Vishuddhi Chakra

We talked with Swami Shantimurti Saraswati about Vishuddhi Chakra – the fifth major energy centre in the body also known as the throat centre.

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What is Vishuddhi chakra about?
The Vishuddhi chakra in particular means “to purify”, “to clean.” It is located in throat area – in the spine behind the base of the throat to be precise.

It relates to the ether (space) element. Ether pervades the whole universe, the whole cosmos. It’s a cosmic element. It’s not restricted to any planet like air, fire, water, earth. Ether is throughout every aspect of the universe.

If you apply that to your physiology, as an example, it’s an indication that there is an infinite quality even to your physiology. There’s an unbounded quality there. And though the physical body is made primarily of earth, at the higher end of yogic practice it can feel like ether.

Since ether is all-pervasive, it is a factor in all healing. Every cell lives in ether. So from that perspective you have the potential to free up blocked, congested energy simply by improving the spacious element within the body. More space means lighter, clearer, free-flowing energy.

The same goes for the mind. When it is overcrowded with thoughts there is a sense of constriction and limitation, but when the ether element is strong then the mind is unbounded like the sky and thoughts pass by like clouds. That is what an open mind really is.

On a psychological level, when Vishuddhi is strong the individual really starts to come to terms with transcendental thought – thought that is cosmically based. It doesn’t mean to say that they’ve gone into an enlightened state. No, there are still two more chakras above Vishuddhi, but it’s the dawning of cosmic awareness. It’s where a person realises that they are a part of Reality.

Vishuddhi is a really important chakra. The energy there is beautiful. It’s transcendental. It is a cold energy – not like ice but rather deep and expansive. What a beautiful thing it is!

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How does Vishuddhi correlate to the physical body?
On the level of the nervous system you have the whole body funnelling nervous energy into the neck – to and from the brain. The neck is quite narrow and energy can bunch up in the Vishuddhi area. This is why people get a lot of tension in their neck and shoulders. Working with the Vishuddhi chakra can really help to release the energy up through the neck.

Vishuddhi relates to the thyroid gland which in the adult body is a master gland with the job of maintaining health through the endocrine system. It also relates to the voice, speech, mouth, hearing and the ears.

Vishuddhi as a chakra has 16 extensions to it called petals. These represent the different in-flowing and out-flowing energies connected with it.  Each petals has a corresponding mantra which can be used to activate the flow of energy in that area. Vishuddhi has four more petals than Anahata (the fourth chakra) showing it has a lot more pranic activity going on.

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What colour is Vishuddhi?
It is a light mauve colour.

I was reading a book recently that suggested that it was blue. They also suggested that Anahata was green. But they’ve got it wrong. The book was about the Native American spiritual systems and, to be quite frank, I think it would be much wiser to follow the real yogic systems from India, and not the Native American approach to chakras.

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What is the high side of Vishuddhi?
Purity of mind. The mind becomes very pure. In the self-realisation process, for a person to be fully self-realised there can’t be any inconsistencies on a mental/psychological/emotional level at all. If there are troubles, then they see right through them and they’re not affected by them. So Vishuddhi prepares that person for the experience of self-realisation.

A refined Vishuddhi also gives the power of speech. One example of this is Rajneesh (Osho) who apparently retreated to a forest for six months and meditated on Vishuddhi. He was an amazing speaker. He had a sidhi (special ability) for speech – there’s no doubt about it.

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What is the low side of Vishuddhi?
On a psychological level it is gross language like swearing, self-centredness (speech is often to do with self-centredness).  Not being able to communicate verbally – like being insecure and all mixed up on that level.

On a physical level it would include diseases of the mouth and throat, activities like smoking. Smoking indicates a dissatisfaction that comes from this area. The sense of taste is mostly related to Swadhisthana chakra but it’s also to do with throat.

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Is there a relationship between eating and Vishuddhi?
Yes, there is some kind of relationship, but mostly it is just passing through. There would be a post-digestive effect.

But there is another aspect of Vishuddhi is which is about eating, but in a very, very refined way. It is said that Amrit – the nectar of immortality – drips down from the Bindu point at the upper back portion of the head and is collected at the Lalana Chakra at the upper back part of the palette. From there it drips down again. When Vishuddhi is inactive, then this nectar runs downwards into Manipura chakra where it is consumed and results in physical degeneration. Through yogic practices, the nectar can be made to enter Vishuddhi where it is purified and becomes the nectar of immortality.

This happens in everybody. It’s just a matter of awakening to that process.  The first stage is starting to get a taste in the back of your throat. If it is sweet, then it indicates that that individual is suitably purified and you can live on it. If it is bitter or sour, then it is Amrit but it’s poisonous and it will slowly kill you. It indicates that there are impurities in the psychological and physiological system.

I’ve seen firsthand what happens when people prematurely open themselves to Amrit – when their system is still toxic. It is an ugly situation – they get addicted to it even though it is poisonous. So I don’t recommend this practice without proper guidance.

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What practices are good for Vishuddhi?
The main yoga pose for Vishuddhi is the half shoulder stand – Viparita Karani Asana. Not the full shoulder stand, the half shoulder stand. The next one is the bridge pose – Kandharasana. After that is mountain pose – Sumeru Asana. Those three postures are really very good for Vishuddhi. They activate Vishuddi and/or the thyroid.

There are a whole lot of other excellent postures too  – like the camel pose – Ustrasana. When you arch the neck backwards, it opens the throat up the other way. It’s good for Vishuddhi as well, and it is also good for Anahata (the heart chakra).

Other important practices for Vishuddhi include Ujjaya breathing in which you contract the base of the throat and make the breath vibrate there. That activates Vishuddhi. Also, Kechari Mudra in which you fold the tongue back and touch the top of your mouth. And Jalandhara Bandha – the throat lock – is another important technique for enlivening the throat centre.

Mantras also activate Vishuddhi – especially its bija mantra which is HAM (pronounced hum).

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What is the correlation between the physical body and the subtle body (which contains the chakras)?
There is definitely a strong correlation. Someone can have physical symptoms in the body that won’t improve with physical therapies because the problem is actually in the subtle body. That is why yoga is so effective – it integrates and harmonises all levels of the individual.

If energy is stuck in the subtle body – like at Vishuddhi – then they may have problems in the throat that no Ear Nose and Throat specialist would ever be able to heal because the cause is deeper than modern medicine acknowledges.

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Do you need a perfect body to make spiritual progress?
No. Paramahansa Satyananda used to say that even if a person had broken their back, the Kundalini could still rise. And I tend to agree with that.  I’ve seen many things over the years. For example, I was involved with a spinal unit in India. Swamiji sent us there to teach yoga to young men – many with spinal injuries from motorcycle accidents.

We taught them yoga and got them to visualise the postures in their minds. We had some really good success – not just in improving their mental and emotional energy – but physical healings too. One man benefited so much that he eventually walked out of the unit – not spritely but he did walk out. Everybody was really shocked by that. It was pretty well miraculous.