The Chakras

The ancient healers knew that the body is more than what is seen. They respected the wholeness of the body, emotions, mind, and spirit, saw the spirit within all Beings, and treated their patients with respect and caring. Healing was a three way agreement between healer, spirit, and the person being healed and healing was an active choice. Such partnerships and participation are missing in today’s modern medicine, along with the concepts of wholeness and respect. Anyone can heal, and anyone can choose well-being. By learning and using the ancient skills of healing, many diseases of the body, emotions, mind, and spirit are preventable, or are easily transformed before they become matters for the allopathic medicine. The skills of the ancient healers are available to each and every one of us. We can all reclaim our right to heal.

Chakras originated in the ancient Hindu system of healing dating back to before 2,500 BC. Yogis have used the chakra system for thousands of years as an integral part of holistic healing. Every living being, including the Earth has Chakras. There are hundreds of Chakras within and around you, 7 major, 21 minor and 72,000 minuscule ones, but most healers are concerned with only the 7 major ones.

“Chakra” pronounced “Shock Rah” is the Sanskrit name for: Wheel ~ those who have inner vision see and feel the Chakras moving as spinning wheels.

What is a Chakra?

Chakras are spinning energy centers within our body, which are invisible to the normal human eye. They are responsible for creating and maintaining our very existence. They are the openings for life energy to flow into our body from the universe and out through our auras. 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. The Chakra system is our map for the journey through life. These seven spiritual centers within our body are sensitive contact points where the spiritual world and the physical world touch. The chakra takes energy from the spiritual world and by altering its vibration, makes it available to us in our physical body. Chakras hold the key to spiritual awakening, psychological well-being, and physical health.

Chakras receive and transmit energy all the time. When perceived clairvoyantly, Chakras appear as a colorful wheel or flower with a hub in the center, similar to fans with overlapping blades.

Chakras are located deep within the center of our physical body next to a hormonal gland along the spinal column and expand out into our energy field.

What does a Chakra look like?

Each Chakra looks like a lotus flower, with petals increasing as you move from the root chakra to the crown.
The seven spiritual centers are known to represent the colors of the rainbow; each chakra is a different color.

Red (Root) ~ Orange (Sacral) ~ Yellow (Solar Plexus) ~ Green (Heart) ~ Blue (Throat) ~ Indigo (Third Eye) ~ Violet, White, or Gold (Crown).

Each Chakra has its own energy, emotions, thoughts, and feelings, and each one spins differently - some faster or slower than the other. Chakras are mostly open when we are born and tend to close with difficult experiences along our journey. The size and brightness of the Chakras vary with individual development, physical condition, energy levels, disease, or stress. When the Chakras are functioning normally, each will be open, spinning at a healthy speed to metabolize the particular energies needed from the universal energy field.
Where are the seven main Chakras located and what do they represent?

Each Chakra governs a section of the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual parts of what makes us whole.

The 1st Chakra (Root), located at the base of the spine. Represents our Physical Identity, Grounding, and Self Preservation. The Right to be here and the right to Have.
The 2nd Chakra (Sacral), located two fingers below the belly button. Represents our Emotions and the Right to feel.
The 3rd Chakra (Solar Plexus), located above your belly button and below the ribs. Represents our Ego, Will & Power Center, and the Right to Act.
The 4th Chakra (Heart), located at the heart, chest, or cardiac plexus. Represents Love, Relationships, Forgiveness, and Compassion for self and others. The Right to love and be loved.
The 5th Chakra (Throat), located at the throat / right above the “V” groove of the collarbone. Represents Self-expression, speaking one’s own truths, listening
Communication and Creativity. The Right to speak and be heard.
The 6th Chakra (Brow, Third Eye), located between the brows. Represents Intuition, clarity, vision, and imagination. The Right to see and be seen.
The 7th Chakra (Crown), located on top of the head. Represents Spiritual connection, understanding, and intelligence. The Right to know.

The Chakras are interrelated; one affects another. The Root Chakra is the lowest of the 7 Chakras and spins the slowest. As you move up the Chakra System each spin a bit faster than the one before. The Crown Chakra is the highest of the 7 Chakras and spins the fastest.

When a persons Chakra or Chakras are out of balance or blocked: (“Blocked” meaning: energy flowing less freely in and out of the chakra.) it can make one feel out of sorts, simply not themselves. When a chakra is blocked a persons’ Chi or Prana (life force) slows down. In return making one feel depressed, sluggish, out of touch, confused, tired, fearful, untrusting, angry for no reason, lacking in self-confidence and self-esteem, unhappy with self and others, and unable to think clearly. Simply said, experiencing blocked or unbalanced chakras can leave a person with a negative outlook on life in general. When a person feels like this for too long of a period they are setting themselves up for illnesses to creep in. Our thoughts are directly related to our body’s general well being. Illnesses always start in the energy field that surrounds our physical body. If negative thoughts continue, eventually they will manifest as an illness within our physical body.

Exercise: Take a moment and think of something that has been bothering you, something negative. Close your eyes and slowly scan your body internally, Say this problem again and at the same time allow yourself to feel this problem within you. What part of your body do you feel this thought in? Does this feeling stay in one area, or does it quickly move through you affecting several areas?

Now, Take a moment and think of something really positive to counteract the negative thought. Feel this thought with as much love you can muster up. Again, take a moment and feel this thought moving through your body. Can you feel it transposing negative into positive?

Positive thoughts and feelings create healthy Chakras, which create a healthier you. You become energized, you feel good, your words form easily, and tension leaves your body. You fall in love with life. A simple smile filled with love, peace and happiness creates inner peace which brings vital health.

Negative thinking and feelings create an unhealthy you and unwanted anything and everything.
Which do you prefer?

Why do our chakras become blocked / out of balance?

We are all here on earth in human body form to experience all that life has to offer. Good, bad, or indifferent, how we deal with these experiences affect our energy system, our chakras.
Sometimes, we make some not so good choices, and other times we make great choices. When we make the not so good choices and we dwell on them, we call ourselves names and wished we should have, could have, but didn’t - we are holding onto guilt, fear, shame. This is a negative emotion which creates an imbalance in the chakras. When we hold onto things that may have happened to us in the past and have not offered forgiveness to self and others - this too is a negative emotion and creates an imbalance in the chakras. During our childhood if there was lack of love, nurturing, or encouragement this can create an inability for energy to flow freely in and out of our chakras. Again, how we deal with experiences in our past, present, and future affects our chakras and well being.
Whenever we deny an experience that doesn’t feel good we are stopping healthy energy flow to and from our chakras. When this takes place our chakras become blocked and spin irregularly.

What can we do to balance the chakras?

Getting to know ourselves through paying attention to what our thoughts are, where in the body do we feel these thoughts, learning the art of letting go of things we cannot control and take control of the positive things we want is a great start.
Learning to ask ourselves questions about how and why we feel a certain way can be very beneficial in getting to know our own thoughts. Learning to take a situation and asking ourselves “how can I make this become the idyllic situation so that I feel comfortable and good inside my body?”
Thoughts and feelings from our past can be dealt with bit by bit through Spiritual Healing, Guided Meditations to heal the Inner Child and Chakra Balancing, Creative Visualizations to heal past present and future are all very beneficial to our healing process.

A big part of our chakras are about sound and color, especially when used together. Sound therapy, along with color has been used by indigenous cultures for centuries.
When we are born our chakras vibrate at a healthy frequency. Experiences in our life since birth can change this frequency to unhealthy states. However, sound such as the drum, tuning forks, singing bowls, and music of all sort helps change the vibrational frequency of our chakras to a higher, healthier state, a state in which they are familiar with. In other words ~ soothing sounds that makes us feel good, creates good health.

Our connection to spirit through prayer, mediation, and journeying are other ways to bring balance to our chakras. Using gemstones and crystals correlating with each chakra helps remove blockages and allows the energy to flow freely to and from the chakras.
Reiki, Yoga, Reflexology, Massage, Aromatherapy, Flower Essences, Incense, Smudging, Affirmations, and keeping a journal are also apart of balancing and maintaining the chakras.

When your chakras are in balance your body will feel light within and without. You smile, you feel great, your light is bright and all is attracted to this light. You simply Glow….

Resources & References:


“Anatomy of the Spirit” ~ Caroline Myss, Ph.D.
“Exploring the Chakras” ~ Susan Shumsky
“Wheels of Life” ~ Anodea Judith, Ph.D.
“Hands of Light” ~ Barbara Ann Brennan
“Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom” ~ Christiane Northrup
“Color and Crystals A Journey through the Chakras” ~ Joy Gardner-Gordon
“Opening to Spirit” ~ Caroline Shola Arewa
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