Chakras are focal points of energy within the body that each and every person has. Whether we realize it or not, our chakras impact and affect our reality and they either help us completely experience life (when they are aligned and balanced) or they prevent us from enjoying life (when they are blocked or out of balance).

Chakra comes from the Sanksrit word for energy. Although the concept comes to us from the Hindu faith, our energy centers care little what, if any religion we ourselves may practice. Energy is instead a universal force possessed by every person. The physical manifestation of the path through which this energy flows in and out of our auras is the Chakras.

Chakras which are correctly aligned have a wealth of benefits for the mind, body and the spirit, which is why chakra meditation is such a good thing to learn. You will be able to perform chakra meditation if you know where your chakras are and what each chakra does.

The chakras are located in the important areas of the body like the head and the heart. The organs that surround the chakras are used to control the vortex and are directly impacted by that chakra. There are seven chakras.

Located at the base of the spine, the Root Chakra is the first of the seven. This chakra represents our body as well as our relationship to it. Your health and constitution are connected to this chakra. This chakra is also the one which helps us to understand how we connect to the world outside of ourselves. This chakra’s color is red.

In the lower abdomen is out second chakra, the Navel Chakra. Representing our physical drives toward love, pleasure and sex, as well as giving and receiving, this chakra is where you will feel generosity, harmony and selflessness, as well as some acts of creativity. The color of this chakra is orange.

Third is the Solar Plexus Chakra, sited right below your chest. This chakra is representative of your transformational ability and your willpower. Control over your personal energy is also a part of what the Solar Plexus Chakra does. This chakra is where your self discipline is seated; as well as control over the ego. The color of this chakra is yellow.

The Heart Chakra is found in the center of the chest. It only seems natural then that this chakra control love and understanding. Our feelings of harmony, balance, forgiveness and compassion stem from this chakra. The Heart Chakra nurtures the feelings of divine and unconditional love that goes beyond the physical. The color of the Heart Chakra is green.

The fifth chakra is the Throat Chakra, sited between the chin and the sternum. This chakra governs communication. The Throat Chakra lets us understand the power of honest speech to convey truth, kindness and wisdom. The color of the Throat chakra is sky blue.

Also known as the third eye, the sixth chakra is called the Brow Chakra and is located in the forehead, between the eyebrows. This chakra is responsible for insight, imagination and intuition. This is the chakra which lets you look inward to examine your own soul. Peace of mind and an experience of the divine is also located here. This chakra’s color is indigo.

The final chakra is the Crown Chakra, obviously based on the name it is found at the top of the head. So it should go with out saying then that anything that deals with the mind and spirit is controlled here. It is the Crown Chakra that is tied to our individual journey into understanding our own consciousness and our place in time and space. Anything dealing with the Higher Self is rooted in the Crown Chakra. The color for the Crown Chakra is violet.

Knowing the location and function of each chakra will assist you in chakra meditation. There are meditations which you can use to align all of your chakras and meditations which focus on one chakra at a time.