On Monday of this week I was at the office in my cubicle and something interesting, and possibly dangerous happened.
It’s not uncommon at all that one could walk by my desk and notice me practicing one mudra or another. Additionally, I often do “from the waist up” yoga at my desk, so that’s another sight some might see when passing.
I had finished with a bit of waist-up yoga and my hands had found their way, quite naturally, to Anjali Mudra. Next, without me even really knowing or realizing what was happening, my hands lowered a bit and came closer near to my body. Simultaneously, my thumbs, while staying together, came away from my hands – pointing almost directly toward my body.
As all of this unfolded, I experienced my thumbs, as a single unit, making contact with my body somewhere a few inches below what many would recognize as the solar plexus. Further, I think because of my body posture right then, my thumbs sank rather deep into that part of my body.
The resulting experience is something I don’t have words for, even still.
Ages ago, as part of diagraming the intersection of spirituality and mundane science, Hindus identified a system of chakras – bodily energy centers. Depending on the background of who you might be consulting, there are a minimum of seven main centers, but you might also find a significantly higher number. As western science has caught up with much of the concepts within Hinduism, a number of “nerve bundles” have been identified throughout the human body – some so concentrated that they’ve casually been called second brains. In fact, it’s because of this that the place I nearly touched recently is often cited as a target in martial arts for incapacitating a person, or even killing them. Below, I’ve included a simple diagram of the primary chakras.
Taken from Google Images
I kind of go back and forth between how literal I take this concept. My direct experiences with the chakra system are pretty limited, but I do recall once “feeling” the Muladhara, and I believe more recently the Anahata.
Do you think it’s possible that a spiritual or energetic “thing” can to accessed by means of a physical instrument? Is it possible to touch one’s soul from any of the dimensions we operate within? Can you touch a chakra with your thumbs?
Sthapati Samanvayam 