Can Chakras and MBTI Be Combined?

Chakras are an older concept originating from yoga, meanwhile, MBTI is a Western concept providing specific personality types. Both the traditional and Western concepts have their shortcomings. So would combining the two present a better picture? Let’s take a look. You can also take a test to find out your own Chakra-MBTI type.

To start with let’s talk about Chakras alone.

What are Chakras?

The word “chakra” literally translates to disk/ wheel. Chakras are centres in our body, present in different locations that provide spiritual energy and organise certain functions while facilitating mind-body connection. Different chakras get activated with different movements. There are 7 major chakras as described in Table 1.

The Seven Chakras

How do chakras go about an individual’s personality?

In the spiritual realm, each chakra or energy centre facilitates different aspects of one’s life. This would mean that each chakra will dictate certain aspects of an individual’s personality. Knowing which chakras are deficient or excessive helps ascertain the behaviour of an individual and provides a framework for how to proceed to balance dysfunctional behaviour.

What do chakras add to the personality insights?

• 1. The root chakra revolves around a persona of being creative, intelligent and interested in spiritual matters. Since this chakra has a need for survival, a deficiency in this chakra can lead to the individual feeling afraid and unprotected. They might question their needs, might be apprehensive about taking up space and ignore their own basic physiological needs such as hunger, grooming, exercising etc. On the other hand, an excessive first chakra is quite inflexible and seems resistant to change. The individual may show some amount of hardness in their character. They like routine, and security and may be driven towards financial success. A deficient chakra may be balanced by relaxing exercises and an excessive chakra may be balanced by stimulating exercises.
• 2. The sacral chakra’s persona revolves around being dependent, needy and addictive. They tend to be soft and usually remain chronically understimulated, generally having low energy. They have an intense desire to be loved and usually have an inability to provide for their own needs, so they seek external validation. When this is fulfilled, they feel whole, bond well and love deeply. They experience a constant cycle of giving in order to receive which leads to burnout, and they rarely receive what they would like which feeds into their need. Rejection is their greatest fear as their incessant dependency may sometimes drive people away. They may be able to decrease this need by learning the ability to feed their own energy. Healing for them involves learning to be self-sufficient and the ability to enforce and accept boundaries.
• 3. The solar plexus chakra’s persona reflects a need for autonomy, which manifests as resistance and a rebellious approach. These people hold well in crises and are reliable and steady. They are ruled by their passive-aggressive stance as they find themself stuck between needing affection and unwillingness to give up their autonomy, which leads to the development of anger and need simultaneously, which causes persistent conflicting feelings within them. Humiliation is their greatest fear, which manifests as self-criticisation. They’re stuck in a cycle of shame on their self and undermining actions. They believe that being vulnerable will lead to further shame, so they hold their true feelings in and avoid reaching out. To heal, they must learn to express all types of emotions and process information in a healthy manner. Building self-esteem is important so the inner critic stops and lets the individual breathe.
• 4. The heart chakra’s personal is reflected in radiating, high energy. Such people are heavily stimulated and are always looking for the next best experience. They grow bored of things and move on quickly when their heart chakra is blocked. They are unable to express and feel deeper emotions. This happens when they’re expected to suddenly grow up and are not allowed to be in contact with their inner child. After their emotional self is rejected multiple times, they direct their energy towards achievement and success, in hopes of winning the appreciation they crave. However, no matter what they achieve, they’ll not feel satisfied, which will induce a persistent state of frustration and aggression, eventually turning into exhaustion. This may also manifest in another direction, where the emotions are expressed in a dramatic manner to receive the attention they crave. They desire relationships in a way that is demanding instead of accepting. From an optimistic perspective, they can be caring and supportive when their needs are met. Healing requires them to come in contact with their inner child, let themselves be vulnerable and work towards a softer life.
• 5. The throat chakra includes a persona of charm and seduction but a shallow nature of short-lived relationships. They are nervous about intimacy and easily become critical and distant. When confronted, they tend to try to turn the blame towards the other person and try to get rid of them altogether. Their sense of assertiveness and a straightforward way is used to mask an underlying sense of insecurity. They see vulnerability as weak and use seduction and manipulation to overcome that. When they find a place where they can let out their vulnerable needs and meet with safety, they’re able to heal and let go of these patterns.
• 6. The third eye chakra’s persona is based on intuition. These people know what to do and they see their vision through. If their power is abused, they dissociate themselves from their knowledge and experience a lot of shame. They hold underlying subconscious memories, which can only be brought up to the surface when they connect with themselves and allow themselves to feel all the emotions. They may have poor memory due to repression. For them to heal, they primarily need to accept themselves. stop trying to repress memories and accept all the parts of their experience. They’ll need to allow the subconscious to come to the surface and do what their intuition tells them to.
• 7. The crown chakra has a personality that manifests in curiosity and seeking nature. They may have a tendency to gain all the information around them. They may be avid academics and constantly be found with random bouts of information. They easily recognize patterns and constantly look for deeper meaning. They have a need to be always right. They would not settle for anything less and may have endless debates over the same thing over and over. This may lead to them becoming close-minded and fixed and not considering anything other than what they believe to be true. If they realize this need to be right is causing them to be unhappy and lose friends, and work towards being more open-minded, they may be able to let go of these patterns.

Conclusion

As mentioned before, each chakra provides an analysis of different traits, why they may act in such a manner and how can these patterns be changed. Combining MBTI and chakras may lead to a more comprehensive analysis of an individual’s personality and it may give a deeper and accurate insight to how they behave. It would also be easier to recognize dysfunctional patterns and behaviours and relate them to deficiency or excess of a specific chakra and working towards balancing it.