Yes, chakra in the narutoverse really involves everything you do. Everything you do requires chakra, as inthis universe chakra is like the source of life or energy pertaining to them. In the case of taijutsu, it just doesnt consume as much as it would take for a shinobi to create walls of earth and lightning bolts.
Chakra also has a part to do with ninjutsu as well. Ninjutsu has to deal with shape manipulation, giving shape to your chakra, and nature manipulation which adds characteristics to your techniques (Fire, lightning, water, tools, etc)
So you use your chakra to firstly shape your chakra into the form you have an affinity for and then give it the characteristics of lightning which is what we are about to do. Any questions?