If you want to feel more centred and in harmony with life, understanding our Chakras is very important.  Chakra means ‘wheel’ in Sanskrit.  Chakras are spiritual energy centres within our bodies.  We have 7 main chakras on the spinal column and each relate to different organs in the body as well as our emotional, physical and spiritual state.  Learning to open and balance our chakras helps our life energy, also called Qi or Prana, to be in constant flow.  This life force can be disrupted if our chakras become blocked or out of balance leading to emotional and physical dis-orders and dis-ease.  Practising meditation or yoga regularly is a great way to work on balancing our chakras and maintain a healthy energy flow. Our 15 minute free meditation is a good starting point.

Let’s have a brief look at each chakra and its purpose.

The Root or Base Chakra (Muladhara)

The Root or Base Chakra (Muladhara) is located at the very base of the spine and is red in colour.  It relates to our connection to Mother Earth, survival and safety.  When this chakra is open and balanced, we feel grounded, healthy and energetic.  When it’s weak, blocked or overactive, we can feel unsafe and anxious, have trouble concentrating and suffer from problems with lower back and legs or colon issues.

Sacral Chakra

The Sacral Chakra (Svadhishthana)

The Sacral Chakra (Svadhishthana) is located just below the tummy button and is orange in colour.  This chakra relates to our creativity, desires and sexual energies.  When it is open and balanced, we feel joyful, fulfilled and passionate about life.  An out of balance sacral chakra can cause us to do things that aren’t healthy for us and can lead to depression and lack of creativity.

Solar Plexus Chakra

The Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura)

The Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura) is located between the tummy button and the sternum and is yellow in colour.  It relates to our personal power, self esteem and purpose.  When open and balanced, we feel confident and purposeful but when out of balance, we can become timid and indecisive and prone to digestive issues and low energy.

Heart Chakra

The Heart Chakra (Anahata)

The Heart Chakra (Anahata) is located in the middle of the chest and over the heart.  It is emerald green in colour.  This chakra relates to love for ourselves and for others.  It is also the chakra that connects the spiritual with the physical.  When open, we feel love, compassion and kindness, both giving and receiving.  When closed or out of balance, we can be over sensitive, hurt, angry and jealous.  We can also put up defences that make it harder to love and be loved.

Throat Chakra

The Throat Chakra (Vishuddha)

The Throat Chakra (Vishuddha) is located over the throat and between our collar bone and is turquoise in colour.  This chakra relates to communication, listening and speaking our truth with conviction and clarity.  When open and balanced, we are not afraid to express ourselves easily and clearly and speak with truth and love.  When out of balance, we can become timid and feel too shy to speak up or find it difficult to find the words we need to express ourselves.  Or we can become overloud and have a tendency to interrupt or talk over others.  Physically this can manifest as throat or thyroid issues, tight neck and shoulders or tension headaches.

Third Eye Chakra

The Third Eye Chakra (Ajna)

The Third Eye Chakra (Ajna) is located between our eyebrows and is indigo in colour.  This chakra relates to our intuition and inner guidance, our sixth sense and spiritual awareness beyond the physical world.  When open and balanced, we feel clear-sighted and trusting of our own intuition and aware of psychic or spiritual experiences.  When out of balance, we detach from spirituality and close off the channels to our inner guidance.

Crown Chakra

The Crown Chakra (Sahasrara)

The Crown Chakra (Sahasrara) is located on the top of the head and is violet-white in colour.  This chakra is our connection to the divine, to universal consciousness and to our own personal consciousness.  Balancing our crown chakra can be a lifelong journey and may only happen during certain times or spiritual practices.  The crown chakra is the energy centre of enlightenment or pure awareness.  Working on balancing this chakra will help to balance our other chakras and bring our mind and body into ease and harmony.  When the crown chakra is blocked or out of balance, we can feel disconnected from others and from spirituality.  We can also feel that life is meaningless or that something is missing.

That was just a brief rundown of our 7 main chakras.  If you’d like to learn more about the chakra system and the role they have to play in our spiritual, emotional and physical health, I highly recommend reading Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss.  And, of course, Judi and I would love to see you if you’d like to make an appointment with us for a chakra balancing and energy healing session.