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Chakra (cakra in Sanskrit) means “wheel” and refers to energy points in your body. They are thought to be spinning disks of energy that should stay “open” and aligned, as they correspond to bundles of nerves, major organs, and areas of our energetic body that affect our emotional and physical well-being.
Chakras are highways for energy flow and when they become blocked or unbalanced it can manifest in emotional, physical or spiritual imbalance. Blockages can be caused by gradual builds ups of physical, emotional or spiritual pain, trauma or stress, or simply poor wellbeing habits.
There are many ways to keep your chakras balanced, taking good care of yourself, eating and sleeping well, meditating and giving yourself good quality self-care will always be beneficial, also you can use healing therapies such as reiki, reflexology and crystal healing.
Meditate
Meditation and visualisation are the easiest way to keep your chakras balanced.
Meditating to a good guided meditation such as these free meditations from Insight Timer (https://insighttimer.com/meditation-topics/chakrameditation/browse/guided) is really useful.
During these guided meditations you will learn the visualisation process of clearing your individual chakras and keeping them spinning freely.
As you deepen your practice you will become more attuned to to noticing imbalances in individual chakras, you will also find with meditation and visualisation you will be able to bring harmony to these areas more effectively.
Yoga
"Yoga is one of the most basic ways to balance each chakra because it creates alignment in the physical body. Balancing and stabilizing your physical body through asana (yoga posture) practice also rebalances your subtle body. This realigns the chakras, which regulate specific behaviours, and makes it easier to overcome outdated patterns, beliefs, and habits." - Everyday Yoga
Crystals
Crystals are highly effective at helping to clear our blockages and bring us back into alignment. Their vibrational energy charges and balances our systems to clear and refresh our energy highways, leaving a clear directional flow.
You can place your crystal in your left hand if you are concentrating on a particular chakra, or on/near the corresponding areas of your body to do an all over cleanse. Wearing pieces of jewellery is also a good way to keep some balance if you are feeling a little misaligned.
Putting It Together
Root Muladhara Chakra
Colour: Red
Location: Base of the spine
Associations: Security, finances, grounding
Element: Earth
Mantra: Lam
Crystals: Hematite, Smoky Quartz, Red Jasper, Black Obsidian, Garnet
To take care of your root chakra, do just that, take care of your roots. Your root chakra governs your foundation, so take your shoes and sock off and get some dirt between your toes. Stand on the grass, visualise roots stretching from the soles of your feet burrowing down into the earth keeping you connected, balanced, rooted.
Visualising the colour red as you meditate. Practising the mountain pose in yoga roots and connects you to the ground.
Imbalanced - You may feel more anxious, have low mood, have trouble enforcing personal boundaries, feeling walked over, be feeling disconnected and physically, may have immune problems.
Balanced – Better mindset, you may feel more stable and grounded, setting and honouring better boundaries.
Sacral Svadhishthana Chakra
Colour: Orange
Location: Pelvis
Association: Sexuality, libido, appetite, creative flow, desire, motivation
Element: Water
Mantra: Vam
Crystals: Carnelian, Peach Moonstone, Tiger’s Eye, Orange Calcite
To care for the Sacral Chakra, visualise orange. If you can then go for a swim to get your exercise. If it’s tricky then go for a walk near a body of water or take a relaxing salt bath. Use an invigorating orange oil bath oil! Have a lovely fresh orange juice or a nutritious spicy butternut squash soup.
The sacral chakra benefits from hip-opening yoga poses like the Warrior II pose. This chakra is also associated with emotions being a water chakra, so try some journalling. Observe your feelings without judgement, watch your thoughts and feelings sail across a river while you stand rooted on the riverbank. Watch as the positive and negative float by, leaving you untroubled on the shore.
Imbalanced – You may be feeling more sensitive, have an under or overactive libido, you may be feeling tense or more controlling than usual, or may feel unable to feel real joy.
Balanced – You will feel more energetic, more passionate, have more of a sense of creativity, feel more loving and sensual.
Solar Plexus Manipura Chakra
Colour: Yellow
Location: Solar plexus and navel
Associations: Inner Strength, determination, self-esteem, confidence
Element: Fire
Mantra: Ram
Crystals: Citrine, Yellow Aventurine, Sunstone, Rutilated Quartz
The Solar Plexus chakra loves a bright, sunny day, some happy, upbeat tunes and a good dance around the kitchen. The yoga Plank pose is also good for this chakra as it challenges the core and tightens up your inner stability from the middle.
I like to light a yellow candle and remind myself how wonderful it is to be alive! How amazing I am (as we all are!), let out my inner Leo and really own my throne.
Imbalance – You may be suffering from low self-esteem, have digestion problems, a lack of motivation, be feeling insecure.
Balanced – You will feel more empowered, more confident, have more creativity, feel more of a sense of optimism.
Heart Anahata Chakra
Colour: Green
Location: Heart
Associations: Love, compassion, empathy, kindness, self-love, self-acceptance, positive regard
Element: Air
Mantra: Yam
Crystals: Rose Quartz, Green Moonstone, Rhodonite, Malachite
A wonderful, chest/heart opening yoga pose for this chakra is the Camel Pose. Stretching back, opening your chest and doing some good deep breathing exercises. Even just being outside in nature (my cure for everything!), reaching your chin up to the sky, opening your chest and taking some long, deep lungfuls of air, reminding yourself of everything you’ve got to be grateful for.
Have a fresh, nutrient packed green smoothie, crack open your best loving affirmations and really practice the self-love and compassion. Think of someone you might feel a bit resentful or angry about, visualise a pink or green ball of energy encompassing you and them. Forgive them, if you can't forgive them, forgive the act that hurt or angered you. Practice this without judgement if you can’t feel love and forgiveness right away, we’re spirits having a very human existence! Forgiveness will come, and when it does, you’ll feel lighter for it.
Imbalanced - You may have poor self-imagery, feel mistrust, feel more jealousy/envy, be judgemental, and physically you may have circulatory issues.
Balanced – You will feel more compassionate, have a better sense of empathy, feel more self-love, have a better sense of inner peace, forgiveness and understanding.
Throat Vishuddha Chakra
Colour: Blue
Location: Throat
Associations: Expression, communication, manifestation, intuition
Element: Spirit
Mantra: Ham
Crystals: Blue Lace Agate, Celestite, Amazonite, Aquamarine
Use your voice! Sing your favourite song, sing it loud! Have that difficult conversation – even if it is just you in front of the mirror, if there is something you feel you need to say then say it. If you can’t, write it down and burn it so the smoke will take it into the ether, you will still get that release from, well, releasing it. Even better, do it at the Full Moon. Pop a blue scarf or wear your blue crystals around your throat.
Do some neck stretches, do the Bridge pose in yoga. Roll your shoulders back and open up your throat.
Imbalanced – You may struggle to express yourself properly, feel misunderstood, have general communication issues, be outspoken to the point of rudeness, being indecisive, have trouble listening to communicate in a conversation. Physically you may have a sore throat or must keep clearing it for no reason.
Balanced – Speak the truth without being too hurtful/judgemental, make decisions easier and more confidently, be a better listener, be able to communicate your feelings and desires.
Third Eye Ajna Chakra
Colour: Violet
Location: Between brows
Associations: Intuition, spiritual awareness/connection, creative vision, imagination, clear thinking.
Element: Light
Mantra: Om
Crystals: Sodalite, Labradorite, Sodalite, Amethyst
I find that these upper chakras benefit more from meditation and visualisation that physical yoga, but of course it is all connected! So, if you like a yoga pose, then The Tree is great for the Third Eye chakra. I prefer Yoga Nidra to work on full body relaxation through meditation.
Meditations and visualisations to manifest are equally as effective for this chakra. This is where you can really tune into your imagination and work your own magic. I rest my amethyst point on my head for third eye meditation and envisage clearly that spiritual space opening up to connect its beautiful violet light out into the universe.
Imbalanced - Your physical vision may seem blurred/poor for no medical reason, your intuition could be clouded, and you may doubt it, you may have a lack of focus, your sleep and dreams may be disturbed, you could struggle to picture things in your mind’s eye.
Balanced – Your imagination and creative vision will improve, you will feel a stronger sense of clarity, you will trust you intuition and thoughts more.
Crown Sahasrara Chakra
Colour: White (also violet)
Location: Crown of the head
Associations: Universal consciousness, intuition, connection with the divine, peace of mind
Element: None, beyond the elements. Just simply thought itself. Divine connection.
Mantra: Om (some people use no mantra, just be)
Crystals: Amethyst, Clear Quartz, Selenite, Moonstone
I will start by saying some people do headstands here for their Crown yoga pose. I’ve had Multiple Sclerosis for nearly twenty years, and I can barely stand on two feet, so there’s no headstands here. The Corpse pose might be helpful, I often find lying flat on my back and meditating can be useful, sitting in a chair with a straight back to help align this chakra is just as good though. Gently pull your spine up tall, visualise a pure, bright white light coming from the universe in through your crown and cloaking you in love and peace.
Sit out under the night sky, moon bathe, connect with the stars. Take in the bigger picture! You are one with those stars, we all are, and we all always will be. We started there and we will return there, and until then we are here, connected, always.
Imbalanced – You may have nightmares, suffer confusion, have headaches with no medial cause, suffer insomnia, you may feel a loss of spiritual connection.
Balanced – You will feel clarity, better inner peace with your intuition, have lucid or at least more peaceful dreams, your mind will feel quieter – with less internal chatter, meditation will be easier – you might stop planning your shopping or to-do lists while trying to meditate(!), you will feel a stronger sense of spiritual connection.
A note about spiritual connection.
Even if you feel a sense of spiritual disconnection, you’re not. You’re just as connected as you have always been, and always will be. Just because your awareness of the fact is not as sharp, and you may have hundreds of other overwhelming and confusing issues on your mind, or even just when you’re having the time of your life and don’t slow down to connect, none of these means you are not connected, it’s just that you’re not feeling aware of it. So never worry, that connection from the top of your crown to the roots of your feet is always still there. You’re always still there, as connected to the universe as ever. Sometime when you feel the most disconnected, is when you are actually more connected than ever.
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