Nature all around is filled with numerous visible and invisible entities, each one with its unique ability or power, independent functions, yet all are linked together in a cohesive whole. In this cohesive whole, there are so many interlinkages and interdependence that with one affected others will be impacted too. On a similar level, as a part of nature, lies a human body where both the physical and visible parts work in tandem with the invisible energies of the astral body. The astral body can not be seen or touched.
Within this astral body reside the 7 chakras which are the 7 centres of energy. These 7 chakras are located along the spine (in the astral body) starting from the crown area to the base of the spine. The chakras below the heart chakra connect us with the material world and those above it connect us to the spiritual world. The chakra system was first mentioned in the oldest written text- ‘The Vedas, around 1500-1000 BC. The chakras depict specific colours and each one coincides with one gland in the body. The importance of these chakras can be seen from the fact that they have an immense impact on or can be related to, specific spiritual, emotional, physical or psychological aspects of our lives. They work individually with each having its specific role in the physical body as well as a system. Any blockage or malfunction in any of these chakras immensely affects the overall functioning of our body. In fact, the chakras are also related to ‘prana’, the ultimate living and healing energy in all beings. That is why it is important to have well-functioning, well-balanced chakras for healthy living.
Despite the significance accorded to the chakras for healthy living, it is difficult to tell the exact shape of these energy fields. The main reason is their invisible nature. ‘Chakras’ in Sanskrit literally means “wheels” or “disc”. However, different groups of people have their own notions about the shape of the chakras. For example, the ancient Indian scriptures believe that the shape of chakras is spherical, like the shape of the earth. There are others who believe that the chakras resemble swirling discs. Some say that they are like flowers hanging from the spine and there are others who say that they look like ice cream cones. Despite all the speculations the bottom line remains that the chakras, being essential energy fields in our body, impact our daily lives to a great extent.
There is a parallel of the chakra system with the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, with the Muldhara (Root chakra, 1st chakra) representing physiological needs, safety etc., the Svadhishtana (Sacral chakra, 2nd chakra) representing sexuality, pleasure, emotions etc., Manipura (Solar Plexus chakra, 3rd chakra) representing self-esteem, personal power, confidence etc., the Anahata (Heart Chakra, 4th chakra) represents love, compassion etcVishuddha (throat chakra, 5th chakra) represents self-expression, communication, truth etc., and the Ajna Chakra (third eye chakra, 6th chakra) and Sahasrara Chakra(crown chakra, 7th chakra) collectively represent self-actualization, self-realisation, intuition, unity of consciousness etc.
The origin of numerous diseases- both physical and mental, can be traced to a dysfunctional or blocked chakras, or sometimes a chakra that is “imbalanced,” i.e., working overtime to compensate for blockages. If someone is suffering from any illness (mental or physical), one can strengthen the corresponding chakra to heal. There are various ways of bringing the chakras back to health, including yoga, meditation, etc. But before knowing how to heal and balance your chakras, let us know about all the chakras in detail.
What are 7 Chakras?
1. Root Chakra or Muladahara Chakra
This chakra is located at the base of the spine, in the first three vertebrae, and is the first chakra in the system. It is connected with the adrenal gland, kidney and spine. It is connected to the earth element and is depicted with a four-petaled lotus in red colour. It is responsible for keeping one grounded and secure in the material world.
This chakra is connected with one’s sense of security including the basic physiological needs like food, water, money, safety, etc. as well as family. Neurotransmitters Norepinephrine, Epinephrine etc. are linked to the root chakra.
When it malfunctions: You can assume that the root chakra is blocked when you feel more scared and insecure than ever, or have nightmares or a sense of anxiety crippling your day to day life. But when this chakra is imbalanced you may fall prey to overindulgence in the material world like food, money, and sex.
Physically, it would lead to problems related to the colon, adrenal gland, bladder issues, issues with elimination, leg issues, inflammation, chronic pain in the lower back, slipped disc etc.
2. The Sacral Chakra or Swadhisthana Chakra
It is located above the pelvic bone and below the navel. It is connected with the gonads/ reproductive organs. This chakra can be called one of the worldly chakras among all others. It is associated with water elements with characteristics like fluidity, adaptability, sexual energy and emotions. It is depicted with an orange lotus with six petals. It helps us to regulate our worldly desires and human emotions. A healthy sacral chakra makes you feel fulfilled, successful, and passionate, with feelings of self-worth, abundance and most importantly, joy. Neurotransmitter “Dopamine” is linked to the sacral chakra.
When it malfunctions: A blocked chakra can make you feel emotionally unstable, uninspired, an make one devoid of joy/ emotional fulfilment or can also lead to physical sexual dysfunction or issues like PCOD, endometriosis etc. In the case of imbalanced chakra, one may also experience addiction- either sexual or other, neediness. Emotional highs or lows are also associated with a dysfunctional sacral chakra.
3. Solar plexus Chakra or the Manipura Chakra
This chakra is located in the navel region and is depicted with a downward or upward facing red triangle. It is connected with the pancreas, the stomach, liver, and the gut. It is associated with the fire element and thus is yellow in colour. Strong fire energy gives us the ability to have good digestion. It is responsible for high self-esteem and confidence.
Physically it is responsible for the effective functioning of the upper abdomen body parts like the gallbladder, liver, middle spine, kidney, intestines and the stomach. The happiness Hormone “Serotonin” is linked to the solar plexus chakra.
When it malfunctions: Physically, a blocked chakra means ailments in the organs responsible for digestion like the ones mentioned above. It may lead to diabetes, adrenal imbalances, arthritis, colon diseases, stomach ulcers, intestinal tumours, low blood pressure, certain kinds of depression and eating disorders. Emotionally it may bring a lack of control in life and loss of identity, low self-esteem, lack of willpower, difficulty in marketing oneself, asserting power and rising up the social hierarchy. One may also feel excessively guilty and ashamed about oneself.
imbalanced chakra means trying to control others and being harshly critical of others. One tends to overestimate oneself and may act extremely stubborn, often narcissistic.
4. Heart Chakra or Anahata Chakra
It is located in the centre of your chest around the heart. It encapsulates and deals with the thymus gland, the lungs, the heart and the breasts. It is green in colour and deals with the air element. It affects one’s ability to give and receive love. It is responsible for bringing love and compassion to all the spheres of your life. All the feelings and emotions related to love like compassion, empathy, forgiveness and respect are dealt with by this chakra. Love Hormone “Oxytocin” is linked to this chakra.
When it malfunctions: A blocked heart chakra could cause issues in the heart, lung and immune system. A blocked heart chakra leads to an inability in forgiving or move on from past experiences. It may also emotionally detach you from your own emotions, making you numb toward all these beautiful experiences. It may also be reflected in your feelings of jealousy and anger. Dark triad traits like narcissism, psychopathy and manipulation often involve a closed heart chakra along with other imbalances in other chakras. Relationship issues and feelings of loneliness are often a consequence of a dysfunction in the heart and sacral chakra.
An imbalanced heart chakra may make you emotionally drained, it can also lead you to overexert yourself in your personal life, allowing your relationships to become toxic and making you feel overly codependent on your relations. In the process, you tend to neglect your own self and say yes even to the things that hurt you.
5. Throat Chakra or Vishuddhi Chakra
It is located in the throat region. It is connected to the thyroid gland, throat, mouth etc. It is said to give voice to your heart chakra and is responsible for your ability to communicate. It depicts the “ether” element and is of blue colour. A well-balanced chakra would mean the ability to stand for justice and truth. It is motivated by self-expression and truth. Neurotransmitter GABA is said to be connected with the throat chakra and can help with reducing the sensation of a lump in the throat.
When it malfunctions: a blocked throat chakra could make you a chronic people pleaser, unsure of yourself, timid and defensive. In certain cases, it could lead to issues in speech and communication eg: stuttering, and the inability to speak loudly. A blocked throat chakra could lead one to become excessively rejection sensitive and result in a fear of criticism and judgement that can push one towards unhealthy perfectionism – the kind that involves following societal standards of perfection rather than one’s own truth. In terms of physical ailments, it can cause throat issues, thyroid issues, chronic neck pain etc. An imbalanced throat chakra would mean a lack of control over your speech or speak without thinking. One may also become too critical about an issue or a person. This impacts one’s personal relations because of the way one communicates. A harmonious throat chakra helps us in communicating our truth with compassion and humility rather than with force.
6. Third-Eye Chakra or Ajna chakra
This chakra is located between the eyes or on the forehead. As per some schools of thought, the hypothalamus and pituitary gland is connected with the crown chakra. It depicts the light element with an indigo colour. It helps us visualize the bigger picture and connect it to our inner wisdom. It is responsible for how you perceive the world, that’s why the name “third eye”. It helps you to connect the world with your mind, eliminate the illusions and access the deeper truth. Balance in this chakra gives you access to intuition. Endorphins are said to be connected to the Third eye Chakra.
When it malfunctions: A blocked chakra would mean inhibited intuition and also inhibits your abilities to process information to a certain extent. While an imbalanced chakra would make you anxious, lazy, undisciplined and a maladaptive daydreamer – a person who is more in the “head” than the body.
7. Crown Chakra or Sahasrara Chakra
This chakra is located at the top of the head. As per some schools of thought, t is connected to the pineal gland. It depicts the element of conscience and is of white or violet colour. It impacts the connection with spirituality, integration of mind-body-spirit, and conscious awareness. Its name is ‘Sahasrara chakra’ because it is depicted by a lotus with a thousand petals. Its key characteristics include spirituality, awareness, enlightenment, unity of consciousness, etc. This chakra is the key for you to move away from the materialistic sphere of life and immerse yourself in the spiritual truth and your higher purpose. A person with an open crown chakra will see interconnectedness in all that exists and is able to release the Ego (sense of “I”) and related ego defence mechanisms in favour of the unity of consciousness. They are able to see the various events not as coincidences but as destined events meant for a certain purpose in the soul’s journey to self-realisation. Hormone Melatonin, responsible for the sleep-wake cycle and relaxation is connected with the crown chakra.
When it malfunctions: A blocked crown chakra may lead you to become highly materialistic and greedy. You find it difficult to detach yourself from the materialistic riddles of life. While an imbalanced chakra would totally disconnect you from your body and earthly matters, making you feel superior and elitist. You may also lack empathy for the beings around you.
How to Balance/ unblock Chakras?
When your chakras are well balanced then there will be a channelized flow of energy in your body which means that physically your body will be free of ailments and negative thoughts and emotions. As already seen, every chakra corresponds to a certain body region or part as well as certain physical and mental attributes, any disbalance or blockage in any of the chakra would be reflected by diseases in that region/organ due to disbalance in the energies surrounding it.
Do you feel low or tired most of the day? Are you having fights with your partner more often than before? Do you suffer from a certain disease and despite all precautions and medicines it is hard to get your normal health back? Are things just somehow not working out for you? Are you too tense these days? All of these are the symptoms of imbalanced or blocked chakras. Chakras impact every aspect of your life – their effects are not just relegated to physical and mental health but also to success, abundance, love etc. This is because blocked or imbalanced chakra can affect beliefs and thought patterns around abundance, love etc. For instance, a person with a blocked solar plexus chakra may lack confidence and have low self-esteem. They may struggle to put themselves out there. They may not see themselves as worthy of success or of rising to the top and hence will not act in that direction or even if they do they may end up self-sabotaging their success in unconscious ways like people-pleasing, allowing others to take credit for their work etc.
Thus, it becomes important for us to balance our energies well to live a healthy life. To balance or unblock these chakras there can be both steps specific to each chakra correction or ways to unblock them together in tandem. Among such general practices are:
a. Yoga
It has gradually found acceptance not just in not just India but also in western countries as a great way to channelise your energies and ensure a healthy chakra system. There are yoga poses specific to unblocking and healing each chakra in your body. For example-
- Root Chakra: Tree Pose or any balancing poses, like Mountain or Warrior.
- Sacral Chakra: Bridge Pose or like Pigeon Pose or Lizard Pose.
- Solar Plexus Chakra: camel pose
- Heart Chakra: Supported Shoulder stand
- Throat Chakra: Easy Pose (Sukhasana)
- Third eye Chakra: Easy Pose (Sukhasana)
- Crown Chakra: Padmasana (Lotus Pose)
b. Eating the right food
Apart from eating healthy and nutritious food, you may also eat food corresponding to the colour of the chakra you may want to heal. For example, if you want to heal your solar plexus chakra, you may eat more yellow-coloured food like lemons, mangoes, etc. In case you are targeting your heart chakra you may eat more green leafy food (vegetables and fruits).
c. Connect with nature
This is one of the most universally effective solutions that often require one to put in the least effort. From walking in the greenery of a nearby park or mountains or beach (if possible) to observing birds and animals around you can also give you a sense of calm and peace that has a lasting impact on the energies of your body.
d. Sound Therapy
Be it the Tibetan singing bowl or different sounds correlating with different chakras, sound therapy has proved to be highly beneficial in healing/balancing chakras. Various sounds corresponding to different chakras are-
- Muladhara- Chant “Lam.”
- Svadhisthana- Chant “Vam”.
- Manipura chakra- Chant “Ram”.
- Anahata chakra- Chant “Yam”.
- Vishuddha chakra- Chant “Ham
- Ajna chakra- Chant “Aum”.
- Sahasrara chakra- Instead of chanting, you listen to your inner sound/vibrations.
e. Chakra Meditation
Meditation is another way of balancing the chakras. There are chakra specific meditations that channelise the energies towards the right path.
Apart from this, there are several other ways of working on chakras like affirmations, working on shadow attributes related to a chakra, aromatherapy, martial arts, crystal therapy etc. that are covered in greater detail in the blogs relating to a specific chakra.
You would know that all your chakras are open when you feel content and happy and physically you live a healthy life. This means that all of your chakras are vibrating at a high frequency. Chakras define various aspects of life and to align and balance life it is necessary to unblock and balance them. A balanced chakra system reflects a balanced and healthy life.
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