Chakra Sādhanā Beyond Myths
Explore Chakra Sādhanā Beyond Myths — a practical workshop on chakras through traditional āsana, mudrā, and mantra, and discover their deeper yogic understanding.
Have you ever wondered—if backbends are said to “open” the Heart Chakra, do forward bends “close” it?
Or, if Utkat Konāsana (Goddess pose) can help in “activating” the Mulādhāra chakra (Root chakra), shouldn’t the sitting poses such as Svastikāsana or Padmāsana be better alternatives?
And perhaps the more fundamental question is: where did these associations between āsanas and chakras come from?
Much of what we commonly hear today about “chakra-opening” āsanas, emotional blockages in particular chakras, and using specific postures to release those blockages belongs to a relatively recent development in the interpretation of yoga. Even the commonly presented colours and physical locations assigned to the chakras are largely modern formulations that emerged during the last century and find no clear support in the traditional Tantric texts. These ideas can be useful as contemporary frameworks, but they are not necessarily the way traditional yoga understood the relationship between the body, prāṇa, chakras, and the mind.
This workshop takes a different approach
Rather than beginning with a list of āsanas assigned to seven chakras, we will explore the traditional understanding of chakras and the subtle body, and examine how āsanas, mudrās (including bandhas and hasta mudrās), and mantras can be meaningfully understood in relation to the chakras. We will also discuss the relevant aspects of the nervous system—an important dimension often overlooked in yoga teacher training courses—to understand how certain āsanas may influence and support work with the chakras. The emphasis is not on mechanically “opening” or “activating” a chakra, but on understanding the deeper principles through which the physical practice relates to the subtle body.
Three Dimensions of the Practice
Āsana — Working Through the Body & Prāṇa
We will examine selected āsanas through the traditional framework of the subtle body and explore how they may be meaningfully related to the chakras. The emphasis is not on mechanically “opening” a chakra, but on understanding the principles through which physical practice relates to the subtle body.
Mudrā — Working with the Mind & Emotions
We will explore traditional mudrās and their relationship to emotional tendencies and states of mind. This allows us to approach the chakras not merely as anatomical or energetic “centres”, but as part of a broader yogic understanding of human experience.
Mantra — Working Through Sound & Awareness
We will explore traditional mantras associated with the chakras and their role in cultivating specific qualities of awareness. Rather than treating mantra simply as an affirmation or a symbolic sound, we will approach it within its traditional yogic and tantric context as a practice for directing and refining consciousness.
This is not a workshop about memorising which āsana “opens” which chakra. It is an exploration of how āsana, mudrā, and mantra can work together as practices—and what traditional yoga actually has to say about their relationship with the chakras.
Join the Workshop
If you would like to explore the traditional relationship between āsana, mudrā, prāṇa, and the chakras through both practice and study, we would be happy to have you join us.
For upcoming workshop dates and fees, please visit the Events Calendar.
