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| COMMENTARY |
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| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 9
| Issue : 3 | Page : 167-168 |
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Diving into the divinity of the lumbosacral spine: The Muladhara Chakra
Suyash Singh1, Shruti Sinha2
1 Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, India
2 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Apollomedics Superspeciality Hospital, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
| Date of Submission | 15-May-2022 |
| Date of Acceptance | 04-Jun-2022 |
| Date of Web Publication | 13-Sep-2022 |
Correspondence Address:
Suyash Singh
Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/joss.joss_20_22
How to cite this article:
Singh S, Sinha S. Diving into the divinity of the lumbosacral spine: The Muladhara Chakra. J Spinal Surg 2022;9:167-8 |
The spine is one of the first organs to develop embryologically and it represents the confluence center of energy flow being connected to nerves all over the body; it is like the transformer in an electric circuit. Our Vedas have defined the eight chakras “Astachakra navad varadeva nampurayodhya.” Out of the eight, five are situated on the spinal cord, whereas the other three are related to the brain. As per Indian mythology and ancient books, the human body has seven major “Chakras” or “wheels of lights.” The five Chakras are situated along the spine and have a specific role in controlling the physiology of different organs. It is not possible to see these Chakras on anatomical dissection or surgical corridor because all these Chakras are components of our astral body and not our elemental body. However, authors believe that the nerve plexus around the vertebral column has the most characteristic resemblance with Chakras considering the similarity in the pathophysiologic role. Among the seven Chakras, the most important one is “root Chakra” or “Muladhara” [Figure 1]. | Figure 1: Diagrammatic representation of Muladhara Chakra in our astral body
Click here to view |
Muladhara Chakra is situated at the base of the spinal column. Mythologically, it is situated below the genitals and above the anus; has four petals of crimson hue, which represent four letters ‒ Vama, Sama, Shama, and Shhama. If we correlate the location and function, we may consider that Muladhara Chakra is nothing else but the nerve plexus around the lower end of the spinal cord (Sushumna). The four petals are considered a reflection of the rectum, uterus, bladder, and testis. Neurologically, the sacral plexus is formed by anterior rami of S2-4 and some contribution from L4-5 and these nerves supply the same area being represented by the four petals of Muladhara Chakra. Our Indian ancient books highlight the importance of Muladhara Chakra as the chief controller of energy flow in-out or upward-downward in the body. It controls the flow of urine, feces, semen, fetus, and vayu (air; intestinal). Anatomically, these functions are controlled by the inferior hypogastric plexus.
In the study by Sweta et al. and Joshi BC, the functional resemblance of Muladhara Chakra with the inferior hypogastric plexus is highlighted.[1] Vedic science believes that the deity of Muladhara Chakra is Dakini. The God or controller in the astral body is believed to supervise the flow of sensory impulses in our body. Herein, sensory impulses not only mean neurological senses, i.e., touch, pressure, pain, or temperature but also the illumination of knowledge, and hence, there is “something” above our scientific understanding which connects the lumbosacral region with knowledge center, i.e., brain directly (seat of somatoform pain and dysesthetic pain or nonresponsive lumbosacral pain syndromes).[2] The deity Dakini represents sensory afferent centers and is believed to consist of peripheral ganglionic cells. In his embryological origin theory, Acharya et al. suggested that Muladhara chakra develops from mesoderm and is associated with the adrenal gland functionally.[3] All the Chakras in our body are connected to one specific endocrine gland and hence the orchestral control is actually neuroendocrine and not just sensory afferent nerves. According to Maxwell's “gap junction theory,” three characteristics features are attached to each Chakra ‒ (a) a physical base present in the dorsal central nervous system, (b) a concentration point activating the physical base, and (c) impact of that physical base on secretions from a particular gland which in turn affect the brain function.
Muladhara Chakra or Brahma Chakra is a main energy source which activates at birth or in fact its activation only leads to the propulsion of the fetus and instills the ability inside the newborn to face new challenges.[4] The nervous interconnection runs from epidural internal vertebral venous plexus through inferior hypogastric plexus and plexus leading to sympathetic and parasympathetic representing areas in the brain. This understanding of current (energy or Shakti) flow from Muladhara Chakra to Agna Chakra indirectly represents internal engineering of the body and possible explanation of somatoform pain disorders and nonconclusive nonmedical management responsive lumbosacral pain disorders. Henceforth, Ayurvedic science prescribes Panchkarma and Pranayama as a therapy of lumbar spondylosis and many spine surgeons also advise the same. As a standard signature prescription of lumbar spondylosis with chronic back pain, one usually focuses of avoiding soft mattress as it disturbs the normal posture of the vertebral column and back-strengthening exercises. These stretching exercises have been described thousands of years back in our Upanishads and Vedas as Suryanamaskar, Nauka Asan Yoga, Marjaryasana, Balasana, and Anjali Mudra. In their systemic review, Wieland et al. concluded that there are low-to-moderate improvements in back pain-related problems at 3 and 6 months in patients prescribed Indian yoga as adjuvant therapy.[5] These Yoga asanas (Yoga therapy) are believed to activate our Muladhara Chakra which subsequently takes care of the central somatic pain pathway and relieves patients through its neuroendocrine orchestral control. The energy wheel in Muladhara Chakra forms the basis for the origin of our spiritual growth.
The energy originating in Muladhara Chakra tends to ascend upward to Swadishtana Chakra, located above certain vertebral levels of Muladhara Chakra (situated at base; sacrum). It is a natural divine characteristic of this energy “Shakti” (which is believed to be in form of coiled serpent inside the bottom of Muladhara Chakra) to rise above and enlighten the whole astral body with energy. The posterior pore or lower opening of the spine column (Sushmna) is called Brahma Randra or Brahma Dwara. This door is believed to be closed by serpentine or Energy (Shakti). When the Muladhara Chakra is activated, the dormant energy called “Kundalini” awakens. Kundalini is considered as female power energy and symbolizes the effects of “estrogen.” Mythologically, problems with the rise in Kundalini Shakti along the epidural plexus or along the various Chakras leads to clinical symptomatology similar to what we see in pathophysiological problems with estrogen imbalance like osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is another important cause of lumbosacral spondylosis.
Lumbar pain is one of the most commonly encountered conditions for any neurosurgeon or spine surgeon. Majority of the patients lie in the spectrum where decision-making is very difficult and the root cause of pain is never understood. The scientific correlation between imbalance in astral Muladhara Chakra and such undiagnosed low back pain is still a conundrum; the answer to which might be hidden deep inside our Upanishads or Vedas. It is a food for thought and an unanswered mystery which needs a larger multicentric and multi-disciplinary study.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Sweta KM, Awasthi HH, Godbole A, Prajapati S. Physio-anatomical resemblance of inferior hypogastric plexus with Muladhara Chakra: A cadaveric study. Ayu 2017;38:7-9.  [ PUBMED] [Full text] |
| 2. | Joshi BC. Neurology in ancient India: Mūládhāra Cakra – A physiological reality. Indian J Hist Sci 1986;21:148-78. |
| 3. | Acharya B, Vinay KS, Niti S. Chakra Genesis, A correlation between evolution of Chakras & Embryogenesis. J Yoga Physio 2018;6:555694. |
| 4. | Maxwell R. The physiological foundation of yoga chakra expression. Zygon 2009;44:807-24. |
| 5. | Wieland LS, Skoetz N, Pilkington K, Vempati R, D'Adamo CR, Berman BM. Yoga treatment for chronic non-specific low back pain. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2017;1:CD010671. |
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