What is a Chakra?

In my journey toward health and fitness, I have also been on a spiritual awakening journey too. I'm learning new things about yoga, crystals, angels, Atlantis, Reiki and all sorts of cool other things. Here is a little about Chakras:

What is a chakra?According to ancient Vedic wisdom, there are seven major energy centers in the body. These are known as chakras, a word that comes from the Sanskrit term cakram meaning “turning” or “wheel.”

The traditional Indian healing system known as Ayurveda teaches that the chakras are the energetic junction points connecting our local domain of form and phenomena with the non-local realm of the unmanifest. According to the ancient Vedic texts of the later Upanishads, there are thought to be 108 chakras in and outside of the body and seven main energy centers within the body.

The seven chakras are said to be the energy centers that radiate like wheels of light from a point on the physical body and outward through the layers of the subtle body (mind) and causal body (spirit) in an ever-increasing, fan- or heart-shaped formation. These points are thought to be the focal points for the reception and transmission of our vital life-force energy, known in Sanskrit as prana.

Where are the chakras?The seven main chakras are aligned in a column that begins at the base of your spine and extends to the top of your head. They’re located symmetrically up your body a distance of approximately seven fingers apart, which is one hand and then two additional fingers. From the tail bone to a bit below the navel, to the center of your chest called the solar plexus, to your heart, to your throat, to the third eye (an inch or so above your eye brows) and then the crown of your head.

Each chakra also has a specific color associated with it, and a vibration or mantra that opens or tunes the energy flow in each chakra. This tuning is similar to opening up additional lanes at a toll booth on a highway. When the traffic has broader bandwidth, it can flow more easily, and quickly.