“There is a bridge between time and eternity; this bridge is the individual soul, the Jiva.”
Chandogya Upanishad
What is a chakra?
Chakras are part of Hindu practices, but have also have played a huge role in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Buddhism, Reiki, Healing Touch, and so many other energy works.
Chakra means “wheel” or “vortex” in Sanskrit. With your chakras, you have these energy vortices that act as a bridge between the spiritual and the physical. They are not physical–you can’t pick one up and sell it. It’s an essence of the individual. It’s an aspect of consciousness, much like auras are aspects of consciousness.
How do chakras affect me?
If you don’t know about them, you might not ever think that these energy centers really play a role in your life. But balancing these energy points, you can feel more energized, calmer, and happier.
When chakras are out of balance, they can make you tired, angry, upset, depressed, anxious, confused, or disconnected. They can make your joints hurt, exacerbate asthma, and even cause pain. Through clearing these blockages, clients have experienced more vitality.
How many chakras are there?
The 7 main chakras is the system that most refer to when talking about chakras. We technically have these energy sites all over our bodies. Our palms, finger tips, elbows, knees, feet–all over! These are useful with things like martial arts and energy healing.
Below are the 7 main chakras. The Sanskrit name is in parentheses:
- Root (Muladhara) – Basically at the very bottom of your body. It’s purpose is the foundation of your life and is associated with survival and stability. When you go through a life change or feel like something might change, you Root Chakra might be unbalanced.
- Sacral (Svadhisthana) – Just below your belly button on the front side–on your sacrum on the back. Your sacrum is the triangle that goes from the 2 dots on the bottom of your back to your tailbone. The purpose of this chakra is movement and flow, and is directly correlated to your emotional identity. When this becomes unbalanced, emotions run high and sexuality / sexual desires are wonky.
- Solar Plexus (Manipura) – About a hand-width above your belly button, directly over your stomach organ. This is your energy, power, self-esteem, and willpower. When life feels like it’s spinning out of control and you don’t know what to do, this chakra can be closed off. When you’re taking control of every situation, even ones you don’t need to, this chakra can be overreaching and also unbalanced.
- Heart (Anahata) – Over your heart, your heart center. This one has to do with love, not just romantic love, but love expression, so your compassion and ability to be vulnerable. This can be off when you aren’t loving yourself or have trouble expressing love for yourself or others.
- Throat (Visuddha) – Located over your throat, this chakra is responsible for communication and expression. When this isn’t functioning quite right, you can find it hard to speak or share, and you definitely will have problems with vulnerability.
- Third Eye (Anja) – Between your eyebrows lies this center of intuition and insight. When this is off, you might experience difficulty with imagination, clarity, having direction, or knowing what to do next.
- Crown (Sahasrara) – On top of your head, this chakra is your connection with divinity and spirituality.
How can I fix my chakras?
Well, that really depends on if your charkas are in excess or deficient, and which ones are unbalanced. Seeing an energy healer like a reiki practitioner or Healing Touch practitioner can really help and bring you more aligned with Center.
Colors, foods, sounds, meditations, mudras, yoga poses–all of these can play a role in helping you balance chakras. But there’s also work to be done. Sometimes, it’s doing something like finding out what your Enneagram is or your Myer’s Briggs Personality Test to help you find out more about you to help with your root chakra. Sometimes, it’s learning to say no and set boundaries to help your throat chakra.
There are so many books that can help you heal and balance your chakras. Most of it starts with self reflection and awareness of how you are responding or not responding. Whatever you do, make sure that you give yourself space to heal from what might come up. See if you can have a mentor or coach or counselor that you can rely on.
There’s actually a great video from a Nickelodeon Cartoon called Avatar: The Last Airbender that has a great explanation with a guideline for healing and balancing the chakras. It’s a quick little video, and the show is also awesome!
How can I learn more?
We will be hosting a series to go more in depth with the chakra system throughout the year. For all of the details and to RSVP, make sure to check out our Classes and Workshops page. Also follow our Facebook and / or join our Meetup for all of our upcoming events.