--- title: "The seven chakras and the body: a map of feelings and organs" description: "The seven chakras and the body: where each one sits, the organs and feelings it is linked with, what a 'blocked chakra' means, and when to see a doctor." canonical_url: "https://www.body-hemisync.com/guides/chakras-and-the-body" --- The seven chakras are energy centres described along the spine, from its base to the crown of the head. In today's Western systems each one is linked with a region of the body, a few organs and glands, and a set of feelings: the root chakra with the legs, the lower back and fear; the heart chakra with the chest, the lungs and grief; the throat chakra with the thyroid and the words you hold back. They are a spiritual map, not an anatomical one, and a symptom in any of these places needs a doctor before it needs a meaning. This guide sets out where the idea comes from, what a "blocked chakra" does and does not mean, and then a table that takes you from each chakra to the parts of the body and the feelings our pages cover. ## Where does the chakra idea come from? The Sanskrit word *chakra* means "wheel" or "circle". As a picture of energy centres in a "subtle body", it belongs to Hindu and Buddhist tantric meditation. In those traditions the chakras are first of all **meditation aids**: points along a central channel that the practitioner visualises, one after the other, with sounds, syllables, shapes and deities, rising from the base of the spine to the top of the head. The number was never fixed. Medieval Buddhist texts from around the 8th century speak of four or five centres; Hindu sources give various numbers. The arrangement of six chakras plus a seventh centre at the crown is described in Hindu tantric works, and it reached English readers through Sir John Woodroffe's book *The Serpent Power* (1919), a translation and commentary of a 16th-century Sanskrit text. ### The modern seven-chakra system is a Western synthesis The version most people know today, with seven chakras, a rainbow of colours, a gland for each, and lists of emotions and illnesses, is much more recent. Wikipedia's account of its history is worth knowing: - **1880s:** Theosophists such as H. P. Blavatsky brought the idea of seven chakras to the West and paired each with a nerve plexus. - **1920s:** each chakra was matched with an endocrine gland, a habit that has lasted. - **1927:** Charles W. Leadbeater's book *The Chakras* added the seven colours of the rainbow, colours not found in any ancient Indian system. - **Later still:** emotions, associated diseases, elements, gemstones, crystals and much else were added. The writer Kurt Leland concluded that the rainbow colours and the list of psychological qualities first appeared together only in 1977. So when a page (including ours) says "the solar plexus chakra is yellow and linked with the pancreas", it is describing the modern Western map, built over a century by many hands. That does not make it worthless as a tool for reflection. It does mean it is not ancient medical knowledge. ## Is a "blocked chakra" real? A "blocked chakra" is a spiritual concept. There is no scientific evidence that chakras exist, and no meaningful way to measure them, so there is no test that can show one is blocked, open or spinning too fast. When people say a chakra is blocked, they usually mean something they feel: a heaviness in the chest after a loss, a knot in the stomach before a hard conversation, a sense of being ungrounded. Those feelings are real. The NHS describes how physical symptoms such as pain, tiredness, palpitations and stomach problems can persist without a clear medical cause, and how they are often tangled up with anxiety or low mood, each making the other worse. That is not "all in the head", and it is not a chakra either: it is a reason to talk to a GP, who can rule out illness and offer real help, such as talking therapy. **A physical symptom needs a doctor.** Chest pain, a change in bowel or bladder habits, pelvic pain, unexplained weight loss, a lump, a persistent cough or a new headache are medical questions first. Use the chakra map to reflect on what you feel, alongside your care, never to explain a symptom away. ## The seven chakras at a glance Locations, Sanskrit names, colours and elements below are those of the modern Western system as summarised on Wikipedia. The organs and feelings are the correspondences commonly used in that system and in the French tradition our site draws on.
Chakra Where Organs and body areas Feelings it is linked with Our pages
Root (Muladhara), red Base of the spine Legs and feet, bones, lower back, adrenal glands, rectum, bladder Fear, survival, security, abandonment Legs and feet , lower back pain , joints and bones , glands , fear
Sacral (Svadhishthana), orange Lower belly, below the navel Reproductive organs, bladder, kidneys, hips, lower back Pleasure, guilt, shame, dependence Reproductive system , bladder problems , hips , guilt
Solar plexus (Manipura), yellow Above the navel Stomach, pancreas, liver and gallbladder, digestion, blood sugar Personal power, anger, worry, self-worth Digestive system , pancreas , liver and gallbladder , anger
Heart (Anahata), green Centre of the chest Heart, circulation, lungs, thymus, upper back Love, grief, sorrow, resentment, forgiveness Heart and circulation , respiratory system , grief , sorrow
Throat (Vishuddha), blue Throat Thyroid, throat, voice, neck, jaw, ears Self-expression, words held back Thyroid , sore throat , lump in the throat , jaw pain
Third eye (Ajna), indigo Between the eyebrows Eyes, sinuses, pituitary gland, head Intuition, clarity, overthinking Eyes and ears , sinusitis , headaches , worry
Crown (Sahasrara), violet or white Top of the head Brain, nervous system, pineal gland, scalp Meaning, connection, anguish Head and nervous system , hair loss , anguish
If you would rather start from a feeling than from a chakra, the [emotions body map](/guides/emotions-body-map) shows the same body from that side. ## The seven chakras, one by one ### Root chakra (Muladhara) At the base of the spine, red, with the element earth. It is the foundation of the system: safety, the body, money, a roof, the feeling of having ground under your feet. It is linked with the legs and feet, the bones, the lower back and the adrenal glands. Fear and anxiety are its usual feelings. Read the full guide: [root chakra](/guides/root-chakra). ### Sacral chakra (Svadhishthana) Just below the navel, orange, with the element water. It is the centre of pleasure, desire, creativity and relationships, linked with the reproductive organs, the bladder, the kidneys and the hips. Guilt and shame are the feelings most often named. Read the full guide: [sacral chakra](/guides/sacral-chakra). ### Solar plexus chakra (Manipura) Above the navel, yellow, with the element fire. It is the centre of will, self-esteem and "digesting" life, linked with the stomach, the pancreas, the liver and blood sugar. Anger, worry and timidity sit here. Read the full guide: [solar plexus chakra](/guides/solar-plexus-chakra). ### Heart chakra (Anahata) In the centre of the chest, green, with the element air. It is the bridge between the three lower and three upper centres: love, compassion, grief and forgiveness, linked with the heart, the lungs and the thymus. Read the full guide: [heart chakra](/guides/heart-chakra). ### Throat chakra (Vishuddha) At the throat, blue, with the element of space or ether. It concerns speaking your truth and being heard, and it is linked with the thyroid, the voice, the neck and the ears. Read the full guide: [throat chakra](/guides/throat-chakra). ### Third eye chakra (Ajna) Between the eyebrows, indigo. Its Sanskrit name means "command". It is the centre of intuition, insight and clear seeing, linked with the eyes, the sinuses and, in Western systems, the pituitary gland. Read the full guide: [third eye chakra](/guides/third-eye-chakra). ### Crown chakra (Sahasrara) At the top of the head, violet or white, the "thousand-petalled" lotus. It is less a chakra than the point the whole journey rises to: meaning, spirituality, connection with something larger. It is linked with the brain and the pineal gland. Read the full guide: [crown chakra](/guides/crown-chakra). ## Chakras and the emotional reading of the body The French dictionary of illnesses that much of this site draws on (see [our guide to it](/guides/jacques-martel-dictionary)) does not organise the body by chakras, but it brings them in about thirty times, almost always when it reaches a gland or a key region. Put together, those passages give a fuller picture of how the chakra map and the emotional approach to the body meet. - **The adrenal glands and the base centre.** The adrenals, which make the stress hormones, are tied to the base chakra at the tailbone. In harmony, they are read as trust in the material world and the energy to act; out of balance, as constant worry about possessions, mistrust, fear, and a feeling of having lost your compass. See [glands](/glands) and [stress](/emotions/stress). - **The lower back, the coccyx and the sacrum.** The tailbone is the seat of survival: food, shelter, protection, love. The sacrum is tied to the second centre, and with it the relationships you have with the people around you. Both are read in [lower back pain](/back/lower-back-pain). - **The genital organs.** Here the French tradition differs from the modern Western chart: it links the gonads and sexual energy with the base centre, as the seat of the pleasures of life and of creativity, where most Western books put them in the sacral chakra. - **The pancreas and the solar plexus.** The pancreas, a few centimetres above the navel, is tied to the solar plexus centre: freedom, power, self-control, and the capacity to take in emotions, including anger, without them turning into pain. See [the pancreas](/pancreas) and [blood sugar](/blood-sugar). - **The thymus, the heart and the heart centre.** The thymus, a small gland behind the breastbone, is the gland of the heart chakra: giving and receiving love, forgiveness, being touched. The heart itself is described as both masculine and feminine, both mind and feeling. See [heart and circulation](/heart-and-circulation). - **The thyroid and the throat centre.** The thyroid is the centre of speech and self-expression; out of balance, it is read in a lump in the throat, swallowed insults and not taking your place. The throat centre is also said to work closely with the sacral centre, two kinds of creativity, one in words and one in the body. See [the thyroid](/thyroid) and [lump in the throat](/respiratory-system/lump-in-throat). - **The pituitary and the third eye.** The pituitary, the "conductor" of the other glands, sits behind the root of the nose and is linked with the third eye: balance between reason and intuition, and clear sight of a situation. - **The pineal gland, the brain and the crown.** The pineal gland and the brain belong to the crown centre, the bridge between the body and the search for meaning. Out of balance, the crown is read as spirituality cut off from the body and the earth. These are correspondences to reflect on, not mechanisms. A gland that is not working needs tests and treatment: thyroid hormone, steroid replacement or insulin may be lifelong, and nothing here is a reason to change them. ## How to use the chakra map 1. **Start from the body.** Notice where you feel tension, heaviness or pain today, find the nearest chakra in the table, and read the page for that body area. 2. **Or start from a feeling.** If fear, guilt or grief has been with you for a while, see which centre it is linked with and gently check in with that part of your body. 3. **Ask, do not conclude.** Each correspondence is a question you are free to recognise or not. It is not a diagnosis, and it does not explain why you are ill. 4. **Keep it embodied.** The simplest practices that go with the chakras are also the safest: slow breathing, a walk, stretching, writing, singing. They need no belief to be good for you. ## A gentler way to use this - **Pick one centre, not seven.** Reading about all of them at once tends to turn into a checklist of everything that might be "wrong". Choose the one that speaks to you today. - **Breathe into the place.** Sit comfortably, rest a hand where you feel the tension, and breathe slowly into your belly for a few minutes. The NHS suggests counting gently to five on the in-breath and the out-breath. - **Write one sentence.** "What I feel in my chest today is…". The words often matter more than the colour of the chakra. - **Be wary of anyone selling a fix.** No crystal, sound bath or healer can measure or unblock a chakra, and none should ever ask you to stop a treatment. This guide is for reflection and general information. It does not diagnose or treat any condition. If you have a symptom that worries you, please see a doctor. In an emergency, call your local emergency number (999 in the UK). ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](/sitemap.md) for all pages.