On this page
The chakras are a map that has been in use for centuries, and the most useful thing to say about them first is what kind of map they are. They are a framework for organising attention through the body, not a description of anything a scan would find.
What this practice is
What the tradition says is specific and worth knowing. Seven principal centres are named along the axis of the body, from the base to the crown, each associated with a location, an element, a quality of experience and a seed sound. The tradition describes prana gathering at these points and a practice as clearing or balancing them.
What happens in a session is that attention moves through those seven locations in order, staying at each for a while, sometimes with colour or sound or breath attached. That is the whole practice, and it is a precise and well-tested way of working through the body systematically.
None of it is physiology. No organ corresponds to a chakra and no measurement finds one, and anyone presenting them as anatomy has confused a traditional framework with a medical one. The framework is not diminished by that. It has been used for a very long time because it works as a structure for attention.
What people commonly report is that the sequence gives attention somewhere definite to go, and that certain points feel more available than others on a given day. Whether anything is being balanced in a sense that could be measured is a claim that would need clinical evidence, and it is not made here.
When to use it
Practise it as a regular sit rather than reaching for it about something specific. It is a systematic practice and the systematic part is what it offers.
It suits people who want structure. An open instruction to sit and watch the breath is hard for a lot of people, and a sequence with seven definite stops is considerably easier to stay with.
If you want the breath-led version of the same map, the subtle body breathwork sessions work through the channels rather than the centres and are shorter.
The sessions
Chakra Balancing, one practice at three lengths, 15 to 30 minutes. One session here is in the free tier and the rest need Premium. The table says which.
| Length | Tier |
|---|---|
| 15 min | Free |
| 20 min | Premium |
| 30 min | Premium |
How long to practise for
The shorter session moves through the sequence at a pace that keeps you following it, which suits learning the order.
The longer ones give each centre real time, and that is where this practice differs most from a body scan. It is worth taking once the sequence is familiar.
The general version of this, and what a longer session actually adds, is in How Long to Meditate For: Choosing a Session Length.
How to use it
Sit upright with the spine free. The sequence runs along the axis of the body and slumping muddles the sense of where you are.
Follow the order given rather than lingering where something is happening. The order is the practice and a centre that feels like nothing is the ordinary case.
Do not diagnose yourself from it. A point feeling blank is not information about your life, and reading it that way is where this practice goes wrong.
Stay with the same session for a few weeks. The sequence takes a while to become familiar enough that you stop tracking where you are.
What usually goes wrong
Treating the map as anatomy. It is a traditional framework and it does its job as one. Read as physiology it makes a claim the practice never made and cannot support.
Diagnosing yourself from what you feel. A blank centre means attention did not find much there today. It is not a reading on your relationships or your throat.
Waiting for sensation at each point. Most points feel like nothing for a long time and some always will. The moving of attention is the practice.
Chasing the dramatic accounts. A great deal is written about what chakra work produces. Very little of it is worth expecting, and expecting it mostly produces disappointment.
A sequence, not a diagnosis
PanchPrana teaches the chakras as a traditional framework for attention rather than as anatomy, and the practice works either way. The subtle body breathwork sessions cover the same map through the breath.
Who should take care
This is a seated attention practice with no physical demand, and the cautions are the general ones for sustained inward attention plus one specific to this style.
If you live with psychosis or have a history of it, take care with practices involving energy, imagery and sensation in the body, and get clinical advice before taking them up. This is one of the places where an intense practice and an unusual experience can be hard to tell apart.
If you live with PTSD, complex trauma or a dissociative condition, sustained attention moving through the body can surface difficult material. Take care, keep sessions short, and practise with a teacher who knows your history rather than alone.
Stop if a session leaves you agitated, detached or distressed rather than settled, and come back to the room. Nothing here diagnoses or treats anything, and physical symptoms at any of these locations are a matter for a doctor rather than for a practice.
See our full Health & Safety Disclaimer.
Common questions
Are the chakras real?
They are a real and long-standing part of the tradition. They are not anatomical structures, and nothing here treats them as though they were.
Do I have to believe in them for this to work?
No. The practice works as a structured way of moving attention through the body, which is what you are being guided through whatever you make of the framework.
How do I know if a chakra is blocked?
You do not, and that framing is where this practice most often goes wrong. A point feeling blank is about attention on the day, not about your life.
Which chakra should I focus on?
The sequence goes through all of them in order, which is the practice. Selecting one on the basis of a self-diagnosis is the thing to avoid.
Is this the same as the subtle body breathwork?
They use the same map. That collection works with the breath and the channels and is shorter; this works with attention and the centres and goes further.
