An Introduction to the Chakras

Today, a student asked me for a bit more information about the chakras, and I had one of those quiet, internal wince moments. I realised that while I’ve written about the chakras in all sorts of ways on the blog — weaving them into classes, themes and reflections — I’ve never actually stopped to introduce them properly as a concept. It felt important to put that right.

If you’ve ever heard the word chakra and quietly wondered what it is all about, you’re not alone. Chakras get mentioned a lot in yoga spaces, often without much explanation – or with so much explanation that they feel impossibly abstract.

So let’s begin at the beginning.

What are chakras, really?

The word chakra (चक्र) comes from Sanskrit and could be translated as wheel or turning. In simple terms, chakras are understood as energy centres within the body. Not physical organs you can point to on an X-ray, but places where energy, emotion, body and mind meet.

In the West we tend to focus on just seven chakras, which run from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Each one relates to certain bodily areas, emotional themes, and aspects of being human – such as safety, creativity, self-expression, love, and meaning. Some ancient texts suggest there are 114 or more chakras in total, but these primary seven are going to be our focus today.

And here’s the really important bit: chakras aren’t something you have to believe in to work with.

Why do chakras matter?

Think of the chakras less as mystical concepts and more as a map for self-awareness.

Each chakra reflects a core human need or experience:

• feeling safe

• having choice and pleasure

• knowing who you are

• connecting with others

• speaking your truth

• making sense of life

• feeling part of something bigger

When life feels “off”, it’s often because one of these areas is under pressure. The chakra system gives us a language to notice where that pressure might be showing up – in the body, in behaviour, or in emotional patterns.

For example:

• You might feel tight in your throat when you’re holding back words.

• You might feel heavy and sluggish when life feels uncertain.

• You might feel scattered when you’re disconnected from your body.

Chakras help us bring curiosity instead of judgment to those experiences.

The seven chakras (in very simple terms)

Root chakra – Safety, grounding, belonging

Linked with your legs, feet and sense of stability

Sacral chakra – Emotions, pleasure, creativity

Linked with your hips, pelvis and how you relate to feeling

Solar plexus chakra – Confidence, choice, personal power

Linked with the belly and sense of self

Heart chakra – Love, connection, compassion

Linked with the chest, breath and relationships

Throat chakra – Expression, honesty, listening

Linked with the throat, neck and voice

Third eye chakra – Intuition, insight, inner guidance

Linked with the space between the eyebrows

Crown chakra – Meaning, perspective, connection

Linked with the top of the head and a sense of the bigger picture

You don’t need to memorise these. Over time, they become familiar because you recognise them in your own lived experience.

How does yoga fit in?

Before diving into yoga, it’s worth saying this: I don’t think of chakras as closed or blocked. That language has never sat comfortably with me. Instead, I see them as being in or out of balance — parts of our system that feel supported and resourced, and parts that might be asking for a little more attention or care. This way of understanding feels kinder, more trauma-informed, and far less dismal. Nothing is broken. Nothing needs fixing. We’re simply noticing and responding.

Yoga is one of several practices that works with the chakra system in this way. Other modalities, such as reiki, energy healing, meditation, and even some forms of bodywork, also use the chakras as a way of tuning into where energy, emotion and experience are gathering in the body. Each approach has its own language and tools, but the intention is similar: to support balance, awareness and flow.

Yoga works with chakras not by “fixing” anything, but by creating the conditions for balance to return. Through movement, breath, stillness and reflection, we gently invite energy to circulate more freely. A hip-opening pose might allow emotions to surface. A heart-opening shape can make space for feeling. Quiet, grounded practices can help us feel safe enough to listen to ourselves without rushing to change what we find.

In this way, chakras give yoga practice meaning and depth, while yoga gives chakras a lived, embodied quality. They’re no longer just ideas we think about, but experiences we feel — in the body, in the breath, and in the way we relate to ourselves and the world.

You don’t need to get it right

There’s no such thing as “perfectly balanced chakras”. You’re human. Life moves. Energy shifts.

Working with the chakras isn’t about becoming some permanently serene being – it’s about learning to notice yourself with kindness, and responding with care.

If anything, chakras are an invitation:

to listen more closely,

to soften where we’ve hardened,

and to remember that body, mind and feeling are always in conversation.

Resources

There are so many great books about chakras, here are a couple I can personally recommend:

The Eight Human Talents: The Yogic Way to Restore Balance and Serenity Within — This book explicitly works with the chakra system through the lens of yoga and frames each chakra as connected to a “human talent” (e.g. intuition, truth, creativity, faith, etc.). It feels like a gentle, body-grounded introduction.

The Chakra Bible: The Definitive Guide to Working With Chakras — A solid, comprehensive guide to the chakra system. It covers the basics but also dives deeper into how chakras are linked to energy, well-being, and healing. Good if you want a reliable “go-to reference” for chakra theory and practices.