When I first heard of chakras, 25 years ago I immediately researched to see if there was medical or scientific proof that they existed. I was quickly reminded that the medical industry does not sanction anything that has not been systematically studied, confirmed by the five senses, measured by approved instruments, approved by the A.M.A. and has a high propensity for monetization. Therefore, I could not find ANY medical proof that chakras exist. Me at the age of 21
Any form of "documented" medical proof about chakras came from spiritual gurus, many seemed to be California hippies, who had learned from an Eastern guru and came back to write a book and teach us.
In my previous post, Are Chakras in the Bible, I explained that chakras are spinning wheels in the human body that distribute energy to different parts of the body. The energy that they distribute emanates pass the human body and shows up as an aura. This concept originally comes from Hindu teachings but many eastern countries reference Chakras including India, Tibet, China, and Japan.
This Eastern knowledge, which is hundreds of years older than Western medicine, isn’t documented according to our scientific standards, therefore, it wasn’t considered credible. Hence, there was no medical proof that chakras existed.
But that was 25 years ago.
In the last two decades the medical industry has come to a different understanding about the body. This new found understanding has opened the medical industry to create a new term, Biofield.
The biofield is defined as “a massless field, not necessarily electromagnetic, that surrounds and permeates living bodies and affects the body.”
This "biofield" is chakras and aura, just called by another name; proof that the medical industry now recognizes that chakras do exist.
Western medicine viewed the central and autonomic nervous systems, the endocrine system, the respiratory system and others, as independent systems within the body.
Eastern medicine understood that there is a vital energy that flows and influences all the systems simultaneously, it is in our bodies and emantes outside of our bodies.
In the book, The Scientific Basis of Integrative Medicine the authors use hard science to explain the reasons why Western and Eastern medicine HAD to merge. I love the way the authors layout a theory of "how subtle energy impacts physical as well as mental or emotional functioning.
In order for western medicine to be a holistic system, it must account for the existence of energy fields inside as well as outside of the human body".
Well they now do and call it the "biofield".
The Scientific Basis of Integrative Medicine looks at how different forms of energy- light, sound, electromagnetic magnetism and even prayer- transmute the chemical and electrical signals to coordinate our physical and mental health.
The acknowledgment of subtle energies (i.e. chakras) in and around the human body, has opened entire new branches of medicine! For example:
Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) -how our physiology and psyches (mind, emotions and spirituality) interact with the world around us and create negative or positive changes in the physical body.
Epigenetics -the study of how your beliefs, behaviors and environment can cause changes in your genes and affect the way they work.
Energy Medicine -the study of subtle energies and their effects on the human body.
Integrative Medicine -a medical approach that takes into account the whole person (body, mind, and spirit), and lifestyle.
Neurotheology -also known as “spiritual neuroscience”, the study of the relationship between the brain science and religion.
I’m considering writing my dissertation on some aspect of Neurotheology, as it is multidisciplinary in nature and includes the fields of theology, religious studies, religious experience and practice, philosophy, cognitive science, neuroscience, psychology and anthropology. ALL OF MY FAVORITE SUBJECTS!
So yes there is medical and scientific proof that chakras exist. So much so that
the medical industry has had to respond and interact with patients on different levels and create new branches of medicine!
In my next post I'll look at how to influence your chakras for optimum health.