Colorful Chakras

By Mary Ann Murdoch

All living things are energy beings. Even though we sometimes feel our energy is low, or we can’t seem to get motivated, we still have voluminous energy coursing through our bodies, every second of every day.

We have chemical energy and complex interactions throughout the brain, even when asleep. We have electrical energy in the heart, which keeps it beating with a precise rhythm.

We have enzymatic energy in the stomach, intestines, liver, and other organs. All that “good gut” information that we hear about? Yes, it’s vitally important to our health and well-being.

We have pressure energy in the body (blood pressure and breath). The very sturdy diaphragm controls the inflow and outflow of breath – about 20,000 breaths per day, on average. (How many of those breaths do you ever notice?)

We have kinetic energy in the body. Typically, something is always moving! That could be a blink of an eye. Taking a step. Sitting, standing, or reaching for the snooze button.

In the world of energy, there also is light. Reflected light. Refracted light. UV light. Red-shift light. In the world of Ayurveda (or ancient integrative healing/medicine from India), energy and light meld together in the human body and form the Chakras, or energy systems. There are seven Chakras, and each one is associated with a different bodily system or function, and a different color.

Chakras follow the colors of the rainbow, from the root of the body to the crown of the head, progressing on the electromagnetic light spectrum. Each color vibrates to its own frequency. Ancient yogis in India referred to them as “wheels of light.” (The Chakra Experience, 2011, Patricia Mercier).

Exploring each one briefly, we have (along with their Sanskrit names):

Root (Muladhara) – This is in the pelvic floor. The color is red. It’s associated with the most solid parts of the body, including blood, blood vessels, gluteal muscles, bones, and teeth. Additionally, the reproductive organs, rectum, and colon are in the “root” of the body. The viscera are red, and rich in blood and vascular activity.

Sacral (Svadhistana) – This is in the pelvis, located roughly three fingers below the navel. Its color is orange. It’s associated with the kidneys, adrenaline, bladder, body liquids, and gastric juices.

Solar Plexus (Manipura) – Located just above the navel, its color is yellow. The body systems include the digestive system, liver, spleen, pancreas, and insulin production. It’s also part of what we popularly call the “core” of the body – a place of strength and energy that supports the spine, walking, and movement. Typically, it’s linked to the energy of the sun.

Heart (Anahata) -The color is green. The heart Chakra is associated with the upper back, and lung functions/air circulation. Green is often linked to the respiration cycle of the Earth, in which forests, trees, shrubs, bushes, plants, and flowers “exhale” the vital oxygen that we (and other creatures) need in order to breathe, and they “inhale” the carbon dioxide that we discard. Photosynthesis is part of this cycle of green sustenance. As we move up the body through the energy wheels, we are progressing also from the solid “body” function chakras (blood, rectum, gluteal muscles … the viscera) to the more ethereal, spiritual, and higher-order thinking of the upper body, head, brain, intellect, inner sight and wisdom, and connection to all living things. The Heart Chakra is basically where this distinction begins.

Throat (Vishuddha) – The throat, neck, thyroid, and ears are part of this Chakra. The color is light blue, or sky blue. Blue is associated with the clarity of the sky; the openness of the vault of heaven; the vastness of the void. Openness is what this Chakra wants to achieve, whether it is enhancing your physical voice to speak up, to open your larynx, and create sonic energy, or to open your own inner voice – the voice of your true self, and your true nature.

Third Eye (Ajna) – We are expanding more into that realm of inner sight, and soul wisdom with this Chakra. It’s located in the middle of the forehead, between the eyebrows. The color is a deep indigo. The face, nose, eyes, sinuses, and brain functions are associated with the Third Eye. As we move into the deeper inner wisdom, this deep blue is symbolic of the night realm; the mysticism of the cosmos; the twilight world where intense questions may arise, and deep thoughts reside.

Crown (Sahasrara) – We have reached the peak of the Chakras, on top of the head. The color is crystal violet. The color of purity or divinity (white light) melded with the color of the rajas in India (purple for royalty). The Chakra is linked to the light-sensitive pineal gland, and the cerebrum: intellect, ideas, creativity, synthesis of experiences, cognitive and spiritual thought, and the ability to transcend the physical world and reach the unity consciousness; the energy and connectedness of all living things.

A currently buzz-worthy research area of quantum mechanics is called “entanglement.” The idea is that quantum particles all vibrate together, wherever they are located on Earth, or in the universe. Photons and subatomic elements can exist in multiple states and even multiple locations simultaneously. An action performed on one of them affects both partners. Research has been ongoing on entanglement, based on the incredible 1949 work of Chien-Shiung Wu of China, and her graduate student, Irving Shaknov at Columbia University (Scientific American, 2023, Volume 328, No. 4). When the Crown Chakra is at its optimal functioning, Ayurveda practitioners and healers believe the same thing happens. Of course, this philosophy is thousands of years old, before the idea of quantum physics even existed or was given a name.

There are differing ideas on the Chakra colors and their significance. My offering is based on years of yogic training and immersion in the subtle body, and a fascination with the undeniably profound energy of the body, mind, and spirit – all of which can be tied to the energy of light (as a particle and as a wave), and the electromagnetic fields within that light. The energy of the eons is within you!

Mary Ann Murdoch is a Professor of Humanities, a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT 200), and a facilitator for workshops and practices of mindfulness, breath, meditation, and labyrinth learning. She has completed doctoral coursework and is a poet, writer, and photographer.

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