The Chakras, The Ten Bodies

A Woman's Book of Yoga
by Machelle M. Siebel, M.D., Hari Kaur Khalsa

(Page 3 of 3)

Think of yourself as a many-faceted crystal sitting on the planet. When the light from the sun, the source of life, shines on you, you become like a prism. The light becomes refracted into a rainbow of colors that reflect the different qualities of your energy body. The light is most dense at the base of your spine, closest to the earth, and least dense at the top of your head, closest to the heavens. Where this light pools in specific densities is where your Chakras, or energy centers, are located.

Each Chakra has a specific quality that is associated with it. For instance, the first Chakra, closest to the earth relates to your ability to feel grounded and secure in your life. The Chakras tend to be associated with organs and glands but function independently of them as well. These pools of energy can, just as the systems in your physical body, be in balance or out of balance. The sequences of exercises in the Kundalini Yoga kriyas are designed to balance all the Chakras and uncoil the Kundalini energy in a gradual and balanced manner. This is one reason we do not change the order of the exercises in the kriyas, or do any techniques for longer than recommended. The yoga is working on a subtle level, as well as on the level of your physical body.

Chakras

1. The base of your spine and anus - stability, grounding, the element of earth

2. Between your hips including your sexual organs - creativity, sexuality, the element of water

3. Your belly or navel point including your solar plexus - will, discipline, the element of fire

4. Your chest area, including your heart and lungs - compassion and love, the element of air

5. Your throat area, including your thyroid gland - manifesting ideas and the power of your word, the element of ether

6. Your brow point, an area in your forehead between your eyes and above your nose, including your pituitary gland - intuitive wisdom, the element of light

7. The crown of your head at the fontanel including your pineal gland - union with cosmic energy, the element of sound

8. The area extending approximately 3-6 feet from your body called your aura or electromagnetic field, your shield of positive energy and your radiant presence

The Ten Bodies

In addition to your Chakras, you have Ten Bodies. The Ten Bodies are a further refinement of the way in which your energy manifests on the physical plane. Your Ten Bodies include your Soul Body, Three Minds (negative, positive, and neutral), Physical Body, Arc Line, Aura, Pranic Body, Subtle Body, and The Radiant Body. All of these energy bodies have qualities. Your Soul Body is timeless. Your mind is made up of three basic areas-Positive, Negative, and Neutral (or yogic) Mind. Your aura surrounds you as both a shield and a projection of energy. Your Subtle Body gives you the ability to perceive on a subtle level, and your Radiant Body is your non-local body, allowing you to sense beyond the limits of time and space.

The Arc Line is of special importance to women, as it is located as an arc of light from ear to ear, like the halo. Women have an additional Arc Line across the chest, from one breast nipple to the other, over the heart and rib cage. These two Arc Lines give women additional sensitivity and radiance. The Arc Line represents your integrity and holds the imprint of your destiny. The Pranic Body is the subtle circulatory system, or connector of all the other bodies, circulating energy throughout both your physical and Subtle Anatomy.

The Ten Bodies

1. Soul Body - everlasting and beyond time and space - your essence

2. Positive mind - collects information and analyzes how you can use it to move your projects forward, to accomplish and be optimistic

3. Negative Mind - helps you see what you need to avoid in order to move forward

4. Neutral Mind - the jewel of the mind, the yoga mind, that lives a "mutual life," that has relationship without attachment — your mind working in a balanced way that sees reality and experiences win-win negotiations

5. Physical body -the temple of your spirit

6. Arc line - your integrity manifested in your energy, like your halo, that holds the imprint of your past actions -on which your destiny is said to be "written" and visible to those who can perceive it

7. Aura - your projection of light and energy, changing subtly with each thought vibration, action, feeling — represents your consciousness

8. Pranic body -the circulatory system of your Ten Bodies and your Chakras, or your energy level - allows you to receive energy from the universe, transform it into more subtle vibrations, thoughts, actions, and creativity

9. Subtle body - surrounds your soul and gives you the experience of detail and perception in the subtlest realms

10. Radiant body - your non-local experience that gives you the capacity to sense what is happening far away, as well as within range of your hearing, sight, smell, and touch — the expansiveness you feel when you have strong ability to travel in mind and sensation beyond time and space

Copyright © November 2002, Avery Books, a member of Penguin Putnam, Inc., used by permission.

About the Author

Machelle Siebel, M.D., is a reproductive endocrinologist at the Fertility Center of New England and a clinical professor of gynecology and obstetrics at Boston University School of Medicine. He is an expert in alternative and nutritional approaches to gynecology.

Hari Kaur Khalsa, one of the most respected Kundalini yoga and meditation teachers in the world, has created specialized programs for pregnant women, senior citizens, and youngsters. She is the Director of International Teacher Training in the United States and India.