A Brief History of the Chakra Tradition

The primary origins that set forth the concept of the chakras is thought to be the ancient Hindu tantric texts: Sat-Cakra-Nirupana and Padaka-Pancaka, which describe them as points of emanating energy that is linking to a universal spiritual consciousness. These interfaces are where the concrete form of the body materializes. The universal, chakra-attuned energy is thought to have been unleashed in the creation and lies coiled and dormant as Kundalini at the base of the spine. The practice of tantric, or kundalini yoga, seeks to progressively activate and arouse the chakras in order to awaken kundalini so that a transformative union with the divine is achieved.

According to the current general Western perspective, the chakras each govern their own functional aspects of the physical body, emotional state and mental process. The focus of chakra therapy then becomes an effort to balance and align the expression of all of the chakras with one another, so that none are either overactive or underactive. In this way, physical, emotional and mental balance and wholeness are thought to be realized and maintained.

(Source: Hinduwebsite.com)