Mention chakras, and many practitioners divide into camps: true believers in subtle energy and skeptics who dismiss it as pseudoscience. There's a third approach—using the chakra system as a practical framework without making claims about its literal truth.
The seven chakras provide a map of the body for meditation. Whether or not spinning energy wheels actually exist, the locations they describe correspond to areas of significant physical sensation and psychological association. You can work with this map practically, agnostically, and effectively.
The Secular View
What We're Not Claiming
Energy doesn't need to be literal: Traditional teaching says chakras are vortices of prana (life energy). You don't have to believe this. You can work with the locations and associations without accepting the underlying metaphysics.
Colors are arbitrary: The rainbow color scheme (red to violet) isn't ancient—it comes from 20th-century Western interpretations. Use colors if helpful; ignore them if not.
No mystical diagnosis: "Blocked chakras" as explanation for life problems isn't useful. We're not diagnosing or prescribing based on subtle energy.
What We Are Working With
Real body locations: The chakras map to physical areas with genuine significance—nerve plexuses, glands, organs. These areas have actual sensations.
Psychological associations: Each center relates to themes (security, sexuality, power, love, expression, insight, transcendence) that resonate with human experience. These associations can guide self-inquiry.
Attention training: Moving awareness through the body in a structured way develops concentration and body awareness regardless of belief system.
A map, not the territory: The chakra system is a framework—one of many ways to organize body-focused meditation. It's useful if it works for you.
The Seven Centers
1. Root (Muladhara)
Location: Base of spine, perineum, pelvic floor.
Physical associations: Legs, feet, base of torso. The foundation of the body in sitting or standing.
Psychological themes: Security, survival, groundedness, basic needs, relationship with the physical world.
What to explore: - Sense of contact with the ground - Feeling of stability or instability - Physical sensation at the base of the body - Any relationship between this area and feelings of safety or anxiety
2. Sacral (Svadhisthana)
Location: Lower abdomen, below the navel, sacrum.
Physical associations: Reproductive organs, bladder, lower gut.
Psychological themes: Pleasure, creativity, sexuality, emotions, desire, flow.
What to explore: - Sensations in the lower belly - Any held tension or relaxation - Connection between this area and emotional states - Sense of fluidity or stagnation
3. Solar Plexus (Manipura)
Location: Upper abdomen, stomach area, just below the diaphragm.
Physical associations: Stomach, liver, pancreas, digestive system.
Psychological themes: Power, will, confidence, self-esteem, agency, identity.
What to explore: - The familiar "gut feelings" - Tension patterns (butterflies, knots) - Connection between this area and sense of personal power - Physical response to confidence or intimidation
4. Heart (Anahata)
Location: Center of chest, heart area.
Physical associations: Heart, lungs, chest, upper back, arms, hands.
Psychological themes: Love, compassion, connection, grief, openness, acceptance.
What to explore: - Sensations in the chest center - Openness or contraction - Physical manifestation of emotional states - Breath and chest expansion
5. Throat (Vishuddha)
Location: Throat, neck.
Physical associations: Throat, thyroid, neck, jaw, mouth.
Psychological themes: Expression, communication, truth, creativity, voice.
What to explore: - Sensation in the throat - Tension in neck and jaw - Connection between this area and authentic expression - Any sense of restriction or openness
6. Third Eye (Ajna)
Location: Forehead, between and slightly above the eyebrows.
Physical associations: Forehead, eyes, sinuses, pituitary area.
Psychological themes: Insight, intuition, imagination, clarity, vision, thought.
What to explore: - Sensation in the forehead center - Any pressure or openness - Visual imagery and imagination - Mental clarity or fog
7. Crown (Sahasrara)
Location: Top of the head.
Physical associations: Top of skull, brain.
Psychological themes: Transcendence, connection to something larger, consciousness itself, spaciousness.
What to explore: - Sensation at the crown - Any sense of opening upward - Consciousness observing itself - Spaciousness or boundary dissolution
Basic Practice
Preparation
Position: Sitting works best for chakra meditation. Upright spine, comfortable but alert. You can also practice lying down or standing.
Duration: 20-40 minutes for a complete sequence. Shorter sessions can focus on specific centers.
Moving Through the Centers
The approach: Move attention through each center from bottom to top (or top to bottom). Spend 2-5 minutes at each location.
At each center: 1. Locate the area physically 2. Feel whatever sensations are present 3. Stay with awareness in that location 4. Notice any thoughts, emotions, or associations 5. Move on when ready
The quality: Curious exploration, not forcing. You're investigating, not achieving. What's actually here?
A Complete Session
Begin: Settle into your seat. Take a few breaths to arrive.
Root: Bring attention to the base of the body. The pelvic floor, the contact with the seat. What's here? Spend several minutes.
Sacral: Move up to the lower belly. Below the navel, the area of the sacrum behind. Explore sensations. Notice any emotional tone.
Solar plexus: Upper belly, stomach area. Often an area of held tension. What's the quality here? Any gut feelings present?
Heart: Center of chest. The space around the heart. Notice the breath here. Any sense of openness or closure?
Throat: Neck and throat. An area that often holds tension. Notice the jaw, the tongue, the voice box.
Third eye: The forehead center. Eyes closed, attention in the space between brows. Any visual phenomena? Mental quality?
Crown: Top of the head. As if attention rises to the highest point. Any sense of opening or spaciousness?
Rest: After completing the sequence, rest in whole-body awareness. Feel the body as one integrated field.
Return: Gradually return ordinary awareness. Move, stretch if needed.
Variations
Single-Center Focus
The practice: Instead of moving through all centers, spend an entire session at one.
When to use: - When one area calls for attention - To develop deeper familiarity with a center - For working with specific themes
How: Simply stay with one location. 15-30 minutes at a single center allows deeper exploration than 3-5 minutes allows.
Bottom-Up vs Top-Down
Bottom-up (traditional): Start at root, move upward to crown. The direction of ascending, grounding to transcendence.
Top-down: Start at crown, move down to root. Some find this grounding, bringing expanded awareness into the body.
Experiment: Try both directions. Notice if one feels more natural or useful.
With Breath
Coordinating breath: Breathe into each center as you arrive. Imagine breath flowing to that location, even though physically it doesn't.
Breathing between centers: Inhale up from one center to the next, exhale to settle there.
With Body Sensation
Pure sensation focus: Ignore the psychological associations. Just feel what's physically present at each location.
Body scan hybrid: Use the chakra locations as waypoints in a body scan, but feel the surrounding areas too.
With Inquiry
Add questions: At each center, ask: What's present here? What am I holding? What wants to be felt?
Theme exploration: Use the psychological associations as inquiry prompts. At the heart: What am I not allowing myself to feel? At the throat: What am I not saying?
What You Might Notice
Physical Sensations
Common experiences: - Warmth or coolness - Tingling or pulsing - Tightness or openness - Pressure or spaciousness - Subtle vibration
Interpretation: These are physical sensations. They may or may not correspond to "energy." Notice them without needing to explain them.
Emotions
What arises: Focusing on certain centers may evoke emotional responses. Heart center and grief. Solar plexus and anxiety. This is common.
How to work with it: Feel the emotion as sensation. Don't suppress or indulge—observe. The center becomes a container for the experience.
Thoughts and Images
Mental activity: Certain centers may trigger specific thoughts, memories, or mental images. Third eye often produces visual phenomena.
The approach: Notice and return to sensation. The thoughts are data about your relationship with that center.
Nothing Particular
The experience: Sometimes a center feels neutral—just body, nothing special.
The response: This is fine. Not every session needs fireworks. Neutral awareness at a body location is still practice.
Benefits of the Approach
Body Awareness
The development: Regular chakra meditation develops fine-grained awareness of the body. You learn the territory.
The sensitivity: Over time, you notice more subtle sensations. The body becomes richer in felt experience.
Emotional Integration
The mechanism: Emotions manifest in the body. Working with body centers directly accesses emotional material.
The effect: Increased capacity to feel and process emotions without being overwhelmed.
Concentration Training
The structure: Moving through defined locations trains the ability to place and hold attention.
The benefit: Concentration developed here transfers to other meditation practices.
Self-Understanding
The associations: The themes associated with each center provide frameworks for self-inquiry.
The discovery: You learn where you hold tension, which centers are accessible, which are avoided, how your body maps your psychology.
Common Concerns
"I Can't Feel Anything"
The response: Keep looking. Sometimes sensation is very subtle. Sometimes attention isn't developed enough yet.
What helps: - Start with areas that naturally have sensation - Use breath to bring attention to the area - Be patient—sensitivity develops with practice - Don't force—subtle is fine
"Is This Real or Am I Imagining It?"
The reframe: Imagination and sensation aren't completely separate. You're practicing body awareness. What you notice matters more than whether it's "real."
The permission: Even if you're partially imagining sensations, you're still training attention. The practice works.
"I Don't Believe in Energy"
The approach: You don't have to. Work with the physical locations and the associations. Leave the metaphysics aside.
The result: The practice has practical benefits regardless of belief about subtle energy.
"Some Centers Feel Weird"
The normalcy: Some areas are psychologically loaded. They may feel strange, uncomfortable, or hard to access.
The approach: Move slowly. Don't force. Respect your own boundaries while gently exploring.
Making It Your Own
Customize the Map
Adjust locations: The traditional points are starting places. Adjust based on where you actually feel things.
Add points: Knees, feet, hands—any location can become a focus point.
Modify the Associations
Make them personal: The traditional themes may or may not resonate. What do you associate with each area?
Drop what doesn't work: If the psychological framework isn't helpful, drop it. Focus on sensation only.
Create Your Sequence
What serves practice: Some people spend more time on certain centers, skip others, combine approaches. Find what works.
Starting Practice
Today: Sit comfortably. Close your eyes.
Bring attention to the base of your body. What do you feel?
Move up through lower belly, upper belly, chest, throat, forehead, top of head.
Spend a few minutes at each.
Notice sensation. Notice any emotional or mental quality.
End in whole-body awareness.
No beliefs required. Just attention and curiosity.
Return is a meditation timer for practitioners exploring any technique—whether rooted in tradition or adapted for secular use. Set your session, move through the body, and let the minimal interface support your exploration. Download Return on the App Store.