What exactly are Chakras?

Chakras are energy centres that are situated along the mid line of our body. Chakra in Sanskrit means wheel, you can imagine them as spinning cone shaped vortices that radiating outwards. When open or aligned and spinning at the correct vibrational speed, we feel happy, emotionally balanced, relaxed and content. I like to think of them as plates spinning on a stick as they have to be spinning at the correct speed and balanced to rotate properly. Whilst there are many chakras in our body’s therapists generally work with seven.

Each Chakra caters for the differing needs of our whole self. For example if the base chakra is spinning too slowly you are likely to have low self esteem, lack willpower, be depressed and or poor libido. Conversely, if your base chakra is spinning too fast/overactive this can lead to aggression, insecurity and being overly materialistic.

The seven main Chakra's

Each has their own set of virtues and what I have described below is only a brief introduction to each chakra. There is much, much more to learn should you wish to expand your knowledge further.

Base Chakra - Muladhara is associated with the light frequency of RED. Balanced it keeps us grounded, encourages good career choices, good money mindset plus a sense of belonging and security. As you can see this chakra is placed at the base of the spine and supports our sexual organs and reproductive systems. Unbalanced means that our base needs are not being met which can be seen as increased weight, lethargy and lack of motivation.

Sacral Chakra - Svadisthana ORANGE light frequencies and governs our emotions, relationships, creativity and pleasure, stimulating our passions, creativity and joy. Located just below the navel the sacral chakra brings subtle energy into our body to create flow and activates our adrenal glands. It is involved in the fight or flight response and more importantly the calming response after this system is triggered.

The Base and Sacral chakras are traditionally known as the recycling chakras because they can convert negative energies into power and light and cleanse our aura of any ‘toxic’ waste

Solar Plexus Chakra - Manipura frequency of YELLOW it is thought of as the fire of our metabolism, ego, personal power and zest for life. If attuned then this is where your ‘gut instincts’ will appear from. Found below the sternum, it's name means ‘jewel of the navel’ and brings the fiery solar light into our body. The sacral chakra acts upon the network of nerves that fan out like the rays of the sun and affect our metabolism and digestion. Unbalanced this chakra can result in muscular tightness, lower back pain, diabetes, hypoglycemia and the feeling of the world is against you or the need to compete from the standpoint of jealousy or greed!

Heart Chakra - Anahata GREEN well-being, self acceptance and unconditional love. Located centrally in the heart region of the chest and is constantly bringing in life force energy. Generally shown as a green light frequency this changes to pink when we can offer full unconditional love. The heart chakra is linked to the thymus which makes white blood cells and helps to fight infection as a part of our immune system. Disorders in this area can include high blood pressure, heart disease, lung disease and asthma. Whilst we may think of this area for romantic love really that should be addressed by the three previous chakras as without the ability to love ourselves we will struggle to love others positively and are likely to have trust issues.

Throat Chakra - Vishuddha BLUE frequency that governs our breath, sound, self-expression and communication. Positioned at the throat this chakra brings in energy from the Earth’s atmosphere and sky. As you might assume this chakra is associated with the respiratory system, the thyroid and parathyroid glands which balance out the body’s systems. Imbalance can be seen as exhaustion, high body weight, low thyroid, neck and throat issues. When you are in balance you will be able to connect more deeply with your subconscious mind by using breathing exercises also known as pranayama in yoga or chanting mantras.

Third Eye Chakra - Ajna PURPLE light frequency boosts our inner sight, intuition, sense of purpose and direction in life. Found in the middle of the brows and is associated with the pituitary gland, eyes, ears, nose, nervous system and the brain. Disorders in this area can show as headaches, eye or sinus problems, sleeplessness and hormone imbalances. Outwardly this chakra helps us to balance our everyday tasks and inwardly develops our intuition, grows our wisdom and increases our capacity to show joy and positivity. This is also the centre that allows insight in the form of extra sensory perception such as clairvoyance or clairessence

Crown Chakra - Sahasrara INDIGO light, channelling universal knowledge, the path of spirit and connection to the divine. Located just above our head and is linked to the endocrine glands, the pineal and pituitary glands whose role it is to keep the body’s equilibrium. Disorders can present as brain disease, endocrine issues and psychological problems. The crown chakra is known as “the bridge to the cosmos” and is the most spiritual of the seven chakras, it is our centre of spirit, our route to enlightenment or oneness, seat of wisdom and our connection to higher guidance.

How to unblock your Chakras

There are many, many ways to unblock your chakras, these can be self care or by working with a therapist or a combination of both. Look at some of the options that are available to you and try some out. Obviously this is by no means an exhaustive list there is much more to try, please list some that you have tried in the comments below for others to look at .

Meditation - easy to do, harder to master but the key to success is not to try and eliminate all thoughts from your mind as that is darn near impossible, but to not engage with the thoughts ie its not the time to do your to do list, just acknowledge the thought, ask it to come back later. Guided meditations are a great tool as it encourages you to stay focused on the person speaking and not get lost in your thoughts. If you do wander off then don't worry, just focus back in, your subconscious mind was still listening. Meditations can be linked with sounds, affirmations and mantras to deepen your practice. If you still are having trouble there are many mediation classes or meditation practitioners that can help you. As with any new skill, it takes practice to get good

Gratitude - practising gratitude on a daily basis helps to keep us balanced and understand what we do have going for us. I read an amazing book called ‘Magic’ by Rhondra Byrne who wrote the secret and is all about gratitude with exercises to do. I still have my magic stone! Every night before you go to sleep, pick up your magic stone (this can be any palm sized stone that you like the look of) and say out loud three things that you were grateful for that day. It does not matter how big or small that it is, for example, today I am truly grateful for slippers to keep my feet warm, a roof over my head and my little dog.

Activity - this doesn't have to be you going mental on a treadmill for an hour (err no chance of me doing that) but finding what you enjoy and doing it. Dancing, rearranging your furniture, deep clean one room, get out in nature for a walk. Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, Qi Gong are fantastic classes that aid in balancing your energy and not raising your cortisol levels. If you like more intense activities running, swimming, cycling, HITT classes, team sports the possibilities are endless. At the end of the day anything that gets you up and moving is perfect.

Friends & Family - so important for revitalising your soul, however you choose to communicate, it’s good to talk after all we humans are very social animals and enjoy naturally achieved fun. Play a board game, invent a new cocktail, have a dance off, play some card games or even just watch a film together.

Self care - this could be in the form of a 15 minute face pack with a guided meditation or taking a duvet day and letting someone else do the chores, it's ok you need this. Do your own nails, start a journal, have an extra long bubble or even better an Espom salt bath, listen to that podcast you kept months ago, read a chapter of a book, knitting, start a creative project, learn a new skill, do some DIY or whatever floats your boat.

Therapies - there are so many therapies that can help you, look around, read some info and see what resonates with you. The prices will vary but what is important is the experience that you get from the session. I personally enjoy massage, Reiki, meditation, yin yoga and Breathwork.

I have listed some holistic therapies for you to look at below

Reiki, Breathwork, Colour therapy, Pyranic healing, Aromatherapy, Sound therapy, Reflexology, Acupuncture, Crystal healing, Herbalism, Ozone therapy, Bach Flowers, homoeopathy, Shamanism, Hypnotherapy and many, many more…

Mental wellness - we all need some additional help at times in our lives and there is no shame in this. Talking therapy, behaviour therapy and cognitive therapies are vital tools to be used when needed and can be supported by ensuring that your chakras are in balance.

Nutrition - it is more important than ever to become more aware of what we are putting in our body. There is no magic trick, you just have to eat a good range of seasonal vegetables, some fruits, good fats, quality grass fed meats and dairy products, if you choose this path otherwise find good organic protein sources such as tofu or edamame beans. Drink plenty of pure clean water and keep sugar, alcohol and refined foods to a minimum.

Sleep - is so vital as our body’s reset and heal when we are asleep. So put your phone down and give yourself some space between technology and going to sleep. Take some me time, prepare for bed, review tomorrow’s to do list, add to your journal, stretch out, do a mediation and fall into a beautiful deep healing sleep.

Conclusion

Keeping your chakra's in alignment can help out in so many aspects of our lives and there are many differing techniques to achieve this. There is no such thing as one size fits all, a magic pill or the need to have psychic ability, we just have to take the inspired action to feel how we want to feel and to get to where we want to be. If you are struggling to take that step then maybe your chakras are in need of balancing. Mix it up, try out different techniques and methodologies and see what works for you.

Create your own self care health management routine, 15 minutes a day meditation, make healthy food choices, be active every day, set yourself boundaries for social media usage, create real life social opportunities instead and look after yourself. We chose to come into this life to experience a human existence, let’s make it a good one.