Root
Colour – Red
Location – Base of spine
Meaning – physical identity, grounding, stability
The official name of this chakra, Muladhara, actually translates as ‘root’ and ‘support’.
This chakra’s role is to connect all of your physical, bodily energy with the Earth itself. In other words, this chakra ‘grounds’ you. Your root chakra is also linked to everything you need to survive. This includes the act of breathing, eating, sleeping, and experiencing physical security. When your 1st chakra is balanced, you’ll feel a deep sense of peace. You’ll feel safe in the knowledge that all of your core needs are met. Because of this, all total body healing starts here. A blocked root chakra can manifest as physical issues like arthritis, constipation, and bladder or colon problems, or emotionally through feeling insecure about finances or our basic needs and well-being. When it’s in alignment and open, we will feel grounded and secure, both physically and emotionally.
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Sacral
Colour – Orange
Location – Reproductive area
Meaning – Sexuality, pleasure, creativity
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Also known as ‘the place of the self’, the sacral chakra is therefore all about your creative identity as a human.
This chakra helps you enjoy your life here on Earth. It’s the energy that motivates you to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Above all, indulging in pleasurable activities like sex, artistic activities, and good food. When your 2nd chakra is balanced, you’ll truly relish in all the finer things in life. Because of this, you’ll enjoy them without overdoing them.
Issues with this chakra can be seen via problems with the associated organs, like urinary tract infections, lower back pain, and impotency.
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Solar Plexus
Colour – Yellow
Location – Upper tummy area
Meaning – Self-esteem, confidence
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Many call the solar plexus chakra the ‘warrior chakra’ as well. This is because this is by far the most powerful supporting chakra for bravery and boundary-setting. For instance, you can most probably physically feel its raging energy when you feel angry. You’ll feel it when you need to defend yourself. For better or for worse, it’s your fight and flight response’s right-hand man! When balanced, high self-esteem and self-worth are bonus by-products.
Blockages in the third chakra are often experienced through digestive issues like ulcers, heartburn, eating disorders, and indigestion. It’s the chakra of our personal power. This means it’s related to our self-esteem and self-confidence.
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Heart
Colour – Green or Pink
Location – Centre of chest, just above the heart
Meaning – Love, compassion, relationships
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Interestingly, the Sanskrit term for the heart chakra translates to the state of being ‘unhurt.’
Because of this, when you’re experiencing feelings of love, compassion, and kindness, it’s this energy center you’re connecting to. In spite of all its translations, this chakra is fundamentally just about love. Love is the most healing frequency of all. Similarly, when your Heart Chakra is balanced, you are easily able to feel love and empathy for yourself and others. Blocks in our heart chakra can manifest in our physical health through heart problems, asthma, and weight issues. But blocks are often seen even more clearly through people’s actions. People with heart chakra blocks often put others first, to their own detriment. It’s the middle of the seven chakras, so it bridges the gap between our upper and lower chakras, and it also represents our ability to love and connect to others. When out of alignment, it can make us feel lonely, insecure, and isolated.
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Throat
Colour – Blue
Location – Throat area
Meaning – Communication
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Carrying the meaning of the words ‘very pure’, this chakra helps you to quite literally speak up. Because of this, you’ll do so in a smooth, confident, authentic way. In addition, this chakra is your official seat of self-expression. The throat chakra also gives a voice to your personal preferences, beliefs, and values. When balanced, you openly and lovingly speak the truth. Moreover, you express yourself in whichever way feels most in alignment at any given time.
In other words, there’s nothing that enlightens and inspires those around you like an open Throat Chakra.
As one would expect, this chakra is connected to our ability to communicate verbally. Voice and throat problems as well as any problems with everything surrounding that area, such as the teeth, gums, and mouth, can indicate a blockage.
Blocks or misalignment can also be seen through dominating conversations, gossiping, speaking without thinking, and having trouble speaking your mind. When in alignment, you will speak and listen with compassion and feel confident when you speak because you know you are being true to yourself with your words.
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Third Eye
Colour - Indigo
Location – Between the eyes, on the forehead, known as the ‘brow chakra’
Meaning – Intuition, psychic connection, imagination
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The infamous third eye chakra, Ajna, roughly translates as ‘beyond wisdom’. This is because this mystic energy center opens you up to expanded states of consciousness. They go way beyond the five senses and the material world we live in. Extrasensory perception, intuition, and psychic abilities are all born from the third eye. This is because of the brain’s small yet extremely powerful pinecone-shaped gland. It sits just behind Ajna, and goes by the name of the ‘pineal gland‘. Furthermore, long before brain imaging, many ancient cultures knew about the third eye’s presence. They believed it to be our human connection to the divine. When your Third Eye is balanced, you’ll feel in tune with the physical and spiritual world. You’ll also be able to connect with both your ego and your soul. Since this chakra is physically located on the head, blockages can manifest as headaches, issues with sight or concentration, and hearing problems. People who have trouble listening to reality (who seem to “know it all”) or who are not in touch with their intuition may also have a block. When open and in alignment, it’s thought that people will follow their intuition and be able to see the big picture.
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Crown
Location – The very top of the head
Colour – Indigo, or white
Meaning – Awareness, intelligence
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According to most tantric yoga traditions, the final chakra translates as ‘a thousand petals’. This refers to its beautiful, petal-ladened symbology. Sahasrara is nothing but pure consciousness, connecting you to the Universe. This complete Universe is also known as ‘Om’.
Achieving a balanced crown chakra is the goal of any spiritual practice. Moreover, it’s not easy to do. Once truly balanced, you’ve achieved enlightenment. In other words, you discover the secret of who you really are. Transcending suffering is known in the Buddhist tradition as ‘Nirvana’. The crown chakra is linked to every other chakra (and therefore every organ in this system), and so it affects not just all of those organs, but also our brain and nervous system. It is considered the chakra of enlightenment and represents our connection to our life’s purpose and spirituality.
Those with a blocked crown chakra may seem narrow-minded, skeptical, or stubborn. When this chakra is open, it is thought to help keep all the other chakras open and to bring the person bliss and enlightenment. As these are all energetic centers of the body that correspond to feelings, one of them probably resonated with you as you were reading. A different one may resonate with you tomorrow. It’s likely that one resonates with you more than any others as a continuous problem, a chakra where you often deal with blocks. Other blockages may pop up every now and then. In the chakra system, these patterns have specific terms and there are recommended treatments.
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If you would like more information about the chakras, do get in touch!
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