Your Chakras are your energy powerhouse; the architecture of your soul. We tend to focus so much on our physical and emotional bodies but it is just as important to understand your energetic body. There are 7 main Chakras and each one governs a different area within us – mind, body and soul. This post teaches you to understand and raise your awareness of your own Chakra system.
What is a Chakra?
‘Chakra’ is a Sanskrit word meaning wheel. From the base of your spine to the crown of your head, seven wheels of energy work together to regulate your life force as it flows between the spiritual and the physical. Each Chakra corresponds with a different nerve centre in your body and governs a different part of your spiritual, emotional and physical wellbeing. They also vibrate at different frequencies, each of which is represented by a particular colour. From base to crown, the seven Chakras and their colours are:
1. Muladhara: red
2. Svadhisthana: orange
3. Manipura: yellow
4. Anahata: green
5. Vishudda: light blue
6. Ajna: indigo
7. Sahasrara: pink
The lower Chakras, Muladhara, Svadhisthana and Manipura, are known as physical Chakras because they are more physical by nature. On the other hand, the higher Chakras, the Anahata, Vishudda, Ajna and Sahasrara, are known as the spiritual Chakras for similar reasons. In addition to being a spiritual Chakra, the Anahata is central and works as the bridge between the spiritual and the physical Chakras, allowing them to enhance each other.
The balancing act
It’s important to maintain the balance of your Chakras by being aware of changes in your physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Negative experiences, like a loss or poor physical health, can leave an imprint on your Chakra system that will disrupt the flow of energy. The resulting imbalance causes a domino effect of bad reactions that work to cloud your judgement and challenge your ability to make decisions that will lead to your best life. When your Chakras are open and aligned, your life force flows freely and leads you toward beautiful, fulfilling paths in every aspect of your life.
CHAKRA 1: MULADHARA – THE BASE/ROOT CHAKRA
The first Chakra we get to explore is the Muladhara, located at the very base of your spine. The Muladhara is aligned with the earth element and is symbolised by the colour red. The word ‘Muladhara’ translates from Sanskrit to mean ‘root’ and ‘support’ because this Chakra supports your deepest connections to your physical body, environment, people and the Earth.
The energy flowing through your Muladhara is connected to your:
• Basic needs: food, water, shelter, safety.
• Emotional needs: letting go of fear.
• Physical health: bones, blood, immune system, adrenals, colon, legs and feet.
• Animal nature: fight or flight response, courage, resourcefulness and will to survive.
• Spiritual connection: helping to find the energy of your ancestors and their challenges and triumphs.
A balanced Muladhara grounds you. It makes you feel secure with no doubts about your place in the world or the best path to take regarding money, relationships or your career. Sustaining a healthy energy flow throughout your Muladhara boosts your overall health and aids your spiritual awakening. This will lead you to work with the world, not against it.
How do you know when your Muladhara isn’t balanced?
Chakra imbalances are caused by a blocked energy channel or an overactive Chakra, both of which are usually the result of negative events leaving a harmful imprint on your energy channels. Negativity within your Muladhara is caused by fear that your basic survival requirements, like money, food or shelter, won’t be met.
A healthy Muladhara makes you feel focused and purposeful. However, when it is blocked, your sense of security vanishes and you feel out-of-place, no matter where you are. Insecurity and anxiety isolate you from your instincts and make it difficult to choose the paths that will lead you to fulfillment. A Muladhara blockage has both a physical and emotional toll on your body, including constipation, leg weakness, hypertension, restlessness, fearfulness, guilt, feeling abandoned, depression, anxiety, and inability to focus.
When a Chakra is blocked or out of balance, it means it is out of sync with the rest of your Chakras. An imbalance within the Muladhara will cause you to lose your sense of stability, control and confidence, causing you to become co-dependent, materialistic and fearful of change. Other symptoms include:
• Feeling obsessed with one part of your life
• Feeling stuck in a routine
• Fearing change
• Greed
• Becoming easily irritated by people or situations
• Lashing out
• Materialism
• Anger
• Impatience
• Hostility
As you can see, one negative imprint can build to cause a lot of damage. It’s important to make time to regularly take stock of how you are feeling, so that you can identify these symptoms and cleanse your Chakra as soon as possible. Cleansing allows the root of the problem to become clear, helping you to heal more quickly and easily. After cleansing your Muladhara, you will feel a renewed sense of security and fearlessness.
CHAKRA 2: SVADHISTHANA – THE SACRAL CHAKRA
Just above the Muladhara, in line with your navel, sits the Svadhisthana or Sacral Chakra. Aligned with the colour orange and the element water, Svadhisthana translates from Sanskrit to mean ‘dwelling place of the self’. Your Svadhisthana allows you to connect with your true desires and see the world for the profound and magical place that it is.
The energy of your Svadhisthana affects your:
• Feelings: pleasure, intimacy, sensuality and connection.
• Physical Manifestation: self-esteem and the way you see yourself in the physical world.
• Creativity: artistry, intuition, imagination and your capacity for change.
• Relationships: your sexuality and the way you connect with others.
• Fertility
A balanced Svadhisthana allows your feelings to flow freely. It connects you with your true desires and engages your ability to experience the wonder of everyday life, like the joy of walking barefoot in grass. Your Svadhisthana regulates your emotions, giving you confidence in yourself and the way you interact with others.
How do you know when your Svadhisthana isn’t balanced?
Imbalances in your Svadhisthana are caused by the negative energy stimulated by dissatisfaction with relationships, stress about your sexuality, negative feedback to your creativity or a struggle to experience pleasure.
When your Svadhisthana is blocked, you will feel detached from life, unemotional and unable to deal with everyday ups and downs. A blocked Svadhisthana can show itself through dysfunctional relationships, lack of creativity, lack of motivation, emotional confusion, no sexual appetite, feeling unimportant or unloved, feeling like you are incapable of caring for yourself. The depletion of your self-esteem and emotional detachment can lead you toward unhealthy or abusive relationships.
An imbalanced Svadhisthana will cause you to become overly emotional, manifesting unnecessary drama in your life and creating an unhealthy focus on relationships. Symptoms include:
• Anxiety
• Aggression
• Gynaecological issues
• Manifesting drama in relationships
• Arrogance
• Urinary, bladder or kidney issues
• Being overly emotional
• Obsessing over the physical side of relationships
If you feel your Svadhisthana is blocked or overactive, you must cleanse it by facing the experiences or feelings that you have been avoiding and suppressing, so that you can feel and express yourself freely.
CHAKRA 3: MANIPURA – THE SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA
Between your rib cage and your navel sits the Manipura or Solar Plexus Chakra. Fittingly, the Manipura aligns with fire, the colour yellow, and translates from Sanskrit to mean ‘lustrous gem’. It is the power centre of your vital Life Energy or Prana; the energy that allows you to transform inertia into action and movement. The Manipura is the source of your personal power, affecting your:
• Transformation: Willpower, proactivity, adaptability, courage and ability to move forward.
• Identity: Self-love, self-acceptance and confidence to be yourself.
• Physical Health: stomach, pancreas, upper intestines, gall bladder, liver and upper back.
A balanced Manipura allows you to value yourself, be confident and know that you can always choose to be yourself and direct your own life. It will fill you with motivation, strength, courage and happiness.
How do you know when your Manipura isn’t balanced?
Repressing your self-expression or facing a traumatic situation that requires you to change in order to cope will diminish the strength of your Manipura because of the disconnection from your true self. Similarly, judging and criticising yourself will also encourage an imbalance in your Manipura.
When your Manipura is blocked, you will no longer be able to assert yourself without coming across as aggressive. Your judgement of yourself and others will be unnecessarily harsh and it may show in your physical health, especially your digestive health. A blocked Manipura can show itself through: low self-esteem, inability to set or maintain healthy boundaries, ulcers, co-dependency, difficulty gaining or losing weight, liver or kidney problems, arthritis, lack of self-control or even addiction, poor digestion and gas, nausea, depression or anxiety.
A blocked Manipura will stop you from knowing your thoughts and making conscious decisions, as a result your reactions to people and events will be short-sighted and apathetic, overly critical and stubborn. You may also notice:
• Excessive stubbornness
• Aggression
• Perfectionism
• Need for control
• Eating disorders
• Extreme criticism
• Ulcers
• General digestive problems
Your Manipura is essential to knowing your true self and having the motivation and courage to be able to uncover your true purpose so that you can live the best way for you. Allowing this Chakra to remain imbalanced will make you feel as if you lack purpose and control in your life.
CHAKRA 4: ANAHATA – THE HEART CHAKRA
Just above your heart is the green Chakra, the Anahata. Also known as the Heart Chakra, the Anahata aligns with the air and is connected to your capacity for love and compassion. ‘Anahata’ translates to mean unhurt in Sanskrit, implying that beneath the hurt of the past is a pure and spiritual place, devoid of pain and filled with unconditional love. Your wonderful powerhouse governs:
• Essential Feelings: Love, joy, sadness and anger.
• Healing: Universal compassion, forgiveness and acceptance.
• The One Fundamental Truth: Love is the one thing that connects everyone and everything in the universe.
Your Anahata is particularly special because it ties all the other Chakras together. As the Chakra connecting you to the infinite love that flows throughout the universe, the Anahata also works as a bridge for your mind, body and spirit. It brings a deep sense of inner peace and an effortless openness and empathy. When your Anahata is balanced you won’t just feel your emotions completely but have a whole understanding of them too.
How do you know when your Anahata isn’t balanced?
A negative experience related to love can cause an imbalance in your Anahata. Losing a loved one, breaking up with your partner or strains on a friendship are all likely to disturb the energy flow of your Anahata.
When your Anahata is blocked empathising with others, showing compassion and trusting people is more difficult than usual. You may also experience loneliness, social anxiety, high blood pressure, being overly judgemental, restlessness, impatience, low immune system, holding on to grudges, asthma, harbouring suspicion and fear in relationships, and poor circulation.
A blockage in your Anahata will make it much more difficult to give and receive freely, whether it is love, compassion or trust. Blockages can be incredibly toxic for your connections to others. Symptoms of an imbalanced Anahata include:
• Lack of proper boundaries in your relationships
• Neglecting self-care in favour of endless tolerance
• Lung issues
• Loving and accepting others without discernment
• Losing your sense of self
• Circulatory problems
• Becoming co-dependent
An imbalanced Anahata requires you to practice self-care. You must learn to love and appreciate all the wonderful aspects of yourself so that you can go on to share your love in a way that enhances your self-esteem and compassion equally.
CHAKRA 5: VISHUDDA – THE THROAT CHAKRA
Your Vishudda, or Throat Chakra, is the first of the three spiritual Chakras. The Vishudda is represented by the colour light blue and aligns with the ether element. This Chakra is the centre for purification that works to transform energy into manifestations in the real world. An open Vishudda wills you to be confident, responsible and an excellent communicator. Your Vishudda governs your:
• Authenticity: Expressing yourself, standing up for your beliefs, being verbal about boundaries, speaking openly and honestly.
• Transformation: Manifesting your intentions, purifying energy.
• Originality: Accepting the similarities and differences that make you who you are.
• Physical Health: Throat, thyroid, neck, mouth and ears.
Your Vishudda has a strong influence on your verbal communication, including your ability to express your thoughts and emotions when you need to and how well you can listen to others who are doing the same. It is important to note that being honest does not mean you can be hurtful or critical of others. Your highest truth will focus on the positive rather than the negative, allowing you to appreciate people for what they bring to your reality.
How do you know when your Vishudda isn’t balanced?
Your Vishudda is imbalanced by feelings of fear, guilt and negative thinking that will challenge your ability to express yourself and work to disconnect you from others. This disconnection then makes it more difficult to seek the knowledge that will lead you towards your true self. When you stifle your own honest opinions, needs and desires by not saying them out loud, you are encouraging an imbalance in your Vishudda. A blocked Vishudda shows through saying one thing but doing another, shyness or fear of talking, social anxiety, frequent headaches or sore throats, difficulty expressing thoughts, dental Issues, creative block, hoarseness, stubbornness, thyroid problems, detachment.
A perpetual blockage of your Vishudda can lead you to become arrogant, domineering and manipulative or you will find yourself damaging your relationships by speaking rudely, sometimes to the point of verbal abuse. Symptoms of an imbalance include:
• Becoming easily offended by innocent comments
• Earaches
• Talking nonstop
• Neck pain
• Laringitis
• Gossiping
• Mouth or jaw problems
• Condescension
• Frequent colds
To balance your Vishudda and be able to communicate clearly and concisely again, you must make positive changes to your lifestyle, like eating healthier, exercising regularly or trying sound therapy, which can be as easy as singing in the shower. You should also take time to examine your three physical Chakras, as cleansing them can do wonders for your spiritual Chakras.
CHAKRA 6: AJNA – THE THIRD EYE CHAKRA
Ajna, which translates from Sanskrit to mean ‘command’ or ‘perception’, is the indigo Chakra found in the centre of your forehead. Your Ajna governs your intuition and insight, helping you to see and understand beyond thoughts and words. Your Ajna aligns with the supreme element, which is a combination of all five of the elements in their purest forms. This is because the Ajna rises above the independent or subjective, taking in the bigger picture so that you can see the world accurately. Your Ajna governs your:
• Spiritual Awareness: Cutting through illusions, seeing deeper truths and strengthening intuition.
• Synchronisation: Fully activating both sides of your brain, as well as integrating the creativity and imaginative vision of your left with the logic and analytical thinking of your right.
• Perception: Amplifying your physical and psychic vision to encourage clarity and understanding.
• Physical Health: Brain, nervous system, eyes and pituitary gland.
Your Ajna helps you to tap into the profound potential for your intellect, intuition, insight, wisdom and spiritual awareness. It is the key for your spiritual development and wisdom as it helps you choose what to focus on and how to perceive things – your reality. The Ajna helps you to break the illusions formed by your experiences, fears, past and beliefs so that you can see and understand the world clearly.
How do you know when your Ajna isn’t balanced?
Imbalances in your Ajna can cause you to lose faith in your true purpose, leaving you feeling insignificant and demotivated. As a result, your ability to make fast, assured decisions is also challenged and you may struggle to learn new things.
A blockage in your Ajna can cause you to distrust the inner voice that is your intuition, leaving you restless and unable to find direction. When your Ajna is blocked you may notice lowered immune system, inability to sleep, migraines, delusions, vivid dreams and nightmares, scepticism, sinusitis, depression, poor vision, anxiety, sciatica, paranoia, and seizures.
A blocked Ajna skews your perception into something negative and unrealistic, taking away your sense of direction and compelling you to remain stagnant rather than letting go of your unhelpful fears and beliefs. It can overload you with information, causing psychological and psychic distress. If your Ajna is overactive, you may notice:
• Hallucinations
• Headaches
• Amnesia
• Being overly judgemental
• Anxiety
• Problems with vision
• Unable to think clearly
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Insomnia
• Paranoia
• Sinus issues
• Delusions
• Nausea
When visions and information are coming at you too quickly to decipher, you become mentally exhausted, to the point that making simple, everyday decisions becomes intimidating. Cleansing your Ajna and synchronising your Chakras will enable you to regain clarity and ground yourself in reality so that you can make the decisions that will lead to your best life.
CHAKRA 7: SAHASRARA – THE CROWN CHAKRA
The final Chakra, the Sahasrara, sits atop your crown, symbolised by the colours white and violet. The energy of your Sahasrara allows you to experience the divine connection between everyone and everything in nature. It connects you to the deepest part of yourself and divine power. Your Sahasrara governs:
• The Gateway: The gap in the realm of our existence that partitions the physical humanity from the non-physical divinity.
• Connection to consciousness: The Universe’s consciousness is all-embracing and connects us all at a fundamental level.
• Physical Health: Pituitary gland, pineal gland, muscular system, skeletal system and skin.
Your Sahasrara encourages your awareness of your life as an extension of the pure universal consciousness that connects all things. The thought patterns of your consciousness create manifestations and the more you understand this, the more you are able to grow, embrace gratitude and live with faith and trust.
How do you know when your Sahasrara isn’t balanced?
Imbalances in your Sahasrara are the result of a disconnect from the deeper parts of yourself, nature and divinity. The strain of this isolation causes constant fatigue and confusion, among other things.
As the Chakra for enlightenment, connection to others and bonds with the divine, your Sahasrara will cause you to feel isolated as well as emotionally and spiritually distressed when it is blocked. This can show through depression, loneliness and an inability to connect, delusional disorders, nerve pain, lack of direction, Alzheimer’s Disease, spiritual disconnection, thyroid and pineal gland disorders, struggling to set or maintain goals, recurring headaches and migraines, and insomnia.
The harm caused by a blocked Sahasrara can severely stunt your spiritual growth and can cause you to feel detached from the world and oriented towards conflict with those around you. You will feel lost, as if you are in the midst of a crisis and have lost your way in life. Symptoms of an imbalance include:
• Depression
• Dizziness
• Confusion
• Inability to think
• Seizures
• Lack of empathy
• Light sensitivity
It is crucial that you stay in touch with the energy of nature to prevent imbalances in your Sahasrara. When your Crown Chakra is open and balanced your connection to nature and the universe will allow you to openly exchange energy with the higher power that sustains you. This power will guide you toward trust, faith, love and fulfillment whilst keeping you grounded in reality.
In the next post, I will focus on tips on how to balance and open each of the Chakras.
Love learning about Chakras? Did you know there are Nourished Energy Chakra Cards available in the Shop to purchase.
In love and light,
Loretta xo