If you’ve been around yoga for any length of time, you’ve probably heard the word “chakra” mentioned. Maybe in the context of a class theme. Maybe in a workshop description. Maybe just in passing, with the assumption that everyone already knows what it means.
And if you nodded along while thinking, “I should probably understand this by now,” you’re not alone.
The chakra system can feel intimidating. There’s a lot of Sanskrit. A lot of symbolism. A lot of information presented as though it’s common knowledge when actually, most of us are just quietly confused.
So, let’s start simply.
An Ancient Framework for Understanding Energy
The concept of chakras comes from ancient India – the earliest texts mentioning them date back around 3,000 years. The word itself means “wheel” in Sanskrit, which gives you a sense of how these energy centres were understood: as spinning points along the body where energy gathers and flows.
Different traditions have different frameworks – Chinese medicine talks about qi, Ayurveda discusses prana – but the underlying idea is similar: we’re more than just physical bodies. There’s an energetic dimension to our experience. And paying attention to it matters.
The system most commonly taught in Western yoga identifies seven main chakras running from the base of your spine to the crown of your head. Each one corresponds to different aspects of your physical, emotional and psychological experience.
It’s not magic. It’s just a map. A way of understanding patterns in how we hold energy, where we get stuck, what we might need.
What the Chakras Actually Govern
Each chakra is associated with particular themes:
• Your root chakra relates to safety, stability, your connection to the physical world.
• Your sacral chakra governs creativity, pleasure, emotional flow.
• Your solar plexus connects to personal power, confidence, your sense of agency.
• Your heart chakra holds your capacity for love — given and received.
• Your throat chakra relates to expression, communication, speaking your truth.
• Your third eye governs intuition, insight, your ability to see clearly.
• Your crown chakra connects you to something larger than yourself, whatever that means to you.
When the energy in these centres is flowing well, you probably feel fairly balanced. When it’s blocked or overactive, you might notice patterns – chronic anxiety, difficulty setting boundaries, trouble expressing yourself, disconnection from joy.
These aren’t diagnoses. They’re just information. Ways of understanding what you’re experiencing through a different lens.
Why This Matters for Your Practice
You don’t need to believe in chakras for them to be useful.
Think of them as a framework for noticing where you hold tension, where you feel stuck, where you might need support. If you’ve been feeling chronically anxious and ungrounded, working with root chakra practices – standing poses, grounding breath work – might help. Not because you’re “fixing” a broken chakra, but because you’re bringing attention to what needs it.
If you’ve been struggling to express yourself, throat chakra practices might offer a way in. If your heart feels closed, backbends and breathwork focused on opening the chest might shift something.
The practices themselves are just yoga. The chakra framework simply gives you a way to be more intentional about what you’re doing and why.
You Don’t Need to Master This
Here’s what I want you to know: you don’t need to memorise the Sanskrit names or understand every symbolic detail or be able to recite which colour corresponds to which chakra.
You just need to be curious. To notice patterns in your own experience. To explore practices that address what you’re actually dealing with rather than following a generic sequence because it’s supposed to be good for you.
The chakra system isn’t a test. It’s an invitation to pay attention to your own energy, your own patterns, your own needs.
That’s all it’s ever been.
If you’d like to work with the chakras more deeply, The Chakra System is a dedicated course exploring each energy centre in turn – a lovely way to bring this understanding into your own practice.