Working with the Chakras - Sequencing with Purpose
In recent decades, the chakra system has become a familiar part of yoga and wellness culture. The version of the chakras that is widely taught, the familiar seven colourful energy centres aligned along the spine, represents just one interpretation of a much older and more complex tradition. Still, the seven chakra model, which is rooted in medieval Tantrik philosophy and later reshaped by Western psychological and esoteric systems, is a blend of ancient insight and modern adaptation. Despite its evolution, this system remains a fascinating and powerful tool for exploring the interplay between body, mind, energy, and consciousness.
For yoga teachers, gaining a deeper understanding of the seven-chakra system opens the door to using it as a meaningful tool for offering transformative yoga classes that can, when approached with clarity and intention, support emotional integration, energetic balance, and deeper self-inquiry. In this blog, we explore how the chakras can guide purposeful sequencing that honours both the subtle body and the human experience.
Where the Chakra System Comes From (and How It Evolved)
The chakra concept has its roots in Indian spiritual traditions, particularly those within the Tantrik lineage. Contrary to the popular assumption that there is a single chakra system, historical texts describe multiple systems with five, six, ten, or even twelve chakras, depending on the specific tradition or meditative aim. The now-familiar seven-chakra model, while grounded in traditional sources, has been significantly influenced by Western interpretations, especially during the 20th century. Figures such as Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) played a key role in introducing Tantrik ideas to a Western audience, blending them with occult and esoteric thought. Later, authors like Anodea Judith integrated chakra theory with psychotherapy, particularly Bioenergetics, shaping the system we now encounter in many yoga teacher trainings and wellness settings. While this synthesis diverges from traditional views, it offers a compelling framework for understanding energy, emotion, and human development in contemporary contexts.
At Spanda Institute, we honour both the historical origins and the modern adaptations of this system. We treat chakras not as fixed anatomical points, but as symbolic maps of consciousness, each representing a unique quality of energy that may be in balance, excess, or deficiency depending on our life experiences.
Chakras as Energetic Maps of Human Experience
Rather than viewing chakras as literal wheels spinning within the body, it is more helpful to understand them as organising principles—energetic centres that reflect how we respond to the world around us. Each chakra expresses specific qualities or themes, such as grounding, creativity, power, love, expression, insight, and connection. These qualities are not static; they are shaped and influenced by every experience we’ve had—our upbringing, environment, relationships, traumas, habits, and cultural conditioning.
From this perspective, chakras function like memory fields, storing emotional and energetic imprints that influence our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. When a particular aspect of life has been disrupted or traumatised, the chakra associated with that theme may become imbalanced. For example, the root chakra (Muladhara), linked to safety and basic trust, may become underactive or overactive in someone who has experienced instability, housing insecurity, or emotional neglect early in life. Understanding that these imbalances can manifest as either a lack or a surplus of energy helps us move beyond simplistic ideas of “blocked” or “open” chakras. The framework of balance, excess, and deficiency gives us a more nuanced lens through which to understand our energetic landscape. An excess of energy in one area often mirrors a depletion elsewhere, and healing involves redistributing Prana (life force) intentionally and compassionately so that energy can move freely throughout the whole system.
What Causes Blockage or Imbalance?
Chakras become imbalanced through a wide range of influences, both acute and chronic. Traumatic experiences can lead to blockages, often expressed through the nervous system’s fight, flight, or freeze responses. Over time, these responses can solidify into patterns—emotional reactions, postural habits, and beliefs— that affect our energetic health. Even seemingly mundane stressors, like overwork, noise, lack of nature, or disconnection from the body, can lead to subtle disruptions in our energetic equilibrium.
Societal programming also plays a role. From birth, we are shaped by labels and expectations—gender roles, family dynamics, cultural norms—that influence how we show up in the world. These external frameworks can create internal tension when they conflict with our authentic self. When informed by the chakra system, yoga can offer a path for peeling back these layers and coming into deeper alignment with who we truly are.
Sequencing with the Chakras in Mind
When designing chakra-based classes, sequencing becomes more than a physical progression—it becomes a journey through different layers of the self. This requires clarity of intention. Are you supporting grounding and emotional safety? Inviting creative flow and expression? Empowering students to access strength or intuition?
Each chakra can be explored through asanas and connecting vinyasa, but also through pranayama, mudras, mantras, imagery, language, and sound. A class focused on the sacral chakra (Svadhisthana), for instance, might emphasise fluid movements, gentle undulations, pelvic awareness, and spontaneity. In contrast, a solar plexus (Manipura) practice might involve stronger core work, dynamic standing postures, and longer holds. Asanas are powerful tools in this process, but they should be chosen with care. Not every posture is suitable for every student, and deep energetic work can sometimes bring unresolved emotions to the surface. Teachers should remain observant and grounded, using trauma-sensitive principles, offering choices and encouraging self-regulation throughout the practice.
To truly work with chakras as energy, physical movement alone is not enough. Pranayama can regulate the nervous system; meditation can focus the mind and direct energy with precision. Mantra and sound can support vibrational shifts, especially when working with the upper chakras. Mudra can enhance focus and intention through subtle gestures.
Additionally, elements such as colour, scent, and even gemstones can be introduced to support energetic intention. Encouraging students to wear colours linked with a particular chakra, diffusing essential oils, or incorporating appropriate soundscapes during savasana can subtly enhance the resonance of the practice. These elements are not essential, but when used with intention, they can enrich the experience.
Moving Toward Balance
Ultimately, chakra work is not about fixing something that is broken, but about restoring balance and wholeness. It is a process of becoming more aware, more connected, and more attuned to the flow of prana in our lives. As teachers, our role is to create the conditions for this awareness to arise. We are not healers in the traditional sense—we are guides who help students tap into their own capacity for healing.
The journey begins with intention. Once we understand where energy is lacking, we can choose practices that stimulate the energy wisely and compassionately. This might mean activating underused muscles, breathing into held spaces, speaking truths that have been silenced, or simply sitting in stillness and listening.
Sequencing with the chakras allows us to teach with purpose, integrating body, breath, mind, and energy into a cohesive experience. Whether you’re designing a class around one chakra or weaving a full-spectrum exploration through a series, the chakra system offers a profound and practical framework for supporting transformation. When learning more about these energy centres, we can unlock a deeply human map of healing, integration, and inner freedom.
If this approach to the chakras resonates with you, we invite you to take the next step.
Our online, on-demand 50-hour Chakra Flow Module offers a rich and embodied exploration of this powerful system.
Nina Vukas
Nina is the founder of Spanda Institute, Program Director and a Lead Teacher for Advanced Study Programs. She has been a Yoga practitioner since 1998, started teaching full time in 2005, and has been educating yogis on their journey towards becoming Yoga Teachers, as well as educating Yoga Teachers to advance their knowledge and teaching skills since 2009. Nina is also a Yoga Therapist, Mindfulness and Meditation teacher, Somatic Psychotherapist and Psychologist.
