Dear Subscribers,

Whether you care to contemplate the reality of energy vortices in your aura or skip this important aspect of our being and jump straight to conventional physiology is up to you, but personally, I find the chakras fascinating so if you are anything at all like me, they are worth a moment of your time. Otherwise, you can skip this section or the whole post, up to you, of course.

Let's however start at the very beginning. The word "chakra" means wheel so if you doubt the importance, take a look at the flag of India. The country with the second largest population in the world put a chakra on its flag. Since countless lecturers on the subject of chakras mispronounce the word, a little pronunciation guide might be in order. The word has a hard "ch" just as in "chai". No one says "shy" when they mean "chai" so use the "ch" and not an "s" or "sh" as many routinely say and often insist is correct. Even if we anglicize the word, it would be preferable to massacre the first vowel rather than the "c". The word is pronounced almost as if the first "a" is partly missing but not completely gone. I know, some people are going to say I'm wrong but that is to be expected.

Technically speaking, the chakras are in the aura, not the physical body. They are whirling vortices for distribution of energy and they have a perfect correlation with their counterparts in the endocrine system. Many people are confused about which is more important, the chakras or the endocrine glands and their hormones. There is also the proverbial question of which comes first, the spin in the chakra or the surge in hormones. For me, this is a no-brainer because the chakra spins before there is a response in the endocrine system so the subtle precedes the physical experience. I think this is easily proven by the power of suggestion. Take something that is not in the slightest bit authentic much less personal and see if you can prevent hormonal changes when watching a scary movie or listening to a third person account of an incident that triggers resonance. In short, imagination is just as effective in promoting an endocrine response as something more tangible and this is true with all the chakras, i.e. whether the stimulation promotes fear or sexual desire or jealousy or loftier sentiments such as compassion, equanimity, or insight, the event is initiated from the subtle to the dense . . . which is why we can anticipate before we participate and why we can think or feel before we act.

The Root

The first chakra is correlated with the adrenals and is the point at which spirit and matter are coordinated to create a physical presence. Taking a moment to consider this will pay rich dividends. We begin our presences without physical bodies. You might say that our lives in the physical realm begin with an intent that exists independently of our physicality. As the intent moves closer and closer to actualization, a point of connection with the physical realm is organized and thus begins the process of becoming an incarnate being. The first system of the body to develop in utero as a response to this creative impulse is the kidney-adrenal system and this is because the physical processes mirror the subtle processes. So, the primary purpose the adrenals is to protect the manifestation of spirit in matter. As such, it has first dibs on any resources needed to sustain the connection.

Pause for a moment and consider that while we can live without gonads or thyroid, not to mention the thymus and pineal glands, we cannot live without the adrenals. The adrenals are so efficient that the amount of hormones circulating can be increased enormously in a split second. Hormones work as catalysts that stimulate or inhibit various physiological functions. If energy is required to endure stress or flee danger, the energy is raided wherever it can be found. One of the easiest to observe phenomena is the relationship between the thyroid and adrenals because we know that if a person were born with a defective or weak thyroid gland, he or she might not be able to exhibit much mental acuity and might even be a cretin. However, what we actually note is that the vast majority of those put on thyroid medications are brilliant people who have experienced something that made them feel tired to the point of exhaustion.

Years ago, an endocrinologist spent one summer observing my work. I showed her the patient histories and said, "You can be sure this patient will be on Synthyroid." She said, "No" implying I was mistaken. I explained that I am not the one who would have suggested the thyroid hormones but it was nearly certain that the doctors she saw would have written such prescriptions. She continued saying that in Europe, such a doctor would lose his license. I am not sure this is actually true but I was relieved that we shared a common understanding that the overdiagnosis of thyroid problems is due to secondary symptoms usually related to the adrenals. In any event, since adrenal issues are invariably more critical than thyroid ones, every effort should be made to correct the root problems before addressing other symptoms. Over a period of many decades, I have observed that results are usually more satisfactory when this strategy is employed.

For the record, thyroid problems are actually quite difficult to diagnose because a late start for an appointment, traffic jam along the way, jarring noises, crowded elevators, anxiety about the pending tests, and nasty smells in the waiting room can all make a mess of the blood in which the hormones being tested are circulating so likely as not, repeated tests would give different results even if spaced only hours apart. Moreover, I am 98% certain that if between two tests, stress levels were reduced and patients (or people) were made to believe that there is some way they could control their energy levels, results would be better.

The exceptions might be when there is an actual disease or deficiency condition affecting the thyroid. For instance, I knew a seriously overweight person who developed a uterine condition that was eventually analyzed as the repository for iodine that should have been utilized by the thyroid. Most likely many such repositories in the body are necessary for all the chemicals and other loads that are not assimilated by the organs that might use similar substances. To make this clear, some forms of calcium, iron, iodine, and so on and so forth are industrial waste products or otherwise too crude to be used as supplements or medicine so the body has to eliminate them or warehouse them somewhere.

Examples

Let me give a few examples of the "misdiagnosis" syndrome. Many people who are pronounced thyroid deficient have cold hands and feet; but the system of heating and cooling in the body depends first of all on a group of (invisible) channels called nadi that have three main components: a passive and cooling (ida), active and heating (pingala), and sushumna which connects the base chakra to the crown chakra and allows the kundalini energy to ascend. If this seems irrelevant, then we have to inquire as to the origin of the caduceus and why it is used as a symbol of medicine. The understanding of subtle energies was very much appreciated in ancient times but largely ignored today. The nadi
have a major influence on perceptivity. This is	Used with permission: William Evans
because the actual awareness exists outside or independently of the physical body and only relies on sensory perceptions so as to become conscious. This might be clearer if worded differently: logical and scientific certainty about reality depends on material cognitive processes but the failure to observe something hardly proves that it does not exist. It merely suggests that our cognitive processes are limited by the density of our bodies and synaptic responses and proper alignment of our auras to our bodies.

The point here is simply that the cold hands and feet that are frequently associated with low thyroid function rarely if ever correlate with low intelligence. Rather, they correlate with interferences in the movement of energies which can make for inflammation in one area and cold in another. Anyone who has ever fallen off a horse, slid down a flight of stairs, or slipped on ice and landed on his or her tailbone knows that these events can sometimes be pivotal and linked to later illnesses. For instance, the late Hanna Kroeger taught a tail bone adjustment for leukemia. If it sounds unbelievable, you need to speak with people who were cured by this utterly simple strategy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRYX5D6ZlcA

If ever in doubt about whether something is thyroid or adrenal in origin, try a few simple questions. First, look for a history of accidents or injuries involving the coccyx. Be sure to include child birth and lifting of heavy objects. Second, study the sense of smell. If sensitivity to odors has increased, it is most likely that the adrenals are involved. For instance, if fumes from gasoline, paint, lighter fluids, cleaning agents, cosmetics, etc. have become more irritating, it's very likely that the adrenals are part of the problem. If sensitivity to sound is more distressing than to odor, it might be the reverse and the thyroid might be real problem. If there are circles under the eyes and you bruise easily, it's probably adrenals. If you have become allergic to more and more pollens and foods, it is also probably the adrenals. If women start developing facial hair, it might also be wise to look at the adrenals. However, because of the pirating of energy by the adrenals, it is possible that some consequences do indeed affect other systems of the body, including the reproductive, digestive, and other systems. If "repairs" first address the adrenals, it is probable that some secondary issues will self-correct once the adrenals are properly supported.

End of Part I, to be continued

Many blessings,

Ingrid

Copyright by Ingrid Naiman 2011

See Essay #2 on the Root Chakra

Related essays:

Olfactory Sensations
Adrenal Exhaustion

Chronic Fatigue

Introduction to the Dhatus
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