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body. Each of the orisha areas relates to one of the standard Hindu chakras. Following is a description of the various orishas, with each orisha's name paired with a chakra. Obatala orisha: First chakra Obatala is a creature of human form. White with purity, he cures illness and deformities. This orisha manages the brain, bones, and white fluids of the body. Elegba orisha: Second chakra The messenger of the orishas, Elegba holds ashe for his brethren and negotiates between the negative and positive forces in the body. This orisha governs the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Ogun orisha: Third chakra The ruler of iron, Ogun clears paths, specifically in relation to blockages in the body. Ogun runs the heart, kidney, adrenal glands, tendons, and sinews. Yemoja orisha: Fourth chakra As the mother of waters, Yemoja represents sexuality and nurturing. She is the protective energy of the feminine. She manages the womb, liver, breasts, and buttocks. Oshun orisha: Fifth chakra Oshun symbolizes clarity and feminine motion. With the power to heal with cool water, she assists with childbearing and fertility. Oshun is charged with the circulatory and elimination systems, digestive organs, and female pubic hair. Shango orisha: Sixth chakra Kingly and virile, Shango represents the fire and lightning of a warrior. He can also transform base substances into valuable elements. Shango runs the male reproductive system, bone marrow, and ashe. extremely human in their characteristics. Overall, despite their mixed traits, they are considered helpful and might inhabit the bodies of their worshipers, who often invoke them during dance and other rituals. The counterbalance is negative forces called ajogun, which can cause everything from accidents to depression. It is often necessary to free oneself of the ajogun to attain health and well-being and promote the flow of ashe, a vital life energy. The primary orishas were considered angelic beings that also emanated into the physical body. The seven major orishas were each to be internalized in a specific area of the body, thus opening the body to the One, or Olodumare, and the free flow of ashe. Another goal was to free a person from any ajoguns locked in the as Ayurveda, with philosophies and systems that include the chakras. Making use of chakras is part of the medicine of the Yorubic people. The Yorubic healing system is rooted in the Ifa Corpus, a religious text revealed to the mystic Orunmilla more than 4,000 years ago. This system is still practiced widely on the African continent, the Caribbean, and South America, having traveled there with African slaves. But Yoruba medicine originates from traditions even older than the Ifa Corpus. Archeologists track it to the migration of the East African population across the trans-African route from the mid-Nile—or Egypt—to the mid-Niger between 2,000 and 500 BCE. This area had long been settled, perhaps from as long ago as 65,000 BCE, by people from many cultures, among them people who referred to themselves as the Yoruba. They were an ancient, cultured, and mystical people who brought their knowledge into Egypt. However, their medicine and beliefs are also steeped in Egyptian philosophy, including the knowledge of herbs, divination, ritual, demonic release, and, most importantly, magic. 4 The Egyptian, and therefore Yoruba, medical systems include the knowledge of two creative principles and four elements. The soul and body are not considered distinct in these systems; rather, we are one being in two aspects. These systems also include an understanding of pathological toxins and the importance of the brain, spinal cord, and central nervous system, in addition to other bodily systems. The ancient Egyptians even used light therapeutically, such as to bleach the skin. The name of the primary Yoruba god is Olodumare, who is similar to Brahma of Hinduism, respected but not approached daily. Instead, humans turn to orishas, beings that intercede between the worlds of humanity and divinity. These are similar to Catholic saints, and many are We are each a mini-universe, a beautifully choreographed composite of subtle structures. 106 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k j a n u a r y / f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 6