Manipura
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| Tantric chakras |
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Sahasrara |
Manipura (Sanskrit: मणिपूर, Maṇipūra) called 'city of jewels' is the third primary chakra according to Hindu tradition.
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[edit] Description
It is positioned at the navel region and it has ten petals which match the vrittis of spiritual ignorance, thirst, jealousy, treachery, shame, fear, disgust, delusion, foolishness and sadness.
Manipura is associated with dynamism, energy, and will-power (Itcha shakti.) It is associated with the power of fire, and digestion. Manipura is said to radiate and distribute prana to the rest of the body. In this sense, it is roughly similar to the Chinese idea of the dantian in qigong.
[edit] Symbolism
It is associated with the following:
[edit] Practices
In kundalini yoga, different practices for arousing and balancing the energies of Manipura include various asanas which work on that part of the body, pranayama, Uddiyana bandha (exhaling and pulling back and up of the abdomen and diaphragm respectively) and agnisara kriya (practising jalandhara bandha, and moving the abdomen in and out).
[edit] Other Associations
In the endocrine system, Manipura is said to be associated with the pancreas, and the outer adrenal glands, the adrenal cortex. These glands create important hormones involved in digestion, converting food into energy for the body, in the same way that Manipura radiates prana throughout the body. In Chinese qigong, there exists 3 Dantians, which distribute and regulate Qi energy (a concept similar to Indian Prana). The lower Dantian exists in the region of the stomach.
Western occultists make different kabbalistic associations with Manipura. For some, it relates to the sephira of Hod and Netzach, Netzach being that quality of energy to overcome different obstacles, and Hod being the tendency to control and break down energy into different forms, the two being contending and balancing forces, like the forces of anabolism and catabolism in the human body.
[edit] Alternative names
- Tantra: Dashachchada, Dashadala Padma, Dashapatra, Dashapatrambuja, Manipura, Manipuraka, Nabhipadma, Nabhipankaja
- Vedas (late Upanishads): Manipura, Manipuraka, Nabhi Chakra
- Puranic: Manipura, Nabhi Chakra
