laplumeabelle:

Chakra is a Sanskrit term meaning circle or wheel. There is a wide literature on chakra models, philosophy, and lore that underpin many philosophical systems and spiritual energy practices, religious observance, and personal discipline. Theories on chakras fit within systems that link the human body and mind into a single unit, sometimes called the ‘bodymind’ (Sanskrit: namarupa). The philosophical theories and models of chakras as centers of energy were first codified in Ancient India.

chakra is a center of activity that receives, assimilates, and expresses life force energy. The word chakra literally translates as wheel or disk and refers to a spinning sphere of bioenergetic activity emanating from the major nerve ganglia branching forward from the spinal column. There are six of these wheels stacked in a column of energy that spans from the base of the spine to the middle of the forehead. And the seventh which is beyond the physical region. It is the six major chakras that correlate with basic states of consciousness…

Chakra are commonly described, as above, as energy centers in the spine located at major branchings of the human nervous system, beginning at the base of the spinal column and moving upward to the top of the skull. Chakras are considered to be a point or nexus of metaphysical and/or biophysical energy of the human body.

The following primary chakras are commonly described:

Muladhara (Sanskrit: मूलाधार, Mūlādhāra) lower body 
Swadhisthana (Sanskrit: स्वाधिष्ठान, Svādhiṣṭhāna) reproductive parts 
Manipura (Sanskrit: मणिपूर, Maṇipūra) navel 
Anahata (Sanskrit: अनाहत, Anāhata) heart 
Ajna (Sanskrit: आज्ञा, Ājñā) eyebrow or forehead 
Sahasrara (Sanskrit: सहस्रार, Sahasrāra) top of head 
Chakras in the head from lowest to highest are: golata, talu/talana/lalana, ajna, lalata, manas, soma, sri (inside sahasrara) and sahasrara.

The concept of Chakra are often treated in different ways, depending on the cultural context. In Chinese medicine, traditional chakra locations correspond to acupuncture points. In some Eastern thought, chakras are considered to be gradations of consciousness and reflect states of the soul—these systems rely less on proof than on experience (under the assumption that ‘proving’ the existence of chakras is asking to ‘prove’ the existence of the thought process). A mystic may deal with chakra as a model for their internal and external experience, and when talking about ‘energy centers’, may be talking about subtle forces which connect to the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of a person

(via buddhabrot)