Juliu Horvath once said something that clearly explains why Chanrou values spirals so much:
"Each chakra is attached to the spine, nerves, and ganglia. The only way to truly release them is to spiral around them."
This statement connects two worlds—the energy system of Eastern tradition and the neural structure of Western anatomy. And Chanrou stands precisely at the intersection of these two worlds.
Chakras are not abstract concepts
Many people think that the term "chakra" is some kind of mystical language used in yoga classes.
But what Juliu was talking about was very specific.
Chakras are energy centers distributed along the spine, from the tailbone to the top of the head, totaling seven. Anatomically, each chakra corresponds to a specific ganglion—a cluster of nerve cells responsible for transmitting and regulating signals to surrounding organs and tissues.
In other words, chakras are not just a concept of energy; they have a very real physiological basis. When a chakra is "blocked," the corresponding nerve plexus is affected, and the function of surrounding organs and tissues is also affected.
That's why Juliu says they attach to the spine, nerves, and ganglia—because they really are.
Why a spiral?
This is the core question of the statement: Why is "the only way to truly release them is through a spiral"?
Imagine a wrung-out towel. To completely release the water from the towel, you can't just press in one direction—you need to rotate it, apply force from multiple directions simultaneously, so that every fiber is touched.
The same applies to the nerve plexuses surrounding the spine.
Linear movements—bending forward, leaning backward, moving left and right—can only exert tension in certain directions. But the nerve plexuses and the tissues surrounding the spine are three-dimensional; they have tension in all directions and need to be released in all directions.
A spiral is a movement that can simultaneously reach all directions in three-dimensional space. It not only mobilizes the joints, but also awakens the entire system—helping to release accumulated tension, stimulating the nervous system, and allowing the practitioner to reconnect with their inner self.
This is why all of Chanrou's movements have a spiral element. It's not for aesthetics, nor for challenge, but because it's a way to truly reach the depths of the soul.
It's not an isolated action, but an integrated system.
Chanrou's approach is not to treat a particular part in isolation.
It integrates breathing, spinal movement, and rhythm to stimulate deep energy release. With each spiral movement, several things happen simultaneously: the spine moves in multiple planes, breathing is guided in this rotation, the rhythm switches the nervous system from analytical mode to perceptual mode, and deep tissues are touched in this three-dimensional flow.
This kind of integration cannot be achieved through isolated stretching or strengthening. You can spend a lot of time stretching a muscle, but if the nerve plexus around the spine is not released, the tension will keep coming back.
Chanrou intervenes from a more fundamental level—by causing the spine to spiral, awakening the nerve plexus, and restoring the smooth flow of energy.
What are you doing with each spiral you practice?
When you do a spiral movement in a Chanrou class, you feel your spine rotating, your body extending, and your breath flowing.
But beneath this feeling, much more is happening:
The nerve plexuses surrounding the spine are gently stimulated and released through the spiral movements. Long-accumulated tension deep within is slowly released in this multi-directional flow. The nervous system recalibrates in the rhythmic movements, de-escalating from a state of chronic alertness. Energy begins to flow again through the various centers of the spine.
This is why many people describe a feeling beyond just "muscle relaxation" after completing Chanrou's training—a deeper feeling—that something has been opened up, something that has been accumulating for a long time has been released, and the whole person feels an indescribable lightness.
Juliu summed up that indescribable feeling in one sentence:
Those are chakras, which are truly released through the spiral.
The spiral is the soul of Chanrou.
It's not just a movement shape, but a key—to unlock the deepest channels in the spine, allowing the body to return to its natural flow and freedom.
