The Chakra Series
Welcome to the Chakra Series. In my upcoming 7 blog posts we will dive into each individual chakra and get to the root (pun intended) of what these things are, how they affect you, and what you can do to tap into them. But for now, here is just a brief overview.
The basics:
· You’ve got 7.
· They are energy hot spots.
· They run along your midline.
· Starting from the bottom they are: Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus, Heart, Throat, Third Eye, and Crown.
· Each is represented by a different color, element, emotion, body part, etc.
· Things such as mantras, crystals, yoga poses, and even foods can help you tap into and unblock these energy centers.
But like, what are they?
If you were born in the 90s and grew up on Nickelodeon as I did, your first introduction to your chakras might have come from Avatar The Last Airbender (Season 2 episode 19 to be exact.) Even if you have no idea what I am talking about I recommend taking to YouTube to check out the clip from this episode. To date, it is still one of the best explanations I have heard.
Since that beloved day in 2006, my understanding of chakras has (thankfully) expanded and I can now participate in a more in-depth and detailed discussion.
According to yogic philosophy, energy moves through channels called nadis within our body. Where these different channels intersect, there are energy hot spots and thus a chakra.
The word chakra translates to “wheel.” Your chakras are wheels along the midline of your body that move energy through the various nadis within you. I envision this entire system as a water way of sorts. The nadis are rivers and streams crisscrossing and flowing through our body. At those intersections there are watermills that merge those streams together forming one large river along your spine. The water that moves through all these tributaries is the prana or energy we bring in.
Do you have to do anything to bring that energy in to start the flow?
Breathe. Yup, it is as simple as that. In Sanskrit life force energy is called Prana. Prana can also be translated to mean “breathe” or “vital energy.” Taking a very complicated yogic philosophy/practice and watering it down immensely; breathing allows us to pull in the life force energy, or prana, from our environment and channel it down through our chakras.
Is that energy always flowing?
Yes. And no. There can be blockages in one or more of your chakras. This will manifest differently depending on which chakra(s) are blocked. Your chakras can also be overactive. Similar to blockages, this imbalance will also manifest both physically and mentally in different ways depending on which chakras are working overtime.
How do you know if one of your chakras is out of whack?
Depending on which chakra(s) is affected will determine how the instability manifests. Manifestations can be physical and/or mental. How severely out of whack your chakras are will directly correlate with how severe your manifestations are. In the following blog posts I will touch on the signs for each chakra more specifically.
How do you fix a blockage or overactivity?
Each chakra is different and in the following blog posts I will address each chakra individually. Bottom line is there is much you can do to work on balancing out your chakras and remove any debris. Yoga is obviously one of them.
In my posts for this series, as I touch on each chakra and break down what an imbalance or blockages may look like, asanas to help you connect with that particular chakra, and just more specifics of each of these energy hot spots.
As the posts go live, each of the following will become a hyperlink to the blog post dealing with that specific chakra. So, click away and dive deeper into the world of chakras, energy, prana, and finding balance within yourself.
Crown Chakra
Third Eye Chakra
Throat Chakra
Heart Chakra
Solar Plexus Chakra
Sacral Chakra
Root Chakra
