ELEMENTS OF A HIPPIE

What are chakras? A question that I get asked quite often when speaking about spiritual wellness, especially when I focus in on crystal or herbal healing.

So many blogs give tons of information that can seem a bit overwhelming for people who are new to chakra healing.

So, no long intro ⎯ here’s your super beginners guide to understanding chakras.

What are chakras?

Chakra is a Sanskrit word that literally translates to ‘wheel’. In spiritual practices, chakras are energy centers within our body. Although there are 114 different chakras, most acknowledge the 7 ‘major’ ones ⎯ each ruled by an element (air, earth, fire, water, spirit) and symbolic of different energies within our physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual and spiritual bodies.

Chakras are swirling wheels of energy where the physical and consciousness meet. This energy is called Prana, meaning the vital life force, which is what keeps us vibrant, healthy, and alive.

Each chakra can either be

• Balanced
• Overactive – When a chakra is overactive, it means that the chakra is distributing too much energy. It is working in overdrive and bringing imbalance to the chakra. 
• Underactive/Blocked – When a chakra is underactive, it means that the chakra is experiencing a blockage or is not distributing the flow of energy. 

Stress, illness, emotional distress, unhealthy eating habits or conflict are some of the things that can cause blockages or imbalance within your chakras. When a chakra is blocked or overactive, you are more prone to dis-eases. In both the physical and spiritual bodies.

Keep in mind, that all of the chakras are interconnected. The goal is for our chakras to stay open, aligned, and with the energy moving easefully between each of them.

When one chakra experiences a blockage or imbalance, it affects all the others. This disruption of energy can cause your mind, body, and spirit to suffer.

Good news, though! Through holistic and spiritual wellness practices, you are always able to get back to a state of harmony and balance.

Some of the most common ways to help keep chakras in alignment are through meditation, healthy eating, crystal healing and herbal healing.

So, shout outs to you for wanting to learn more about chakra healing! Through learning about the 7 chakras, you can become more in tune with the natural energy cycles of your body.

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Still with me?

Good!

What are the 7 chakras?

The Root Chakra

Sanskrit Name: Muladhara

This chakra is symbolic of our basic needs. It is our foundation and is all about feeling

safe and secure. It’s connected with how we nourish ourselves, as well as our home, shelter and money, and on an emotional level feeling safe and letting go of fear.

Purpose: Survival, security, stability
Location: Base of spine
Physical Body: Feet, knees, legs, kidneys, adrenals, large intestines
Color: Red
Element: Earth
When it’s blocked: A variety of ailments can occur from energetic blockages of this chakra. Often including anxiety disorders, fears, disconnection from body, and poor boundaries. Physically, the first chakra is associated with problems in the colon, bladder, lower back, legs, or feet issues.

The Sacral Chakra

Sanskrit Name: Svadhishthana

This chakra is responsible for our creative, sexual and emotional energies.

Purpose: Creation, soul fire, sexuality
Location: Slightly below navel
Physical Body: Reproductive organs, urinary system, spleen, lower back

Color: Orange
Element: Water 
When it’s blocked: Energetic blocks in this chakra will often lead to feelings of emotional instability or feeling uninspired creatively. Fearing change, lack of desires, or addiction-like behaviors are also common. On a physical level can be linked with disorders of the reproductive system, menstrual difficulties, and problems with intimacy.

The Solar Plexus Chakra

Sanskrit Name: Manipura

This chakra is your source of personal power. It controls our ability to be confident and in control of our lives. It’s also associated with our sense of purpose. It governs all things metabolic, digestive, and stomach related.

Purpose: Power, self-worth, self-confidence, self-esteem
Location: Upper abdomen
Physical Body: Spine, spleen, upper abdomen, gallbladder, pancreas, small intestines, digestive system, metabolism
Color: Yellow

Element: Fire 
When it’s blocked: Energetic blocks in this chakra can often be seen as low self-esteem, having difficulty making decisions, and having anger or control issues. On a physical level most imbalances will be seen in the digestive system and metabolic systems like diabetes and hypoglycemia.

The Heart Chakra

Sanskrit Name: Anahata

This chakra represents where the physical and spiritual meet. Although it governs all organs of the chest, it’s also all about our ability to love and the awakening to spiritual awareness. When your heart chakra is aligned and balanced, love and compassion flow freely in both giving and receiving.

Purpose: Love, joy, inner peace
Location: Heart region

Physical Body: Heart, lungs, thymus, breasts, arms
Color: Green
Element: Air
When it’s blocked: If your heart chakra is blocked, there will often be lots of emotions of grief, anger, jealousy, fear of betrayal, or hatred toward yourself and others. This can also create depression, loneliness, judgemental feelings, or jealousy blocking your opportunities to love. Physical manifestations are often related to the heart and circulatory issues or the lungs and breathing issues.

The Throat Chakra

Sanskrit Name: Vishunddha

The throat chakra rules all areas of communication. Making sure that you’re speaking your inner feelings and truths and that they’re being properly communicated. It’s also about our ability to listen as well. Are we listening to others, but more importantly are we listening to ourselves?

Purpose: Communication, self-expression of feelings, speaking the truth, holding secrets
Location: Center of throat/neck
Physical Body: Throat, thyroid, parathyroid, voice, neck, jaw, mouth, larynx, ears
Color: Blue
Element: Ether
When it’s blocked: Most often when there is a block in this chakra you’re holding in your emotions and not speaking your truth. You could have a fear or speaking, difficulty putting feelings into words, shyness or a weak voice. Often there is a fear of judgement from others. In an overactive state you could also talk too much (possibly as a defense mechanism) or struggle to listen to others. Physical issues are most often sore throats, thyroid issues, neck and shoulder stiffness, or tension headaches.

The Third-Eye Chakra

Sanskrit Name: Anja

The third-eye is your intuition. It’s your perception, imagination, memory, wisdom and the ability to think and make decisions. It is also connecting your higher and lower self and intuitive clarity. It’s the link between you and the outside world allowing you to cut through illusions to see the clear picture.

Purpose: Intuition, imagination, wisdom, ability to think and make decisions
Location: Middle of forehead
Physical Body: Brain health, pineal gland, vision
Color: Indigo
Element: Light
When it’s blocked: If your lower chakras are unbalanced, the third-eye will most likely be as well. You may have trouble tapping into your intuition or not trusting it if you do. You could end up acting more judgemental, dismissive, and even introverted often with feelings of anxiety and depression. On a physical level it can be associated with issues such as headaches, dizziness, vision problems, memory issues, or other brain health issues.

The Crown Chakra

Sanskrit Name: Sahasrara

The crown chakra is where your physical body and individual consciousness meets a higher state or universal consciousness. This is what enables you to experience spiritual growth and feel connected to the universe. This chakra helps you move past your materialistic needs accessing the utmost clarity and enlightened wisdom.

Purpose: Cognition, our connection to lifes purpose, Spirituality, Higher Self and The Divine
Location: Top/center of head
Physical Body: Hypothalamus, central nervous system, cerebral cortex
Colour: Violet/White

Element: Thought
When it’s blocked: An imbalance in the crown chakra leads to spiritual distress. Symptoms of a blockage in the seventh chakra include, isolation and loneliness, inability to connect with others, inability to set or maintain goals and feeling disconnected spiritually. Physically, this looks like having neurological disorders, nerve pain, recurring headaches, insomnia and/or depression.

And there you have it! A super beginners guide to understanding chakras!
Be sure to keep this blog post close so that you can always refer back to it.

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In light,

Sky