Kundalini Yoga Glossary
Five Tattwas
The five gross elements, earth, water, fire, air and ether, each associated with one of the first five chakras.
Meaning
What the Five Tattwas Mean
The first five chakras are each associated with one of the five Tattwas, the gross elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether, and the qualities each element represents. The sixth and seventh chakras correspond to more subtle realms, so they have no Tattwa correlation.
Earth belongs to the first chakra, Muladhara. Water to the second, Swadhisthana. Fire to the third, Manipura. Air to the fourth, Anahata. Ether to the fifth, Vishuddha.
In Practice
How It’s Used
Prana, the life force, powers the chakras. Clearing emotional and physical blocks in the chakras associated with the Tattwas is part of how Kundalini Yoga balances body, mind and spirit.
The five Tattwas are described as the five most dense, or gross, elements within a larger set of 31 tattwas: a 31-minute meditation is said to affect all of them, of which these five are the ones most commonly discussed.
