The chakrasChakras are our energy centres. They are the openings for life energy to flow into and out of our aura. Their function is to vitalize the physical body and to bring about the development of our self-consciousness. They are associated with our physical, mental and emotional interactions.
Although there are many other chakra centres within the whole of our spiritual, mental, emotional, physical being, today we’ll talk about the seven main ones that are the most associated with. The Sanskrit word Chakra literally translates to wheel or disk. In yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda, this term refers to wheels of energy throughout the body. There are seven main chakras, which align the spine, starting from the base of the spine through to the crown of the head. To visualize a chakra in the body, imagine a swirling wheel of energy or vortex where matter and consciousness meet. This invisible energy, called Prana, is vital life force, which keeps us vibrant, healthy, and alive. These swirling wheels or vortexes of energy correspond to massive nerve centres in the body. Each of the seven main chakras contains bundles of nerves and major organs as well as our psychological, emotional, and spiritual states of being. Since everything is moving, it’s essential that our seven main chakras stay open, aligned, and fluid. If there is a blockage, energy cannot flow. |
The chakras are vortexes that spin on both sides of the body, from the head and tailbone.
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The 7 chakras meanings, function and location The root chakra: is associated with the colour red.
This chakra is the grounding force that allows us to connect to the earth energies and empower our beings. Focusing one's attention on this chakra can help bring our energetic body "down to earth" and in alignment with our physical body when we find ourselves energetically feeling floaty or spaced out. The first chakra also corresponds to the area where the body makes contact with the earth when seated in the classic posture of meditation. It grounds us is in physical life: in the physical arena, every experience, every encounter we have automatically engages our first chakra, which assesses our immediate environment for the basic details of size, shape, people, and all other factors that relate to physical characteristics. The first chakra also grounds us to the groups that support our life. Our relationship with power begins with learning how it works within our family and other social groups or tribal connections, including friends, gangs, religious affiliations, and social class. Other forms of group power connections include genetic inheritance, ethnic heritage, and national identity, as well as group beliefs, values, attitudes, and superstitions. The Sacral Chakra: is associated with the colour orange or red-orange This chakra often offers us the opportunity to lessen our "control issues" and find a balance in our lives, teaching us to recognize that acceptance and rejection are not the only options in our relationships. Second chakra energy also gives us our basic survival instincts and intuitions, as well as our desire to create music, art, poetry, and architecture, and the curiosity to investigate nature in science and medicine. Our creative energy draws us into an internal dialogue with the polarities of the self, our self, our conflicting inclinations, and it compels us to form external relationships to resolve these polarities. Choice is born out of opposites, and the duality of the second chakra is forever challenging us to make choices in a world of opposing sides, of positive and negative energy patterns. Every choice we make contributes to a subtle current of our energy to our universe, which is responsive to the influence of human consciousness. The Solar Plexus Chakra: is associated with the colour yellow. This is the area which defines our "self-esteem." The personality that develops during puberty is housed in this chakra... otherwise known as the "EGO." Also all of your interactions with people begin via your third chakra. I once overheard someone say that the greatest curse of the human experience is low self-esteem, and I could not agree more. The insecurities that arise from a lack of self-esteem generate an almost disabling degree of vulnerability. You are unable to “hold your centre” or withstand criticism; you have trouble expressing your opinions and needs and drawing your boundaries of self-protection; you don’t trust your intuition. Without self-esteem we lack the courage to carve our place in the world and may end up being controlled by other people. The Heart Chakra: is associated with the colour or pink. This love centre of our human energy system is often the focus in bringing about a healing. Thus, the words "Love Heals All" have great truth. The fourth chakra is the heart centre of the body. As the keeper of wisdom and the power of forgiveness and release, this chakra rules the process of transformation. The heart centre regulates all issues related to emotions, from love, compassion, generosity, and empathy to hatred, jealousy and malice. The heart chakra also governs the spiritual challenges of forgiveness of others and of oneself. The power of this energy centre animates the life that surrounds you, lending all activities and exchanges personal texture and significance. And although each of your chakras serves the whole of your energy field, the fourth is the most vital of all, because love, passion, envy, generosity, compassion, and all the emotions connected to your fears and other strengths reside here. Where your heart is, there is your power. Without this energy nothing in your life can manifest or flourish, from your romantic relationships to your artistic creativity. The Throat Chakra: is associated with the colour sky blue. This chakra is our communication centre. The healthfulness of the fifth chakra is in relation to how honestly one expresses himself/herself. Lying violates the body and spirit. We speak our choices with our voices (throats). Corresponding to the throat and thyroid gland, the fifth chakra is your centre of will, your ability to express your needs and desires, and your power of choice. The force behind acts of creation, choice creates consequence. The fifth chakra also is the centre of the energy of honour. It resonates when you “give your word” to someone. When you make a commitment, you agree to use the power of your will to hold within you a part of another person’s spirit, to be psychologically supportive. “Giving your word,” or making a social vow of marriage or a religious vow is a ritual of personal revelation. When a person breaks his word, that action reverberates for years within the psyche of the betrayed. It cuts to the soul. The Brow Chakra: is associated with the colour indigo. It is also often referred to as the third eye or the mind centre. It is our avenue to wisdom - learning from our experiences and putting them in perspective. Our ability to separate reality from fantasy or delusions is in connection with the healthfulness of this chakra. This chakra resonates with the pineal gland, which is located behind and between your eyes and so is often called the third eye. The centre of wisdom in the body, its power affects the intellect and your ability to articulate vision and inspiration. While we may be able to envision endless dreams and possibilities, we still need an instrument that is skilled at focusing attention and applying imagination. A focused mind and disciplined imagination are two of the strengths associated with the sixth chakra. Once you have the seed of an idea, your sixth chakra helps give it shape. You run the idea through your intelligence to see if you can work with it. You evaluate the idea intellectually and decide whether you want to ‘manage’ the birth of this idea into its physical form. On the physical level your sixth chakra mobilizes your intellect and attitudes to deal with any situation and communicate your ideas to those involved. The Crown Chakra: is associated with the colour violet or white. We use the seventh chakra as a tool to communicate with our spiritual nature. It is through this chakra that the life force is dispersed from the universe into the lower 6 chakras. It has been referred to as our link to our higher selves or god source. This is the area of the psychophysical body where divine energy – prana – chi – or the life-force universe – enters your physical energy system. This is the initial point at which each archetypal pattern becomes personalized into your life. The seventh chakra energy resonates with the imagination, with the greatest potential of the human spirit and physical body. When athletes first aimed to run a four-minute mile, or aerospace engineers imagined that they could put a man on the moon, their idea of what was possible was a seventh-chakra image. Every greater vision manifests as a personal goal when it descends into the sixth chakra, where visionary energy allies with that if the rational mind. |