For many years, western cultures thought Chakras were just a component of the esoteric teachings that were either too complicated to comprehend or downright make-believe and lacking scientific proof. This all changed when Dr. Hiroshi Motoyama proved their existence and mapped them out in his laboratory using advanced equipment such as an electroencephalogram (EEG), allowing him to measure minute changes in electrical patterns from different parts of the body.
Motoyama began research on what he calls ‘the science behind religion’ after learning about yoga and meditation during World War II while serving time in prison for violating Japan’s peace treaty with England by building weapons for the Japanese army. He later received a Ph.D. degree from Tokyo University, where he studied physics, psychology, and medicine and conducted extensive research into consciousness at various institutes.
Today, we will look at the history of Chakras and how they have transitioned from ancient teachings to become a common term in the world of alternative medicine.
As you will see, there is much more to Chakras than just being an element of esoteric knowledge or New Age philosophy. Recently, they have become one of the most critical components that scientists have studied over time because our energy system directly affects how we feel each day and generates dynamic states between mind and body.
Contents
What Are Chakras?
Chakra comes from the Sanskrit word ‘wheel’ but has been translated as meaning wheel-like vortexes, which act like wheels driving energies throughout your entire nervous system when activated correctly. It’s believed these vortices can be opened up through meditation techniques so that people can develop improved health, enhanced emotions, increased psychic abilities. A human being has seven main chakras, but some claim there are as many as 114 throughout the body. The health of one’s chakras is linked to one’s physical health, mental well-being, and emotional state.
What are the main chakra points?
In the east, seven locations have been identified as being strong chakra points. These areas correlate to certain parts of our body and energy centers within. Here are the seven chakra points that were first identified from the Hindu religion.
Muladhara (Root) – Base Chakra
Located at the base of your spine between your hips, this is said to be linked with grounding you into earth reality, providing a solid connection with life forces allowing stability in other aspects such as long-term relationships or work projects. It’s also about feeling safe on an emotional level where one can feel comfortable knowing they will always land back on their feet if things go wrong. The color associated here is red, representing physical pleasure like eating good food, having sex, etc.
Sacral Chakra (Swadhisthana)
The Swadhisthana, or sacral chakra, helps inform how we relate to our emotions and the emotions of others. It also governs creativity and sexual energy. Those with a blocked sacral chakra could feel a lack of control in their lives.
Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura)
The solar plexus chakra, the third of the seven chakras, concerns your capacity to be self-assured and in command of your life. Consider the last time you had butterflies or felt a sinking sensation in your stomach: That’s the Manipura energy at work. If your solar plexus chakra is closed, you might experience an overpowering sense of guilt and doubt. Those with open sacral chakras can freely express their true selves.
Heart Chakra (Anahata)
The Anahata, or heart chakra, links the lower chakras (associated with physicality) and the higher chakras (associated with spirituality). According to its name, this chakra can impact our capacity to give and receive love—both from others and ourselves. People may develop deep compassion and empathy if their hearts are open. Someone who has a blocked heart chakra will have difficulties fully opening up to those in their life.
Throat Chakra (Vishuddha)
The throat chakra, or Vishuddha, controls our capacity to communicate our personal power and gives voice to the heart chakra. When it’s operating at peak efficiency, it enables us to authentically and clearly express ourselves. Someone who has a clogged throat chakra will have trouble coming up with the right words to describe their feelings.
Third-Eye Chakra (Ajna)
The heart is the final globe, which we’ll be exploring next. As we rise up the body, we are getting closer to a spiritual connection. The Anja chakra, or third-eye energy center, controls our capacity to perceive the big picture and connect with intuition. Consider it as an eye for the soul: It receives information beyond what appears on the surface. People with an open third-eye chakra usually have visions and intuitive hits.
Crown Chakra (Sahasrara)
The Sahasrara, or crown chakra, is the highest of all seven energy centers. It symbolizes our capacity to be completely linked spiritually. You may access a higher level of consciousness when you fully open your crown chakra—something that few people ever achieve.
New age chakras
We now know that there is an anatomic base to the chakra system. Without the religious association, we are now able to appreciate an objective and science-based approach to how chakras can impact human energy and experience.
As shown in Dr. Joe Dispenza’s diagram below, each of the seven energy sectors corresponds with a major nerve plexus and a major gland. Here is a breakdown of the nerve plexes with the major glands and how they correspond to chakras in ascending order.
- Inferior mesenteric nerve plexus and sex glands corresponding to the first or root chakra
- Superior mesenteric nerve plexus and digestive glands, including the pancreas corresponding to the second chakra
- Solar and celiac plexus and adrenal glands corresponding to the third chakra
- Nerve plexus of the heart and thymus gland corresponding to the fourth chakra
- Thyroid nerve plexus and thyroid gland corresponding to the fifth chakra
- Pineal nerve plexus and pineal gland corresponding to the sixth chakra
- Pituitary nerve plexus and pituitary gland corresponding to the seventh or crowned chakra
What is a Nerve Plexus?
A nerve plexus is a hub of nervous activity whose mainly autonomous function governs many bodily functions locally. Activity in each nerve plexus may be modulated to varying degrees by neighboring centers and the brain; however, control is largely local. Decisions are made within the plexus based on the information flowing into that center and response formation occurring at the local level.
A significant action of each nerve plexus is control of a major gland that releases hormones into the bloodstream. There’s a reason why each gland occurs at its particular anatomic position. The gland needs to be located near specific nerve plexus to receive instructions and release hormones into the bloodstream.
Think of each nerve plexus as a “district” that governs its territory, which is why you’ll see similar functions grouped together anatomically. When damage or disease is affecting one district, it often affects other nearby districts because they share so many connections!
How understand the scientific relationship leads to increased energy
Now let’s discuss how our awareness of the organizational hierarchy stemming from the origins of chakras can help us improve our own experience of personal energy.
First energy center- Sex organs
To begin, let’s characterize these seven energy centers in more detail. The lowest energy center, which is primarily energetic and concerned with our survival, is associated with the sex organs, testes in males, and ovaries in females.
The sex hormones in this region are testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone. These hormones govern more than sexual functions having major actions in your bones, brain, and blood vessels.
This center governs reproduction, procreation, elimination, sexuality, and sexual identity. But the testes and ovaries also secrete oxytocin. This detail is often forgotten since the posterior pituitary gland, which corresponds to the seventh energy center, is our primary source of oxytocin.
Oxytocin is powerfully released during orgasm in both men and women. Interestingly, testicular production of oxytocin requires an exogenous source of vitamin c, and oxytocin receptors throughout the body need adequate magnesium and cholesterol for optimal function.
Vitamin c and magnesium aren’t primarily known for their roles in sexual health. However, without magnesium and adequate cholesterol levels, feelings of love and social attachment will be compromised.
Second energy center – Pancreas
The gland making up the second energy center is the pancreas.
This center is primarily energetic and concerned with our survival. The main pancreatic hormones include insulin and glucagon, which regulate the level of glucose in the blood.
The second energy center governs the conversion of food into energy, along with consumption, digestion, and elimination.
Third energy center – Adrenal Glands.
The third center involves the adrenal glands. This center is also primarily energetic and concerned with our survival. The adrenal glands release the hormones of stress, adrenaline, and cortisol. The center governs the will power self-importance, control, drive, aggression, and dominance.
Fourth energy center – Thymus gland
The fourth energy center involves the thymus gland, responsible for over 1 000 chemicals contributing to immunity growth repair, and regeneration. This is the first center mediating the conversion of energy from the lower centers into information.
The thymus gland releases thymosin, somatomedin, and thymopoitin. Thymosin is particularly active in children, stimulating the pituitary to release growth hormone.
Ways of sustaining this activity during adulthood are an area of active investigation. Thymopoitan stimulates the production of t cells to boost immunity and fight cancer. A little-known fact is that the thymus also produces small amounts of melatonin, thereby contributing to the sleep-wake cycle.
The pineal gland, or six energy centers, is primarily responsible for melatonin released from the blood-brain barrier and mainly affects the central nervous system.
On the other hand, the thymus is located outside the restrictive blood-brain barrier. Melatonin from the thymus is available to peripheral melatonin receptors, which are widely distributed in the heart and blood vessels, lungs, intestines, kidneys, liver, muscle, and brown fat tissue.
Direct action at these locations is important for the sleep state. It should be noted that melatonin taken as a supplement fails to enter the blood-brain barrier and only reaches these peripheral receptor sites.
For this reason, supplemental melatonin cannot reproduce the actions of melatonin from the pineal gland.
We also know that the psychedelic metabolite of melatonin dimethyltryptamine, commonly known as DMT, most concentrated in the brain’s pineal gland and visual cortex, is also found in the peripheral blood. Dmt in the peripheral blood is likely derived from melatonin arising from the thymus, with peripheral actions probably contributing to the catalytic states of DMT-mediated psychedelic experience.
The fourth center is considered the seat of the soul where our nobility and divine expression originate.
As such, the fourth energy center governs love, caring, nurturing, compassion, gratitude, appreciation, kindness, inspiration, selflessness, wholeness, and trust.
Fifth energy center – Thyroid and parathyroid glands
The fifth center involves the thyroid and parathyroid glands.
The significant hormones released by the thyroid gland include Triodos triiodothyronine or t3 and thyroxine or t4, which are produced from iodine.
The thyroid controls the metabolic rate or speed at which the body’s chemical processes occur. To increase the metabolic rate, the thyroid hormone stimulates almost every tissue in the body to manufacture proteins which requires an increase in cellular oxygen.
The fifth center governs the expression of love felt in the fourth center. The fifth center empowers your reality through language sharing, thoughts and feelings, and voicing your present truth.
Sixth energy center – Pituitary Gland
The sixth energy center involves the pineal gland, which is sometimes called the third eye.
Unlike lower centers, the sixth energy center is only concerned with information. Melatonin is often considered the only hormone produced by the pineal gland, although the pineal peptide, known as epithalamine, is also essential.
Melatonin governs the sleep weighing cycle or circadian rhythm, while chemical derivatives of melatonin such as dimethyltryptamine or DMT is a powerful endogenous psychedelic.
Under ordinary conditions, DMT likely nuances our experience of reality which is rationality embedded in a dream. Under circumstances of increased pineal activity, the psychoactive properties of DMT bring us mystical, transcendental, or even frankly psychedelic experiences.
Epithalamion increases the production of telomerase, an enzyme that lengthens telomeres. Telomeres are located at the tips of DNA strands, preserving the integrity of DNA and allowing for ongoing cell division and growth by producing epithalamine.
The pineal gland exerts a powerful anti-aging effect attempting to answer the universal human desire for immortality.
Production of melatonin and epithalamine decline with age which likely contributes to unrelenting insomnia experienced by the elderly.
Production of melatonin may eventually cease altogether, resulting in death. Maintaining pineal health is essential. The synthetic form of epithelium is called epithelium. By extending the duration of cellular replication, epithelium directly opposes cellular aging and is considered the fountain of youth.
Peptide epithelium has been shown to increase lifespan, restore reproductive function, prevent age-related diseases, boost energy levels, promote deeper sleep, heal deteriorated muscle, and improve skin health and appearance.
Seventh energy center – Pituitary Gland
The seventh center secretes only two hormones—vasopressin, the antidiuretic hormone, and oxytocin.
Vasopressin controls water balance via the kidneys and maintains vascular tone.
The hypothalamus is located outside the blood-brain barrier and, therefore, can directly measure the peripheral blood concentration.
When the blood is too thick, vasopressin is released, which stimulates the kidneys to prevent water loss in the urine.
Vasopressin also contributes to the sleep-wake cycle, which the sixth center otherwise governs.
Recall that oxytocin is the love hormone since it is released with physical contact and promotes bonding between individuals.
Even a simple handshake can trigger the release of oxytocin.
The seventh energy center is purely informational and is involved in expressions of nobility, our divine nature, and our highest consciousness.
The seventh energy center is most concerned with balance and promoting harmony with all things. The hormonal systems are challenging to summarize; however, we can appreciate the complexity with each hormone playing both major and minor roles.
Conclusion
While some may view Chakras as fictional, there is plenty of evidence that states the contrary. Each of the seven chakras aligns with various energy centers on the human body, and each one of these centers is critical to optimize your personal energy.
In later documents, we will go over how you can improve the energy and strengthen the seven centers that were described above.
