Chakras...What are they and what do I do with them?

Sometimes when I mention chakras, I can see a glazed veil of "what the hell" falling over people's faces.  It's kind of funny and is actually helpful to some degree.  When I see that look, I know just how much the person already knows and how much I need to explain.  So, what are chakras (pronounced shah-krus)?  Okay, let me explain.

Everything is energy.  No, really, everything.  You, me, the table, our cars, our thoughts...everything is energy.  Einstein proved this all the way back in history with his E=mc2.  We won't deep dive into this today, but you can certainly research this further if you like.

The point is that we are energetic beings and that we are constantly giving off energy and taking in energy.  A chakra is a spinning disc of energy.  It is a portal where a certain type of energy enters our body.  There are seven major chakras in the human body and each one is assigned to a certain area of the body.  When a particular chakra gets blocked or is out of balance, it will manifest in physical, emotional, and/or spiritual ailments.

Still with me?  Good.  It's actually pretty simple after it's explained to you and it clicks.  When I first learned about chakras, suddenly all of the physical ailments that I experience made so much sense to me.  For example, I was always really prone to having a gravely voice and a chronic little cough or need to clear my throat.

I started meditating and doing work on my throat chakra and it cleared up.  My voice became normal, as did the rest of it.  See, the throat chakra (I will get more into it below) is all about speaking your truth with as much truth, love, kindness, and integrity as you can.  Don't hold it in, say what you need to say...but do it in a kind, loving way.  When I started doing that, my symptoms disappeared.

This is just one example of many, and it is a good monitoring system for me these days.  I pay attention to my body and my behavior and if something seems out of whack, I pay attention to that chakra and behave accordingly. Nine times out of ten the issue clears up.

Before I get started on each individual chakras, lets talk about ways you can balance them and clear them.  I mentioned above that you can meditate on them.  There is a series of videos on YouTube that I personally love. They have helped me quite a bit.  I will post the links below.  I turn on one of the videos, put in my earbuds and sit quietly/meditate.

Also, each chakra is assigned a color.  It helps to wear that color, decorate with that color, or even imagine (while you're meditating) that color. For example, if I'm working on my sacral chakra, I will imagine orange light all around me, or swimming in a big pool or orange juice.  Or walking down a path through the woods in the fall surrounded by orange leaves.  Sometimes I even imagine the path to be made out of oranges.

I know some people will pay for "experts" to balance/clear their chakras, or spend money on expensive crystals to help with this.  While crystals are a wonderful thing and do help, none of this is necessary.  The truth is that all you have to really do on a daily basis is (in your mind) ask your spirit guides to please balance your chakras.  You may not be able to feel that energy like I can (I can physically feel my chakras being balanced), but you can trust that they will do this for you.  Then any extra work you do through meditation and whatnot is icing on the cake.

It really is a blessing that I'm able to talk to my guides and feel their answers.  I know not everyone has this gift.  I'm able to sit down to meditate and ask, "Which chakra needs the most attention at this moment?" and they will tell me.  If you don't have the ability to do that, then I would say pay attention to whatever color you are drawn to at the moment.  If you notice you are wearing a ton of blue lately, or wanting to decorate your home in blue...then your throat chakra is probably needing the work.  See what I mean?

Okay, let's move on to the individual chakras, what they mean, and what you may experience when they are out of whack.  The chakra system starts from the bottom and works it's way up the body.

Chakra #1: Root

Your root chakra is located by the base of your spine/your tailbone.  The color for this chakra is RED and the sound your can chant (if you like to do so) is "LAM".

Basically, your root chakra deals with safety and security.  It is the most primal of the chakras  and addresses the areas of security, safety, survival, basic needs (food, sleep, shelter, self-preservation), grounding of energy.

This is why most little kids' favorite color is red.  Because they are learning how to feel safe and secure in the world.  When you learn that you are safe, you become a grounded, well-rounded person.  

So, what happens when these issues aren't settled?  What happens when your root chakra becomes blocked or out-of-balance?  You will likely be a very negative and ultra-cynical person.  You may be greedy and a bit paranoid.  You  may be dealing with issues related to safety and never feeling secure.  Trust issues.  People with  PTSD  will have issues with their root chakra.  Also, you may be flighty and/or full of stress and anxiety.  You won't be grounded and "down to earth".

You may also notice issues with your circulatory system, cold feet, etc.  Issues with your rectum or colon, constipation, poor immune system, prostate issues,  etc.

How do you work on your root chakra?

You can meditate on it as I described above.  Here is a link to my favorite video: Root chakra video

You can also get in touch with the earth.  Nature is grounds us.  There are times when I will go outside and just stand barefoot in the grass.  You can garden and get your hands in the soil.  Lean against a tree and read a book, etc.  Wear or picture the color red.

 

Chakra #2: Sacral

The sacral chakra is located just above your pubic bone.  Basically where a woman's uterus is.  The color for this chakra is orange, and the sound is "VAM."  

The sacral chakra deals with the emotional body.It deal with creativity, fertility, sexuality, passion, and relationships.  This chakra also determines how flexible you are and how well you go with the flow. 

 If this chakra is out of balance, you will likely by ruled by your emotions.  At the same time you can be very out of touch with your emotions and how you really feel. You may have issues with sexuality and intimacy.  You will likely have a very low sex-drive.  You may be a rather rigid person and not very flexible when it comes to life circumstances.  You will likely be dependent or co-dependent.  You can be depressed or stuck when it comes to your moods.  You may have bladder, genital, or reproductive issues.

To work on the sacral chakra, here is my preferred video:  Sacral chakra video 

 

Chakra # 3: Solar Plexus

Your Solar Plexus chakra is located right over your stomach.  It's between your navel and your breast bone.  It's color is yellow, and it's sound is "RAM."

Your solar plexus chakra is responsible for issues related to your personal power and asserting yourself.  It's also about taking responsibility for your own stuff and taking control of your life.  If you have an issue with doing that, your favorite color at the moment might be yellow.   This chakra deals with your own personal identity, self-esteem, knowing that you are capable, self-discipline, decision-making, and trusting your own judgement.

 When there are issues with this chakra, you may experience issues with your digestive system or your pancreas, liver, and central nervous system.  You may also face issues with addiciton. 

This chakra feeds your direction in life and the ability to reach your goals.

How do I work on my solar plexus chakra?

Here is the YouTube video I prefer:  Solar Plexus video 

 

Chakra #4: Heart

 The heart chakra is for exactly what you may think it's for...love, compassion, and beauty.  It enables us to see the world and others through a framework of love.  It also sees the beauty in everything.  Have you ever been in awe at something beautiful in nature?  This is your heart chakra.  If you haven't, then maybe you need to work on yours. ;)  

The heart chakra's location is right over your physical heart, it's color is green (like an emerald), and it's sound is "YAM."   I've read several times that it is located directly in the center of your chest, not over your heart, but this is not my experience.  When I ask my guides to show me where my heart chakra is, the whole area over my actual heart glows with energy.

With the heart chakra, you will deal with issues of love for one's self and for others, compassion, empathy, forgiveness, judgement/acceptance, grief and moving through the grief process properly, insight.  When this chakra is open, you will feel and see beauty all around you.  You will have a lightness of being and feel connected to everyone and everything.  

When it is blocked, you will notice issues with being judgemental, critical, difficulties relating to others, jealousy, or being closed down/withdrawn.  It is associated with the cardiac systems and the lungs.  Because of this, if your heart chakra needs attention, your asthma and/or allergies may be uncontrolled.  It is also in charge of your hormones and immune system.  When I began working on my heart chakra, my lupus improved SIGNIFICANTLY.  Breast issues/cancer can also be an issue related to this chakra. 

 If you need to work on your heart chakra, here is the video that helped me:  Heart chakra video

 

Chakra #5: Throat

Your throat chakra is located right over your throat/adam's apple.  It's color is blue, and the sound is "HAM."  When I ask my guide to show me what shade of blue the throat chakra actually is (because I have seen it as all different shades), I get shown a picture of blueberries.  So it really is a deeper blue.

This chakra, as I discussed above, deals with speaking your truth.  Not only speaking your truth, but doing it in a way that it isn't malicious.  It is about speaking your truth with kindness, love, and integrity.  It's about not holding back because you're afraid to hurt someone's feelings, because it is that person's responsibility how they accept what you have to say.  If you have said your piece with love, truth, and kindness, then your side of the street is clean.  

The throat chakra is all about expression and communication.  Not just speaking your truth in relation to another person, it is also about expressing your ideas clearly.  It's about being able to take creativity and express it in the right timing and in the right way.

It is associated with the mouth, jaws, tongue,throat, and palate.  It’s is also linked to the shoulders and the neck. The gland associated with the fifth chakra is the thyroid.  So, temperature, growth, and in large parts, metabolism are associated with this chakra.

The throat chakra is the last one in the lower body.  It connects the body to the head.  The lower to the upper (the upper chakras are more about the divine).   If the throat chakra is out of balanced or blocked, there can be a bottle necking of energy and poor communication from your guides and the divine to the rest of the chakras.  When mine is out of balance, I literally get headaches Usually right on the front of my head).  Not because it is responsible for my head, but because I will have so much energy sitting up in my head and it isn't filtering down.

If this chakra is out of whack, you may notice the following: Not really having a voice, not speaking your mind, speaking too much or inappropriately, not being a good listener, small/quiet/imperceptible voice, not being able to keep secrets, not keeping your word, lying, shyness, being overly secretive, lack of connection with your purpose in life. 

Here is the video for the throat chakra: Throat chakra video

 

Chakra #6: Third Eye

Your Third Eye chakra is located right in the middle of your forehead.  It's color is a deep Indigo blue/violet.  It's sound is "OM." 

Your third eye is your connection to your intuition, psychic gifts, wisdom, insight, inspiration.  Your third eye deals with what is beyond this physical world.  If your third eye is open, you may discover gifts you never knew you had.  My gift as an empath developed and I began to feel energy in my body in a way I never had before.  

I can physically feel energy.  My guides and I have worked out a system for communication.  I asked them to show me what a "yes" response feels like and they gave me a certain type of energy over my heart.  A "no" answer is a dull, energy underneath my heart.  Different guides of mine have different energies, so I can tell which one is working on my chakras.  If I ask them to show me where a chakra is or to point out which one needs attention, they fill that one with energy and I can tell where that is. 

None of that existed before I started meditating and my third eye began to open.  My intuition and ability to communicate with my Heavenly team has vastly improved.  And I know I have a way to go, so I'm excited to see where the future leads as this opens up even more.  

If your third eye is blocked, you may notice having no vision for the future and feeling stuck, rejection of anything spiritual or beyond the physical, not being able to see the greater picture of life and the universe, lack of clarity about life as well as everything else, poor intuition.  You may also experience, nightmares, bipolar, vision problems, migraines, and sleep disorders.

How to work on your Third Eye: Third Eye chakra video

 

Chakra #7: Crown

Your crown chakra is located on top of your head.  It's color is white or sometimes lavender.  It's sound is "OM."

The crown chakra is your connection to the divine; to God.  This is where divine energy flows in, straight from above.  This is what gives us access to what is beyond our mere mortal world.  It is responsible for consciousness, evolvement, bliss.  When this chakra is open, you will realize a loving connection to all that is.

The Crown chakra is primarily associated to the pituitary gland, and secondarily to the pineal and the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus and pituitary gland work in pair to regulate the endocrine system.   

It is associated with the brain and the whole of the nervous/neurologic system.  If it is out of balance, you may feel depression, feel like you don't belong or aren't connected to anything, feeling alone, fear/anxiety,  Alzheimer's, confusion, spaciness, learning disabilities.

To work on your crown chakra, here is my favorite video: Crown chakra video

  

 

I hope this helps!  Let me know if you have any questions.

XO, Veronica