I’ll introduce the chakra system— what chakras are, how to feel them, how they work, some myths and warnings about chakra healing work, and how to safely engage with your energy centers. You’ll learn about each chakra’s individual characteristics and the possible causes for energy blocks, as well as what happens to your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health when your chakras are in—or out— of harmony.
What Are Chakras?
You are already familiar with your physical body. You know how it feels to flex or extend an area of your body; that your muscles are attached to your bones; that your nerves signal to your limbs, torso, and head; and that what you eat and drink affects your health. In these ways, you can already see how aspects of your physical being are connected to each other, and how your perceptions through touch, smell, taste, sight, and hearing inform each other, creating your life experiences.
However, your physical body is not the only body you have. Whether you’re studying chakras or quantum physics, you come to learn that everything is energy, with its own vibrational frequency. From the most basic atoms that create our cells, organs, bones, muscles and bodily systems to the most expansive planet in the solar system, everything is made up of energy. And that energy has many names: qi, ki, chi, prana, mana, Odic force, bioplasm, and life force energy, among many others.
The energy body is the human energy field that extends beyond the physical body. Much as your physical body consists of many layers— your nervous system, musculature, and skeletal system— with intricate, overlapping functions, your energy body also consists of many interacting layers. Like your physical body, each layer serves a specific purpose and the layers work collectively as one. Together, the layers of your energy body are called your aura. Your aura interacts with your physical body as well as your energy centers, or chakras.
The word chakra is derived from the Sanskrit word chakra, meaning “wheel.” It was first mentioned in the Vedas, ancient Hindu texts that date to around 1,500 BCE. Throughout history, many cultures including the Egyptians, Hindus, Chinese, Sufis, Zarathustrians, Greeks, Native Americans, Incas, and the Maya, among others—have all known these energy centers, or the chakra system, to be a reflection of the natural law that exists within the universe and an intertwined counterpart to our physical selves.
Chakras are energy vortexes that exist within each of us. These energy vortexes transport energy from the universe around you into your aura and body, as well as between the physical body and the layers of your aura. You can think of your chakra system as similar to a spiritual bloodstream. Blood carries oxygen, nutrients, and hormones throughout the body; helps regulate and balance the body, and protects the body by removing waste products and clotting when the body is harmed. Much in the same way your bloodstream connects and supports your many other physical bodily systems, your chakra system connects and supports your physical self and your energy self.
All living things—humans, animals, plants, trees, even the Earth — have a chakra system, a living system of energy vortexes, that exists within them. There are seven major chakras in the body, as well as several minor ones. Each one is associated with specific organs and glands, physical functions and dysfunctions, and emotional, mental, and spiritual issues.
When we get in touch with the energy within our chakras, we connect with ourselves more fully and learn how to heal ourselves on all levels, creating true holistic healing. This is why mindfulness-based practices, such as meditation, help connect the mind with body and spirit, why certain physical activities can help clear your head and feel more centered, and why cultivating your spirit heals your mind and body.
It is all connected.
The Power of Chakras to Heal
Knowledge of chakras for healing and enlightenment is ancient wisdom — wisdom that has been known in many ancient cultures for centuries. More recent interest in chakras is because we are starting to feel, more and more, that focusing solely on our physical health is not bringing us to complete wellness. Despite the many breakthroughs of modern medicine, something still feels missing or “off,” even though we can’t quite put our finger on it.
What if you learned that many of the physical symptoms we experience (barring events like car accidents and other direct physical trauma) could be prevented, simply because many of our physical symptoms are expressions of what hasn’t been addressed in the energy body?
Enter the chakras.
When our chakras are in balance, our lives are in complete harmony and our health is good. If a chakra becomes blocked, we will eventually experience emotional distress or disease.
Because everything is energy when we heal and maintain our energy body’s health—through modalities like acupuncture, Reiki, meditation,
yoga, and qi gong, among others—and make better lifestyle and diet choices, we actually heal issues that may come up before they
manifest in the physical body.
Myths About Chakra Healing
- Myth 1: Chakra healing is an outside job. Whether or not you receive outside healing assistance from a practitioner in your chakra healing journey, in the end, you are the one who is the healer of you, not someone else. This is something I always tell my patients. Even though I may sometimes use the term “healer” in connection with what I do, healing is always an inside job. While healing practitioners can guide you on your journey, we are each responsible for our own healing.
- Myth 2: Chakra healing is affiliated with a specific religion. Although the original sources of the chakra system came from religious texts, chakra healing has since expanded to reach a broader understanding and practice and is now embraced by people from many walks of life. Cultivating chakra health has become an important practice for many on a spiritual path, and is not associated with religion.
- Myth 3: Chakra healing is a form of demonic, or dark, ritual. True chakra healing, done right, is quite the opposite of demonic. You are infusing light, awareness, and consciousness into your body, mind, spirit, and heart—all of which dispel darkness.
Chakra Healing Warnings
When engaging with healing your chakras, there are a few things you
should remember as you begin.
- Be patient with yourself. I often find that those who are just starting to get in touch with their chakras lose patience with themselves very quickly. Often, they begin to judge themselves as failures if they don’t see immediate progress. Please remember that everyone is different, everyone has their own perfect timeline of their personal unfolding, and everything is happening exactly as it should, including your healing. Chakra healing, whether it is being cultivated to address a specific issue or to attain enlightenment, is an inner exploration, not a goal. Because of this, just as with physical healing, chakra healing is not something you can simply “speed up.” However, receiving healing treatments and other techniques can clear out energetic debris and bring your energy centers more into harmony. Transformation takes patience. Be compassionate with yourself as you bloom.
- Do not push yourself past what is comfortable, or force your energy. When people are eager to connect with their chakras, they often push themselves past what is comfortable. However, you may soon find yourself with a headache (literally!). As soon as you start feeling some resistance, take a break.
- Get help from a healing practitioner when it’s necessary. You can accomplish a lot on your own, but sometimes guidance can be helpful, especially if you feel like you’re hitting a wall in your healing journey, or the pain manifested is affecting your quality of life. If and when you decide to get help, make sure the practitioner is licensed or certified in their modality. Check them out thoroughly before making an appointment. Ensure it’ll be a good fit for you, and that you will feel safe.
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