualize it rising to to the crown chakra (SAHASRARA) and as we
resonate out loud a long AHHHH deep within the brain and upward we
visualize the chakra opening so that our energy is as an open self supporting
balanced conduit between the earth and the sky extended in an effortless
self supported equipoise.
At this point in the meditation we can engage in other practices for self
healing, such as doing energy healing work by finding pre-existing energy
blocks and working through them, or begin a silent meditation, or simply
be finished for the time being.
For example we can repeat the visualization over again to see if there is an
improved effect. Especially if we noticed an energy blockage in a specific
area the first time, we can simply breathe back into the chakra below and
above it, resonate the seed syllables over again, and then on an additional
breath, breathe into the specific energy center in question. This can be
repeated until some sort of openness or flow is achieved. Feel free to
experiment with resonant combinations of the chakras, for example, the
ajna chakra and swadhistana chakra have a specific resonance, the vishuddi
(throat) and manipura (fire chakra), the earth (muladhara) and sky sahasrara),
etc. It is especially the the root and crown chakras (earth and sky) which are
the two most critical to connect while the others may just fall into place on
their own inbetween.
So in the above practice we have also accomplished asana (posture),
pranayama (lengthening the energy), pratyhara (focusing the awareness
within), and dharana (focusing the mind) allowing us to be much better
prepared to sit in meditation as the energy is already flowing easier because
pratyhara and dharana has already become accomplished.
An Advanced Chakra Meditation
This ends the simple chakra purification exercise which accomplishes
pratyhara and focuses (dharana) our energy and mind inside freeing us from
external disturbance and vagaries (vrtti) and thus acting as a catalyst both
toward self empowerment, self healing, and effective meditation.
The first practice (given above) is both absolutely safe and purifying as well
as energizing. An advanced practice may be undertaken after one has
practiced pranayama with kumbhaka (retention) and the three bandhas (mula,
uddiyana, and jalandhara bandhas) with an even more powerful effect.
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The advanced practice is performed as above, but the main difference occurs
with the synchronistic use of retention (antar kumbhaka), the bandhas, and
more elaborate visualization thusly. At the end of each inhale, having brought
the light and breath into the chakra and before the beginning the exhalation,
one holds the breath inside (internal kumbhaka) while at the same time
performing the three bandhas as a continuous wave starting at the bottom
and working upward. While the breath is held inside, the chakra region can
be visualized in more detail if desired. A simple and easy addition in this
regard is to visualize the chakra region as pulsating in a vibratory wavelike
motion adding appropriate color associations to the energy or adding even
greater elaboration if one desires. Then, one slowly exhales, before there is
any discomfort vibrating the seed syllable as in the above purification practice,
paying attention to the subtle quality and tone of the exhalation.
This should be done after the chakra purification practice is mastered. It
brings more vitalizing energy into the system (good for those who are
deficient in prana, tejas, or ojas). One may do this advanced practice feeling
both the front and the back of the body vibrating. For some the colors are
valuable, for others the sound, for others the breath, and for others it is
simply the feeling — the awareness of opening and being filled with light,
prana, and strength.
To enhance the above after the chakras are purified and open, they can be
activated by doing the same as above, but in addition hold the breath (internal
kumbhaka) inward utilizing the three bandhas gently for a short duration of
time before exhaling and sending the the light out (while the lotus flowers
expand).
The above is the classic hatha yoga practice, but there are many schools
which differ on some specifics. The most controversial is the sound at the
crown chakra, but ah is the most common. The second most common sound
that is often suggested at the crown chakra is the high pitched sound, hri
(pronounced huhreeee). There are also schools which use different sounds
at each chakra (rare).
Many Western schools give the colors for the chakras like the spectrum
starting with red at the root, orange at the swadhistana, yellow at the navel,
green at the heart, blue at the throat, purple at the ajna, and white at the
crown, but such is not found in classical yoga. Utilized as a simple but
profound purification, a white color should be used for all the chakras. As
an additional practice the different colors, syllables (sounds) for the various
petals, associated deities, and symbols may be used for those who like more
detail. Feel free to experiment to ascertain what works best for yourself. To
get a powerful effect, the practice can be very simple as in the first part.
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CHAKRA CHART
Chakra Location Seed Syl Prana Kosha Sharira Organ
Element
Muladhara Base of the spine Lam apana vayu Annamaya Sthula smell
earth
Swadisthana Below Navel Vam vyana vayu Annamaya Sthula taste
water
Manipura Above Navel Ram samana vayu Pranamaya Sukshma seeing
fire
Anahata Heart Yam prana vayu Manomaya Sukshma feeling
air
Vishuddha Throat Ham udana vayu Vijnanamaya Sukshma hearing
speech ether (akasha)
Ajna Third Eye Aum Vijnanamaya Sukshma

Sahasrara Crown Ah Anandamaya Karana

Regarding the above chart, one may eventually become aware of the more
subtle energies that surround and operate in our life. The various bodies
(called sharira in Sanskrit) are associated with the five koshas (sheaths). The
coarse physical body (sthula sharira) is of the lowest vibration and most
dense. The subtle body (the sukshma sharira) which is often called the astral
or energy body is associated with the pranamaya, manomaya, and
vijnanamaya koshas depending on its state of purification and transformation,
while the causal body (the karana sharira) is associated with the anandamaya
kosha which is beyond suffering and bondage. See The Timeless Body of
Infinite Light and it’s Finite Manifestations for more.
A Top Down Chakra Meditation
Another classical chakra meditation is top down (from sahasrara to
muladhara). This one also utilizes a slight retention after the inhalation (antar
kumbhaka).
Again find a very comfortable, strong, and upright position grounding the
tailbone with the earth and placing the pelvis in neutral position so that the
spinal column sits erect upon the sacrum. Lift the hear, extend the spine,
slightly without tension tuck the chin gently, and implement the energetic
form of each bandha (mulabandha, uddiyana bandha, and jalandhara bandha)
without strain so there is a felt sense of self supporting mutuality. Let the
back of the medial scapulae sink while the top front of the shoulders move
up and around and toward the back (posterior). Let the gaze rest at the third
eye or nose and implement khechari mudra (if you practice it) or simply
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place the tongue at the top palate without creating stress to the tongue or
jaw. Relax into a feeling of buoyancy. The hands can rest on the knees in
chin mudra, jnana mudra, or any other comfortable position that supports
the overall energy.
Begin by becoming aware of the space above the crown (at the parietal
bones which are located top dead center between the occiput in back and
frontal bone in front). Center your awareness there and try to feel the empty
space above the crown (sahasrara) as a subtle density dynamic, a wind, fluid,
wave like etheric pressure variant, or any other such subtle awareness.
Visualize the brahmarandhra (hole of Brahma) open at the top of the head.
If you do not feel the specific location of the brahmarandhra chose the
bregma point (the anterior fontanel at the junction of the frontal and parietal
bones) or the posterior fontanel at the junction of the parietal and occiput.
If the exact spot is difficult to locate, then try visualizing the entire parietal
bone flapping subtly like wings, the sides rise up on the exhalation and come
together on the inhalation creating an widening abduction on top.
Then on the inhalation breathe energy from infinite Source above the crown
and then down into that spot sucking it in through the brahmarandhra. On
the exhalation breathe the energy and light back up and out through the
brahmarandhra to infinite space. Repeat two or more times until the area
feels open, airy, bright, and cleansed.
Then on an inhalation breathe fresh new white colored light into the crown
(sahasrara) and hold the breath and bandhas in while visualizing the entire
frontal cortex and cerebrum fill and flood with white light on the exhalation
letting the energy spread outward.
On the next inhalation breathe the white light in from infinite Source through
the brahmarandhra and down from the crown into ajna chakra filling the
third eye, physical eyes, sinus, thalamus, cerebellum, back brain, and brain
stem with white light and energy while retaining the breath in implementing
the bandhas actively. Exhale the same way again flooding the light outward
throughout the region.
Repeat breathing white light into the throat chakra (vishuddha), the heart/
lungs (anahat chakra) , the manipura (fire chakra), the swadhistana chakra
(water), and muladhara chakra (earth) the same way utilizing an internal
retention (kumbhaka) and then a spreading outward of the light energy on
the exhalation purifying each and every chakra one by one.
It is excellent to move this energy all the way down to the soles of the feet
while spreading the white light outward on the exhalation.
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Let the light spread out in all directions in each chakra. On each exhalation
be aware of a vibratory and pulsating afterglow of light in each chakra.
After all seven chakras are done this way and you have cleansed and activated
the muladhara, then in one long breath breathe in from infinite Source all
the way to the muladhara implementing the internal kumbhaka and the
bandhas as the light and space is spread throughout the body to each and
every system, cell, and atom. During the kumbhaka (breath retention stage)
gently compound and suck in and up the energy in the lower cauldron (lower
dan dien or hara) below the navel by combining mulabandha and uddiyana
bandha. Before the exhalation visualize the energy from muladhara on up
from chakra to chakra to the crown completing the circle by containing it.
At this phase spread the entire body with white vajra light. As you exhale let
loose all the bandhas and slowly let the breath and light connect back to
infinite source out the crown of the head as well as sink down to mother
nature/creation leaving the entire body and nervous system as an open
channel, connected, quickened, livened, strengthened, energized, cleansed,
vibrating, and pulsing at an accelerated very intelligent healing frequency.
Sit in that afterglow space in a receptive mood and then start your meditation
or practice or simply use this time to facilitate energy healing work in specific
areas. Eventually allow the breath to return to an equality of inhalation and
exhalation or allow the exhalation to be longer in regard to duration and
strength.
To end send the energy to fill the heart chakra and from there visualize this
energy going to every organ, tissue, gland, cell, atom, internal space in the
body, outer spaces, all times and dimension. Send this healing infinite
universal to the surrounding space, people, trees, community, plants, and
animals — to everyone everywhere and throughout the three times.
The Ten and the Many
It is best mentioned here that the seven chakra system is classical, but your
actual practice does not have to be limited by the classical thought of centuries
long past. In the very ancient literature and traditions, there were three
chakras or lokas, then later there was five, then six, then seven. In some
tantric systems there are 9, 10, 12, and more. One theory is that the vibratory
nature of the universe, the galaxy, and hence the earth is accelerating and
becoming more refined and diversified as such new energy centers have
emerged within the hologram of man.
I use ten chakras. Please notice that this experientially works best for me at
this time, making no universal claims on its application, but simply will
share it here. One may locate the center of the chakras by making FIVE
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FINGER WIDTH spacing starting from the pubic bone upward. The center
of the swadhistana then would be located in the center of the first palm. The
second palm will center around the navel region (manipura chakra), then
higher up five more finger widths the palm will be under the sternum, its
center on top of the spleen, liver, gallbladder, stomach complex. Here we
can place an additional chakra and call it the spleen or nabhi chakra with the
seed syllable hoh. Five more finger widths to the heart (anahata). Then five
more locating the thymus center halfway between the throat and heart chakra
at the thymus whose seed syllable is sham). These two chakras Spleen and
Thymus) work in resonance (like the throat and navel, ajna and swadhistana,
muladhara and sahasrara). The last additional but very important chakra is
the Talu chakra located at the cerebellum area and brain stem directly in
front of the occiput. Its seed syllable is also aum (like the ajna)
Thus we have ten
muladhara lam
swadhistana vam
manipura ram
nabhi/spleen hoh
anahat yam
thymus sham
vishudda ham
talu aum
ajna aum
sahasrara ah
[For more on a 12 chakra system see the addendum at the Chakra Healing
page at Rainbowbody]
The Seven Microcosmic Chakras of the Neck
The neck has an “S” shaped curve very similar to the spine and an analogue
can be found at each cervical vertebra. This additional chakra practice for
the seven vertebra of the neck and as a microcosm for the rest of the spine
can be done alone or integrated with the above practices is an excellent 7
step exercise for those with blockages in vishudda chakra, neck, or throat
problems.
EARTH — LAM between the 7th and 6th
WATER — VAM between the 6th and 5th
FIRE — RAM between the 5th and 4th
AIR — YAM between the 4th and 3rd
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AKASHA — HAM between the 3rd and 2nd
AUM between the 2nd and 1st
AUM again between 1st and then entering into the talu chakra
(note that sometimes the name of the chakra behind the occiput at the brain
stem is called “talu”, while in other literature, “talu”, refers to the region
at the cerebellum.
One can continue to break down the energetic points of the body and give
them names and sounds which symbolize their energetic resonance, harmony,
activation, and stabilization. Commonly there exist recognition of the chakras
at the cupped arches at both feet, at the heels, knees, and both hip joints, the
cupped arch at the palms of the hand, the wrists, the elbows, and at both
shoulder joints (gleno-humeral joints). In addition many tantric systems
recognize at least one chakra below the body belonging to the earth proper
and at least in space above the head belonging to the sky region proper.
These two follows around the human body where ever it goes as long as it is
alive. It is through this body that Shiva’s love is communicated to Shakti,
and how Shakti’s love toward Shiva is expressed in a balanced mutual
timeless non-dual synchronicity.
CHAKRA AND ENERGY BODY HEALING:
MODALITIES FOR CONSCIOUS PRACTICE ON
YOURSELF AND OTHERS
Introduction: Energy Healing is a Spiritual Discipline
The following will not be a summary of the voluminous extant literature
available about chakras and energy healing, nor will it be a parroting of
such. The “external or objectified knowledge” approach to chakras and
energy is more than limited, but rather it is dysfunctional, because it is
simply an abstraction, i.e., the symbolic representation should not be
confused with the Reality. In other words the functional knowledge to be
applied effectively “inside” has to be “self” knowledge — it has to come
from a subjective experience or Gnosis. The words, diagrams, sounds, and
pictures that anyone can memorize are at best approximate manmade
representations, not the real thing, We nonetheless can (and do) “feel” and
move our energy without the necessity of manmade graphs, objectification,
or the artificial conditions of language and words. At best diagrams are
maps that can point in the direction, help focus our energy, and or make
suggestions, but we must avoid imposing a template upon organic reality
that will limit our actual experience. True knowledge comes from within.
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First there was one — the Source of All
The Creator Seed.
In stillness it rested.
Then there was two.
From the two the many formed.
True understanding of this process in continuity — with integrity — defeats
the disease of ego and arrogance. Without this direct experience we are
stabbing in the dark. Hence ancient healing sciences were wholistic — they
took into consideration the origin of life and creation in order to understand
self, the life energy, the nature of existence and in order to heal disease.
Physics tells us that nothing can move without voltage - a vector or energetic
force AND direction (intelligence). This polar energy is often “represented”,
symbolized, or characterized by yin and yang, shakti and shiva, ida and
pingala, left and right, earth and sky, front and back, nature and spirit, being
and consciousness, right brain/left brain, subjectivity/objectivity, respectively.
This “relationship” and its myriad energetic circuits upholds life and
potentiates creativity when it is in harmony and synchrony, but when it is
corrupted, fragmented, blocked, obfuscated, and distorted disease patterns
arise and impact negatively upon the energy body organization, mental
organization, and the physical organism as well. This study of the movement
of the energy and how the energy vibrates in gross and subtle forms, how it
flows, pulsates, and resonates in the human body, how it is harmonized and
organized intelligently on one hand; and on the the other how it is corrupted
and creates disease, inhibition, fragmentation, and dysfunction is the subject
of indigenous wholistic sciences of healing which mostly have become
forgotten in the West, but which have survived in the East in forms of yoga,
tantra, Taoism, chi gong, acupuncture, and so forth.
When this energy direction (intelligence) is out of harmony with Source and
Manifestation, spirit and nature, head and root, crown and earth, then it is
also corruptive to the physical body. Creative energy is inhibited and
misdirected into destructive and pathological behavior while specific
tensions, conflicts, and stress (called dis-ease) can be discerned and
articulated. The life supporting intelligent energy is innate in all of creation
(shakti). Very importantly that means it is inside of all of us (dormant,
suppressed, and dissociated as it may be). So as we study energy healing if it
is to be honest and effective, we must also be willing to take on the authentic
spiritual journey to know our “self’ and look inside. In other words if one is
not ready to look inside, then no true knowledge or functionality in this
realm can be achieved.
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Thus the direction of healing for most of us is to invite this innate intelligent
energy to take its rightful place in our life, but in order for this self healing
to occur usually the conditioned “mind” or left brain reinforced belief
systems has to move out of the way to allow for this. Thus the direction of
healing (in time and space) is for most of us an indigenous movement from
the inside out and earth chakra upward versus one imposed by logic (top
down) or from outside authorities (outside to inside). The basic impediment
that must be over come is our incessant imposition of the veil of ignorance
upon the profound and sacred organic interaction of creator/creation. This
veil of sorrow is reinforced by core beliefs, habits, past imprints, past trauma,
negative conditioning, false assumptions, bias, prejudice, fear, and all the
rest of what are called in classic yogic terminology: kleshas, samskara,
vasana, vrtti, or avidya. Regardless of the language or terminology in which
to peer into the nature of disease, we will see the same underlying common
currents.
The beginner can thus be easily seduced by the plethora of various
terminology, charts, external authoritative systems, and techniques that deal
with the subject, and they often make the mistake to attempt to memorize,
conform to, and parrot them. But my warning is that healing lies in the
opposite direction, i.e., connecting up with one’s own intelligent energy
body. I hope the following will give some encouragement to this “exploration
of the “real thing”.
Energetic Exploration into the Territory: Being Open and Vulnerable
Instead of attempting to memorize the locations, colors, functions, or other
aspects of what is called the chakra system it is necessary to first experience
them as they exist in our own energy body by realizing the innate relationship
between energy and matter, between body and mind, between emotions
and physical dynamics, between our energy patterns and physiological
processes.
Given the basic principle is that nothing can move without voltage, vector,
or polarity, it is essential for us to establish a working feeling/sensitivity for
this dynamic in our daily life. This causal force manifested as energy (shakti)
and its manifold patterns determines what the shape of the our future health
(or disease will become). On a gross level the well known movements inside
the body can be discerned as arterial pulse, organ motion, craniosacral pulse,
cell mitosis, lymphatic flow, peristalsis, nerve firings, but science have already
differentiated thousands more already. Indeed these micro-movements are
myriad and when working as a community (an inner ecology) in order to
support the organism, health is the natural result.
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The mind and body are always moving inside and this movement forms the
basis of the future state of health or disease. What we think and feel influences
this energy and the body just as much as what we do to our body systems
influences the nervous system and mind. As we become more aware of this
dynamic energetic relationship, the better we will be able to deepen our
ability to positively influence it and direct its development. The problem
has been that most of us have not been trained to look within — to be
sensitive to how we feel and to what we can access inside, but rather our
training has been to ignore (as in in ignorance) the reality inside (intuition,
instinct, inner wisdom, psychology, and feelings), while overly giving
credence external gross and lower vibrating forms of “matter” as being the
only thing that is real That is the mistake core belief of gross materialism —
and thus the modern age has to overcome the many negative influences and
habits built up around that false assumption, bias, and prejudice.
Conversely successful energy healing work will depend upon our ability to
be aware and sensitive to the inner dynamic operations of this energy. It is
the very reclaiming of a primary schism, a dissociation from our body, a
numbing out of the dynamic interdependence between our inner and outer
ecological energy vortex. This awareness/sensitivity can be reclaimed
through many modalities. The most classic are classic Chinese medicine (Qi
Gong, Tai Chi, acupuncture), yoga, pranayama, swara yoga, meditation, laya
yoga, visualization, tantra yoga, and so forth. Energetic dance, movement
therapy, art therapy, continuum, somatics, body psychotherapy, and other
energetic forms of body work (such as polarity massage, craniosacral, visceral
massage, Jin Shin Do, Huna, Reiki, various schools of shamanism, and similar
also work with the energy directly and are a way to so become attuned and
aware.
First there was the One - The Source Seed.
Then there was Two
then the many in diverse song and dancing ways became.
Work from Your Energy Body
When I go into my own “back body”, energy body, rainbow body, and/or
chakra system not only do I understand myself better as I really am, but
then I am much better able to understand what is going on with other people
energy wise. This non-verbally based and non-left brain dependent “ability”
is enhanced through daily meditation, pranayama, visualization, bandha,
mudra, and asana practice. It comes from an inner sensitivity and awareness,
instead of developing it further consciously (I am certified in craniosacral 1
and 2, Reiki 1 & 2, and have studied anatomy, physiology, Huna, acupuncture,
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shamanism, polarity, pranic healing, Jin Shin Do, pranayama, chi gong, tai
chi, visualization, dance, somatics, music, body psychotherapy, yoga, and
other related energy system modalities. Although all these approaches have
served to awaken within me a heightened sensitivity and openness to the
possibilities, they can also have their own built-in limitations/bias. In this
context then it is preferred to let the underlying intelligence which awaits
us underneath the energy, then stream unimpeded through the nervous
system, organs, cells, and limbs organically and spontaneously without
limiting/inhibiting it through prejudicial viewpoints or limited assumptions.
For this to occur we must learn how to surrender to it — to know it and
trust it.— this involves awakening and reclaiming our innate wisdom, instinct
intuition and inner direction which in turn gives us a feeling of self confidence,
wellness, and empowerment which obviates any need for external validation
of self worth, meaning, acceptance, or self esteem.
So the first rule is to drop in to the body (the house of living spirit and the
energy body) — to make contact by staying grounded — bringing spirit in.
It is to establish this natural flow between crown and root — spirit and
nature and let that awesome evolutionary energy of creator/creation animate
and instruct us. The flow is up from the earth to the sky and down from the
sky to the earth through the living channel/embodiment first drawing a
locus of connection between the earth chakra at the perineum or feet with
the crown chakra and then moving into it as a felt line of energy. In other
words we first have to work on ourselves and maintain this connection in
order to work effectively. Some schools call this phase “grounding” or being
grounded. You can call it finding your center, core energy, being centered,
or activating and abiding in “flow”.
In this way we receive an energy treatment/healing at the same time as we
give it — as a communion and meditation, and thus we do not fall into the
trap of identifying as the creator of the process (see chapter III on the Yoga
Sutras for why) but rather just a participant/vehicle in a greater transpersonal
process. Nor is helpful to identify with any such self limiting dualistic
conception of being a giver while the client is the receiver, but simply as an
open channel or vehicle for the life sustaining evolutionary and creative
healing dynamics while acting as an ambassador of eternal love — of the
innate harmonious and balancing relationship of shiva/shakti, yang/yin (tai
chi), father sky/mother earth, etc. Thus the healing session is an opportunity
for both to listen, learn, be open, and experience the healing evolution energy
together.
Although taking a class in energy healing, yoga, shamanic healing, body/
mind healing, chi gong, pranic healing or similar courses from time to time
 15
can stimulate our own innate creative process, open us up to broader
horizons, increase our sensitivity, and empower us, that kind of activity also
has the seductive potential to distract our attention from the innate healing
power and intelligence if not placed inside of a transpersonal indigenous/
endogenous perspective.
Although there exist “healers” who claim good results through very precise
and “tight” structural approaches, my approach has been that everyone will
benefit more when the session is viewed with an open mind — as an
exploration — as an opportunity for being more deeply present — as a
mysterious adventure, spiritual communion, a shamanistic journey, and/or
a meditation traveling far beyond the manmade human world of
conventional knowing and thinking. Both doing and listening at the same
time balances the ida and pingala, the efferent and afferent, the central and
autonomic nervous systems, left and right, front and back, up and down,
down and up — all and none of these flat plane linear modes but when
balance and harmony is reached a profound non-dual synchronicity is
realized that defies left brain logic as well as any concept of linear time.
Since the knowledge does not come from the outside, but from within, any
teacher/healer who emphasizes that truth is an authentic teacher/guide.
What I want to emphasize is that everyone has this ability (it is innate to us)
and we should not hesitate nor be afraid to touch and play, but rather open
ourselves up to the vast healing potential that we all have (mostly laying
dormant). As a healer or in a healing session (all life should be approached
as such) we have the opportunity to charge our body/mind as a vehicle of
love energy.
There exist numerous further techniques to invite the energy connections
to be made and increase its intelligent presence besides keeping the basic
non-dual energy flowing in the central channel (sushumna) through
visualization and energetic alignment. Here we can use the breath and prana
to increase the charge (from the infinite Source), let it flow through us and
at no personal expense to ourselves, become increasingly accustomed to
spontaneous flow, streaming of energy, while allowing it to arc over without
holding the breath. Here we have invited the healing energy in - evoked it
by taking the initiative to create an environment (external framework) of
which to more deeply connect and commune. During the treatment we
continuously stay intimately connected and commune ever more deeply
with this dynamic and intelligent process utilizing witness consciousness,
not as “hard” work, but rather as a joyful opportunity that you are giving to
yourself as well — a creative, rewarding, fulfilling, effulgent, and joyful
labor of love.
 16
Energy Body Anatomy
The idea that Angela Farmer calls the back body (bringing our awareness
back toward the spine in witness consciousness) is the same awareness of
what is called the light body, energy body, rainbow body, etc. in other systems.
The activation of the energy body occurs as a powerful redirection/
remediation of energy and consciousness which is “ordinarily” misdirected
into a dualistic world of appearances where there exists an “apparent” (false)
misidentification between externally observed objects (by the five senses)
as being separate and distinct from our concept or experience of “self”.
Although the flow of energy (prana) in the light body is always present in
ordinary dualistic consciousness the flow is greatly obstructed, blocked,
and diminished being overridden by the an unbalanced and out of synch
flow of energy in the polar (left and right) psychic nerves (the ida and pingala
respectively). However when harmony and balance is attained there occurs
a synchrony not only in the left and right hemispheres corresponding to the
right and left sides of the body or the pingala and ida nadis (psychic nerves)
respectively. This is not a conceptual or intellectual realization but we return
once again to an energetic dynamic where we feel and experience our center,
core energy, as a feeling of synergistic harmony, well being, and wholeness
having linked mind and body without conflict, consciousness and being,
spirit and nature, sky energy and earth energy within our own existence as
a vital and evolutionary part of creation being linked therein all the way
back to the beginningless creator as well as into the future. When we get
this evolutionary energy “balanced” correctly, the energy literally raises us
up off our feet — it supports and embraces us in a direct way (as such it is
called the kundalini). Here there exist many dimensions and all dimensionless
space — ecological circuits within ecological circuits, vortexes within
vortexes — holographic realms where the inner and outer (microcosm and
macrocosm) are no longer seen as separate, disparate, nor dual — but linked
together in a profound circle.
Ultimately therefore this linking is mystical/mysterious in the sense of not
being capable of reached with left brain logic (the conceptual and academic/
analytical process). Rather its realization actually depends upon letting go
of these self imposed limitations conceptual dualistic beliefs. In this sense
then the amplification of the right brain modality can be the functional
doorway (for those who are left brain over dominant and imbalanced). Yet
once we become balanced in this way, the synergistic symmetry created in
sushumna (the central column in yoga where non-dual energy flows) flow is
neither right nor left, top or bottom, front or back, but rather profoundly
central (non-straight plane).
 17
Thus some sort of body/mind right brain amplification practice is most
valuable to any practitioner in order to first to be able to access this state
within ourselves (only then can we share it) whether we move in asana,
daily life, sit in meditation, perform sacred dance, healing song, music, or
other similar right brain amplification practices. As long as this brings balance
(we are assuming that the right brain has previously become abandoned,
repressed, or dissociated) this method becomes a doorway into a realm of
balance — centering ourselves in awareness of the energy body, subtle body,
light body, rainbow body or vajra body no matter how slight our awareness
may be at first.
As our self awareness deepens the energy flow deepens at the same time as
this state of deep interconnectedness becomes established and with this
synchrony an overall amplification (of the functionality of both the right
and left brain hemispheres) is catalyzed so that awareness becomes even
more easy (moving from extremely subtle to prevalent). Here the healing
ability/wisdom occurs spontaneously arising by itself from inside out
independent of the accumulation of external facts, knowledge, adherence
to belief systems, doctrine, vrttis, pramanas, hierarchical status,
certifications, licensure, degrees, or other entirely artificial systems and
approaches.
Classical hatha yoga is rich in techniques which bring our attention inside,
focusing on the psychic anatomy and energy body practices/techniques that
are precisely designed to purify, activate and balance our left and right (ida
and pingala) and front and back energy flows and then gently guide/direct
this energy to flow in the central column (sushumna). Laya, tantric, swara,
and kundalini yoga also deal with the integration and manipulation of the
energies (sometimes all the practices are combined).
Thus an authentic indigenous approach to yoga provides a sensate and
accessible framework or context where we can thus analyze, center, activate,
and heal ourselves and everyone else (clients, students, friends, acquaintances,
etc.) in kinesthetic and energetic terms relating to energy patterns, energetic
qualities, energy obstructions, and in terms of energy balance as to where
the energy may be imbalanced, blocked, dammed up (congested), stagnant,
static, weak (depleted), distorted, (or any other qualitative characteristic
such as color, shape, density, temperature, hue, coarseness, strident, and
similar) and then devise methods to re-establish synchronistic balance and
energy flow. Again this ability is made possible first by ourselves entering
into this operative dimension of awareness and experience. For it to reach
its fullest potential we must also learn to honor it and keep it active and
flowing during everyday life circumstances.
 18
Diagnosis and Treatment
Specific methods of healing are unlimited as they are subtle and intricate.
The dear reader should know that the following is only a coarse and rough
outline of energy diagnosis and healing techniques. Left and right, front and
back, top and bottom are easy ways to structure the diagnostic healing
“search”, and it can be done through visual examination, palpation, making
passes with the hands to feel the qualities and densities of the energy, and/or
analysis of the air flow through the nostrils. The front, bottom, and left
sides of the body (along with the right brain crossing over at the third eye)
is associated with the ida or chandra nadis while the back, top, and right
side of the body (along with the left brain again crossing over at the third
eye) is associated with the pingala or surya nadis.
For example if someone is overly contracted or collapsed forward being
bent over to the front we may surmise that the surya nadi (pingala) is over
active or the chandra nadis or ida is depleted or under active, because the
pingala nadis (male energy not only is associated with the right side of the
body and left brain (male) but also the back energy (rising up the back),
while the ida is associated with the left side of the body, the right brain
(crossing over at the third eye) and the energy running up the front of the
body (female). In this as a simple experiment we might suggest the emphasis
of backbends as a simple remedial measure. Most “illnesses” can be analyzed
by simply analyzing the energy patterns, blockages, stagnations, depletion,
flow, or their lack of flow and then treated to reestablish homeostasis.
Often a collapsed body which appears overly passive, yin, soft, yielding,
hyper-parasympathetic tone, heightened afferent nervous function, ida
dominant, over active afferent nerves, or right brain dominant function
associated with the female will appear to be the opposite of a body which is
stiff, rigid, armored, overly contracted, hard, yang, or other wise associated
with hyper-sympathetic tone, over active efferent nerves, pingala, or male
associated functions. These are two extreme energetic ways of viewing the
possibilities, but we will suggest that even what appears as a collapse is
often do to an energy dam, a contraction and folding inward as protection
around an old pain, trauma, unresolved conflict inhibition, weakness, feeling
of vulnerability, fear, grief, etc. with the obvious exception of situations
that are drug induced or the result of over stretched ligaments.
The many possible situations will speak to us very clearly and our own
activated energy body will go directly to the balanced (correct) mode of
intervention. In other situations the causal obstruction may mirror a similar
obstruction that is imbedded or brings up a resonant blockage in our own
mental/emotional (manomaya kosha) , energy (pranamaya kosha), or belief
 19
system (jnanamaya kosha) bodies so that we may either be forced to do
healing on ourselves or otherwise be stumped.
Similarly we may find often the energetic problem is a symptom reflecting
past conditioning, a stubbornly held core belief system, armoring and
contraction around a past trauma, an imbedded fear, guilt, past negative
karma or habits — animosity, anger, grudges, greed, compensatory desires,
complexes glued together in anger, and many other similar energetic
propensities that have components other than the “simply” the physical. All
these wholistic relationships and more can be accessed and positively
influenced through “energy work”, but the therapist must embrace the
wholistic framework wherein there is no isolation/separation between the
body/mind, belief systems, life styles, thoughts, and emotions from that of
the physical symptoms. Here the therapist must be firmly grounded,
centered, and balanced in their own core/heart energy and thus able to accept
the patients pain, fear, and other such elements of disease without themselves
being disturbed or negatively influenced — in order for the therapist to be
fully present and effective and creatively and joyfully work responsibly.
Classically; the chakras can exist in : a state of deficiency (depletion) which
is often cool or blue distortion, congestion, and stress (where the flow is
blocked above or below it) which is sometimes mistaken as being diagnosed
as “over active”. This can also appear often as being represented as being
hot or red or in a state of healthy and synchronized interactive flow.
In other words disease may manifest in energy terms as an imbalance, a
depletion, or a congestion while “treatment” is always aimed at re-balancing
and removing stasis to the “natural and healthy” flow of energy which includes
purifying/opening the congested channels and/or centers. Here we can cool
the hot and over active (overly rajasic) and heat the overly cold and sluggish
(tamasic) if we chose to use the Ayurvedic breakdown of the three gunas
which are composed of rajas (hot and stimulating), satva (balanced and
pure), and tamas (slow and cool). There of course exist equal richness in the
Chinese energetic system (yin/yang, cool/hot, wet/dry, etc.). Such approaches
include techniques of energizing/stimulating on one hand or soothing/
calming/cooling on the other while re-establishing balance and harmony —
re-activating the innate dormant evolutionary/creative circuitry.
Most schools emphasize first purification of the area, then removal of
congestion (sweeping) and lastly then energizing or balancing the area.
Indeed this will avoid some untoward effects if one were start first energizing
without clearing the obstructions to the flow, but in some cases where the
energy is already critically depleted and the patient is very weak and cold,
energization at first may be best.
 20
The overall description of our approach can be simplified even further by
stating that the process can be reduced to the idea of purification of the
channels and pathways because purification will at the same time remove
obstruction of flow in the area where it is blocked (thus facilitating removal
of congestion) and at the same time the energy is now able to flow to energize
the areas that may have been depleted (due to the blockage/obstruction). A
careful reading will show that purification not only relieves congestion and
restores depletion, but also restores balance and homeostasis simply because
the energy is now flowing unobstructed being self regulated by the natural
intelligence inherent in the healthy organism. This is not unlike some
shamanistic techniques which use a form of drawing out of an evil spirit or
exorcism in order to effect the overall “cure”.
1. It is essential first to take on the responsibility of understanding and
healing ourselves and then we are able to heal others, i.e., to surrender
to the innate and indigenous healing powers and intelligence within).
Many times this can happen simultaneously, but it must always include
taking care of your own energy system and never approaching pranic
healing as a sacrifice, barter, or transfer of your personal energy (but
rather it is always more valuable to stay in tune always with the
transpersonal universal life energy acting from this central intelligent
core as much as possible). One must realize that this is the same
evolutionary energy that is inside of all of life and creation (it is not an
exclusive or personal endogenous ability, but rather transpersonal as a
result of millions of years of co-creative/co-evolutionary interdependent
dynamic inter-relationships).
2. It helps to ask for help from some “outside” force that you have a
balancing affinity with such as a specific helper from the angel, deva,
plant or animal spirit world, archetypal world of gods and goddesses,
the universe (such as the sun or stars, nature/creation/creator in general,
or at the very least your highest self). Be sure to thank these helpers
(usually silently) at the end and ascribe any “miracles” to them (rather
than the lower self or ego). This will save us trouble falling back into
duality and increase our abilities to align with infinite power and wisdom
in the long run. We are all in this together even though our present
culture or peers will not acknowledge that “fact”.
There exist many techniques in psychic healing that are similar while
many practitioners are interdisciplinary and eclectic incorporating more
than one of these techniques. Given the two basic techniques above,
the following specific techniques may or not be suitable for everyone.
 21
3. Next we can concentrate our awareness on our own back body (light
body) grounding the tailbone deep into the earth and at the same time
extending the line of energy through the crown to the highest point
(brahmabindu at the brahmarandhra) connecting up with the formless
Seed/Source above and the Abundant Mother below. Intend that love be
embodied and healing be done now. Wash out the hands and cleanse
your own system. Activate internal flow especially through (in and out)
from the feet and hands. Focusing upon your own light body, sensitize
and charge your hands. Get in touch with the feet, chakras, belly, and
breath in relationship with the back body. Go deep inside for this
conscious connection. In this regard even the slightest amount of
bodhicitta helps tremendously in transforming any possible negative
conditions.
4. Scan the person’s aura asking questions with your hand not mouth)
such as is this hot or cold, thick or thin, red or blue, clockwise or
counterclockwise, congested and full versus depleted and desirous of
energy, and so forth maintaining an inner dialogue of asking questions
and allowing for answers. One method is to use the finger tips of one
hand to receive prana and the center of the opposite palm to send it, but
both can be used. The fingers can also be allowed to perform delicate
actions and in Huna each finger is assigned a corresponding element
quality. The hand can also sense vortexes and synchronize and re-tune
the existing vortexes. Approach these subtle possibilities with loving
attention and let the intelligence of the client guide you. As mentioned
cleansing alone is often sufficient to allow for healing to occur because
it opens flow from congested areas so that it can energize depleted
areas and reestablish balance, but if you are good at concentration, very
specific operations may be attempted with the finger tips as long as you
have a good diagnosis and a clear idea of what you are doing. For many
this diagnosis stage can seem like an artificial imposition, an unnecessary
limitation, get in the way, or slow things down so that they combine this
step (four) with step five (below) as one process/movement.
5. After the energy diagnosis we can purify and open the systems that felt
clogged and obstructed, energize the areas from the source of prana
(use the sun if need be), and soothe, calm, and sweep out and clear any
areas that still feel congested. Perform any specific operations or
visualizations that you desire after entering more deeply. There exist an
unlimited amount of possibilities here. For instance in some systems the
hands are placed on two chakras of choice simultaneously. For example
one hand may be placed over or on the sacrum (at the muladhara chakra)
 22
and the other hand over or on the back of the occiput (talu chakra) as in
craniosacral and polarity therapy). In a similar approach the hands are
placed over a chosen center/chakra (one hand in front of that center and
the other hand in the back of the same center) simultaneously. For
example in many Reiki moves and craniosacral therapies. In some forms
of Jin Shin Do, fingers touch two or more acupuncture points
simultaneously transferring, balancing, and harmonizing psychic energy
flows. In another system the hands never really touch the physical body,
etc. The point here is that after the awareness of the energy vibrations
and pulses are attuned to through opening the nadis (energy channels/
pathways) within ourselves then we are able to consciously direct the
energy through intention. Cit means conscious awareness and prana
means energy. Here we work with the cit-prana by becoming aware of
the connection within of the energy as well as the energy of consciousness
itself. Even without knowing the exact pathways consciously, just the
subtle awareness and the intention are sufficient to allow the energy to
move because the prana as the life force has an innate intelligence.
After awhile we can apply the cit-prana at will, focusing on any area,
both in ourselves and others. As our own eyes open, we open to the
possibilities in the world and in others.
Many more detailed variations are possible and if so called to, many
include working with the elements (water, air, fire, earth, and akasha
(ether), the elementals (intelligent dynamic relationships and guardians
formed around various natural phenomena), plants, totems, nature spirits,
subtle form bodies, spirits, and the Great Spirit. Connecting up energy
centers, balancing and harmonizing the previously restricted body/mind
energy flows, opening up blockages, calming and cooling irritated or over
loaded areas, stimulating previously strangulated and dormant centers,
reprogramming negative emotional and mental habits, and similar
approaches requires sensitivity — a requisite degree of waking up — of
being open.
Humans have not perfected “healing” as a perfect science, but one can
become more efficacious by matching the most efficacious modality to
the right person. This then depends on the previous sections being
developed by learning how to be present with “the other” and to listen
openly and completely without judgment (listen and look from one’s inner
sense of knowing or innate intelligence), to have the courage and
compassion to be with that person’s pain and suffering. This requires
the “healer” to be centered, aligned, stabilized, and grounded in their
own core energy being — it requires the self confidence, courage,
 23
inspiration, consciousness, compassion, and self empowerment that such
integrated groundedness affords. This comes with openness, receptivity,
loving intent, and practice. Healing, loving intent, and spirit leads.
6. Ending the session, make sure you exit slowly and intend that all things
be placed where they belong. End up with stabilizing and grounding
techniques while compacting the client’s energy body (containing their
energy within an aura of love and healing) while slowly withdrawing your
“touch” and energy with a healing prayer for the benefit off all beings.
Here we can seal the energy body, but always with the clear conscious
intent to allow the good, healing, natural, and loving energies to be able
to enter and the noxious elements to leave (being recycled back by mother
nature). For example carbon dioxide, human waste, pus, etc are food for
the plants, bacteria, worms, etc. In turn animal and plant “waste” provide
the basis for human food, energy,and air.
For example in Huna specifically, we are taught how to leave a drain for any
noxious contamination to complete its removal over time, and/or how to
empower temporary elemental allies to provide healing assistance for
specific time periods when those elements can form a synergistic relationship.
Man is ally to nature in his evolved modality. As such man is here to act as
allies in healing and evolution with all of nature, just as nature is here to
assist man. This natural healing relationship in the modern world has been
mostly forgotten, but nonetheless this tragedy of dismemberment can be
invoked — a host of allies are available should our heart allow.
It is a good idea to generate the bodhicitta (the aspiration for the complete
enlightenment and end of confusion and suffering) at the crown chakra
after withdrawing and let the client clearly know that you are finished with
the session (verbally or symbolically), checking in with them that they are
OK, and that they may take their time getting up. Finishing may vary
considerably. One commonly effective method is to leave with the right
hand on the client’s third eye and the other hand on their heart or navel
center checking in with them as to consciousness awareness (at the third
eye) and joining that awareness to their heart or energy center (at the navel
or heart) with a full body smile. Words are not always helpful or necessary.
Check to ground yourself with mother earth and connect with father sky
and again intend that this evolutionary and creative intelligent transpersonal
loving energy that has created all of us become active and dominant in
providing direction in our lives. Place confidence in this eternal omnipresent
love, affirm, and surrender into it with infinite humility, gratitude, and joy
in completion.
 24
During a session there is a wealth of power and innate intelligence to draw
from if only we are able to be present. Some healing approaches may include
entering into verbal dialogue with the client while working; asking them
what they want to accomplish; ask how they feel here or there, ask them to
ascribe representative symbols to the feelings of disease or pain; have them
recount a past experience that appears to be energetically related and provoke
the catharsis of any associated emotions, feelings, and thoughts; ask them
to participate in the process by breathing in a golden light into specific
areas, and or moving energy in a specific region. A valuable skill is to always
work in the present, knowing absolutely that it is the healer’s ability to stay
present that brings forth the insight and healing energy, that allows the
healer to be effective, and as such the healing is always mutual and
transpersonal. In this way the transpersonal healing infinite Source of the
healing energy is invoked and amplified.
Healer: Heal Thyself
A basic rule that “healers” often need to be reminded of is that there is an
infinite amount of energy in the universe and that a yogic healer should
NOT be transferring personal prana from self to the client, but rather is
simply acting as an inter-mediator or transpersonal facilitator allowing the
conscious source of the healers own life intelligence to communicate directly
with the other person’s conscious intelligent life energy and then after
establishing contact allow the Source to facilitate change. In this way on a
physical level we are asking the client’s dna and intelligent energy patterns
to communicate to the healer (agency) what the nature of the difficulty is
and then have the healer communicate with Infinite Mind facilitating the
necessary transfer of information and implementation through the physical
structure of the hands.
If you are doing healing on others an important principle to implement is to
not only ask permission, but inquire and evoke from the client the enthusiastic
desire or intent to make a healing change in their own body/mind (whatever
it takes) in order for healing to take place. Because without this receptive
positive state as an energetic precursor, the effort may well be a waste of
time. If the client has the attitude of “I don’t want to change, just you (the
doctor) fix me so that I can go on with my life the same way”, then the
chances of an enduring success may be greatly diminished. When the client
has a unified will toward becoming well, being healed, and coming into
physical, emotional, and psychic health, then the process has less friction
and becomes a process of mutual cooperative and education.
Change may be accompanied by both/or physical and mental catharsis (by
catharsis one surrenders the obfuscations and noxious energy). Catharsis
 25
can be slow and sweet. Grieving and crying is often cathartic, however the
expression of stored anger can sometimes re-traumatize, so when anger is
touched upon it is titrated and allowed to come out while the facilitator
holds the loving space — stabilizes themselves in the healing process.
If the client has a need to talk (and it appears to be cathartic) then the
facilitator may allow or even encourage it. If talk however seems to be
resistive or escapist convince the client to go back into their breath and/or
give them a remedial visualization to do in order to help refocus the energy.
If a catharsis occurs due to a painful past trauma or otherwise pain, fear,
anger arise only a skilled facilitator strongly stabilized in their own core
should continue to evoke this unless re-traumatization or over stimulation
occur. Thus it is safest to pay attention to the client’s energy, facial
expressions, and breathing as gross signs of a deep unresolved disturbance
perhaps triggering an over-stimulation reaction and if such a reaction is
arising be able to know how to contain it, soothe the energy, balance it, and
access a peaceful restorative mode when called for. These hyper-sensitive
regions then can be returned to in future sessions and slowly titrated (brought
into context without having the individual become overwhelmed by it).
Personal Experience
Thirty five years ago I began a conscious study of herbs, diet, and energy
healing with yoga, polarity therapy and acupuncture. Later studies in
shamanism, Huna, Reiki, craniosacral, holographic healing, pranic healing,
Jin shin do, and related energy work were added thanks to many teachers,
mainly Dr. Mishra (Sri Brahmananda) and Nicki Scully as inspirations. What
I learned is that the intent was all important, that I needed to act not from
the head, but rather much more deeply — from the energy body — the core
energy. Here we take a moment to attune inside to the innate wisdom
inherent in the body and to the entire cosmos — to the Source. Here the
two energy bodies (that of the client and the facilitator) should be allowed
to communicate directly from that deeper wholistic context of reality. I
learned that harder and more was not better. I learned that the healing energy
and intelligence was transpersonal, limitless (limited only by our ignorance),
and ever present, and to move from that deep grounded space in an
energetically balanced and kinesthetic way where efferent and afferent,
pingala and ida, yang/yin, shiva/shakti, inner and outer, spirit and nature —
all the koshas and bodies were intermingled, of one taste, and always working
synergistically, synchronistically, and in concert.
Further practice in yoga and meditation has led me to a greater appreciation
of the energy body which has increased over time, while the recent advances
in the West of Body Psychotherapy, somatics, and movement therapeutics
have helped validate and enrich my practice.
 26
The Chakra System
Chakra is a s Sanskrit word which means circle of energy, wheel of energy,
spinning vortex of energy, or energetic center. As mentioned there are many
chakra systems, and the reader is again reminded that the various systems
as written and described in colors, sounds, diagrams, and words, are merely
symbolic representations i.e., they should not be confused with the actual
inner reality which must be experienced as an active operational intelligent
energy dynamic pattern which correspond to emotional, psychological, belief
system, and spiritual interactive dynamics as well as physical vectors (versus
a representational abstraction, objectification, or separate fact apart from
our subjective direct experience).
One way to view the hyman chakra system is from the ultimate point of
view (the crown center or sahasrara chakra). An infant has the fontanels
(brahmarandhra) wide open at the crown (at the lambda and bregma points)
crown points, but he/she has no ability to walk, to sense the earth, or to
know embodied existence yet. Despite their DNA and inherent operating
system they are brand new to manifest creation and must get to know the
earth body )the muladhara chakra). Life then becomes a process of learning
the connections between infinite and absolute unborn spirit and the force of
creative evolution a sit manifests in the universe of form and content. If this
holy quest is kept intact throughout life, then the budding infant recognizing
the creative principle in all of creation learns to activate the evolutionary
tools of the body (chakra circuits) and lives a creative and fulfilled life in
harmony with the spiritual and universal matrices. Where these energetic
matrices intersect within the human body, are the chakras. they are the
result/product or interstices (if you like) of the physical body, the energy
body, the mental and emotional bodies, the wisdom body, our karma, and
unconditioned divine creative spirit. At death the human body expires by
reabsorbing/withdrawing the prana at each chakra and rejoining infinite
Source at the crown. But a wholistic life consists in developing the chakras
— learning about them, activating them, integrating them, and acting from
this deep place of integration (samadhi). The chakra system can be reduced
then to crown (sahasrara) and earth (muladhara) while all other chakras
must align and stabilize around those two poles — they are all fed from the
integration and harmonization of these two poles, while it is the negative/
afflictive emotions (called kleshas connected to our karma) which distort,
weaken, discolor, toxify, and stress the chakra vortices. One way to see this
is to see the chakras as the energetic result and interaction of the five koshas
(see below).
 27
With that introduction in mind, the reader is again reminded that the chakra
system is not to be viewed outside of the sacred/spiritual realm of creator/
creation, shiva/shakti, yang/yin, or father sky/mother earth, in All Our
Relations. Any such objectification/abstraction will only further alienate us
and produce counterproductive results — it will impose a limited
dysfunctional filter, veil, and discoloration. So we are reminded that in the
sacred Now, as in the beginning, exists the Everlasting — Beginningless
Source Seed and in this Great Integrity — NOW and FOREVER — in
completion and wholeness - in continuity both the source stillness and the
flow exist as One. From this undistorted Wholeness and Integrity every “thing”
-all phenomena — is seen as the river’s movement — all things are on fire.
So if the infant were to maintain that continuity of consciousness from the
eternal Source into life in all our relations, then no discolorations would
occur — the chakras would develop naturally in one’s stages of development
and remain open, activated, integrated and conscious. That is the healthy
ideal, but in most situations negative conditioning (karma) and ignorance
(with the kleshas) takes over and blocks, dissipates, or distorts this natural
evolutionary flow. This happens when our programmed beliefs and false
identities come into conflict with nature/creation as it is (Universal Reality)
— the cosmos as it is versus the cosmos as our distorted constructed mindsets
would prefer it to be. Even though underneath our conditioned projections,
distortions, prejudice, delusion, illusion, and manmade belief systems
universal creativity always exists as Real, the infant is programmed to see
an altered state of “things” — a contrived and transgenerational ignorance
and prejudice sets in.
In prime momentum then, two were created, but they as a whole are part of
a greater whole. Hence the source of polarity, voltage, and duality —the
source of DNA, were formed. This two became the apparent distinction of
heaven and earth, yang and yin, father/mother, spirit/nature, siva/shakti,
creator/creation, consciousness/being, crown chakra/earth chakra, kether/
malkuth, ein soph and shekinah, pingala/ida, and the like while in Integrity
they are contained in the whole as one dynamic relationship — in the Reality
of Eternal Beginningless Now. They are linked by the central column,
Yggdrasil, the tree in the center of the earth, the axis mundi, Mt. Meru, the
sushumna (where the kundalini flows), the healing staff (caduceus),
Ouroboros, Tiamet, Nidhogg (the Midgard serpent), etc. In yoga it is this
sushumna (central column) which unites heaven and earth —which is the
channel of this loving, healing, and evolutionary intercourse and dialogue.
The authentic sushumna is rainbow hued, non-flat planed. and multi-
dimensional — it is the channel where the activated kundalini goddess
 28
(creative/evolutionary energy) flows. In “normal (nut unnatural life) this
natural flow of kundalini has become blocked and/or distracted/dissipated.
Where such distortions. blocks, or discolorations occur, there become
negative energy vortexes and hence physical disease is created.
Hence in this context the two most important poles in the human body are
the crown and earth chakras (top and bottom) which are linked by the
sushumna (central nadi). These are the two polar opposites which have further
representations left/right and front/back, afferent/efferent, parasympathetic/
sympathetic, autonomic/central nervous systems, etc . In truth we must
learn to operate outside of the narrow limitations of dualistic consciousness,
outside of the illusion of three dimensional (space/time), rather from the
non-lineal fourth dimension (called turiya in yoga which is also called
samadhi). this is the open ground of nondual reality where crown and earth
chakras are united in true bliss and wholesomeness.
As we discern the two prime chakras we also observe the two polar strands
of dna. For the healing chakra work to be successful we must keep in mind
the intracellular dna intertwined as it were in a spiral snakelike dance as it is
in all of life (symbolized by ida and pingala) and feel it in every cell, but yet
go ever deeper. As we reclaim our innate birth rights (recover from our
estrangement from living spirit) our consciousness becomes aware of the
more subtle and hence the energy behind all of so called matter”. Here as
“self” awareness and consciousness developed through awareness of “the
two” forces, the more refined and differentiated his awareness becomes —
the more his eyes become opened to what is in Reality. It is with these opened
activated eyes that man heals.
The two polar forces and chakras, become the unity of the three (the trinity
of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva and hence the three granthis of yoga were
delineated (see below) as portals into all dimensions of being. Further
evolution provided further delineation and articulations and elaborations,
but beyond all elaborations always is — is the “is-ness”. Then the five, the
seven the nine and the twelve, and the infinite became intertwined. As such
those who have returned to pure subtle awareness even beyond the most
subtle have taught methods for fragmented people to become whole again
and integrate (yoga). WE IN OUR DAILY LIFE AND HEALING WORK ARE
NO SEPARATE FROM THIS PROCESS OF CO-EVOLUTION. IN FACT WHEN
WE EXTRACT OUR SELVES FROM THIS PROCESS WE WITHER, DRY UP,
STARVE, AND EVENTUALLY DIE. WE A AN INETGRAL PART OF THIS
INTEGRATIVE PROCESS.
A major problem in mankind’s fall, was that man became bogged down
into unbalanced centrifugation into the periphery forgetting his core and
 29
essential nature. He lost his center and his soul in exchange for the ersatz
comfort of material substance. But there is no lasting happiness, comfort,
or security that way. It in fact is the result of delusion. That is called
corruption (or sin) but it is simply the forgetfulness of the great Integrity.
The common modern man has become lost in his artifacts — his contrived
and artificial symbolic illusions/delusions brought about by limited conceptual
belief systems and habituated and institutionalized false identifications.
Another problem was that man tried to reestablish his lost center through
doctrine which also became a left brain dominant limitation and bondage
and through his attempt to conquer fear through dominance over nature
which corresponds to his left brain/intellectual dominant stance over the
right brain (feeling/receptive) sensitivities. These two conspire together as
a misplaced momentum — a pathologic energetic vector which at best is
neurotic — which creates the glue in modern man to limit and enslave him
unless he finds the courage/inspiration to liberate himself. Hence although
we will discuss chakra healing here, ultimately any “healing cure” has to
be seen essentially as a process of spiritual awakening.
Working with the energy of the chakras then as a practice, includes not only
working with the dna, cells, tissues, glands, nerves, muscles, glands, organs,
bones, skin, blood, and interactive energetic systems, but also the
interconnected emotional, psychological, core belief system, and spiritual
evolutionary processes of the individual’s inner and outer ecology. All of
these relationships can be accessed through chakra and kosha work — as
the dance of Shiva.
Classically medieval hatha yoga ended with a seven psychophysical chakra
system. Kashmir tantra often has nine or more chakras. Earlier Indian tantra
often gives only five although later seven or nine are common. The most
common systems that we see use seven major chakras while others offer a
myriad number of minor chakras and marmas (energy points at the interstices
of the koshas). We will use the classic seven as examples in these pages,
however I would like to make it clear that in my own experience, I believe
that seven is an anachronism in the twenty-first century. What I would like
to suggest for further consideration elsewhere that what is now attempting
to evolve and become actualized/activated in human existence are twelve
chakras and alongside that twelve energetic dimensions/permutations of
DNA.
Specifics in Relationship to Healing at the First Three Chakras
The earth chakra being that particular center associated when spirit touches
nature, consciousness touches form, or heaven mingles with earth is the
point of differentiation itself — the point of immanence and rich diversity—
 30
it is the fertile earth while spirit is the undifferentiated seed. The earth chakra
is the doorway to abundance — every “thing” — all of existence and creation
in its rich diversity and yet it is in constant transformation (change) being
temporal and evolving. At the other pole, the crown center is the nothingness
or formless realm which contains the seed (potential) of everything. Hence
in the sense of simple polar balancing the crown and the root chakra (and
all in-between) work can be undertaken simultaneously. In other words all
the work can be accomplished between these two poles while and the flow
between them is not to be taken lightly but rather attended to.
It is not a coincidence that modern society with its widespread air pollution,
water pollution, food pollution, mind pollution, destruction of ecosystems,
destruction of other species, war, murder, and contrived disease have created
a god who is in heaven — a god who one goes to when one dies, an unearthly
god, and thus a spiritually alienated belief system and life where sacred
spirit is denied in creation/nature and the cosmos. At the bottom of this
unhealthy abomination is our alienation from our naturalness, wildness, our
animal part and our incessant desire for control. We no longer trust our
feelings, our instinct, our intuition, and have lost touch with our inner wisdom
and natural alliance with the plants, trees, animals, rocks, wind, and cosmos
— all living things. A big part of this war and conflict thus is rooted in the
war or disconnectedness from our cognitive sense and our somatic sense,
from the mind and body — from the innate unity of consciousness and
beingness (Cit with Sat), of spirit and all of nature, of creator and creation
— in short our sense of place and well beingness — a basic sense of security.
As a neurotic compensation we try to create external law and order systems
— security states, control and predictability over wilderness and cosmos,
but such is the disease not the solution. The healing rather is to come to
terms with the muladhara — the earth center — with the physical body,
with spiritual embodiment, and the body of all life. We know the earth via
the body — the earth and the body are from one source. This secure
knowledge of who we are in a body (but not of the body) is earth chakra
knowledge. WIth this knowledge we feel at home here with mother earth
which the body has co-evolved with for millions of years in which the earth
has co-evolved with the cosmos since beginningless time. Without this
knowledge — this interconnectedness we contrive artificial protection and
security systems. We become afraid and contrive false identifications for
protection in terms of racial alliances, tribal wars, chauvinism, xenophobia,
nationalistic wars, genocide, etc. but all that is not because of the lowest
chakra — it is not the fault of the earth chakra, but rather it is the fault of its
cognitive denial — of an arrogant ego who holds it nose up to it and won’t
 31
look down in love and beauty. The alienation from life and the earth chakra
is the leading number one cause of disenfranchisement from healing (illness
and disease) on the planet. Here too many people confuse the symptoms
with the cause. The problem is not the earth or nature, but rather our own
cognitive confusion and arrogant belief systems (ego). The body is not the
ego, it is god’s creation — it is a sacred portal for those who engage upon
the sacred science.
One can go and praise the earth chakra without end (it is needed because it
so maligned) but knowledge about it is one thing, but direct experience of
it’s activation tells all. All that is necessary here is for us to embrace life and
run our energy consciously through this chakra connecting up with the great
courage, the great confidence, the great stabilization, healing sense of
security, and timeless connection with all life and creation that an open
earth chakra provides.
All the lower three chakras are maligned in a society which is fear ridden,
over objectified, estranged from nature and the natural, estranged from
our somatic feelings and experience, and our hence cognitive based. All of
the lower three chakras have a specific energetic that require attention,
recognition, acknowledgement, and respect if we wish to reclaim our lives
and health. It requires openness and flow for us to be balanced and healthy.
These three more strongly correspond with the physical body than the upper
three (the heart being at the feeling center at the center point). On a physical
level the earth chakra provides knowledge of nature, healing, herbs, nature,
instinct, smell, etc.
The characteristics of the healthy and open earth chakra can thus be read as
fulfillment, richness, and abundance when energy is flowing between it —
the earth below, and the crown above. When the energy is blocked or deficient
most likely we can investigate the possibilities of abundance problems
(scarcity consciousness), insecurity problems, self doubt, issues of lack of
self acceptance, safety issues, fear of death, fear of living (which includes
fear of death), protection issues, lack of trust, feelings of alienation, cynicism,
despair, nihilism, and in severe cases paranoia and catatonia.
Where it can’t go down we feel disconnected, lonely, estranged, and
mistrustful and when it can’t flow upward we fear change, inhibit our
evolutionary organic nature, creativity and integration. Lack of downward
flow is associated with constipation and holding and can manifest in the
foot, leg, knee, hemorrhoids, sciatica, hip, thigh, SI joint pain and similar
problems while lack of upward flow may manifest in lack of vigor (sexual,
metabolic, passionate, creative, or mental), vertigo, lethargy, collapse, etc.
 32
Too much downward flow may manifest as diarrhea, profuse menstruation,
wobbly legs, and illnesses brought about by excessive tamas. The way we
walk and move the tailbone and sacrum (or its lack) is related to the earth
chakra. Excessive stimulation of the earth chakra (rare) without an outlet
(having a blockage) to the second, third, and fourth chakras can manifest in
over hyperactivity at any of the chakras.
The earth chakra (muladhara) is the most important chakra in hatha yoga,
It is where the kundalini lies dormant and it is where the prana and apana
are to be balanced for the energy (kundalini) to flow in the central column
(sushumna) . This should not be interpreted as just some mystical gibberish,
but yet the words certainly are symbolic of a very powerful energetic. Again
once flow is reached in the sushumna it is neither left nor right, nor up nor
down — flow is in both directions simultaneously. Again the muladhara and
sahasrara chakras are the two most important energetic centers while the
sushumna is the most important psychic nerve (that connects them) directly.
Physically this area is associated with the perineum, tailbone, glands of Luska,
and pelvic diaphragm.
This short introduction to chakra healing will never do justice to the earth
chakra or kundalini, but the beginning practitioner should know that it to
be greatly respected and can be gone to (in conjunction with the crown by
placing the right hand on the skull and left on the tailbone region to balance
energy or move energy through the entire system. This area is often congested
so elongating smoothing and softening passes with the hands up and down
over this area can often be of value. The muladhara is the integrative physical
center of the body and its support center.
Similarly the second chakra (water chakra) called the swadhistana chakra
can suffer from deficiency or blocked energy flow through it (functional
flow). The water chakra is the energy vortex that reflects the health of our
procreative function on the physical level (something that this society
generally associates with sin and danger), but on an emotional/energetic,
and mental level it represents how we interact with all our relations — how
we engage and have a two way intercourse (communication and flow) with
other beings and things. If it is blocked or toxic then these functions become
imbalanced. For example some people who have blocked second chakra
energetics (water chakra) compensate by neurotic talking, over eating, or
excessive sublimation/discharge elsewhere. Often because the energy may
be blocked at the water chakra then discharging this energy there in excessive
sex or in urination problems sometimes result although the actual energetics
of all these functions are the result of manifold interactions.
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When it is deficient in energy there is deficiency in the sexual, generative,
procreative, and creative urges. This is a motive force chakra where innate
evolutionary energies are expressed and generative and regenerative
energies are stored and expressed. In illness where these flows are damned
up or restricted. Here resides our connection with fluid flow, the sea, change,
shape shifting, seminal and creative ideas, imagination, creative inspiration,
instinct, and spontaneity.
When sexual disturbances exist many people mistakenly suggest that there
is too much energy flowing in the chakra, but what really is happening is
that the energy is congested, dammed up/blocked, stepped on, abused,
inhibited from flowing either below or above, and hence it “appears” to
want to come “out” and be discharged (or there is fear and shame associated
in its expression). Because of inhibitory influences of unnatural belief
systems, social mores, self censure, guilt, alien religions, and other artificial
and non-body positive external influences a conflict between natural and
spontaneous creative/procreative expression becomes reinforced
establishing a body/mind discordance, tension, conflict, and war which is an
energetic source of much mental disturbances, social crime, violence, and
physical dis-ease.
In the healthy body/mind the energy at the water chakra should be constantly
streaming here without fear of attracting sexual negative notice from others
(or guilt). If the center is dead, intuitive and instinctual senses are diminished.
Women and men who have “sex appeal” often have vital first three chakras,
but also in order to avoid sexual attention or condemnation many women
and men turn off this center in order to avoid the attention of others often
in fear or shame. This is a particularly common and strong, yet not widely
recognized dynamic.
In most cases where there is a tendency toward paranoia and alienation
accompanied by tightness in the pelvis and sacrum, the energy is blocked
going downward from the swadhistana, while in cases of lack of metabolic
process, will power, or ability to manage one’s own affairs the energy is
blocked going upward (into the manipura chakra). If the energy is blocked
in both directions at the same time, there almost always exists a deficiency
where a one way blockage can create a distorted shunt manifesting in what
may appear as an over stimulation.
Since sex is a powerful issue in modern life, many clients (those who are
numbed out or constricted in the swadhistana area will be embarrassed to
allow energy to flow here and will resist energetic streaming. If such occurs
the therapist may try streaming the energy between the muladhara (pelvic
 34
diaphragm floor) THROUGH the swadhistana to the manipura (at the lumbar
region and above so that the energy does not get stuck in the sexual region.
Once the client realizes that the energy can be energized but not locked into
that area (obsessed) but made to flow through it without congestion then
further cooperation in release of this area will be more easily accomplished.
This liberated energy can be used for healing in the swadhistana, muladhara,
or brought to the manipura chakra above for further balance and catalyzation
of flow . This area thus must be honored with sensitivity and gentleness
while the therapist must be capable of thoroughly moving through any
personal sexual feelings that may become stimulated.
Strongly associated with not only the gonads, prostate/ovaries, bladder,
sacrum, and lower back. This center resonates in a simple harmonic order
with the pituitary (ajna chakra or third eye) just as the muladhara has a
special resonance with the sahasrara. Although this is the water chakra
(usually white in color), the kidneys and adrenals being higher up are usually
associated with the next center, the manipura chakra which is characterized
by the fire element.
The Fire Chakra (Manipura Chakra)
Here too manipura which is the integrative energy center of the body has a
special primary resonance, this time with the throat chakra (vishuddi). This
is the center for individual strength, vitality, self empowerment, ability to
get things done, will power, concentration, action (fire), metabolism, and
the like. If the linear pathway is blocked/congested (up or down) then excess
fire or depleted dysfunction may similarly occur. It is too often ignored
because on a physical level it may represent our gastric fire or ability to
digest food and hence is relegated to the gastrointestinal tract which is
normally a subject (especially the lower end) that is considered “low” and
distasteful. As a result our energy is often ignored and people suffer from
lack of energy diseases, gastrointestinal illnesses, costiveness, greed, lack
of ability to digest new ideas, allergies, and the like.
In this sense the swadhistana chakra is the center of energetic well being,
personal physical strength, and self confidence, it being the place where the
fuel is burned to drive the physical engines of the neuro-physiological
organism. Here in the manipura chakra the added fire, heat, or energy
required to cook the broth, heat the cauldron, distill the elixir, and/or bubble
over into the air (heart) chakra (called the anahata chakra in Sanskrit).
The first three chakras concern the physical body the most and their
interaction is closely related in many psychophysical processes. Likewise
the interaction of the manipura (fire chakra) with the anahata (air chakra) is
 35
also closely related as more air increases the fire and heat on one hand (as in
various pranayamas such as ujjayi or bhastrika breathing; while on the other
hand more fire allows the steam to rise and fill the heart chakra.
There are many other body/mind chakra related harmonic resonances and
dynamics that exist between the “standard” chakra designations as well as
simple adjacent interactions. Rarely will distorted/diseased, congested, or
depleted dynamics can occur in any of the chakras (seemingly as independent
manifestations. Corresponding compensations can occur in may system
sympathetically and can be modulated simultaneously. Organs can be felt
by energetically feeling beneath the skin while they can be adjusted and
vectored energetically without physical pressure. Don’t be afraid to continue
to explore new techniques and specific details of sensing, energizing, drawing
out, balancing, purifying, etc. when you feel that calling.
Briefly the root chakra is the physical center — fulcrum, and support of the
physical body— the root of beingness. The water chakra is the integrative
creative, sensate, instinctual communication center. The fire chakra (navel)
is the energetic/regenerative dynamo. The heart center (anahata chakra) is
the integrative emotional and feeling center (this society teaches us to
overcome, transcend, or ignore our feelings), the throat chakra (vishuddha)
is the integrative cognitive communication center for the will and intellect
(it integrates the head with the body in activity). The third eye (ajna chakra)
is intuitive center of awareness and consciousness, while the crown chakra
is the eternal spiritual center which partially lies outside of the body linking
us with the ineffable, unbegun, never-ending, unformed, non-differentiated,
formless, and timeless.
The upper chakras relate more to the more subtle forces of emotions, mental
states, psychology, and belief systems while the lower centers are more
primitive, vital, natural, and physical (furthermost removed from cognitive
dominance). All of these relationships must be experienced as an
interdependent ecology — as a whole — while memorization will be
counterproductive. This is pointed out to suggest the possibilities — to invite
distinction, subtle differentiation, and perhaps diagnosis and treatment.
Adhi and Vyadhi — The Five Kosha System
Besides the chakra system of healing, ancient yoga also offers the five koshas
(sheaths) energetic model which consists of the interdependent dynamics
between the most gross and coarse physical body (which is the manifestation
of the others) called the annamaya kosha and four others. The second sheath
which encloses the physical and permeates it the pranamaya (energy) sheath.
The next body is the mental/emotional sheath called the manomaya kosha.
 36
The fourth sheath is the vijnanamaya kosha (the belief system or wisdom
body) while the fifth sheath is the anandamaya kosha which is literally called
the bliss body, the realm of unconditioned eternal spirit which knows no
pain or limit.
This ancient five kosha system provides an effective relationship of workable
pathways between body/mind, emotional, energetic, psycho-neuro-
physiological, and belief system inter-relationships and of the processes of
disease and of healing.
Here adhis (mental/emotional disturbances in the manomaya kosha or astral
sheath) cause corresponding disturbances at the physical level (annamaya
kosha) called vyadhi. This is modulated through the intermediary of the
pranamaya kosha (or energy body) causing disturbances in the prana. The
good news is that we can directly work with the body and/or pranamaya
kosha to effect healing in the manomaya kosha and vice versa work on the
manomaya kosha to effect positive healing changes in the pranamaya and
annamaya koshas. It is believed that a lasting cure is only possible when the
causal disturbance is completely remedied.
Here adhis are considered causal and primary which in turn cause physical
ailments (vyadhi). Thus when the adhis are destroyed the vyadhis are no
longer generated or manifest. In addition there exist two kinds of adhis.
One is ordinary or samaya (caused by the mind or emotions) and the other
one is called, sara, which is intrinsic to a more causal spiritual malaise that
can be successfully treated only through processes that affect the life style,
belief system, self identification process, or in general our energetic
relationship that we cling to as “s(S)elf” in relationship to “r(R)reality” i.e.,
through modalities which reach into the vijnanamaya and anandamaya
koshas. In either case, physical disease is caused by disturbances/corruption
and/or obstruction of the nadis (psychic nerves) and energy patterns which
have become disrupted, distorted, and patterned into corruptive patterns
causing degeneration, dissipation, dis-ease, pain, suffering, stasis, and death.
Therapy is aimed at removing the source of the disturbances, opening up
these blocked pathways, and rechanneling and repatterning the energy flow.
Hence when using the principles of the five koshas in energy healing work,
we can integrate asking questions of the client in regards to ascertaining
any relationship between the physical area and any emotional feelings thus
associated with it such as fear, anger, grief, abandonment, mistrust,
overwhelm, etc. Often early childhood trauma, inhibition, or situations of
dissociation due to over stimulation can not be accessed verbally, but rather
only kinesthetically and energetically. Once the memory and trauma that is
 37
being contracted around) comes into conscious awareness through touch,
both emotional and physical peace can be made accomplished. Dialogue
should be invited but not forced (unless you are very experienced and know
where you are going). It is often good to invite the client to participate in
other ways with the process such as breathing golden or rainbow light into
the area, visualize a scent like an essential oil (that may be specially attuned
energetically as a remediator of that particular disease process), to visualize
a color, a past event, or even a contrived theater stage for example if an
injury/trauma is associated with unresolved issues with other people. .There
are many such possibilities that may be effective depending on the situation.
Both Practical and Spontaneous
The methods are just possibilities, but it is our own activated energy body
and awareness which must be allowed to intelligently guide the healing
process as it knows how to facilitate “flow” at a deeper nonverbal and trans
conceptual depth far better than any preconceived set of techniques. Children
constantly are in motion moving the energy intuitively all the time. They
move with their whole body directing subtle energy throughout their system
(keeping pathways open) with their hands, feet, and inwardly directed
intelligent movements. As such they are a source of wisdom and healing.
Our task also is to help the energy to move, to remove the energy dams, the
stasis and stagnation, to irrigate the inner rivers and channels, to melt down
the hard contractedness, to open up clogged areas and pathways, to remove
irritation and overwhelm, and to allow the energy to flow. This way we
purify, activate, connect, and integrate establishing synchronistic harmony
between heaven and earth, spirit and nature, mind and body, left and right,
front and back, above and below, and so forth.
There are many ways of moving the energy. In chakra work for instance we
can work above and below a hard, tight, obstructed, dammed up, cold, or
hot spot/area to move the energy through — placing hands above or below,
to the left and right, in front and in back, and in the fourth dimension/all
directions bringing in energy from the Source to soften, relax, energize,
open up, stimulate or cool, gold or blue, etc.
Another practical way is simply to sense any stasis, tightening, hardness,
blockage, stress, contraction, tension, fear, pain, confusion, and so forth in
tissue group or organ and then to soften, lengthen, and extend the physical
allowing it to pulsate, flow, move, and energetically realign.
Another way as in Jin Shin Do we first sense the energy flows in the body
and observe any distortions in the field, voltages, imbalances, tilts, torsion,
in relationship to the acupuncture meridians and their unique access points
 38
which connect their characteristic energetic relationship. With the establishing
of balance in mind we chose two usually distant but “key” points — directing
or sending energy to one (with the sending hand or finger(s)) to the distant
point where the receiving or sensing hand or finger(s) is placed. Sometimes
this is accompanied with actual physical pressure on the points (like in
acupressure) and at other times it is merely energetic.
In Reiki all the major and minor chakras and organs (most of the body) are
covered sequentially (usually from the head down) simply by placing our
hands on the client and going to Infinite Source for intervention. Here “more
complex” is not necessarily better . However with polarity, craniosacral,
visceral manipulation, pranic healing, Jin Shin Do, and Huna we often work
more with specific intention and intervention techniques often moved to
simultaneously work on two chakras at once to effect balance and flow.
Human touch itself (between two people) can have beneficial results in and
by itself and there exist much scientific validation to confirm that. Similarly
some groups work more effectively as a team of two or more people on one
client at a time. Similarly this work can also be done on oneself as well as
from the dream body or from a distance.
Saucha, Asteya, and Santosha (Purification, Integrity, and Pacification)
Another similar body/mind approach to energetic healing can be gleaned
from yoga’s life style guides of yams/niyams and in particular saucha (purity)
and asteya (truthfulness and integrity). Patanjali said in Pada II. 40 and 41
saucha svanga-jugupsa parair asamsargah 41. sattvasuddhi-
saumanasyaikagryendriya-jayatma-darsana-yo gyatvani ca
Through the practice of physical purity, attachments to toxins and corruptive
forces disappear naturally. Also through internal and external purity (saucha)
both of the body, psychic environment, and of removing the occlusions of
consciousness, there is achieved balance, cheerfulness, one- pointedness,
harmony of the senses, and yogic vision. Here one is no longer attracted by
corruptive influences because one has established (and is happily rooted
within) an inner energetic freedom. Purity (saucha) is one of the niyams. It
can be interpreted many ways.
Some yogis take it to mean keeping the inside of the body clean (annamaya
kosha) and healthy, the nadis open (pranamaya kosha) and energy
unobstructed, while the body is affected by being less burdened, open, and
light. Another inner application of saucha is keeping the mental thoughts
(manomaya kosha) free from kleshas, samskaras, and vrttis. Yet another
application of saucha may be applied to our belief systems whether or not
they may be tainted, and thus be a source of taint, impurity, and affliction to
 39
our consciousness (until purified). In this sense transformation and rebirth
is an action of purification.
Yet another manifestation of saucha is in our motivations and actions. But
since actions follow thought and consciousness (or lack thereof) it seems
that the purification of consciousness is more causal to this process. So on a
physical level, not poisoning the body or burdening it with afflictions that it
can not digest, assimilate, or eliminate easily will unburden not only the
digestive system, but the elimination and immune systems thus creating
more available energy for the process of evolutionary circuitry and higher
consciousness to unfold. In one sense poor food habits (and inability to digest,
assimilate, and eliminate food) is an energy drain and sedation of the
kundalini, taking energy away from the “other” super-psychic activities or
spiritual projects unless we were already very open in this direction and
were not negatively affected by dietary choices. The key however is the
development of our innate wisdom, instinct, or intuition to know which of
the food options are best for our own unique constellation of body/mind at
the moment achieving synergistic balance, well being, and synchronicity.
This is where the rest of the yoga practice acts synergistically with diet —
and in turn, diet with the overall integrity which is the yogic process. Here
also is where the hatha yoga kriyas or sat karmas (external cleansing
activities) can also help as well as reduce irritation, thus creating more
peacefulness (santosha) and being adjunctive to the allied processes of
aparigraha, tapas, pranayama, pratyhara. concentration, meditation, and
isvara pranidhana. On a mental level, meditation is the best practice of saucha.
As we study the yam/niyams we will see the mutually synergistic inter-
relationships between ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, aparigraha,
saucha, santosha, tapas, swadhyaya, and isvara pranidhana disclosing the
underlying all inclusive integrative wholistic principle.
42. santosad anuttamah sukha-labhah
By establishing a connection with the energetics of fulfillment while being
at peace with one self in the present moment (santosha), then communion
with a boundless joy (sukha) manifests. Santosha becomes a new non-
conflicting and non-stressed way of wellness and thriving which becomes
natural and when it is disrupted, absent, or made discontinuous we naturally
awake to apply a balancing and centering remedy .
To sum up, in energy and chakra work, intent is causal, so work only when
you are able to focus on, merge, and stay in tune with the Source and Central
Axis of Love (the axis mundi or tree at the center of life) which forms the
core of the healing power — a state of being that we can intimately “know
 40
and feel” increasingly not with the mind but in the heart of hearts (Hridyam)
which is inside the deepest core of the sushumna nadi (don’t take my word
on this last one but rather check it out by increasing your meditation
practice). Here the healing energy comes from the infinite timeless Source
as we act merely as a finely tuned earthly vehicle/channel (resonating between
spirit and nature crown and root). Any negative situation can be transformed
through sufficient and sincere cultivation and generation of the bodhicitta
— the sincere intention to liberate of all beings from suffering without
exception.
The above are only some “possibilities” — what is needed is an open mind
and heart and ALL the rest follows (flows) from that. .
Addendum One: The Twelve Chakra Systems
1. The muladhara/earth chakra (as above) from the lower sacrum, tailbone,
cauda equina, posterior perineum etc. The earth chakra governs the
giving back the transmuted solids back to the earth. It also is the portal
from which we are able to freely give to and receive from the earth
(nature gives to us as nurture as we give to her) — governing our stance
and relationship to nature, creation, diversity, and embodied life itself. It
is the place of establishing wholistic contact with all of creation, all of
history, all or healing allies, the herbs, and embodied life itself. It is the
most severely ignored and most singularly important chakra other than
the crown. It is the seat of the kundalini (our evolutionary dormant
potential) located posterior and lateral to the swadisthana chakra.
Concisely speaking, the activated muladhara chakra connects us actively
with the forces of nature and creation, wherein nurture, safety, a feeling
if interconnectedness, stability, and groundedness exist. A disconnect
or blockage at the muladhara chakra results in feelings of fear of
wilderness, natural function, spontaneity, natural feelings, estrangement,
and general feelings of insecurity, alienation, abandonment and fear. In
the case of blockage at the muladhara, then all sorts of compensatory
pathologies may result in an attempt to compensate for the loss sense
of connectedness, natural identity, and meaning in life such as in acts of
insecurity, transference, loss of self esteem (often disguised as a
superiority complex or pride) racism (racial superiority complex),
chauvinism, nationalism, religionisms, xenophobia, nihilism, cynicism,
sexism, and in other cases extreme depression, withdrawal, and
catatonia.
2. The swadisthana/water chakra (as above) from the anterior perineum,
uro-genital diaphragm, pubis effecting the organs of intercourse (vagina/
penis) as well as how well and freely we qualitatively communicate and
 41
inter-relate with the diverse forms of creation— all our relations.
Swadisthana governs the final process of giving back the transmuted
water back to the water systems of earth and sky through the urethra,
bladder, and urethral tubing. Its location is anterior and medial to the
muladhara chakra between the pubic bone and sacrum.
Concisely speaking the activation of the swadhistana chakra provides a
sense of active participation in nature’s scheme, in natural flow, in
creative engagement with others (such as animals, plants, the stars,
nature spirits, and other people), the ability to adapt and create (respond
creativity), flexibility in general, openness, and fluidity and the ability to
actively engage the world and other people passionately.
When this chakra is blocked, the inquiry, natural curiosity, wonder,
openness, and friendliness is diminished; while rigidity, stubbornness,
self absorption, general inhibition and withdrawal are prevalent.
3. The lower tan tien (Chinese name) located between the two anterior
superior iliac spines (below the navel and above the pubis. This governs
the generational/procreative/co-creational functions either projecting them
outward and downward through the lower two chakras or providing for
the generation and self empowerment of the sacred fetus. This involves
the ovaries/prostate.
Here when activated the higher procreative/creative processes are
activated (the generation of immortal fetus). Thus the activated tan tien
is the result of the harmonization of the lower two chakras with the
manipura chakra (see above). When it is not activated everyday life is
far less vital and and rewarding.
4. The classical manipura (also called nabhi) chakra. The fire chakra
(described above) at the navel which is involved in assimilation of food
and information as well as the energetic regulator of physical embodiment.
It is associated with the umbilical cord, the small intestine, nourishment,
digestive fire and metabolism. It serves to burn up toxins, impurities,
and torpidity in the body and mind and thus eliminates chronic burdens
on the immune system. This heat (which is fueled by pure tapas) acts as
a detoxifier of karmic, mental, and emotional impurities.
When activated and integrated with the lower tan tien this chakra creates
the necessary heat, energy, and power to fire necessary body/mind
activities, thus it is the energy generator of the organism. It can be
visualized as a city filled with shining jewels (manipura) such as the
most radiant, pure, and perfect rubies, emeralds, and diamonds.
 42
5. The pancreas, liver spleen, stomach chakra located just underneath the
sternum which is involved in breaking down of physical food, digestion,
filtering, regulation, as well as intellectual discernment. Here the adrenals,
kidneys, the vagus nerve, as well as the neuro-endocrine system are
also involved. This center is commonly portrayed as part and parcel of
the manipura chakra, perhaps for good reason because such processes
that occur here should never be separated from it. To think of these
processes being governed lower than the navel center can often be more
functional and healing as the intelligent center for these processes exist
there.
One may say then that the vital intelligent brain of this chakra is
dependent upon the harmonization of the muladhara, swadhistana, and
manipura in the lower tan tien.
6. The classical anahata or heart chakra (air). It is our feeling center —
This is more than the culmination of the five senses as feeling, but more
so, accessing this center allows us to access the very essence of the
process of our sentience — thus it is the chakra of direct experience
and beingness. Modern science tells us that the heart center radiates
stronger and more refined electromagnetic fields than the brain as well
as producing a storehouse of neuro-endocrine substances. (See also the
Institute of Heartmath Research Papers and Neurobiology and Yoga:
From the gods of the Amygdala to the God of the Heart by Antonio T. de
Nicolas.
The activation of the anahata center allows us to connect to our feelings
and thus assumes the courage to be open and vulnerable — the heat
must be open and we can not be afraid to experience pain, grief, anger,
or other negative emotions (kleshas) either self generated or coming
from others when empowered.
Blockages here can adversely effect the heart and lungs (our circulatory
system). In this culture, it is the separation of our awareness (ignorance)
from our feelings which is rampid producing most diseases of dissociation.
When the heart feelings are denied or ignored, then disturbances of the
heart or blocked energy there cause problems with the physical lungs or
heart.
7. The thymus center located above the heart chakra and below the vishudda
(throat chakra). This is our natural self regulating protective system
which in modern times can be very strained or even overwhelmed. When
unhealthy this represents the taking in of too many manmade pollutants
as well as the presence of fear and toxic thought.
 43
8. The classic throat or vishudda chakra (ether or akasha) that regulates
cognitive communication powered by the will and intellect wherein our
abilities of willful interaction in the world are reflected. If the throat
chakra however is not dominated by cognitive function (the head) but is
in balance with the heart and feelings, this then can lead toward
manifestation of wholism through the expression of the divine creative
urge when this chakra is activated. It is the chakra where head and
heart are integrated, where feeling and thought are harmonized — mind
and body. This is located in the lower throat near the thyroid. Problems
in expression. the shoulders, arms, and hands are reflected here.
9. The back brain center at the upper part of the neck and throat including
the jaw region, the occiput, atlas/atlas, back brain, brain stem (medulla
oblongata), and the like. This is the top connection point between the
autonomic and central nervous system that is involved with self regulation,
balance, and harmony. It is a key point in craniosacral therapy. One
might say that its “center” is behind the occipital condyles. it is the
deep brain center associated with the cerebellum and primitive brain.
Any illness can arise when this area is not irrigated with prana or there
exists dissociation from the cognitive functions of the frontal lobes and
the more vital centers of the back brain.
10. The Talu chakra behind the third eye governing the midbrain, basal
ganglion, hypo-thalamus, and amygdala. It is home to our emotional
circuitry which governs wellness.
11. The classical third eye (ajna chakra) governing awareness, concentration,
and individual consciousness associated with the pituitary, pineal, and
the two anterior lobes of cerebral cortex. This is where delusion is made
or broken. When not activated there is no conscious insight, just ordinary
discursive thought. Self awareness is fogged over and gnosis is obscured.
When activated one is is self realized (delusion has fallen) but the
connection to divine intelligence may or may not be won yet (depending
on the connection being open or not at the sahasrara)
12. The classical sahasrara or crown chakra associated with our formless
non-dual imperishable nature — pure spirit and consciousness — existing
beyond physical embodiment so it is most closely associated with the
energetic vortex above the brahmarandhra (hole of Brahma or the aperture
at the top of the head) but which also encompasses the head (often
“seen” or observed as an aura). When activated it is a large chakra
described as the thousand petaled lotus and s such it is Brahma’s pillow.
It is associated with the great continuum, where we came from, where
we go at death, and ultimately where and who we are right now.
 44
The activation here depends on the
opening of the brahmarandhra (the
gate of Brahma) at the crown
(bregma and lambda points). It is
the opening to Divine
consciousness that is beyond the
physical body. It can be likened to
our network connection to the
Main Central Computer — the web
of all life and its core.
Similarly the “S” shaped seven
cervical vertebrae can also be seen
as an analogue of the spine while
each vertebra space is given a
corresponding sound and and
element. As such each cervical
vertebra it can be related to the
seven chakra system. See this
discussion at the Chakra
Purification Meditation at
Rainbowbody
The above is by no means an
exhaustive discussion of the chakra
theories, but further such
discussion may be
counterproductive. Briefly then, it
is the Hridayam, which is also
often called the heart chakra,, but
which must be discerned from that
of the anahat chakra. The
Hridayam is the Heart of Hearts —
the holographic center of the
Universe — of all of creation. It is
that unified central place of eternal
stillness from which the entire
creation revolves and as such it is
of course associated with the
sushumna which allows access to
the sahasrara. This is our true and
authentic home. Om
 45

PURIFY YOUR CHAKRAS; THE PRACTICE OF

BHUTA SHUDDHI
The Practice of Bhuta Shuddhi
By Swami Rama
According to ancient tantric texts such as the Rudra Yamala and the Bhuta
Shuddhi Tantra, your body is a living shrine—and a meditation practice
called bhuta shuddhi is one of the best ways to render that shrine wholesome
and pure. The practice is so potent that the sages forbid students who are
not familiar with the broad range of yoga practices from undertaking it.
Bhuta shuddhi, they declare, is fruitful to those who combine asana,
pranayama, and mantra japa, but fruitless for those who isolate those
practices. It’s also a prerequisite for seekers who hope to learn the more
advanced practices of the yogic and tantric traditions.
So why has Yoga + chosen to introduce bhuta shuddhi to its readers today?
Because there are a large number of aspirants in the West who are studying
yoga earnestly and seriously—they practice kumbhaka (breath retention),
visualization, and mantra meditation—and as a result, they are qualified to
undertake this unique and highly secret practice.
If you haven’t reached this level of yoga practice yet, you’ll be motivated.
Just reading this article will give you a glimpse into the depth and breadth
of authentic yoga practice in a world where people equate “yoga” with
“asana” and “tantra” with “sex.” Swami Rama (1925–1996), the founder of
Yoga+ and an adept who studied in the cave monasteries of the Himalayas
before coming to the West, reveals an inspiring beginner’s version of bhuta
shuddhi in the pages that follow.
- The Editors
According to the teaching of yoga, man’s nature is divine, perfect, and
infinite, but he is unaware of this because he falsely identifies himself with
the body, the mind, and objects of the external world. This false identification,
in turn, makes him think he is imperfect and limited, subject to sorrow,
decay, and death. The techniques of yoga are tools to enable man to cast off
this ignorance and become aware of his own true self, which is pure and
free from all imperfections.
The whole process of yoga is to unite the individual self with the universal
Self. It is an ascent into the purity of that absolute perfection which is the
 46
original state of man; it entails removing the enveloping impurities in both
body and mind. Thus it is necessary to purify the mind to make it crystal
clear, for as long as the mind is covered with impurities, the light of the true
Self cannot shine through. Yoga is the process of removing thoughts from
the mindfield, making it one-pointed, and turning it inward toward the center
of consciousness. But the mind cannot be totally separated from the body—
at least not at first. One influences the other—a sound mind can live only in
a healthy body; physical impurities lead to mental dullness.
You can see this when you look at the obstacles you face in daily life: sickness,
procrastination, sloth, lack of motivation, fear, and mental and physical
instability. If you trace these obstacles to their source, you will find that the
toxins in your system and your disorganized thoughts and emotions are
their breeding ground. That is why to free yourself of the obstacles that
prevent you from experiencing the joy of transformation you must purify
both body and mind. Without purification, it is not possible to control the
mind and turn it inward to cultivate an awareness of who you really are.
The ancient yogis knew that to control the mind they must first cleanse the
body and strengthen the nervous system, and for this reason they developed
the techniques of asana and pranayama and used them in combination with
the practice of meditation. They called this raja yoga, the royal path. It is the
most ancient model for health and well-being. Then, as time passed, they
refined their knowledge and developed a technique that would purify the
body, breath, and mind while awakening the dormant force of the soul, the
kundalini shakti. In the scriptures this process is known as bhuta shuddhi
(purification of the elements).
The purpose of bhuta shuddhi is to purify the basic elements of the body
(earth, water, fire, air, and ether) and their corresponding chakras—the root
chakra (muladhara), the pelvic center (svadhishthana), the navel center
(manipura), the heart center (anahata), and the throat center (vishuddha)—
as well as the two highest chakras: the realm of the mind (ajña) and the
realm of pure consciousness (sahasrara), which are beyond the elements.
Bhuta shuddhi involves visualization, pranayama, and the repetition of a
specific mantra while focusing on each of these seven major chakras in
turn. The mantra used for the first five chakras is a seed (bija) mantra, the
core sound of that chakra. Systematically focusing on the seven major chakras
in this manner purifies the subtle realms of being with the fire of kundalini
shakti.
Bhuta shuddhi is one of the basic practices of tantra and kundalini yoga. It is
also an effective technique for those following the path of raja yoga. Those
who practice tantra yoga regard the body as a living shrine wherein Divinity
 47
dwells, and bhuta shuddhi is one of the preliminary methods for rendering
the body pure and wholesome. In the kundalini yoga system, bhuta shuddhi
prepares the aspirant for the awakening of the latent force of kundalini.
Later, certain components of bhuta shuddhi—meditation on a particular
chakra with mantra repetition, for example—become the central focus of
kundalini practice.
This practice is derived from the texts of tantra and kundalini yoga, but it is
not mentioned in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, so those following the path of raja
yoga may not be aware of it. These practitioners, however, can use bhuta
shuddhi to good effect after the breathing practice nadi shodhanam (channel
purification) and before sitting for meditation, because it creates a smooth
transition between the process of withdrawing the mind from the external
world and turning it inward.
The Benefits
Bhuta shuddhi introduces you to the deepest layers of your being. In addition
to helping you master pranayama, it trains the mind to concentrate. And by
combining visualization and the repetition of the seed mantras of the specific
chakras, a harmonious balance is created between the auditory and the optic
nerve centers in the brain, and the thinking process is clarified. The power
of memory is also improved, for recollection depends greatly on the
relationship between what is seen and what is heard. In other words, the
practice of bhuta shuddhi creates a perfect environment in which the brain
centers that regulate vision and hearing are activated and linked with the
processes of speaking and thinking.
What is more, the energy released from the sacred sound of the seed mantras,
together with the combined force of intense visualization and breath
retention, help unblock the energy channels more effectively than many
other yogic methods that are not so all-inclusive. However, because this
technique involves breath retention and requires coordination between
thinking, hearing, and visualization, it is important that you learn it
systematically and practice it regularly and sincerely.
The scriptures praise bhuta shuddhi so that students will be inspired to
practice it. But to make sure it is taught properly, the scriptures also tell us
that it is highly secret. I therefore advise anyone who practices bhuta shuddhi
to do so under the guidance of a competent teacher who has mastered this
technique and who has experienced the subtleties that are not described in
either the scriptures or this article.
 48
The Method
There are many ways to do bhuta shuddhi. The method I describe here is
drawn from different schools of yoga and tantra, and includes the best
techniques for inner purification.
Sit in a comfortable meditation posture, with your head, neck, and trunk in
a straight line. Close your eyes and focus your attention at the muladhara
chakra, the abode of the earth element, at the base of the spine. Visualize a
yellow square surrounded by four petals. In the center of this yellow square,
visualize the kundalini in the form of a sleeping serpent. Its body is as brilliant
as a thousand flashes of lightning.
Now create a root lock by squeezing the anus muscles and pulling them
upward. Allow your mind to reach the central point in the region of the root
lock. While mentally repeating the sound “hum,” feel as though you are
awakening the dormant kundalini shakti. Then mentally repeat “lam,” the
bija (seed) mantra of the earth element, not less than sixteen times, while
focusing your mind on the kundalini shakti that resides at the muladhara.
Next, visualize the kundalini awakening and traveling upward until it reaches
the svadhishthana chakra, the abode of the water element, just above the
root of the genitals. There, visualize an ocean-blue circle with a white
crescent moon in the center. The circle is surrounded by six petals. While
you maintain this image, mentally repeat the bija mantra of the water element,
“vam,” not less than sixteen times.
Now visualize the kundalini traveling upward toward the manipura chakra,
the abode of fire, at the navel center. Here, visualize a red triangle pointing
upward. This triangle is enclosed in a circle of ten petals. Mentally repeat
the bija mantra of the fire element, “ram,” not less than sixteen times.
Continue to move with the upward-traveling kundalini until you reach the
anahata, the heart center, which is the abode of air. Here, visualize two
smoky-gray triangles, one superimposed upon the other, encircled by a
twelve-petaled lotus. In the center visualize jiva, the individual soul, in the
form of a flame. At this stage mentally repeat the bija mantra of the air
element, “yam,” not less than sixteen times.
Next, visualize the kundalini shakti, in which the individual consciousness
has dissolved, traveling upward until it reaches the vishuddha chakra, the
abode of ether at the base of the throat. There, a sky-blue circle is surrounded
by a sixteen-petaled lotus. The presiding force of this chakra is contained in
the bija mantra of the space (or ether) element, “hum,” which you mentally
repeat not less than sixteen times.
 49
Now visualize the upward-traveling kundalini shakti reaching the ajña chakra,
the center between the eyebrows. This is the realm of mind. This chakra
consists of a yellow triangle surrounded by a circle. A bright white flame is
enclosed in the triangle. Outside the circle are two petals. Mentally repeat
the mantra “so hum.”
Still moving upward with the kundalini shakti, reach the sahasrara chakra,
the thousand-petaled crown center which is the abode of the primordial
spiritual master—pure consciousness.
At this center all colors, forms, and shapes dissolve, for this chakra is beyond
the realm of mind and therefore beyond the realm of imagination. When
you experience this center, it consists of countless rays of white light.
However, it is most often visualized as a thousand-petaled lotus with a pinkish
aura so that the mind can conceive of it. Here repeat the mantra “hamsah.”
Keeping your consciousness at the sahasrara chakra, begin three cycles of
pranayama. These pranayama cycles require you to retain your breath after
the inhalation—normally the breath is retained four times longer than the
inhalation and twice as long as the exhalation. If you have not yet mastered
breath retention but still want to do this practice, retain your breath only to
your comfortable capacity and disregard the ratios given here.
The First Cycle
Close the right nostril and inhale deeply through the left nostril while mentally
repeating “yam,” the bija mantra of air, sixteen times. Then close both nostrils
and retain the breath. While holding the breath, repeat “yam” sixty-four
times. Then, while closing the left nostril, exhale slowly through the right
nostril, repeating the mantra thirty-two times.
While inhaling during this cycle, visualize a smoky color in the left nostril.
During retention, imagine that your whole heart region is filled with the air
element, drying up all the toxins and impurities in the body.
The Second Cycle
Close the left nostril and inhale through the right nostril while mentally
repeating the bija mantra of the fire element, “ram,” sixteen times. Close
both nostrils and retain the breath while repeating “ram” sixty-four times.
Then close the right nostril and slowly exhale through the left nostril,
repeating the mantra thirty-two times.
During this second cycle visualize a bright, flame-like light in the right nostril
during the inhalation. While retaining the breath, imagine this light consuming
the impurities dried up during the first cycle. During exhalation, visualize
the light as emanating from the heart region and exiting through the left
nostril, taking all impurities with it.
 50
The Third Cycle
Close the right nostril and inhale through the left while mentally repeating
“vam,” the bija mantra of nectar (also the seed mantra of water), sixteen
times. After completing the inhalation, retain the breath and concentrate
on the ajña chakra, feeling the nectar showering from this chakra in the
form of all the mantras you have employed (they carry the subtle power of
the divine force), and filling your body. During retention, repeat the mantra
“vam” sixty-four times. Then exhale through the right nostril, repeating
the mantra thirty-two times.
When you have finished these three cycles of pranayama, let your
consciousness descend toward the lower chakras. Remember, the kundalini
shakti has swallowed all the elements, energies, and issues associated with
each of the chakras as it traveled upward. Now, as it travels downward,
those elements and energies re-emerge, purified by the kundalini shakti.
The mind is left at the ajña chakra; the space element is left at the throat;
individual consciousness and the air element return to the heart; the fire
returns to the navel center; water returns to the pelvic center; and the earth
element returns to the base of the spine. Finally, the kundalini shakti rests
again at the muladhara chakra.
The Realm Beyond
The type of bhuta shuddhi practice just described comes from kundalini
yoga. Its purpose is to help you make a smooth transition from general
yoga practices to more advanced disciplines. Generally this process takes
place only in the imagination, but when a competent master bestows
shaktipata (the direct transmission of spiritual energy), then the kundalini is
actually awakened and bhuta shuddhi becomes a living experience. The
student who receives shaktipata transcends all sense of solidity and weight
as the kundalini rises above the muladhara center, and at the same time
such a student also attains freedom from fear of death, insecurity, and anxiety.
When the kundalini rises above the ajña chakra all thoughts vanish, and the
mind is left behind. What remains is only the awareness of pure consciousness.
According to the scriptures, attaining a direct experience of pure
consciousness takes a long time. Shaktipata—the direct transmission from
master to student—is the quickest and surest way. However, it is better to
practice bhuta shuddhi sincerely and to your fullest capacity than to wait
passively for a realized master to bestow shaktipata. Such masters are rare,
and even if an aspirant finds one, few students are prepared to receive such
a high degree of initiation. Self-effort is the force that draws divine grace
and moves the guru spirit to light the spark that may result in shaktipata.+
 51
[Swami Rama studied meditation, yoga, and philosophy in the cave
monasteries of the Himalayas. He came to the West in 1969 to build a
bridge between modern science and ancient traditions.]
Cautions and Precautions
Bhuta shuddhi soothes the mind and awakens the heart; it leaves no room
for sloth and inertia. When this practice is finished the mind slips into
meditation without effort. But according to what I have observed, bhuta
shuddhi is a joyful experience mixed with fear for those who have not
prepared themselves. Aspirants who have not gained some experience with
mantra meditation and who have not practiced pranayama find bhuta shuddhi
too intense—by the time they have completed the practice, the mind has
turned inward and become so one-pointed that the nervous system is
overwhelmed. That is why the scriptures tell you to purify your heart, to
strengthen your nervous system with the help of pranayama, and to train
your mind with the help of japa in order to enjoy the bliss that springs from
the center of consciousness.
Bhuta shuddhi is an advanced practice. This means it should be done carefully.
People with heart disease, high blood pressure, a nervous disorder, or
schizophrenia, as well as those recovering from drug abuse, should consult
a competent teacher before undertaking this practice. If you want to practice
bhuta shuddhi you should first have studied yoga philosophy and practiced
the fundamental yoga postures and breathing techniques. You also should
have been meditating regularly for some time. A basic knowledge of kundalini
shakti, the chakras, tantra yoga, and the role of mantra in awakening the
dormant force within will help you understand the dynamics of visualization
and the deep meaning behind the repetition of specific seed mantras at the
chakras. By the same token, the breathing practices of nadi shodhanam,
kapalabhati, bhastrika, and agni sara will help prepare you for the advanced
pranayama, which is an important part of bhuta shuddhi.
What’s a Chakra?
Chakra is a Sanskrit word meaning wheel, or vortex, and it refers to each of
the seven energy centers of which our consciousness, our energy system, is
composed.
These chakras, or energy centers, function as pumps or valves, regulating
the flow of energy through our energy system. The functioning of the chakras
reflects decisions we make concerning how we choose to respond to
conditions in our life. We open and close these valves when we decide what
to think, and what to feel, and through which perceptual filter we choose to
experience the world around us.
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The chakras are not physical. They are aspects of consciousness in the same
way that the auras are aspects of consciousness. The chakras are more dense
than the auras, but not as dense as the physical body. They interact with the
physical body through two major vehicles, the endocrine system and the
nervous system. Each of the seven chakras is associated with one of the
seven endocrine glands, and also with a group of nerves called a plexus.
Thus, each chakra can be associated with particular parts of the body and
particular functions within the body controlled by that plexus or that
endocrine gland associated with that chakra.
All of your senses, all of your perceptions, all of your possible states of
awareness, everything it is possible for you to experience, can be divided
into seven categories. Each category can be associated with a particular
chakra. Thus, the chakras represent not only particular parts of your physical
body, but also particular parts of your consciousness.
When you feel tension in your consciousness, you feel it in the chakra
associated with that part of your consciousness experiencing the stress, and
in the parts of the physical body associated with that chakra. Where you feel
the stress depends upon why you feel the stress. The tension in the chakra is
detected by the nerves of the plexus associated with that chakra, and
transmitted to the parts of the body controlled by that plexus. When the
tension continues over a period of time, or to a particular level of intensity,
the person creates a symptom on the physical level.
The symptom speaks a language that reflects the idea that we each create
our reality, and the metaphoric significance of the symptom becomes
apparent when the symptom is described from that point of view. Thus,
rather than saying, “I can’t see,” the person would describe it as keeping
themselves from seeing something. “I can’t walk,” means the person has
been keeping themselves from walking away from a situation in which they
are unhappy. And so on.
The symptom served to communicate to the person through their body
what they had been doing to themselves in their consciousness. When the
person changes something about their way of being, getting the message
communicated by the symptom, the symptom has no further reason for
being, and it can be released, according to whatever the person allows
themselves to believe is possible.
We believe everything is possible.
We believe that anything can be healed. It’s just a question of how to do it.
Understanding the chakras allows you to understand the relationship between
your consciousness and your body, and to thus see your body as a map of
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your consciousness. It gives you a better understanding of yourself and those
around you.
What else is there?
Your Body Is The Mirror Of Your Life
Everything begins with your consciousness. Everything that happens in your
life, and everything that happens in your body, begins with something
happening in your consciousness. Your consciousness is who you are, your
experience of Being.
You decide what ideas to accept and which to reject. You decide what to
think, and you decide what to feel. When these decisions leave you with
residual stress, you experience the stress as if in your physical body. We
know that stress creates symptoms. The interesting question is, “Which stress
creates which symptoms?” When we are able to quantify this process, we
are then able to see the body as a map of the person’s consciousness, relating
particular symptoms to particular stresses and particular ways of being, in
the same way that Type “A” Behavior has been able to be associated with
heart disease.
Everything Starts In Your Consciousness
To understand this map, we must first orient ourselves to the idea that the
causes of symptoms are within. While it’s true that germs cause disease and
accidents cause injuries, it is also true that this happens in accord with what
is happening in the consciousness of the person involved.
Germs are everywhere. Why are some people affected and not others?
Something different is happening in their consciousness.
Why do some patients in hospitals respond better to treatment than others?
They have different attitudes. Something different is happening in their
consciousness When someone is injured in an “accident,” why is it that a
very specific part of the body is affected, and that it is the same part that has
had habitual problems? Is that an “accident,” or is there a pattern and an
order to the way things happen in our bodies?
You Are A Being of Energy
Your consciousness, your experience of Being, who you really are, is energy.
We can call it “Life Energy” for now. This energy does not just live in your
brain; it fills your entire body. Your consciousness is connected to every cell
in your body. Through your consciousness, you can communicate with every
organ and every tissue, and a number of therapies are based on this
communication with the organs which have been affected by some kind of
symptom or disorder.
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This energy which is your consciousness, and which reflects your state of
consciousness, can be measured through the process known as Kirlian
photography. When you take a Kirlian photograph of your hand, it shows a
certain pattern of energy. If you take a second photograph while imagining
that you are sending love and energy to someone you know, there will be a
different pattern of energy shown on the Kirlian photograph. Thus, we can
see that a change in your consciousness creates a change in the energy field
that is being photographed, which we call the aura.
This energy field shown in the Kirlian photographs has been quantified, so
that when there are “holes” in particular parts of the energy field, these are
said to correspond to particular weaknesses in specific parts of the physical
body. The interesting thing about this is that the weakness shows up in the
energy field before there is ever any evidence of it on the physical level.
Thus, we have an interesting direction of manifestation shown through what
we have described.
1. A change of consciousness creates a change in the energy field.
2. A change in the energy field happens before a change in the physical
body.
The direction of manifestation is from the consciousness, through the energy
field, to the physical body.
>Physical Body
>Energy Field—2—>
Consciousness—1—>
When we look at things in this way, we see that it is not the physical body
creating the energy field, the aura, but rather the aura or energy field that is
creating the physical body. What we see as the physical body is the end
result of a process that begins with the consciousness.
We Each Create Our Reality
When someone makes a decision that leaves them with stress, creating a
blockage in the energy field with a sufficient degree of intensity, this creates
a symptom on the physical level. The symptom speaks a certain language,
which reflects the idea that we each create our own reality. When the symptom
is described from that point of view, the metaphoric significance of the
symptom becomes clear. Thus, instead of saying, “I can’t see,” the person
would have to say, “I have been keeping myself from seeing something.” If
they cannot walk, they would have to say, “I have been keeping myself from
walking away from something.” And so on. We must understand that there
are no accidents and no coincidences. Things do happen according to a
pattern and order.
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The Human Directional System
We can say that we have an inner guidance system, a connection to our
Higher Self, or our Inner Being, or whatever name we choose to give this
Higher Intelligence. This inner guidance system functions through what we
call our intuition, or our instinct. It speaks a very simple language. Either it
feels good, or it doesn’t. All the rest is just politics.
We are told we should move with what feels good, and do not do what
doesn’t feel good to us. We are told to trust this inner voice. When we don’t
follow this inner voice we feel tension. We feel not-good.
Then, the voice must get louder. The next level of communication is through
the emotions. As we move more and more in the direction that feels not-
good, we experience more and more emotions that feel not-good, and at
some point we can say, “I should have listened to myself when I thought to
move in the other direction.” That meant that we heard the inner voice.
Otherwise, we could not have said, “I should have listened.” If we make the
decision we know is the right one for us, and therefore change direction,
there is a release of tension, we feel better, and we know we are again on the
right track. If we continue to move in the direction that feels not-good, the
communication reaches the physical level. We create a symptom, and the
symptom speaks a language which reflects the idea that we each create our
own reality. When we describe the symptom from that point of view, we can
understand the message. If we change our way of being, we have received
the message, and the symptom has no further reason for being. It is able to
be released, according to whatever we allow ourselves to believe is possible.
If we created the symptom with a decision, we are also able to release it
with a decision. As an hypothesis, we can imagine that someone makes a
decision that it is not a good idea to express what they want. From that
moment, whenever there is something they want, they keep themselves
from expressing it, and therefore from having what they want. That feels
not-good. The tension grows. They feel more and more not-good as they
keep themselves from expressing what they want and not having it.
Eventually, something happens to create a symptom on the physical level,
and their right arm is affected. It could have happened through falling from
a ladder, or in an automobile accident, or by pinching a nerve in the neck, or
by “sleeping in a draft.”
Something had to happen on the physical level to create the symptom, in
order to give the person the message on the physical level about what they
had been doing to themselves. We do to ourselves literally what we have
been doing to ourselves figuratively.
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The effect is that the person cannot move their arm. They are keeping
themselves from reaching for something, and since it is the right arm, on
the “will” side of the body, they are keeping themselves from reaching for
or going for what they want. They have been giving themselves reasons to
not believe that they could have what they want. When they begin to do
something different in their consciousness, they notice that something
different begins to happen with their arm, and the symptom is able to be
released.
Chakras And The Map
To understand the map of the consciousness that the body represents, we
can turn to some ancient Hindu traditions which have been studying
consciousness for thousands of years, and which use the language of the
chakras.
Chakra is a Sanskrit word, and it means “wheel,” or “vortex,” because that’s
what it looks like when we look at it. Each chakra is like a solid ball of
energy interpenetrating the physical body, in the same way that a magnetic
field can interpenetrate the physical body.
The chakras are not physical. They are aspects of consciousness in the same
way that the auras are aspects of consciousness The chakras are more dense
than the auras, but not as dense as the physical body, but they interact with
the physical body through two major vehicles, the endocrine system and
the nervous system. Each of the seven chakras is associated with one of the
seven endocrine glands, and also with a particular group of nerves called a
plexus. Thus, each chakra can be associated with particular parts of the
body and particular functions within the body controlled by that plexus or
that endocrine gland associated with that chakra.
Your consciousness, your experience of being, represents everything it is
possible for you to experience. All of your senses, all of your perceptions, all
of your possible states of awareness, can be divided into seven categories,
and each of these categories can be associated with a particular chakra.
Thus, the chakras represent not only particular parts of your physical body,
but also particular parts of your consciousness. When you feel tension in
your consciousness, you feel it in the chakra associated with the part of your
consciousness experiencing the stress, and in the parts of the physical body
associated with that chakra. Where you feel the stress depends therefore on
why you feel the stress. When someone is hurt in a relationship, they feel it
in their heart. When someone is nervous, their legs tremble and their bladder
becomes weak.
When there is tension in a particular part of your consciousness, and therefore
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in the chakra associated with that part of your consciousness, the tension is
detected by the nerves of the plexus associated with that chakra, and
communicated to the parts of the body controlled by that plexus. When the
tension continues over a period of time, or reaches a particular degree of
intensity, the person creates a symptom on the physical level. Again, the
symptom served to communicate to the person through their body what
they had been doing to themselves in their consciousness. When the person
changes something about their way of being, they are able to release the
stress that had been creating the symptom, and they are then able to return
to their natural state of balance and health.
Reading The Map
When we are reading the body as a map of the consciousness within, we
work with the idea that the tensions in the body represent tensions in the
person’s consciousness concerning what was happening in the person’s life
at the time that the symptom developed. The person was feeling stress about
something that was happening in their life at that time.
We are going to examine the map of consciousness that the chakras provide,
in order to understand the language of the symptoms that are associated
with each chakra. In order to complete this map, however, we also need to
look at ourselves as each a polarity of yin and yang, feminine and masculine
characteristics.
For most people, their right side is their yang side, their will side, their
acting or active side, and the left side is their yin side, their female side,
their feeling or adaptive side. For people who were born left-handed, this
polarity is reversed. Thus, for a right-handed person, their right leg can be
described as their will leg, or their male leg, or the foundation of their will,
but for a left-handed person, their left leg would be their male leg or will
leg, and so on. Thus, we can talk about the will arm, or the will eye, or the
will nostril, etc., and which side it is on will depend upon whether the person
is right-handed or left-handed at birth.
Each of the chakras is energy vibrating at a certain frequency, in a logical
and orderly sequence of seven vibrations. As we move up the scale, the
elements become more and more subtle, moving through the five physical
elements of earth, water, fire, air, and ether, to the spiritual elements of
inner sound and inner light. The heaviest element is on the bottom, the
lightest on the top. It is a logical and orderly sequence.
The colors of the spectrum also represent a series of seven vibrations in a
logical and orderly sequence, as do the notes of the musical scale. Thus, we
can put the heaviest vibrations or the longest wavelength on the bottom
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and the lightest on the top, and a particular color can be used to represent a
chakra in its clear state, as can a particular musical note. Music played in a
certain key vibrates a particular chakra, and we feel a particular way when
we hear that music. Our relationship with a certain color says something
about our relationship with the part of our consciousness that the color
represents.
The Root Chakra is associated with the parts of our consciousness concerned
with security, survival, or trust. For most people, this concerns the parts of
their consciousness concerned with money, home, and job. When this chakra
is in its clear state, the person is able to feel secure, be present in the here
and now, and be grounded. When there is tension in this chakra, it is
experienced as insecurity or fear. When there is more tension, it is experienced
as a threat to survival.
Parts of the body controlled by the sacral plexus and this chakra include the
skeleton system, the legs, and the elimination system. Symptoms in these
parts of the body represent, therefore, tensions at the level of the Root Chakra,
and we therefore know that the person is seeing the world through a
perceptual filter of insecurity or fear. The adrenal glands are also associated
with this chakra.
If one leg is affected, we can see whether it is the male leg or the female leg,
and thus whether it has something to do with trust in a male or trust in a
female. We can also see it as having something to do with trust in the will,
or the aspects of trust in the foundations the emotional being, related to
what was happening in the person’s life at the time the symptom developed.
The physical sense of smell, and therefore the organ of the sense of smell,
the nose, is associated with the Root Chakra. Symptoms at the level of the
nose or affecting the sense of smell reflect tensions at the level of the Root
Chakra.
Each chakra is associated with an element. The Root Chakra is associated
with the element of earth, and reflects something about the person’s
association with the earth, or how they feel about being on the earth, which
we call Mother Earth. This chakra is also associated with our relationship
with our mother. When someone experiences a sense of separation from
their mother, or not feeling loved by their mother, they cut off their roots
and experience symptoms of tensions at the level of the Root Chakra until
they can again open to accept their mother’s love.
When a child comes into the world in the traditional family structure, the
mother provides the nourishment and the father provides the direction.
Thus, in the child’s relationship with its mother, it makes certain decisions
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about the way things are. The relationship with the mother thus becomes a
model for the person’s relationship with everything that represents security
- money, home, and job. The Root Chakra is associated with the color red.
The Abdominal Chakra is associated with the parts of our consciousness
concerned with food and sex - the communication from the body to the
person within it, about what the body wants or needs, and what it finds
pleasurable. It also is related to what is happening in their consciousness
about having children. When this chakra is in its clear state, the person is in
touch with this communication, and listening to and responding
appropriately to what the body wants and needs.
Parts of the body controlled by the lumbar plexus include the reproductive
system and the abdomen, and the lumbar region of the back.
The sense of taste is associated with this chakra, as is the element of water.
When someone does not have a clear relationship with water (swimming,
for example, or being on a boat), this reflects their attitudes about the parts
of their consciousness that this chakra represents.
Tensions on the will side or the emotional side of this chakra indicate tensions
in the person’s consciousness as conflicts between either the will or the
emotions with what the person’s body is asking for.
This chakra is associated with the sense of taste, and with appetite. It is also
involved with the person’s willingness to feel their emotions.
The second chakra is associated with the color orange.
The Solar Plexus Chakra is associated with the parts of our consciousness
having to do with perceptions of power, control, or freedom. In its clear
state, it represents ease of being, and comfort with what is real for one’s self
- being comfortable with who you are.
Parts of the body associated with this chakra include the organs closest to
the solar plexus - stomach, gall bladder, spleen, liver, etc. - as well as the
skin as a system, the muscular system as a system, and the face in general.
The physical sense associated with this chakra is the sense of sight. Anyone
with impaired eyesight experiences tension at the level of their solar plexus
chakra about the issues of power, control, or freedom. Nearsighted people
also experience tensions at the level of the Root Chakra, and experience the
world through a perceptual filter of fear or insecurity. Those who are
farsighted experience tension also at the level of the throat chakra, and see
the world through a perceptual filter of anger or guilt. Astigmatics see
through the emotional perceptual filter of confusion.
The endocrine gland associated with the Solar Plexus Chakra is the pancreas.
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We can say that diabetics are keeping sweetness from themselves. When
someone gets too close with sweetness, they feel threatened in their power
to be who they are, and an emotion comes up to create a safe distance
again. The emotion is anger. Diabetes is associated with suppressed anger.
The element associated with this chakra is fire, and the person’s relationship
with the sun says something about their relationship with the parts of their
consciousness associated with the Solar Plexus Chakra.
The color of the Solar Plexus Chakra is yellow.
The Heart Chakra is associated with the parts of the consciousness concerned
with relationships and our perceptions of love. The relationships we speak
of here are with those people closest to our heart - partners, parents, siblings,
children.
The parts of the body associated with this chakra include the heart and
lungs, and the blood circulatory system as a system. This chakra is also
associated with the thymus gland, which controls the immune system. When
this is affected, as with AIDS, the person’s lifestyle separates them from
someone they love.
The physical sense associated with this chakra is the sense of touch, in its
aspect of relating to the person inside the body. For example, a massage
given to someone with no sensitivity to what the person is feeling inside
would be an example of the sensation we associate with the Abdominal
Chakra, but when the masseur seems to have a sense of what the person
inside the body is experiencing, then it includes the aspect of relating we
associate with the Heart Chakra. When someone experiences extreme
sensitivity about being touched, we would ask what was happening at the
level of the Heart Chakra.
This chakra is associated with the element of air. When someone has difficulty
with air, with breathing (asthma, emphysema, tuberculosis, etc.), we say
that their relationship with air reflects their relationship with love - difficulty
letting it in, or letting it out, for example
The color associated with the Heart Chakra is emerald green.
The Throat Chakra is associated with the parts of the consciousness
concerned with expressing and receiving. Expressing can be in the form of
communicating what one wants and what one feels, or it can be artistic
expression, as an artist painting, a dancer dancing, a musician playing music,
using a form for expressing and bringing to the outside what was within.
Expression is related to receiving, as, “Ask, and ye shall receive.”
The throat chakra is associated with abundance, and with the state of
consciousness called, “grace,” where it seems that what you want for you is
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also what God wants for you. Accepting what the abundant universe offers
you requires a sense of unconditionally receiving.
This chakra is also associated with listening to one’s intuition, and flowing
in a particular way where it seems that the Universe supports you in all that
you do. It is the first level of consciousness from which one perceives another
level of intelligence functioning, and one’s interaction with this other level
of intelligence.
Parts of the body associated with this chakra include the throat, shoulders,
and arms and hands. and the thyroid gland.
The sense of hearing is associated with this chakra, and the element of ether,
the most subtle physical element, corresponding to what we find in deep
space. The ether is the crossover between the physical and the spiritual
dimensions. Someone looking at the world through this chakra watches the
manifestation of their goals. The Will Arm represents manifesting what you
want, and the Feeling Arm represents manifesting what makes you happy.
Hopefully, the two point to the same thing.
Sky Blue is the color associated with this chakra.
The Brow Chakra is associated with the parts of the consciousness concerned
with the spiritual view, and the home of the Spirit, the Being within. This
level of consciousness is associated with what western traditions call the
unconscious or subconscious, the part of our consciousness that directs
our actions and our life. From this level we are aware of the motivations
behind our actions. We can watch our outer theater from an inner point of
view.
This chakra is associated with the carotid plexus, and the nerves on each
side of the face, and the pituitary gland. Headaches in the temples or center
of the forehead are associated with tensions at this level. This chakra controls
the entire endocrine system as a system, and the process of growth.
The Brow chakra, also known as the Third Eye, is associated with extra
sensory perception (ESP), the set of all inner senses that correspond to the
outer senses, which together comprise spirit-to-spirit communication. The
element associated with this chakra is a vibration known as the Inner Sound,
the sound that one hears in their ears that does not depend upon something
in the physical world. Some consider it a pathological condition. In some of
the eastern traditions the ability to hear this is considered a necessary
prerequisite to further spiritual growth.
The color associated with this chakra is Indigo, midnight blue, the color of
lapis lazuli, or the color of the night sky during a full moon.
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The Crown Chakra is associated with the parts of the consciousness
concerned with unity or separation, and just as the Root Chakra showed our
connection with Mother Earth, this chakra shows our connection with Our
Father, Which Art in Heaven. At first, it is associated with our connection
with our biological father. This becomes the model for our relationship with
authority, and this becomes the model for our relationship with God. When
there is a sense of separation from our biological father, the person closes
this chakra, and the effect on the consciousness is a sense of isolation and
aloneness, being in a shell, and difficult to make contact with those outside
the shell.
The person feels as if they are hiding from God, or hiding from themselves,
not seeing what is true for them in the deepest part of their consciousness,
the part we call the soul.
This chakra is also associated with a sense of direction.
The parts of the body controlled by this chakra are the pineal gland, the
brain, and the entire nervous system as a system.
The color associated with the Crown Chakra is Violet, the color of amethyst.
Using The Map
When there is tension in a particular part of the body, this represents a
tension in a particular part of the consciousness, about a particular part of
the person’s life. Being aware of these associations helps one to see the
importance of resolving the tense issues in their life.
If it were only a question of doing what is necessary for the person to be
happy, that would be reason enough to motivate the person to want to change
something that doesn’t work for them, but here, we see that it is also a
matter of health. The issues that are unresolved in a person’s life are, in fact,
hazardous to their health.
When we see the correspondences between the consciousness and the body,
we see the degree to which we each create our reality. In fact, those words
begin to take on a new meaning. We see how everything begins in our
consciousness and we are able to look around us at other aspects of our
lives in the same way.
When we see how the body carries out the messages and deepest wishes of
the Being within the body, we can realize that the process can go in more
than one direction. If our consciousness is directing how we develop
symptoms, it can also direct how we release these same symptoms. If our
consciousness can make our body ill, our consciousness can make our body
well. The logical conclusion of this process is that anything can be healed.