Book excerpt: Chakras are the body's subtle energy centers, vital toour physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. This comprehensive book provides a detailed guide to the characteristics of each chakra and how you can work with them to heal and balance every aspect of your life. Beginning with an outline of the key energy concepts, including prana, the nadis and kundalini energy, the book goes on to explain the basic techniques for working with chakras, including: meditating on yantras, the geometric representation of chakra energies, mantras, exercises, and journaling. This highly accessible guide explores each chakra in depth, describing key characteristics and related physical disorders, providing helpful yoga poses and breathing techniques, and giving clear information on how to recognize the signs that a specific chakra is overactive, underactive or balanced. You will also discover how the chakras relate to each other and find advice on protecting yourself while working energetically. This is an essential book for anyone wanting to achieve total well-being through understanding and working with these vital energy centers.