When I first experienced the sensation, the Buddhist chakra system seemed to be the right map of what I was feeling. But as my practice unfolded, I realized that interpreting the chakra system symbolism was the only way to reconcile ancient texts with the far more complex, 15-level network I was actually feeling. What follows is not a refutation of tradition, but an attempt to understand where experience aligned with the texts, where it didn’t, and what that might mean for the way we read them.
When Maps Seemed to Fit
Like many, I was familiar with the popular New Age Buddhist chakra system: seven neatly stacked chakras (seven being a “cool” number, though traditional texts vary), each with a distinctive color, running from the perineum to the crown. According to this model, they are aligned along the spine and promise miraculous effects once they are “opened.” The practice was presented as a linear progression: open them one by one, starting with Muladhara, and when you finally reached the crown, enlightenment was supposedly attained.
I was also aware of the three channels — the central Sushumna, flanked by Ida and Pingala with their peculiar crisscrossing pattern, often associated with the caduceus and other esoteric interpretations.
The First Discrepancies
When I first felt the sensation exactly where the Buddhist chakra system depicts the first three chakras, I believed my experience fit this schema perfectly. But discrepancies soon emerged.
As my practice progressed, I discovered far more nodes where I could feel the sensation — not only along the spine but throughout the body. Furthermore, the clear feeling of flow suggested these “chakras” were open, yet no miracles occurred. I was particularly apprehensive about moving the sensation to the crown; if this constituted “opening” it, I expected something extraordinary, for better or worse. When I reluctantly directed my attention there and felt the sensation, nothing special happened. I heard no Tibetan trumpets of the Apocalypse.
This led me to a critical realization: either I wasn’t “opening” them correctly, or the supposed effects were not to be taken literally.
The Crisscrossing Mystery
Another source of confusion was the distinctive crisscrossing of Ida and Pingala. When I discovered my own lateral energy channels, they appeared as straight lines. The energy flowed vertically from one node to the next, up or down; it did not jump from right to left or vice versa.
A Body of Many Levels
Now, seeing that at each supposed chakra level there isn’t a single node but a constellation of eight — and discovering a total of fifteen levels instead of seven (including the extremities, which are entirely neglected in the classic model) — I concluded that the chakras are indeed located where the sensations occur, but their common descriptions are largely symbolic.
To me, they map stages of progress, but each stage must be cultivated throughout the entire network of the body, not at a single point.
The Elements Revisited
The first clue was the qualities attributed to the lower chakras: Muladhara to earth, Swadhisthana to water, Manipura to fire, and so on. This progression mirrored the evolving quality of the sensation itself as it refined — first viscous like lava, then fluid like water, next like a burning fire, then like air clearing the ashes, until it became so subtle that “ether” seemed a fitting description.
But this refinement was not confined to specific chakras. Muladhara, like all the others, began viscous and, through years of training, became ethereal. Swadhisthana did not begin fluid; it too followed the same path of refinement. The same was true for every node in the system.
Beyond Miracles
Similarly, the supposed miraculous effects were not tied to specific body areas but to stages in the perception of the energy body. I would say that “Levitation” was not physical but the internal sensation of zero gravity. The experience of being “as large as a mountain or as small as a grain of sand” described profound shifts in spatial perception.
The Missing Legs
Another puzzling omission was the neglect of the chakras in the legs, sometimes called the “lower chakras” in rare references and often linked to our primal, animal nature. Reading these texts felt like seeing Hic Sunt Dracones — here be dragons — a territory better avoided. Had I followed that advice, I would never have achieved the full integration of energy throughout my body.
My interpretation is again symbolic: before serious practice, one must master the basic instincts. This is the spirit of the often-skipped yamas and niyamas, which instruct us to approach practice without desires for power, recognizing our shared identity with others, and cultivating empathy and compassion.
The Practical Purpose of the Crossing
Finally, the classic crisscrossing of Ida and Pingala does not match my direct experience, where energy flows straight along the path of least resistance. In light of the procedures necessary for more advanced stages, I now see this is not an anatomical map, but a functional instruction. Interpreting the chakra system symbolically was for me the way from looking for miracles to mastering the practical procedures that awaken the central channel. It see it not as an anatomical description but as a practical instruction: to get results, don’t just move energy straight up the sides; consciously cross it from one lateral channel to the other.
This trains two opposing nodes simultaneously, a necessary condition for activating sensation in the central channel — where, in my experience, the practice shifted qualitatively. If you follow a straight path, you’ll miss the party.
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