On a daily basis, you are probably pretty aware of your levels of energy. We often comment on having a lot of energy, or feeling like we could use more energy. That being said, how conscious are you of how you take care of your energetic body?

The energetic body is more subtle than the physical body. According to the yoga tradition, the more subtle, the more powerfully we can affect deep in our system. The energetic body is shaped by the interactive undercurrents of breath, movement, feeling, emotion and intelligence. The chakras are one of our greatest tools for accessing the human energy system.

Over the next several weeks, we will be exploring the chakras. While many minor chakras exist, there are seven major chakras that relate to the main nerve ganglia that branch from the spinal column. The chakras also correspond to specific glands and organs in the body. Each chakra receives, assimilates and expresses a certain aspect of life force energy.

While chakras are not physical objects that you can see and examine, they are real. Like thoughts, feelings and ideas, their existence has a powerful effect on us physically, mentally and spiritually. The chakras manifest themselves in our daily life by influencing how we behave, our states of consciousness, and the way we think, feel and act.

While each chakra has its own unique energy, issues and characteristics associated with it, the chakras work together as a whole system. Each chakra is just as important as the other, and when one chakra is out of balance, it creates excesses and deficiencies in other parts of the system.

I hope you will join me in learning more about how to care for your energetic body via the chakras. We will begin next week with Muladhara, the root chakra.