6.2.3  Body and Aura

In classical physics, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space, by having volume. This includes atoms and anything made up of them, but not other energy phenomena or waves such as light or sound. In modern physics, however, matter is not a fundamental concept because a universal definition of it is elusive; for example, the elementary constituenst of atoms may be particles, each having no volume individually, because they are only some background field excitations. Matter may exist in states or phases, such as solid, liquid, gas, plasma, Bose-Einstein condensates, fermionic condensates, and quark-gluon plasma.

On the other hand, the human body is the entire structure of a human being, which is composed of many different types of cells that together create tissues and subsequently organ systems. The study of the human body involves anatomy, physiology, histology and embryology. Chemically speaking, the human body is composed of elements including hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, calcium and phosphorus, which form the trillions of cells and non-cellular components of the body.

Aura is a hypothetical human energy field or colored emanation said to enclose a human body or any animal or object. Psychics and holistic medicine practitioners often claim to have the ability to see the size, color and type of vibration of an aura. The human aura is seen as a hidden anatomy that affect the health, and is often understood to comprise centers of vital force called Chakra and Qi.

However, auras or the ability to see them, have not been supported by any scientific evidence and they are considered to be pseudoscience. There have been numerous attempts to capture an energy field around the human body, but all obtained images are explained in terms of simple natural phenomena, such as heat emanating from a human body, which may seem like auras under infrared photography.

Chakra, meaning “wheel” or ”circle", is any center of subtle body believed to be psychic-energy centers in the esoteric traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. They are conceived as an energy focal point, bodily functions or psychic node in the subtle body, not the physical body, and connected by energy channels called Nadi.

The Chakra theory posited that human life simultaneously exists in two parallel dimensions, one is the physical body, and the other is psychological, emotional, mind, non-physical, called the “subtle body” which consists of energy channels connected by nodes of psychic energy called Chakra.

The important Chakras are stated in Buddhist and Hindu texts to be arranged in a column along the spinal cord, from its base to the top of the head, connected by vertical channels. The tantric traditions sought to master them, awaken and energize them through various breathing exercises or with assistance of a teacher. These Chakras were also symbolically mapped to specific human physiological capacity, seed syllables, sounds, subtle elements, and in some cases deities, colors and other motifs

Qigong also relies on a similar model of the human body as an esoteric energy system, except that it involves the circulation of “Qi”, or life-energy that flows through the energy channels called meridians, equivalent to the Nadi, but two other energies are also important: Jing, or primordial essence, and Shen, or spirit energy.

The ancient Chinese describe Qi as a “life force”, which they believe permeated everything and linked their surroundings together. They likened it to the flow of energy around and through the body, forming a cohesive functioning unit. By understanding its rhythm and flow they believed they could guide exercises and treatments to provide stability and longevity.