Question: I watched this... odd little video yesterday and wondered what your opinion is about Chakras and the things he talks about. Most of it is a little unelievable but if there is any truth to these things...Wow.

Hi god7, it’s hard to know without seeing the video you’re talking about. I’ve heard about the chakras but I don’t know a lot about them.

The chakras are an idea from Hinduism and traditional Indian medicine. I think it’s about balancing energies and improving health.

I can only give you my general opinion as I don’t know anything about the science behind this. I think that the traditional Indian and Chinese medicines have proven to be quite successful over the many years that they have been practiced. They are all about balancing your lifestyle to prevent illness and treating problems in a ‘holistic’ way when they do arise. This means that rather than just identifying the problem then prescribing medicine, these treatments address the diet, exercise and mental health. I think that a holistic approach is probably better for a lot of problems. For example, if a person is obese, you could give them lap band surgery to decrease appetite and hopefully their weight. Or, you could try to improve their diet and exercise, and address any mental issues which might affect the way that they feel about themselves and their body.

Western medicine (the kind we are familiar with in Australia) sometimes uses a holistic approach but is only applied when there is a problem.

If I found myself with a serious infection or injury, then I would be heading to the emergency department, not the local Chakra practitioner. But if I had an ongoing problem, like chronic pain, or a sort of general feeling of not being totally well, then I would probably try both.

Even if there is nothing wrong with you, these traditional concepts of health and balance seem like they can only do good things.