It is so funny how when the Internet is down we wonder how we ever lived in life without it :P I, for one, feel completely imbalances without the world at my finger tips :)
On that note, (and with yoga in mind) lets discuss our Chakras today.
Recently, a friend of mine gave me a Chakras bracket for my birthday - I chose out of all of them the crown Chakras for my one to wear. At a dinner I went to earlier in the week, a new friend asked the purpose of wearing a Chakras. Her main question was how and why do we want to balance and align our Chakras?
First off lets define what are Chakras are / do :)
The Seven Primary Chakras in the human body are:
(7) Crown (Third Eye?) chakra
(6) Third Eye?
(5) Throat chakras
(4) Heat chakras
(3) Solar Plexus
(2) Sacral or Spleen chakras
(1) Root chakras
The 1st chakra is called the Root chakra. It is located between the anus and the genitals and is connected with the coccyx. The Root chakra opens downward. When active with vigor, it is fiery red-orange in color.
The 2nd chakra is called the Sacral or Spleen chakra. Located over the spleen, it is sun-like in color and opens towards the front. Sanskrit books always substitute the 2nd sacral chakra with that of the spleen, locating it below the navel instead of at the spleen. My research suggests that there is a danger associated with tampering with the spleen, so perhaps this is why they locate it below the navel. I don't know.
The 3rd chakra is called the Solar Plexus chakra. It is located about two finger-breaths above the navel and is directly connected to our astral or emotional body. Through the solar plexus chakra we absorb the solar energy which nurtures our body, which energizes and maintains our physical body. This is where our emotional (feeling) energy radiates, particularly our "gut feelings." It glows a golden color.
The 4th chakra is called the Heart chakra. It is the center of our entire chakra system. It is located in the center of the breast at the level and vicinity of the heart cavity and connects the three LOWER physical and emotional centers to the three HIGHER mental and spiritual centers. Its color is chiefly green.
The 5th chakra is called the Throat chakra. It is located between the depression in the neck and the larynx, beginning at the cervical vertebra behind the Adam's apple. It starts at the cervical vertebra and opens towards the front. It is also connected to a small secondary chakra, which has its seat in the neck and opens to the back, but since the two chakras are so closely related, they have been integrated into one. Although it has a lot of blue about it, it is also silvery, like moonlight upon rippling water. Blue and green predominate.
The 6th chakra is called the Third Eye? chakra. It is associated with the pituitary gland, which is a very small, shapeless organ about 1/8 inch in diameter located in the forehead about one finger-breath above the bridge of the nose between the eyebrows. Here conscious perception of being takes place. It is the seat of our higher mental powers. On the physical plane, it is the highest center of command for the central nervous system. One half is chiefly rose-colored with a lot of yellow, and the other half is predominantly purplish-blue.
The 7th chakra is called the Crown (Third Eye?) chakra. It is seated in the pineal gland, which is a small organ of fleshy consistency not much larger than the pituitary. The pineal gland is located near and behind the pituitary body almost in the exact center of your head at the level of your ears. The Crown chakra opens upward, at the top of your head. Interestingly enough, medical science has yet to conclusively determine the physical influence this gland has on the human body (probably because metaphysics is beyond their rational thinking mind.) Although it contains all sorts of prismatic hues, it is predominantly violet.
So why do we want to be sure our Chakras are in balance?
According to the "the-energy-healing-site". Keeping our physical body alive, healthy and functioning well is a complex exercise in balancing. It's called homeostasis, and it keeps all the chemicals, hormones, and processes of our body in harmony with each other. If our body deviates from a state of homeostasis, we're in trouble.
In the same way, our chakras must be in balance and aligned with each other.
When our chakras (or any aspect of our energy system) are out of balance, it can have a profound impact on our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. When they are out of balance/alignment, both our bodies and our lives are likely to be out of balance as well. We may find that we are illness- or accident-prone, or that our lives are unhappy, unsatisfying, or chaotic.
Sound healing expert Jonathan Goldman compares the body to a musical orchestra, where the individual players represent physical or energetic organs. If one "instrument" (like a chakra) gets off tune or out of balance, the sound of the entire orchestra (the health of your entire body) is off, and pretty soon the other players (other part of your physical or energetic system) start to veer off-tune, too.
Energetically, what characterizes a chakra system that is in balance?
Energy flows through the chakra system in two ways. First, it flows up and down along your central channel, base of spine to top of head, connecting the chakras. Second, it flows horizontally, in an exchange of energy with the cosmos.
In a balanced chakra system:
- Energy flows freely vertically, reaching all the chakras: none of the chakrasare blocked.
- Energy flows freely horizontally: each chakra exchanges energy freely with the cosmos.
- None of the chakras is substantially more open or spinning faster/slower than the others: none is significantly overactive or under-active in comparison to the rest.
- Each of the chakras is opened to the degree needed to support your health and spiritual development: none of the seven chakras is open too wide, or closed down too tight.
- Neither the upper chakras nor the lower chakras is over-emphasized.
How would a person with a healthy, balanced chakra system most likely look?
- body is healthy enough to support individual spiritual journey/fulfillment of life purpose
- well grounded, secure, confident, in touch with own body
- in touch with their emotions, but not overwhelmed by them
- comfortable with their own sexuality
- self-confident, able to manifest their desires without dominating others
- compassionate, loving, healthy relationships; in touch with nature
- able to express own truth, to listen as well as speak, to create
- intellect balanced with wisdom, in touch with intuition
It's only necessary that the chakras not be wildly out of alignment, such as one chakra that is nearly shut down, or one that is blown wide open in comparison to the others. Your body and your life will give you the information you need to know if your chakras need balancing.Sometimes people on a path of spiritual development will over-emphasize the top chakras, believing that this is the way to become enlightened. In my personal view, this is a mistake. The body is not less holy than the spirit. They are both aspects of energy, and need to be balanced in order for us to make the most of our physical incarnation.
Indeed, someone with a top-heavy chakra system--the top three or four chakras overactive in relation to the three bottom chakras--might be spacy and ungrounded, have difficulty finishing things, have difficulty concentrating, lack "common sense," be "out of touch," and just generally have difficulty living in the world.
On the other hand, sometimes people are out of balance with the lower three chakras overactive in comparison to the entire system. Such individuals might lack imagination and creativity, lack vision, lack higher dreams, feel unconnected to themselves, be overbearing and unsubtle, be "plodding," get trapped in the minutiae or the drama of life, and generally have a hard time rising above the basic physicality of life.
It's very common for one or more chakras to become blocked or imbalanced.
To be healthy and happy and continuing to develop spiritually, it's important to keep all the chakras fairly balanced, smoothly exchanging energy with the cosmic energy and with each other.
Please let me know if you are interested in learning more ways to gain chakra system alignment :)
Keep being amazing!
Namaste
Tara
ps: if you want a Chakras bracket and you are here in Nevis, they can be bought from the Four Seasons Nevis Spa :)
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