Chakras: 101

Chakra (Cha like chocolate not ‘sha’) in Sanskrit means “wheel”

🔥 The Threefold Chakra Regions

Each group corresponds to different energies and areas of human experience:

1. Seat of Fire (Lower Chakras: Survival, Emotion, Power)

• Muladhara (Root) – Earth, Survival, Stability
  ⚠️ Imbalance: Anxiety, greed, heaviness, disconnection from body.
  🧘‍♀️ Balance: Grounding, feeling secure in your body and environment.

• Svadhisthana (Sacral) – Water, Emotions, Sexuality, Creativity
  ⚠️ Imbalance: Emotional extremes or numbness, blocked creativity.
  🧘‍♀️ Balance: Healthy emotional expression, pleasure, fluidity.

• Manipura (Solar Plexus) – Fire, Willpower, Self-esteem
  ⚠️ Imbalance: Anger, indecision, low confidence.
  🧘‍♀️ Balance: Strong will, clarity, confidence.

2. The Central Heart (Mediator: Connection, Compassion)

• Anahata (Heart) – Air, Love, Forgiveness, Compassion
  ⚠️ Imbalance: Grief, jealousy, coldness.
  🧘‍♀️ Balance: Love, empathy, inner peace.

3. Seat of the Moon (Upper Chakras: Expression, Insight, Transcendence)

• Vishuddha (Throat) – Ether, Communication, Truth
  ⚠️ Imbalance: Fear of speaking, dishonesty, confusion about desires.
  🧘‍♀️ Balance: Authenticity, clear communication, self-expression.

• Ajna (Third Eye) – Light, Intuition, Perception
  ⚠️ Imbalance: Fantasy over-reality, indecision, lack of insight.
  🧘‍♀️ Balance: Clear perception, intuition, imagination.

• Sahasrara (Crown) – Consciousness, Unity, Divine Connection
  ⚠️ Imbalance: Disconnection, lack of purpose, depression.
  🧘‍♀️ Balance: Spiritual clarity, purpose, unity with the universe.

🧘‍♂️ Applying Chakra Awareness in Practice

• Observe body language, tone, and energy to intuit chakra imbalances.

• Use guided meditations, affirmations, mantras, breathwork, and asana sequences to target specific chakras.

• Encourage journaling or reflective conversation to help individuals articulate experiences of imbalance or growth.

For example:

• For someone disconnected and anxious (Root imbalance), incorporate grounding poses like Mountain (Tadasana), Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I), and encourage earth visualizations.

• For blocked self-expression (Throat chakra), try Lion’s Breath (Simhasana), Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana), and chanting HAM.

Other ways to understand the Chakras and how to apply in practice:

1st Chakra: Being depleted of first chakra energy feels like a survival crisis. You can’t get grounded because you are stuck in your head. One good example of this imbalance comes when you have been traveling or living in an new place; unable to focus and dizzy.  By contrast, if you have too much energy at the root, you can become greedy or excessive in behaviors. You may find yourself lacking energy, overly tired or heavy if you have too much root.

2nd Chakra: When someone is stuck in their sacral chakra, they struggle with being ruled by their emotions or the opposite of this, which is feeling numb or out of touch. There’s also a correlation to sexual desire (or the lack thereof) at this level. This chakra is responsible for creativity and pleasure.

3rd Chakra: This chakra is often considered the power center, and when out of balance, self-esteem may be low and decision-making can feel out of control. Temper flare-ups are also common when energy isn’t flowing well here.

4th Chakra: The heart chakra, when flowing with energy, feels filled with love, compassion, forgiveness, and acceptance. When there’s a blockage at this energy level, anger, jealousy, grief, or self-hatred can be more prominent.

5th Chakra: This chakra is the source of speaking your most authentic truth. When energy is blocked or low here, fear of not being accepted or of being judged becomes a problem. You might also feel out of touch with your opinions and desires and have challenge in making choices.

6th Chakra: Third eye point; when this chakra is open, you experience expanded imagination, clairvoyance, and intuition. When there is a blockage at this level, there can be a tendency to be over-involved in fantasy or imagination. Lack of focus or clouded judgment can also occur.

7th Chakra: The crown chakra connects you to the wider universal energy, so when this area has a block, isolation or emotional distress can occur. This may present as an inability to set or follow through on goals or an overall lack of direction and feelings of disconnection.