Amy Kerman-Gutzmer
Tuesday Tip of the Day is just a little introduction to the chakras. What are the chakras? The chakras are an energy system in your body--they are spiraling vortexes of energy in the body that run along the spine. You can picture them as spinning wheels of energy. There are 7 major chakras in the body (starting at the base of the spine and going up to the top of your head).
From the bottom to top, they are (name, Sanskrit name):
1. Root, Muladhara Chakra
2. Sacral, Swadhisthana Chakra
3. Solar Plexus, Manipura Chakra
4. Heart, Anahata Chakra
5. Throat, Vishuddha Chakra
6. Third Eye, Ajna Chakra
7. Crown, Sahasrara Chakra
Each chakra is represented, in order, by the colors of the rainbow - from bottom (root - red) to top (crown - violet).
There is so much information out there regarding the chakras and how to balance them. I urge you to look up more info if you are interested. A good book on the topic is "Chakra Meditation" by Swami Saradananda (I have a link to it on my Resources page, click here).
Here is a pose to help open one of your chakras - the Heart Chakra. It's Camel Pose (two variations shown). Since the heart chakra is the middle chakra, when this chakra is flowing well, you feel grounded in the lower chakras, yet free.