Science of the Chakra System
Last updated
Last updated
Chakras were first described in the Hindu Scriptures (The Vedas) thousands of years ago. The word “Chakra” is Sanskrit for “wheel,” denoting a spinning wheel of energy. Many practitioners think the origin of the chakras is reiki, but actually the origin of the chakra system is yoga. The ancient philosophy of yoga teaches that each Chakra is an inner energy center that awakens and moves vital life force energy throughout the body. The chakra centers live within the body, and source energy in all directions.
There are 7 main chakras (as pictured above) which constantly move up and down your spine. They all have different colors and functions and they are vital for your entire health and well-being.
There are 114 Chakras within the body: 7 major, 21 minor and 85 micro.https://amitray.com/72000-nadis-and-114-chakras-in-human-body/#:~:text=However%2C 72000 nadis and 114 chakras are most,present outside the body%2C over the head region.
This is your energetic system, and these are the channels through which energy flows in your entire body. Kundalini travels up and down the body, through the Chakras.
The chakras have the form of a “wheel” or “lotus”, and are therefore called, the wheels of your life. They are a form of “Prana” or life force energy. The word chakra comes from the Sanskrit word, which meaning is literally “wheel”
These are not physical organs, they are energetic centers and are located in your ethereal body
https://www.quora.com/Is-there-any-scientific-proof-of-the-existence-of-chakras
Dr. Hiroshi Motoyama is both a scientist and a Shinto priest. The founder of the International Association for Religion and Parapsychology, in 1974 he was recognised by UNESCO as one of the world's top ten parapsychologists. Much of his research revolved around chakras.
<aside> 💙 **We may define the chakra as an energy centre which spins like a wheel and opens like a flower. Metaphysical concepts, however, do not belong purely to the world of spiritual experience; scientific enquiry has in many cases confirmed age-old beliefs.
Dr. Hiroshi Motomaya**
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During the course of his research, he invented a machine that measured the subtle energy coming from our energy body. He could detect light coming from chakras of yogi masters and changes in skin currents at acupuncture points.
In a typical experiment, a subject would sit in an electrostatically secure room which was internally lined with aluminium sheeting and shielded by lead sheeting embedded in the walls. A round copper electrode and photo-electric cell were placed in front of the body, level with the location of a supposed chakra. During one test on the centres of the stomach and heart, the subject was monitored for a period of three minutes at each of the two locations. Separate readings were taken one minute before a state of concentration, during concentration, and one minute after concentration.
When an advanced yoga practitioner was tested, the two centres gave quite different results. The stomach centre showed no change in measurable activity during the three-minute monitoring period. However, the heart centre showed a considerable intensification of measurable activity during the period of concentration. This difference corresponded to the subject's regular spiritual practice. He regularly meditated on the heart centre during meditation. The subject did not as a rule use the solar plexus chakra as a focal point for meditation as he suffered from a serious digestive disorder.
When working with another subject, Motoyama found that the increased activity of the heart chakra was sufficient to produce a measurable effect which was detected by the photo-electric cell. In other words the activity of the heart chakra was enough to produce a weak but measurable physical light. Moreover the subject was asked to press a button whenever she thought that she experienced the emission of psi-energy. The subjective feelings corresponded to the objectively measured periods of activity. It was experiments like these which were conducted with 100 subjects which led Motoyama to conclude 'that mental concentration on a chakra activates it' [Motoyama, The Theories of the Chakras, p.274]."
https://www.amazon.com/Theories-Chakras-Bridge-Higher-Consciousness-ebook/dp/B08JD7R1R4
Dr. Valerie Hunt, a Professor Emeritus of the Department of Physiological Sciences at UCLA, spent 20 years researching the connection between the human body and the electromagnetic field.
Dr. Hunt was a pioneering scientist who was the first to measure the human bioenergy field in a laboratory. Her early research established the validity of bioenergy fields by measuring vibrations of the field with high frequency electronic instruments and capturing these on video and audio tapes. Her groundbreaking work was published in Infinite Mind: Science of the Human Vibrations of Consciousness in 1996.
Her groundbreaking research has led to the first truly scientific understanding of the relationship between energy field disturbances, disease and emotional pathologies.
<aside> 💙 “Valerie is a leader in demonstrating the human energetic system from a scientific point of view ... ” - C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D.
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Using an electro-myograth, which records the electrical activity of the muscles, Hunt, like Dr. Motoyama, recorded radiations emanating from the body at the sites traditionally associated with the chakras. Through her research she made the startling discovery that certain types of consciousness were related to certain frequencies.
She found that when the focus of a person's consciousness was anchored in the physical world, their energy field registered the frequencies in the range of 250 cps (cycles per second). This is close to the body's own biological frequency.
Active psychics and healers, however, registered in a band between 400 and 800 cps. Trance specialists and chanellers registered in a narrow field of 800-900 cps, but from 900 cps onwards Hunt correlated what she termed 'mystical personalities' who had a firm sense of the cosmic interconnections between everything. They were anchored in reality, possessed psychic and healing abilities, were able to enter deep trance states, yet had transcended and unified the separate experiences through a mystic, holistic, metaphysical philosophy.
https://agelessgrace.com/remembering-valerie-hunt/
https://www.amazon.com/Chakras-Beginners-Guide-Ozaniec-1999-05-03/dp/B01HC11Z6W
Kundalini refers to the life force energy also known as Chi or Prana. Its literal meaning can be associated with “coiling”, just like snakes do…
This energy lies dormant at the base of your spine like a coiled serpent, waiting ready to be activated. It’s associated with the coiled snake because it is a form of powerful untapped energy that sleeps and waits to be awakened.
This energy, although with some substantial effort, can be activated and used through various spiritual practices and techniques, such as meditation, yoga, chakra activation and such.
Kundalini can be best understood like deep reservoirs of highly creative energy sleeping in every individual, that when activated, can make wonders and miracles.
The changes and potential of learning and using this great power can be beyond any imaginable proportions!
Kundalini yoga on the other hand, is a spiritual, physical and mental discipline that represents the various comprehensive teachings and meditative techniques of the Raja, Shakti, Bhakti, Tantra, Kriya and other yoga practices.
https://enlightenmentportal.com/chakras/what-is-kundalini-energy/#:~:text=Kundalini is considered to be a Divine Energy,overall consciousness and vibration which leads to enlightenment
Nāḍī is a multi-thousand years old knowledge from Vedic texts which describes channels through which, in traditional Indian medicine and spiritual knowledge, the energies such as prana of the physical body, the subtle body and the causal body are said to flow.
The Varaha Upanishad (13-16 cc. CE) states:
"The nāḍis penetrate the body from the soles of the feet to the crown of the head. In them is prāṇa, the breath of life and in that life abides Ātman, which is the abode of Shakti, creatrix of the animate and inanimate worlds." (VU 54/5)[5]
All nadis are said to originate from one of two centres; the heart and the kanda, the latter being an egg-shaped bulb in the pelvic area, just below the navel.
The Chakras are associated with the major nerve networks within the body, which connect from the brain/spine, via the major Vagus nerve, to the glands responsible for hormone production and the functioning of the body in general.
The nervous system is composed of two main parts:
The Central Nervous System (CNS) within the brain and spinal cord, and
The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) ,which connects the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body, via little ‘river‘ like nerve fibres (Nadis!). This system is what correlates with the chakras.
There are different categories of nerve bundles within the PNS, but the most relevant to the Chakras is the AUTONOMIC nervous system of the PNS. This deals with the involuntary or automatic responses within the body. For example – digestion; our heart rate, sneezing, swallowing and breathing. All these processes are regulated by the hypothalamus (See how it affects us HERE)
The Autonomic Nervous System is further divided into the Sympathetic Nervous System (activated in emergencies to move energy, the ‘fight and flight’ responses) and the Parasympathetic Nervous system (activated when ‘resting and digesting’).
It is the Parasympathetic Nervous System (part of the automatic nerve response system) which has the greatest relevance to the areas where the Chakras are thought to be located.
The diagram to the right shows where these major nerve plexus’ (or networks) of the Parasympathetic Nervous System lie. The brain actually connects to these parts of the body via the ‘big-dog’ of the nervous system – the big, fat, juicy, VAGUS nerve – the 10th cranial nerve (cranial meaning, out of the cranium/skull).
The Vagus nerve is considered the ‘Holy Grail’ of all nerves. Where the major networks of nerves are, they correspond with the glands in our bodies – So I guess the question to ask is – why do glands require so much electrical input?
Isn't it interesting how the visualization of these organs and the nervous system matches up with a visualization of the human chakra system?
As mentioned above, these nerve ‘bundles’ are associated with major GLANDS in our body. Glands secrete hormones into the bloodstream and are HUGELY important in the functioning of our bodies, more so than what a lot of people realize!
Hormones are critical players in the body’s chemistry and stimulated by the Vagus nerve. They (as well as nerves) carry messages between cells and organs and affect many aspects of our bodily processes, from growth through childhood, sexual development, mood, to how well we sleep, how we manage stress, brain functioning and even how we break down food. In fact, the gradual decrease in hormone production over time, is what leads to the aging process! Other hormones, such as DMT (Dimethyltryptamine), secreted by the pineal gland in the brain, is known to cause Out of Body Experience, heightened creativity and even psychic abilities!
The Vagus nerve is considered the ‘holy grail’ of the nervous system and it mostly conveys sensory information about the state of the body’s organs to the Central Nervous System. Once it leaves the brain it winds its way down the body, and around the internal organs.
One key role that the Vagus nerve plays, is as the ‘reset’ button, to counteract our internal, automatic, ‘alarm’ system, resulting in the fight and flight response – a key culprit in stress and depression. Therefore stimulation of the Vagus nerve may lead to some very positive health benefits, especially in a society which is suffering from the effects of subconscious fear (fear of stability, the status of our jobs, terrorist attacks, money, and so on and so forth!)
The Kundalini is the ancient description for the energy (or shakti) present within our bodies. It is said that the kundalini stems from the base of the spine and winds its way up to the top of the head, and is often compared to a snake or a serpent. ‘Kundalini awakening’ is said to result in deep meditation, enlightenment and deep sense of bliss. It is said that this Kundalini ‘snake’ coils 3 times as it travels up the spine. Guess what – The Vagus nerve connects precisely 3 times to the spine! Although the ancient descriptions are considered a little far fetched, it appears perhaps they used metaphors for very accurate information related to our wellbeing. It sounds like the ancients were on to something!
There are over 13000 studies on the Vagus nerve, and it is well documented that Vagus Nerve Stimulation can assist in a multitude of illnesses, such as treatment-resistant Depression and certain forms of Epilepsy. The great news is that the most effective, natural method for stimulating the vagus nerve is deep belly breathing (also known as Pranayama in ancient Indian culture), meditation and exercise. (Sounds a lot like Yoga – don’t you think?)
https://powerthoughtsmeditationclub.com/the-chakras/
Wise yogis teach that when an energy center or a chakra is blocked, the flow of energy into our body is disrupted, and if this continues, then disease results.
Ancient cultures teach various methods to clear your chakras with sound. The established systems each use different vowel sounds to clear the chakras, and they all are different. Don’t be alarmed. When we go to the doctors, we may get different medication than another person who has the same medical problem. Why? Because medications affect each person differently. The same applies to sound. Try a sound system, but feel free to modify the sound if something else works better for you!
https://soundmatterandspirit.blogspot.com/2006/06/chakra-clearing.html
