CHAKRAS

AND
BANDHAS

Muladhara Chakra
1.st Chakra
Root Chakra, Terranean plexus
Base of the spine, coccyx
muladhara 'fundamental base'
ELEMENT: Earth
COLOR: Red
SENSE: Smell
FORM: Square
BODY PART: Secrum, rectum, legs, feet, bones, teeth, immune system, large
intestine, blood
DEITY: Ganesha
EMOTIONAL & MENTAL: Survival, Existence, Foundation for emotional and
mental health, roots (family, home, tradition, religion

BALANCE: Stilness, Security, Stability

IMBALANCE: Fear, Tension, Disconnected with low self-esteem
DEFICIANCY: Disconnected from body, underweight, ancious, poor focus,
financial difficulty, lack of organization
EXCESS: Over eating or obesity, hoarding, material fixation, rigid boudaries,
fear of change and addicted to security, immovable
BASIC RIGHT: To be here
LOTUS: Four petals represent four different vrttis (properties) of the mind
that are controlled by this chakra.
4 VRTTIS:
DHARMA psycho-spiritual longing
ARTHA psychic longing
KAMA physical longing
MOKSA spiritual longing

Svadhisthana Chakra
2.nd Chakra
Lower abdomen, Fluidal plexus
Few fingers under navel; root of sex organ
'Seat of my energy'
ELEMENT: Water
COLOR: Orange
SENSE: Taste
FORM: Crescent moon
BODY PART: Sex organs, large intestine, lower vertebrae, pelvis, hips, appendix,
bladder, womb, kidney, circulatory system
DEITY: Indra, Varuna, Vishnu
EMOTIONAL & MENTAL: Sexuality, emotion, sensation, desire, need, pleasure,
blame, guilt, money, power, control, creativity, ethics and honor in relationships

BALANCE: Feelings, Emotional intelligence, ability to change, healthy

boundaries
IMBALANCE: Guilt
DEFICIENCY: Rigid body and attitude, frigid, fear of sex, poor social
skills, denial of pleasure, lack of desire, passion and excitement
EXCESS: Sexual acting out, sex addiction, excessively strong emotions,
emotional dependency, obsessive attachment
BASIC RIGHT: To feel and have pleasure
LOTUS: Six petals six vrttis (properties of the mind)
VRTTIS:
Avajina belittlement of others
common sense

Murccha psychic stupor, lack of

Prashraya indulgence

Avishvasa lack of confidence

Sarvanasha thought of sure annihilation

Krurata cruelty

Manipura Chakra
3rd chakra,
Solar plexus, Igneous plexus
Few fingers above the navel
ELEMENT: Fire
COLOR: Yellow
SENSE: Heat
FORM: Triangular
BODY PART: Solar plexus,
DEITY: Agni, Surya, Rudra, Lakini
EMOTIONAL & MENTAL: Personal power center, ego, Energy, activity,
individuality, confidence, care, responisbility for decisions, trust, honor

BALANCE: responsible, reliable, effective will, balanced ego,

warm personality, confident, spontaneous, playful, self-discipline
IMBALANCE: Shame
DEFICIANCY: Low energy, weak will, easy manipulated, cold,
eating or digestive disorders, attraction to stimulants, blaming
EXCESS: Overly agressive, dominating, controlling, need to be
right and have the last word, power hungry, deceitful, temper
tantrums, arrogant, competitive, violent, type A personality
BASIC RIGHT: To act and be an individual
LOTUS: Ten petals
VRTTIS: Shyness, shame, sadistic tendency, envy, static or
sleepiness, melancholia, peevishness, yearning for acquisition,
infatuation, hatred, revulsion, fear

Anahata Chakra
4th chakra; 'unstuck holy sound'
Heart chakra, center of chest
ELEMENT: Air
COLOR: Green
SENSE: Touch
FORM: Circle
BODY PART: Heart, circulatory system, ribs, breasts, thymus gland,
lungs, shoulders, arms, hands, diaphragm
DEITY: Vishnu, Laxmi, Krsna, Isvara, Vayu, Aditi
EMOTIONAL & MENTAL: Love, Hate, resentment, grief, bitterness,
anger, self-centerdness, self-lave, balance, relatiohsips, intimacy, devotion

BALANCE: Compassionate, loving, empathetic, self-loving,

peaceful, balanced, good immune system
IMBALANCE: Grief
DEFICIANCY: Anti-social, withdrawn, cold, critical, judgmental,
intolerant of self or others, lonely, isolated, depression, fear of
intimacy and relationships, narcissism
EXCESS: Codependency, poor boundaries, demanding, clinging,
jealousy, overly sacrificing
BASIC RIGHT: To love and be loved
LOTUS: twelve petals
VRTTIS:hope, worry, effort, mine-ness, love, vanity, conscience,
discrimination, mental numbness due to fear, ego, avarice,
hypocracy, argumentativeness to point of exaggeration, repentance

Vishuddha Chakra
5th chakra, throat chakra
Sideral plexus
ELEMENT: Ether
COLOR: Blue
SENSE: Hearing
FORM: Formless
BODY PART: Throat, thyroid, trachea, esophagus, parathyroid,
hypothalamus, nech vertebrae, mouth, jaw, teeth, shoulders, arms, tongue
DEITY: Ganga, Sarasvati
EMOTIONAL & MENTAL: Choice and strength of will, personal
expression, following dreams, power to create, decision making, listening
resonance, finding own's path, judgment and criticism

BALANCE: Resonant voice, good listener, good sense

of timing and rhythm, creative, clear communication
IMBALANCE: Lies
DEFICIANCY: Fear of speaking, weak voice, difficlity
expressing, introversion, shyness, tone deaf, poor
rhythm
EXCESS: Too much talking, talking as a defence,
inability to listen, poor auditoryc comprehension,
gossiping, dominant voice, interruptions
BASIC RIGHT: To speak and hear the truth
LOTUS: sixteen petals

Ajna Chakra
6th chakra, third eye, point between
eyebrows
Sixth sense, intuition, consciousness
COLOR: Indigo
ELEMENT: Light (the subtle of subtlest)
FORM: Beyond form
BODY PART: Brain, neourological system, pituitary and pineal glands,
eyes, face, nose, ears, sinuses, central nervous system
DEITY: Shakti, Paramasiva, Krsna
EMOTIONAL & MENTAL: Self-evaluation, truth, intellect, open to
ideas, feeling of adequacy, emotional intelligence, learn from experience,
insight, dreams, vision, intuition, visualization

BALANCE: Intuitive, perceptive, imaginative, good memory,

remember dreams, thinking ability, visualization
IMBALANCE: Illusion
DEFICIANCY: Insensitivity, poor vision, can't see the future
or alternatives, lack of imagination, denial, mono polarized
EXCESS: Hallucinations, delusions, obsessions, difficulty
concentrating, nightmares
BASIC RIGHT: The right to see
LOTUS: Two (choice)
VRTTIS: Para - spiritual knowledge
Apara - mundane knowledge

Sahasrara Chakra
Crown chakra, crown of head
'thousandfold'
SENSE: Thought; sixth sense
COLOR: Violet or Light
BODY PART: Entry point of life force, major body systems central nervous, endocrine, muscular system, skin
DEITY: Shiva, Amakala, Varuna
EMOTIONAL & MENTAL: Ability to trust life, values, ethics,
courage, humanitarianism, selflessness, ability to see large
pattern, faith, inspiration, spirituality, devotion, belief system,
higher power, divinity, unition, vision

BALANCE: Ability to perceive, analyze, assimilate

informaiton, intelligent, thoughtful, aware, openminded, able to question, has sense of spiritual
connection, wisdom, broad understanding
IMBALANCE: Attachment
DEFICIANCY: Spiritual cynicism, learning
difficulties, rigid belief system, apathy
EXCESS: Over-intellectualization, spiritual
addiction, confusion, dissociation from body
BASIC RIGHT: The right to know and learn

BANDHAS
3 principle bandhas in the body
(tri-banda when practiced together)
4 th that ties them all together
'lock, bond, join together'
Two poles of a battery between which energy flows in this way
bandhas conduct breath through the body. Working against the
force of gravity and achieving lightness
Bandha allows energy to flow; part of pratyahara
restraining the outward flow of prana while bringing it back toward
the center in order to achieve union (in the center)
Very subtle - physical action and muscle contraction are only a
small part
Practiced during kriya, asana, pranayama, mudra, visualization, and
meditation practice
!

Mula Bandha
"root or base" lock
contraction of the pelvic floor muscles
Activate Mula Bandha at the end of an inhalation,
as the exhalation starts
moves the earth energy up through the
muladhara chakra system connecting above it to
the water chakra (swadhistana)

Uddiyana Bandha
'fly up or rise up'; flyiing upward energy lock
moves the energy upward from the earth, water, and
fire centers into the heart (air) chakra strongly
influencing the efficacy of the lower bandhas by
"making room" on top
drawing the stomach inwards, at the end of an
exhalation, when the need to inhale begins
Mula Bandha is linked to exhalation, Uddiyana
Bandha to inhalation. Both bandhas remain
continuously activated throughout the whole practice

Jalandhara Bandha
'web or net', 'holding', throat
lower the chin a little. Roll your tongue back and up against
the palate and smile slightly
redirects the ascending energy in the spinal column in a
spiral motion forwards
connects you with the ether element, with the Ajna Chakra
in the middle of the head
compresses the sinuses on the main arteries of the neck
and in doing so helps regulate the circulatory and
respiratory systems. The pressure on the throat helps to
balance the thyroid and metabolism

Maha Bandha or Traya

'great'; tri-fold
combination of all three
Classically mulabandha is usually performed first, then uddiyana,
then lastly jalandhara. Most often we release jalandhara first and
mulabandha last (the reverse order of application)
Maha Bandha gives the benefits of all three bandhas and regulates
the entire endocrine system
It cures both a wandering mind and a sleepy mind (both diseases of
either rajas or tamas)
balances the doshas and winds, balancing prana and apana
Tribandha is very valuable for mudra, pranayama, pratyhara, dharana,
and meditation practice