Key to healthy living!

The importance and impact of yoga and pranayam can be felt all over the globe almost every day through news papers and commercial advertisements. Unfortunately, this impact stays just there, that is in the newspapers and advertisements!!!

With the hype over so many forms of yogasanas, it becomes very difficult to make the correct choice and this adversely affects our intention and approach to the form of exercise we choose and the purpose of exercising gets defeated.

The basic intention of following yogasanas is to stimulate the chakras. Chakras form the part of a subtle energy body with energy channels known as nadis located along a central nadi which runs alongside or inside the spine.

These chakras are the main reason for our good health and also the path that leads us to the ultimate reason of life and living – peace, harmony and happiness!

There are 7 chakras located alongside or inside the spine:

• Muladhara chakra
• Swadishthana chakra
• Manipura chakra
• Anahata chakra
• Vishuddha chakra
• Agnya chakra
• Sahasrara chakra.

The above chakras have been mentioned from their base location to the top location where they are situated. Muladhara chakra (at the root) to Sahasrara chakra (at the pineal).

The human body consists of all the elements of nature.

• 7 colors of the rainbow and 7 chakras. Each chakra having a color from the 7 colors of the rainbow.
• Every chakra contains one alphabet/syllable on it. These alphabets make a language. It could be any language in the world but the roots are in these chakras!
• Chakras are also described as flowers, each with a certain number of petals.
• Located along the central nadi (sushumna), they are interjected by two other energy channels/ nadis (ida and pingala).
• It is these two nadis (ida and pingala) which circulate the flow of oxygen throughout the body.
• Pranayam plays an extremely important role in getting the flow of oxygen (Prana) through the central passage/nadi (sushumna), exactly where these chakras are located.

The main or basic intention for performing yogasanas and pranayam is to stimulate these chakras by physical movements. But, the roots are thickly bound with the mental state of a person and this state of mind can only be conditioned and concentrated on by the help of meditation.

Please remember, although yoga plays a vital role in strengthening the performance of these chakras, our lifestyle makes a bigger difference. In simple language, you cannot eat burgers, pizzas and other junk food all the time and still expect to lose weight or have six pack abs!!!

We shall study these chakras individually in the forthcoming weeks and how yogasanas, pranayam and meditation play a very important role in understanding these chakras for better living and having better perception towards life.

Also see:

• August 6, 2012 -- SAHARARA CHAKRA (1)
• June 25, 2012 -- Muladhara Chakra (0)
• July 30, 2012 -- Agnya Chakra (0)
• July 17, 2012 -- Anahata Chakra (0)
• July 9, 2012 -- Manipura Chakra (0)