Chakras

This Sanskrit word means wheel and they are literally that, wheels of energy that sit in your aura – or energetic body, the one that surrounds your physical one, the one that goes ouch when you hear bad news, tingles when you feel love or just picks up on an odd atmosphere when you are in a haunted house! There are thousands, eighty eight thousand to be exact, on your body but just for now we will concentrate on the main seven running from the base of your spine to your crown.

Place your hand over your heart, about 4” over it. What do you feel? Can you feel the flow of energy, or perhaps it’s just heat? Now move your hand to the right away from your heart, can you feel the boundaries of your chakra? If you can consciously think about your chakra opening up and then see if you can get it to meet your hand.

Do the same with your crown, your throat, your belly-button – what do you feel, where do you feel it the strongest and is there a direction to the energy, is the wheel spinning clockwise or anti-clockwise? The base chakra in males tends to rotate clockwise, females anti-clockwise – they then alternate as you come up your body.

If a chakra isn’t working well it can affect the one above it, sometimes the best plan is to re-balance them all as often as you can to keep yourself in peak condition.

The First Chakra – the root centre, the base chakra.

Element – earth             Colour – red

Associations - physical wellbeing, all solid parts like bones, teeth, nails as well as blood and the waste disposal system! Material security, the drive to succeed.

Working well – feel connected to the earth and nature, to animals and plants, you will feel part of the whole and not detached from the reality of living on earth. Usually a good grasp of finances and physical wellbeing without being excessive in either.

Out of balance – possessiveness, over –indulgent with food, sex and alcohol as well as obsessing about your security. Everyone may seem to be against you, trust is a foreign concept.

Cleansing – wear the colour red, especially red knickers! Get out and see the sunset or rise, remind yourself of all the beauty in the world and above all eat good quality organic food. This chakra must work well for your development, without good grounding and a positive healthy outlook your concentration will clearly suffer.

The Second Chakra – the sacral chakra or cross centre

Element – water            Colour Orange

Associations – pelvis, reproductive organs, kidneys – liquids such as gastric juices and lymph, regulation of female cycle and male sperm. The creative process of reproduction.

Working well – you feel connected to the creative energy within you and express that with confidence to those you love as well as being genuine with your feelings and your actions.

Out of balance – sexual repression, a feeling of unworthiness perhaps and tendency to push those who could love you away? Perhaps the extreme is prevalent where sex is used as a drug, a way to hide away from the world.

Cleansing – meditate under a full moon, let her pull on this chakra and remind you of the ebb and flow of life, sit by water and listen to it’s ever changing rhythm. Wear orange, once more orange knickers are good, just make sure they are Bridget Jones size and come up to your navel!

The Third Chakra – the solar plexus or Navel centre

Element Fire                 Colour – Yellow to Gold

Associations – lower back, digestive system (not digestive biscuits) the stomach, liver and spleen. Here we shape our wellbeing, we intake goodness ready to turn it into energy – it’s the home of our belly-button, the source of life when we are in our mother’s womb.

Working well – peace and harmony with your Self, happy with life in general and content with who you are and accept others for who they are without judgement. Happy to accept that good things happen, and you are going to have your fair share thank you very much!

Out of balance – instead of seeing the glass half empty you see it half full, your personality is suppressed in some way, you would prefer to be in a dark room with a bar of chocolate and a copy of Woman’s weekly than being outside greeting a new day.

Cleansing – sunlight on your face, yellow flowers around the house, wearing a yellow shirt or listening to fiery music. Burn rosemary or bergamot, these oils are infused with the warmth of the sun and its life-giving energy.

The Fourth Chakra – the heart chakra or centre.

Element Air                  Colour – pink or green

Associations – devotion and self-sacrifice, the heart and upper back including the lower lungs, circulation of blood and the skin. Perfect union through love, touch and feelings.

Working well – divine love, the ability to change the world around you, to change people’s understanding, radiate warmth and happiness, clearly something to aim for! View personal and world events from a platform of love rather than confusion.

Out of balance – always there for others and not yourself, give love in order to receive something for yourself, give away your own power and allow someone else to control your destiny. Physically you may even feel pain in the heart area with no medical rhyme or reason.

Cleansing – walking in green countryside, carrying the ubiquitous piece of rose quartz or jade, pink roses and if you have the urge why not burn some rose oil – not the cheapest but worth every penny.

The Fifth Chakra – the throat chakra, the communication centre.

Element – Ether            Colour – pale blue and silver

Associations – neck, throat and jaw, ears and voice, upper lungs and arms, the thyroid communication, self-expression, inspiration, a bridge between our thoughts and feelings, from heart to third eye chakra.

Working well – you express your feelings and thoughts without fear of being judged and can show your fears and your hopes in equal measure, your inner honesty is shown by your bearing and your manner.

Out of balance – round shoulders, hiding in the shadow of what you might have been, deny your thoughts or your feelings often using one to suppress the other. Shy away from expressing your dreams to those that can help or share them.

Cleansing – gaze at a cloudless blue sky, wear silver jewellery, vibrate the vowel sound “eh” in your throat, burn sage or eucalyptus both may catch on your throat to start with – that’s the point! Wear a blue or silver scarf.

The Sixth Chakra – the third eye chakra, the command chakra

Colour – indigo and violet.

Associations – face, ears, nose, eyes, and nervous system, the knowledge of your being, the pituitary glands (the one that tells all the others what to do). Higher knowledge and flashes of inspiration, imagination and intuition – your psychic sight.

Working well – an active mind and advanced knowledge, usually with a spiritual edge, good visualisation in meditation and the ability to decipher the symbolic language of the subconscious. Clairvoyance, second sight clearly important then for your psychic self.

Out of balance – over polarising on thought, though with feeling can become cold and unapproachable by others, some people overdo work on this chakra and end up unable to concentrate on life here on earth – balance is the key. Imagination can take over from reality.

Cleansing – look at the night sky, see the stars and contemplate what they mean? Astrology can help you bring your divinity to earth via third eye understanding of the astrological symbols. Jasmine and mint oils sharpen the senses and open up this chakra. Lapis Lazuli can stimulate intuition and bring inner sight.

The Seventh Chakra – the crown chakra or thousand petalled lotus.

Colour – violet, white and gold

Associations – cerebrum, pineal gland, inner sight, connection with your higher self as well as the universal energies, limitless possibility, radiating energy from the divine through the physical.

Working well – spiritual and earthly life mingle and mix beautifully, there is no end and no beginning to either. Personal ego is transformed into humanitarian understanding and therefore full acceptance of all. You can see through the illusions that life brings.

Out of balance – uncertainty and lack of purpose, lost in the woods, sometimes ill health happens to stop you in your tracks and force rest and recuperation.

Cleansing – time spent alone in any beautiful place, preferably as high as you can get without flying, a mountain or hill top is great if you can find one that’s easily accessible! Amethyst and rock crystal stimulate your higher self, helping to connect you to the power of your psychic self. Olibanum resin, uplifting when burn during mediation in particular.

There are many ways to learn more about these powerful tools to your well-being and to your psychic self, too many to be honest, which is why I’m going to share with you one of my experiences and a simple but highly effective meditation for sensing just what’s going on with your own chakras and how to maintain them.