Sahasrara Chakra: the Crown Chakra.  There’s some variation in the literature about the details of Sahasrara…and maybe the details don’t matter so much.  Some texts have it seated in the space between the brain and the skull at the very top of the head.  In others it hovers over the crown of the head outside the physical body.

Sahasrara chakra is represented as a thousand-petalled lotus flower in full blossom at the crown of the head.  Its colour is violet, bright white or multicolours.

The 7th chakra relates to the brain and in particular the brain’s chemistry and circuitry.  It associates with the hypothalamus, which regulates body temperature.  Sahasrara relates to neurotransmitters such as serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine which all influence our mood.  It resides with the pineal gland which secretes melatonin regulating sleep and wakefulness.

Yoga philosophy sees us all with an unchanging, eternal, undamaged perfect spirit which has been overlain with harsh or misleading experiences, like layers of sticky mud which flung at it.  A little different to the 6 chakras beneath it, Sahasrara is a gateway through which an individual who has worked through all the other chakras connects with that unchanging perfect spirit in all other beings.  We experience the union, or yoga, with everything else.  There is no fear, doubt or longing.  It is possible to experience knowledge beyond words or intellect.