The Chakras: A Brief Explanation
Chakra is a Sanskrit word that translates to "spinning wheel." These spinning wheels contain the energy that flows through our bodies. There are 7 main Chakras that hold the most influence over the flow of energy within ourselves, however there are up to 144 smaller chakras according to some practices. These spiraling energy points in the body are neither good nor bad. They simply are. Just as a lung is neither good nor bad, but is essential to life. And in the same was as a lung, our chakras health is just as dependent on what we fill ourselves with.
The 7 main chakras each hold an aspect of life that make us who we are and it is important for us to check in with our own chakras to bring them into harmony, just like a good ole mental check. Here is how to connect with each chakra and what they represent.
1st:
Your Root Chakra is the base of your existence. It is the root of your primal instincts, desire to survive, and be safe. Similarly, you will find your chakra at the base of your tailbone. It is described with the color red.
A root chakra that is out of balance can cause hyper-vigilance, anger or fear, dissociative behavior and more.
Simply reminding yourself that you are safe and your needs for survival are met, is a great way to bring the root chakra back into balance.
2nd:
The Sacral Chakra is your connection to your environment and relationships. It is a chakra of creative interaction. It is located just beneath your naval and embodied by the color orange. When blocked, feelings of isolation, a lack of self worth, and an inability to trust others may begin to be increasingly present.
By reminding ourselves that our world and the connections we make in it are safe, wholesome, and beautiful, we can bring our sacral chakra back into balance.
3rd:
The Solar Plexus is our source of energy. It has been compared to the sun of our solar system and as such is the great power center of our own being. It is found at the base of your diaphragm and like the Sun, is associated with the color yellow. The solar plexus holds our ability to create and manifest whatever we set our heart and mind to. When out of sync, it may cause discomfort within the abdominals, feelings of inferiority, a sense of being powerless or stuck.
By reminding yourself of the greatness within yourself and acting in accordance with your heart's pure desires, this chakra can come back into balance and act as the radiant sun of your being.
4th:
The Heart Chakra is a place of purity and love. It is where truth and desires of the heart manifest. Through the power of love, all things have the ability to be made pure again within this heart space. The location of the heart chakra is pretty self revealing, colored by green, and is known as the gateway chakra to the higher aspects of self. A heart chakra that is blocked may cause anger and pain to take hold. It may also lead to resentment or an assumption of the worst in every person or situation.
By reminding yourself what you want to have in your heart, you are able to find your way back to a balanced and pure heart chakra that is full of life and love.
5th:
The Throat Chakra holds the ability of communication and expressive living. It is in this place that one is able to shine their truth and feelings with ease and clarity. This chakra resides within the Thyroid and is represented by a light blue. If the throat chakra should become blocked, one might feel tightness in the throat or even a choking sensation. There may be feelings of not living life in an honest way, not being seen or accepted as how you feel you truly are, or even that it is dangerous to speak your truth.
By giving yourself permission to live expressively and honestly, you take back ownership of your own throat chakra and are able to bring it back into balance.
6th:
The 3rd Eye Chakra is a well known and almost holds a celebrity status among those who begin an interest in chakras. That is because it holds your intuition and insight. For those who have a hard time trusting themselves or the world around them, the third eye becomes a life saving compass in a sea of uncertainty, as this chakra is connected to higher truths and can see through the murky waters we sometimes tread through life. The 3rd eye is located within the Pineal Gland but is often depicted on the forehead just above the brows between the two eyes. It is the color Indigo. When this chakra becomes imbalanced, confusion, headaches, pessimism, impatience and fear may replace your internal compass.
By reminding yourself and trusting your connection to higher consciousness, reminding yourself of your heart desires, and allowing yourself time to quietly reflect, you can bring this chakra of divine guidance back into balance.
7th:
Finally we have the Crown Chakra is your connection to the divinity within all things. It is your connection to Source and higher wisdom. It is the connection to the divine. It is the color purple and housed within the Pituitary Gland. When it is blocked, one might feel disconnection or even disharmony with all that is. There may be a lack of hope or a lack of understanding of the good in all things.
By reminding yourself of the divinity within yourself and the divinity within all things, by acknowledging the force that keeps you alive and nurtures you, balance can be brought to the highest vibration of chakras.
No one chakra is more important than the others. They function like organs, circulating the flow of life-force energy within your being but on the energetic level. It is important to bring them all into harmony in order to experience the greatest awareness of self and life.