The Centres of the Subtle Body

Chakras are the centres of the subtle body in tantric Hindu and Buddhist physiology, described as wheels or lotuses strung along a central channel, the sushumna, from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. The familiar Western scheme has seven (root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, brow and crown), each with a colour, an element, a seed syllable, a number of petals and a presiding deity.

The chakras are worked with in tantric and yogic practice through visualisation, breath and the raising of energy, and are understood as centres where the physical and subtle bodies meet.