What is a Chakra?

The human body is composed not just by the physical biology but also of superimposed counterparts of immaterial nature called “subtle bodies”. These subtle layers are akin to versions of the physical body but made of energy rather than physical matter, stacked and contained within each other like the layers of an onion, being the physical layer the innermost one, and the one we can see and interact with. The different subtle bodies are enumerated in this chart (one per item in the “subtle planes” column), but to simplify, they form an energetic overlay of the human being.

This energetic overlay is in a state of constant flow, and out of that flow it forms points or nodes of focused energy – one per subtle body. The human being has seven of such main nodes generally located along the spine. We use the term chakra, a word of Sanskrit origin, to refer to each of such nodes.

Not to be confused with the popular anime Naruto where the word “chakra” is used to refer to energy in a general sense. Chakra, here, means a specific focal point of concentrated energy in the human body.

Each chakra in the human body functions as a representative of the energy it is a concentration of. So for example, the third or solar plexus chakra is a focal point of the energy of personal power, decision-making, and the ability to navigate the physical world, being a concentration or representation of your Mental (subdivided in two, the lower and the higher) subtle body of the human being. The fifth or communication chakra is a focal point of the energy of self-expression, expansion, and the capacity to live by your true voice, being a concentration of the Atmic subtle body. And so on.

There isn’t a strict separation between each chakra and the rest of the energy it represents, rather, the former is more like a concentration or confluence of the latter. To illustrate this, imagine the whirlpools and vortexes that form in a river with strong currents. The water of each vortex is the same water of the rest of the river, it just happens that the currents created a pattern in a specific area due to a confluence of factors such as current strength and direction, the stream’s shape, the rocks and materials the water is running through, and so on. The energy of each chakra is essentially a vortex of the energy of each subtle body.

While there isn’t separation between a single chakra and the whole it represents, the former nonetheless serves as an abstraction of, and accessing point to, the latter. A chakra is akin to a service desk of a larger organization: if and when you need to engage the organization, you don’t (ideally) send an email to all of its employees at once; rather, you go to be desk and speak to the person there, or you call call support, etc. Each chakra acts as a focal point of the entirety of the energy it represents, as well as its state of flow.

A chakra is said to have a “blockage”, or an issue, if there’s some sort of imbalance with the functioning and dynamics with that energy in particular – the concept of blockage implying lack or inefficiency in the otherwise normal/healthy flow of energy. So for instance, if you have trouble establishing personal boundaries, saying “No” to others even when appropriate and necessary, etc. a practitioner reading into the energy might perceive this by noticing a blockage in the fifth or communication (throat) chakra. The imbalance in behavior will be reflected in the state of flow of the corresponding energy.

Note I do not specialize in chakras, and do not offer this kind of service. Thus this explanation is to be interpreted as coming mostly from a layman’s perspective.

Despite being a representative or a larger picture, chakras are also two-way, bidirectional channels for the energy they represent, which means you can not only ascertain imbalance but also offer healing to that imbalance through them. A treatment in energy enacted on a chakra – say, Reiki, chakra clearing, or other forms of energy service – can address an imbalance and lead to practical change; the inverse is also true, behavioral changes successfully enacted through other means will then reflect on the state of the chakra. Using the example above, where there’s a difficulty with communication reflected in the fifth chakra, it’s possible to go to a practitioner to clear the energy of the chakra and achieve behavioral change that way; by the same token, if you successfully achieve improvements through other means – say, going to a communication course, singing, successfully expressing yourself, etc. – you’ll also change the dynamics of your energy, and these will in turn reflect in the state of the chakra.