#understandingchakras

The basic concept is that as the macrocosmic mirror to the human microcosm of the chakra system in the body, the earth, as a living being, possesses active energy centers that are consecutively aligned based on perspectives of consciousness, earth-organ equivalents, and vibrational states and exist in different sacred locations throughout the earth.

The most common way of looking at this concept from what I have found in my research is by overlaying a basic outline of the infinity symbol over the outstretched flat image of the world map; deriving from this basic geometry comes the more complex lines of connection between major vortex points and earth chakras which are the ley lines or song lines.

These would be akin to the energy meridian, acupuncture points, and nadis in the human body which are more numerous and secondary channels of energy that work in concert with the major centers of the chakras to disperse or circulate that energy.

Therefore, in the most popular viewpoint on earth chakras, each point is a super-powered point on the earth that serves as a central place of focus for the perspective of that chakra- for instance the heart chakra center on earth regulates the flow of energies on earth that allow the earth and its inhabitants to experience and relate through unconditional love and compassion whereas the root chakra of the earth would resonate with energies of life force itself, will to live, genesis, and so on.  I found two differing ideas about where these specific locations were, yet interestingly both sets of points involve mostly the same locations on earth, except rearranged.  Here are those two systems:

Robert Coon’s Earth Chakras System

Nearly all of the information readily available online that I was able to find regarding the earth’s chakra points seemed to be directly sourced from this one author- Robert Coon who owns a website called earthchakras.org.  This site is fascinating and offers very in depth information about the chakras of the earth, the earth’s elemental vortices, ley lines and much more.  Whether you take this information as theory or fact, it is fascinating food for though.  In the system provided by Coon, the earth’s chakra points would be located throughout the earth as follows:

Root (1st) Chakra: Mt. Shasta, California.  Red; Raw biological life force energy- precursor to deviation into individual life forms.

Sacral (2nd) Chakra: Lake Titicaca Peru (but also includes Machu Picchu).  Orange; Creation of new species and positive evolution. Specification of pure life force into individuals.

Solar Plexus (3rd) Chakra: Uluru and Kata Tjuta Australia (twin monolithic sites). Golden/Yellow; Maintenance of the vitality of earth and all of its species.  Immortalization of life force.

Heart (4th) Chakra: Glastonbury and Shaftesbury, England.  Green/Pink; Representing the Holy Grail and the Sacred Spear of Purpose, Respectively.

Throat (5th) Chakra: Great Pyramid, Mt. Sinai, and Mt. of Olives, Middle East. Blue; Voice of the earth emerging, listening to the will of the earth needs to be mastered

Third Eye (6th) Chakra: Mobile Chakra, Shifts every 150-200 years, currently coincides with world heart chakra in Western Europe. Purple/Indigo; Moves 1/12th of the way around the world, westward, at the dawning of every new aeon.  Distills gathered wisdom of life on earth for collective advancement of consciousness, aligned with astrological sequences.

Crown (7th) Chakra: Mt. Kailas, Himalayan Mountains, Tibet.  White; Broadcasts the earth’s purpose or true will.

Reflecting on the Robert Coon System:

In the diagram above you can see a visual representation of the locations of earth’s chakra points as given by Robert Coon.  Does anything visually strike you as a bit curious about this particular layout?  I noticed that with this system the arrangement of the chakras seems to be quite random in the sense that there is no recognizable geometric reason to the way the chakra points are aligned.  They seem scattered. This is bothersome because everything in creation flows geometrically within certain mathematic ratios and symmetries.  The chakras in the human body are more or less equidistant from one another in a straight line going vertically up and down the spine as it moves through the center of the body.  I feel that this one reason detracts a bit from the strength of this particular theory.  It seems counterintuitive that the energy grid of the earth would be geometrically precise with the chakra points peppered randomly throughout.

Version 2 of the Ley Line System

I found that the other school of thought out there on this same system of thinking featured basically the same locations but some of them were attributed to different chakras than the system briefly described above.  In this secondary explanation the Root chakra is found in Ulura Australia, the Sacral chakra is located in Lake Titicaca Peru also, the Solar Plexus is found in Mt. Fuji, Japan, the Heart chakra is in Haleakala Hawaii, the Throat Chakra is in Glastonbury England, the Third Eye chakra currently resides in The Himalayan Mountains, and the Crown Chakra, rather than the root chakra, is based in Mt. Shasta, California.  This system was described by Bridget Nielson of HarmoniousEarth.org who visited all these sacred sites for self-exploration and –confirmation.  This perspective on the location of the chakras was also apparently re-confirmed by the well-known teacher of metaphysics, Bashar, as channeled by Darryl Anka.  So which is it?  They are both very compelling systems.

An Alternative Earth Chakra Theory

In my research I came across one last theory about where the chakra points reside and why.  This one is much less widespread, but perhaps more logically satisfying and equally compelling.  It is based on a direct comparison to the human energy system.  There exists a toroidal field of energy around/interpenetrating the human form which pulls in and sends out energy in a self-sustaining current.  In the middle of this energy field dynamic there is the central energy channel, along which the 7 main chakras are positioned vertically.  Taking this layout and superimposing it on a spread-out map of the earth, based on the polarities of the north and south poles, this would put bands of color in correlation to the chakras striped from bottom to top going up the map in horizontal bands.

Within each horizontal color/chakra band, the geographical zones within it would be considered to fall under the resident chakra color in that location.  In other words it creates a map of chakra zones as opposed to acute concentrated points.  So it would roughly break down like this:

Russia would be the better part of the Root chakra/Sacral zone, parts of the Sacral and the Solar Plexus would mostly include the US, China, and Europe and the Middle East.  The zones near the Equator would be the Heart chakra and would potentially include parts of India, a lot of Africa, Colombia, Peru and much of South and Central America and probably Hawaii.  The Throat chakra zone would be South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and finally then the Third Eye territory and Crown Chakra areas would be the least populated and coldest areas like Antarctica and Greenland.

Intriguing Correlations

Just as the earth is laced with a complex interconnected map of energy lines, invisible to the naked eye, the pieces of information from various sources on the earth’s chakras are lighting up some intriguing connections that only add to the mystery.

For instance, with the first two earth-chakra theories discussed above, we saw that many of the same locations were included in both line-ups, yet as mentioned, they were arranged differently in each one.  What I found to be of particular interest was that in only one of those systems was Hawaii included at all as an actual chakra point.  Yet when I dove a little deeper into the Robert Coon material I found myself swimming in the depths of even more interesting insights.

Coon shares in his essays that the earth’s ley-line or energy grid system includes not only the chakra points but also a whole system of vortexes as well.  According to coon, there are 4 major vortexes, similar to the chakra points in potency or significance.  These four vortexes regulate or energize the four elements of life on our planet- earth, fire, water, and air, and guess what one of those locations is? Haleakala, Hawaii, the power point that was included in the other chakra list.  Could it be that Haleakala is an undeniable power point of some kind that is perhaps being misinterpreted by one school of thought or one that is simply serving multiple purposes?

Certain other pieces of information regarding chakras and how they relate to consciousness also revealed interesting synchronicities.  In the alternative earth chakra theory that I discussed last, the third chakra band contained a major percentage of earth’s current population and the countries and people groups found in the band were the US, China, much of Europe, and possibly the Middle East (keeping in mind that this particular theory is formative and it’s respective zones are approximations).

The connection here is that the third chakra is one of the chakras grouped into the lower three centers of consciousness in the chakra system of the human body.  Lower meaning that they are physical body chakras governing primarily earth experience functions.  The third chakra is the chakra of activity, opinion, intellect and the mental body.  What could better describe the level of consciousness of these industrial nations? Think of the US, China, Europe: primarily male/yang, emotionally immature, caught in dogma and competition, thinking more than feeling, highly political, aggressive, and industrial- very third chakra.

It has also been written by clairvoyants that often the dominant color of the auric fields of Americans is yellow, the color of the sacral chakra.  The indication being that a person experiencing life through the perspective of the third chakra is a person ‘living in their head’.

It also seems very fitting that the heart chakra band would include most of Africa, much of Central and South America and also perhaps Hawaii.  The people and cultures native to these places, in general, feel more generous, earth- connected, and humble as a cultural norm than the people living in the cultures found in the sacral band.

Which Theory is Correct?

Which theory is the correct one?  I truly can’t say.  There is no consensus and nor is there any clear scientific treatment of this topic to help sort it out.  It seems that each theory has some definite validity to it, or perhaps each one is completely valid in and of itself, but also an integral component to a complete idea that has not yet come together fully in a cohesive way.  Perhaps also the constant shifting that is reportedly happening with earth’s magnetic fields and the poles could be causing confusion and affecting these dynamics.

In conclusion, I do not feel that there is any clear cut conclusion at this point. Rather it would seem that the significance to be taken from this discussion is the need to feel deeply into the energetic nature of the earth as living conscious being and to observe ourselves as microcosmic reflections of the great planetary body of which we are an expression.  It would only make sense that if we operate from an energetic chakra system that is orderly, dynamic, and harmonic in nature, then the larger planetary body of which we are a part would form the greater basis that regulates such a system.

Both the upward current and downward current of energy must be open and flowing for us to be optimally healthy and whole. Anothea Judith writes in her classic guidebook, The Wheel of Life, “The liberating current brings us excitement, energy, and novelty, while the descending current brings peace, grace and stability.”

There are seven major chakras in tantric yoga philosophy. Here is a quick guide to each of these seven sacred energy centers; may it be of benefit.

If you are a beginner (and aren’t we all?), please be sure to practice yoga mindfully and with the guidance of a qualified teacher.

1st Chakra

Location: Root/base of the spine Sanskrit: Muladhara/”root support” Color: red Element: earth Issues: stability, survival, unity, identity, ego, birth, death Associated with: legs, feet, bones, adrenal gland, large intestine, teeth, spinal column Governs: perception of the physical world; motivation and intent, birth, work, money, eating, digestion Malfunction: weight problems, eating disorders, constipation, sciatica, arthritis, knee problems

Healing Techniques

Music: tribal drums; root chakra playlist Affirmations: I am Earth. I am here. I am solid. I am alive. I am beginning anew. Yoga poses: mountain, squat, standing forward bend, garland, child’s Connect with: Mother Earth/pacha mama, the soles of the feet, root lock/mula bandha Pranayama: Ujjayi breath Practice: Hatha yoga, yin yoga Meditation: breath awareness

2nd Chakra

Location: Sacrum/center of pelvis Sanskrit: Svadistana/”sweetness” Color: orange Element: water Issues: duality, choice, desire, emotions, sexuality Associated with: the liquid part of the body, circulatory and urinary systems Governs: feelings of creativity; the intimacy and vulnerability of sexual attraction; the ability to produce and nurture our own children Malfunction: impotence, frigidity, uterine/bladder/kidney problems, lower back pain

Healing Techniques

Music: jazz; sacral chakra playlist Affirmations: I am change. I am growth. I am desirable. I am dynamic. I am flowing with grace. Yoga poses: Warrior 1, Warrior 2, lizard, pigeon, hanumanasana (“the splits”) Connect with: the hips Pranayama: Alternate Nostril Breathing Practice: Tantra yoga, vinyasa flows Meditation: meditation on sensation

3rd Chakra

Location: Solar plexus/navel Sanskrit: Manipura/”Lustrous gem” Color: yellow Element: fire Issues: power, will, strength, courage, effort Associated with: adrenal glands, pancreas, liver, stomach, nervous system; regulation and distribution of metabolic energy Governs: emotional issues, personal power, self-respect, courage, healthy humility; learning the power of grace Malfunction: ulcers, diabetes, digestive disorders, muscular problems

Healing Techniques

Music: rock; solar plexus playlist Affirmations: I am powerful. I am fierce. I am capable. I am energetic. I can change my life. Poses: single leg lifts, double leg lifts, boat, eagle, plank Connect with: the core, abdominal lock/ uddiyana bandha Pranayama: breath of fire Yoga practice: karma yoga Meditation: meditation on emotion

4th Chakra

Location: Heart/center of chest Sanskrit: Anahata/”unstruck sound” Color: green Element: air Issues: love, friendship, kindness, forgiveness, devotion, generosity Associated with: thymus gland, lungs, hands, heart, blood; immune and endocrine systems. Governs: love, compassion, unconditional acceptance Malfunction: high blood pressure, respiratory problems, heart and lung problems, feeling heartbroken

Healing Techniques

Music: classical, heart chakra playlist Affirmations: I am fresh. I am clean. I am unstruck. I am unstuck. I am loving. I am loved. Yoga poses: standing back bend, camel, reverse warrior, triangle, bridge, wheel Connect with: the heart, the breath, the wind, maitri Pranayama: full yogic breath Practice: Bhakti yoga, yin yoga, restorative yoga Meditation: forgiveness, Metta/loving kindness

5th chakra

Location: Throat/center of neck Sanskrit: Vissudha/”With purity” Color: turquoise/sky blue Element: sound, ether Issues: communication, expression, creativity, speech, listening Associated with: thyroid and parathyroid glands, lungs, vocal cords, shoulders, neck, arms, hands Governs: expression of thoughts and feelings, finding our own truth and relearning the ability to express ourselves Malfunction: colds, thyroid problems, ear/hearing problems, sore throats, speech problems

Healing Techniques

Music: World, throat chakra playlist Affirmations: I am open. I am honest. I am expressive. I am empowered. Poses: camel, shoulder stand, fish, neck rolls, cobra Connect with: the throat, throat lock/Jalandhara bandha Pranayama: bumblebee breath Practice: chanting, Mantra yoga Meditation: Tonglen

6th Chakra

Location: third eye/between, slightly above and behind eyebrows Sanskrit: Ajna/”Wisdom center”; perception and command Color: indigo/midnight blue Element: light Issues: intuition, insight, intellect, imagination Associated with: pineal gland; visual input from our two physical eyes and our “third eye” of psychic perception Governs: spirituality and the search for meaning in life, visualization, inner awareness and witness consciousness Malfunction: blindness, headaches, nightmares, eye strain, blurred vision

Healing Techniques

Music: soul, third eye playlist Affirmations: I am looking. I am seeing. I am noticing. I am intuitive. I connect with my inner wisdom. Yoga poses: child’s, cobbler’s, savasana, locust, bow Connect with: the forehead, the present moment, the inner self Pranayama: kapalabhati breathing Practice: Yantra yoga Meditation: Vipassana/insight meditation

7th Chakra

Location: crown/top of head Sanskrit: Sahasrara/”thousandfold” Color: violet or white Element: thought Issues: divinity, wisdom, connectivity, inner peace, enlightenment Associated with: pituitary gland Governs: our connection to the divine, the universe, God, our Buddha Nature, a higher intelligence; living our Truth; willingness to surrender Malfunction: depression, alienation, confusion, boredom, apathy, feeling disconnected or disjointed

Healing Techniques