The 7 Chakras Explained, with Meditations | Breath of Fire

Q: What materials we use

We work with three fabrics. Three. Not thirty.Brushed Organic Cotton Jersey (220g, made in Portugal) soft, slightly thick, with a peach-skin touch. Our flagship. The Sohang, Yamala and Mahan are knitted from this.Mercerized Organic Cotton Jersey (180g, made in Portugal) lighter, smoother, with a subtle natural sheen. Our new Essence Collection uses this for models like Ankaa, Nashira, Maia.Bamboo Viscose blended with Organic Cotton (made in Turkey) cool, breathable, fluid. Used for the Lilii pants and the Mizar Kimono. Bamboo regrows in three to five years, without replanting and without irrigation.Most pieces include around 8% certified elastane, enough to hold shape over years of wear, without losing breath.We use every meter of yarn we knit. What we don't sew, we save for repairs and samples. Nothing goes to waste.

Q: Three generations of women

Three generations of women.My grandmother Johanna sewed evening dresses by hand. Long, careful, beautiful work, a kind of patience that has all but disappeared.My mother, Cornelia, learned from her. In 2004, she founded Breath of Fire. The very first piece she designed, the Sohang, was created on the floor of her living room in Switzerland, with a yoga teacher friend named Christina. It is still our flagship today.Today, I ( Pernelle) run the brand. I do not redesign what works. I extend it. The Essence Collection, launched in 2025, sits beside the Evergreen line. New silhouettes, same intention.We do not design for trends. We design for the body in practice, for the moment when the breath deepens, when the posture lengthens, when you forget what you are wearing.That is the test of a piece. Forgetting it on. Returning to it.

A warmth at the base of the spine. A hum in the throat. A soft light between the eyebrows. In the yogic tradition, the chakras are more than metaphors: they are seven energy centres aligned along the spine, wheels of life force that, when balanced, let the body, the mind and the breath move as one.

Each chakra has its own colour, its own element, its own Sanskrit name and its own seed sound (bīja mantra). Each one corresponds to a region of the body and a quality of consciousness. When the energy flows, we feel grounded, present, connected. When it stalls, through stress, fatigue or simple inattention, we feel it in both body and mind.

The seven-chakra system we know today comes mainly from the Tantric tradition, notably the Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa (16th century), and was later popularised in the West. It sits alongside other maps of the subtle body, such as the five koshas.

Here is a simple guide, with a meditation suggestion for each.

1. Mūlādhāra: root chakra

Location: base of the spine.
Element: earth. Colour: red. Seed sound: LAM.
Qualities: grounding, safety, stability.

Meditation: Sit cross-legged on a mat. Lengthen the spine. Feel the contact between the sit bones and the earth beneath you. Inhale, lift slightly. Exhale, root down. Three to five minutes. Visualise a deep red light pulsing at the base of the spine, connecting you to the earth.

Sohang yoga pants in raspberry red organic cotton — Rooted in red: the Sohang pants in raspberry.

2. Svādhiṣṭhāna: sacral chakra

Location: just below the navel.
Element: water. Colour: orange. Seed sound: VAM.
Qualities: creativity, sensuality, emotion.

Meditation: Lie on your back, knees bent. One hand on the chest, one on the belly. Breathe slowly into the belly and let it rise and fall. Visualise a warm orange light flowing in the lower abdomen. The water of the body, moving.

3. Maṇipūra: solar plexus chakra

Location: solar plexus.
Element: fire. Colour: yellow. Seed sound: RAM.
Qualities: personal power, will, digestion.

Meditation: Sit tall. Eyes closed. Breath even. Bring awareness to the centre of the body, just above the navel. Visualise a bright yellow sun glowing there. Feel its warmth radiating outward. The fire of clarity, the strength of intention. In Kundalini yoga, this centre is also awakened by the Breath of Fire.

4. Anāhata: heart chakra

Location: centre of the chest.
Element: air. Colour: green. Seed sound: YAM.
Qualities: love, compassion, connection.

Meditation: Sit comfortably. Hands at the heart. Breathe into the centre of the chest. Visualise a soft green light expanding with each inhale. Silently repeat: "May I be at peace. May all beings be at peace." The opening that touches everyone, close to the spirit of Ahimsa.

5. Viśuddha: throat chakra

Location: base of the throat.
Element: ether. Colour: blue. Seed sound: HAM.
Qualities: expression, communication, truth.

Meditation: Sit tall. Eyes closed. Inhale through the nose. On the exhale, hum a long, soft "mmm" sound, as in Bhrāmarī, the humming bee breath. Feel the vibration in the throat, the jaw, the upper chest. Visualise a clear blue light at the throat. Five rounds. The voice that needs no audience to be true, the voice of Satya.

6. Ājñā: third eye chakra

Location: between the eyebrows.
Element: light. Colour: indigo. Seed sound: OM.
Qualities: intuition, insight, inner wisdom.

Meditation: Sit with the spine long. Close the eyes. Gently turn the gaze upward, behind closed lids, toward the space between the eyebrows. Visualise a deep indigo light there. Let thoughts come and go without grasping. The inner eye that sees beyond what the outer eyes show.

7. Sahasrāra: crown chakra

Location: top of the head.
Element: beyond the elements, pure consciousness. Colour: violet or white. Seed sound: silence.
Qualities: spiritual connection, unity, transcendence.

Meditation: Sit in stillness. Crown of the head lifted, as if a thread pulled it gently toward the sky. Visualise a violet, then white light blooming at the crown, opening upward, dissolving the boundary between self and everything. Sit as long as feels natural.

Amba wrap jacket in bordeaux worn with Inderjit 3/4 yoga pants — Colours chosen for the practice: the Amba wrap and Inderjit pants, from our bordeaux selection.

A note on practice

The chakras open over time, not by force. A few minutes a day is enough. The body knows what to do. Your role is to listen.

Wear something that does not pull at the abdomen: the breath needs to be free, especially in chakra work. Our Sohang pants and the Essence collection are designed with that in mind. And if you would like to choose a colour for a chakra you want to work with, read our guide to spiritual colours and their meanings.

Frequently asked questions

What are the 7 chakras in order?

From the base of the spine to the crown: Mūlādhāra (root), Svādhiṣṭhāna (sacral), Maṇipūra (solar plexus), Anāhata (heart), Viśuddha (throat), Ājñā (third eye) and Sahasrāra (crown).

What do the chakra colours mean?

The colours follow the rainbow, from red at the root to violet and white at the crown. They are a support for visualisation: each colour helps the attention settle on a region of the body and its quality.

How long should a chakra meditation last?

Three to five minutes per chakra is a good start. You can work with one chakra a day, or move through all seven in about twenty minutes.

Can chakra meditation replace medical care?

No. Chakra work is a spiritual and experiential practice. It can accompany well-being, but it does not replace a diagnosis or treatment. If you have a health concern, see a doctor.

Practise with pieces that breathe with you

Seven wheels. One breath turning them.

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What you wear matters. The texture against skin. The breath that moves freely. Pieces that soften with the years.

Our clothes are certified organic cotton, knitted and sewn in Portugal in small batches since 2009. Natural fibers. Slow craft. Clothing for those who pay attention to what touches the body.

Near Porto, in Portugal, two small family businesses work side by side for us. The first, in one village, knits our organic cotton from scratch and dyes it to our specifications. The second, in the next village, cuts and sews. We have been visiting both every year since 2009. We know the people by name. We share meals when we visit. They have watched our collections grow alongside their own children.

During the Covid years, when organic cotton and bamboo became briefly impossible to source in Portugal, we found a second family workshop in Turkey — also ethical, also certified, also personal. About 5% of what we make passes through their hands today. The Mizar Kimono and a few Lilac pieces from past collections come from there.

Most yoga brands buy fabric from a market — pre-made rolls, ready to cut. We don't. Every meter of jersey we use is knitted from scratch to our specifications. That is why the Sohang feels the way it does. That is why a five-year-old pair softens instead of wearing thin.

A slower way of making clothes. Sometimes inconvenient. Always worth it.

Sustainability for us is not a marketing department. It is a series of small, sometimes annoying choices we have made since 2009.

We chose certified organic cotton when it was 40% more expensive than conventional or plastic fabrics. We still pay that premium today. We grow without external capital which means we cannot afford to overstock, so we don't. We use every meter of yarn we order, even when it means smaller runs and longer waits. We are 100% self funded and all the money is placed in ethical funds in a local bank.

We focus on evergreen pieces, the Sohang, the Amrit, the Amba instead of seasonal collections. Some of these designs are over a decade old and still our bestsellers. A garment worn for ten years on a body is the most sustainable thing a fashion brand can make.

Our fabrics are dyed with processes gentle enough for a baby's skin. We package in either recycled or biodegradable bags. We ship from our small warehouse in Cully (Switzerland) or our partner in Germany, never overseas.

We don't tick every box. We are not perfect. But these are the choices we make, and we make them visible.

We work with three fabrics. Three. Not thirty.

Brushed Organic Cotton Jersey (220g, made in Portugal) soft, slightly thick, with a peach-skin touch. Our flagship. The Sohang, Yamala and Mahan are knitted from this.

Mercerized Organic Cotton Jersey (180g, made in Portugal) lighter, smoother, with a subtle natural sheen. Our new Essence Collection uses this for models like Ankaa, Nashira, Maia.

Bamboo Viscose blended with Organic Cotton (made in Turkey) cool, breathable, fluid. Used for the Lilii pants and the Mizar Kimono. Bamboo regrows in three to five years, without replanting and without irrigation.

Most pieces include around 8% certified elastane, enough to hold shape over years of wear, without losing breath.

We use every meter of yarn we knit. What we don't sew, we save for repairs and samples. Nothing goes to waste.

Three generations of women.

My grandmother Johanna sewed evening dresses by hand. Long, careful, beautiful work, a kind of patience that has all but disappeared.

My mother, Cornelia, learned from her. In 2004, she founded Breath of Fire. The very first piece she designed, the Sohang, was created on the floor of her living room in Switzerland, with a yoga teacher friend named Christina. It is still our flagship today.

Today, I ( Pernelle) run the brand. I do not redesign what works. I extend it. The Essence Collection, launched in 2025, sits beside the Evergreen line. New silhouettes, same intention.

We do not design for trends. We design for the body in practice, for the moment when the breath deepens, when the posture lengthens, when you forget what you are wearing.

That is the test of a piece. Forgetting it on. Returning to it.

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The 7 Chakras Explained, with a Meditation for Each