SPIRITUAL
Want Better Health Unblock Your Chakras
Your chakras could be holding you back from living your healthiest and happiest life
“Each of the seven chakras are governed by spiritual laws, principles of consciousness that we can use to cultivate greater harmony, happiness, and wellbeing in our lives and in the world.”
Nothing on earth or in the universe exists without energy. Whether it is within you or around you — life is everywhere. Our bodies also comprise of power — a force — located in 7 different centers.
When I first started exploring with chakras, I realized it was essential to learn what a chakra truly meant. In ancient Sanskrit, chakra means wheel. There are seven different wheels of energy — or life forces — spinning inside of us. These seven chakras are located from the top of your head to the bottom of your spine.
The seven chakras will spin at just the right flow to provide energy to your body, mind, and spirit for a healthy individual. However, if your chakras are blocked or don’t turn at the appropriate rate, it can negatively affect your emotional and physical health.
My family and I have now been focusing on the seven chakras, trying to gauge which ones may be “clogged,” thus making it difficult for us to live our lives to the fullest. It is a process that takes time and patience, and being able to talk and learn about it with those we are comfortable with has worked for us.
To figure out which of our chakras could be holding us back from living our healthiest lives and being our highest selves — we must learn more about what each of the seven chakras does. It makes it easier to identify if any are clogged and need unblocked and how we can go about doing so.
What are the seven chakras?
Chakras, located in different parts of our body, are accessed through specific exercise or mediation forms.
Root
The root chakra is at the base of your spine, symbolized by the color red, and is responsible for our survival instincts and our ability to be grounded. When our root chakra is blocked, we are easily affected by our circumstances, get stressed out or feel stuck, and have ongoing highs and lows between just getting by and often going without the things we need.
To get out of survival mode and begin to thrive again, we need to feel confident, connected, and loved. One way you can do this is by repeating the affirmation, “I am safe. I am safe here on earth, and I am safe on the path I am on.”
Sacral
The Sacral situated in the lower part of your abdomen; the color orange represents this. It’s responsible for our sexuality, intuition, our sense of self-worth, and our self-esteem. When our sacral chakra is blocked, we have difficulty being sexually and emotionally intimate. We also feel as if we don’t deserve love and often end up in unhealthy relationships.
To unblock the sacral chakra, you can use the chakra stone amber. Wear the color orange or amber as you meditate and hold the amber stone close to your belly button (around three inches below it). As you meditate, repeat the affirmation, “I am radiant and beautiful. I am strong. I enjoy a passionate and healthy life.”
Solar Plexus
The Solar Plexus chakra is located near the upper abdomen, recognized by the color yellow; it’s responsible for our impulse control and our ego. When our solar plexus chakra is blocked, we tend to be insensitive and manipulate our loved ones. We may feel the urge to control every aspect of their lives and become so engrossed in these details that we do not leave time for our passions.
To unblock the solar plexus, you can practice yoga. Yoga helps us ground ourselves to the present, focus on letting in positive, healing energy, and moving out the negative energies within us. Because we have many negative emotions stored up, yoga helps create a physical sense of release of these emotions to allow joy to enter.
Heart
The heart chakra is in the center of your chest and symbolized with the color green. It’s responsible for our sense of compassion and spirituality. When your heart chakra is blocked, you will have difficulty expressing love and compassion to yourself and others, despite whatever situations you are going through.
You might even push your own needs away to please other people. Becoming close to people is another issue that an imbalanced heart chakra brings — when you cannot connect with yourself, it is hard to communicate with others.
Unblock your heart chakra, think about your heart as a garden or a plant in need of nourishing and growth. Include greens in your diet — such as broccoli, kale, and spinach. You can also have kiwi, celery, avocados, and green apples. You might want to limit your liquor intake and have drinks with mints and limes instead.
Heart chakras are challenging to heal because most of us have developed many walls and defenses that make it impossible to let love flow freely — in both directions. Practicing compassion towards yourself is one of the first steps to allowing love to exist and express itself in your body.
Throat
The throat chakra, represented by the color blue, is centrally located in the throat area. It’s responsible for our ability to communicate and our emotional expression. When our throat chakra is blocked, we have problems in communicating. One specialist says that a clogged throat chakra is indicated by being afraid to speak about what is right to you, not express your thoughts, and have anxiety about communicating with others.
Many of us will be able to relate to an unbalanced throat chakra. It includes being excessively critical of ourselves and those around us. It can also include having an inability to regulate our emotions: going from being shut down to exploding inappropriately.
Some ways to heal the throat chakra is to perform neck stretches, bring blue into your life, practice breathwork, which involves concentrating on your breaths and letting out a “roar” as your exhale from your mouth.
Third eye
The third eye is located between your eyes and represented by the color purple. It is responsible for our rationality, wisdom, and our sense of imagination. When our third eye chakra is blocked, we often feel depressed and cynical about everything. Materialistic obsessions may be controlling you, and you might feel too influenced by your circumstances.
Meditation is an excellent way to focus on breathing and heal our third eye. It allows us to check in with ourselves and staying centered within our body. Think about the way your breath moves in and fills your lungs and the way it moves out steadily. As you do this, think about your third eye clearing and regaining vision. As you meditate, tell yourself, “I trust myself and my intuition. My inner wisdom is capable of guiding me.” You can also use the amethyst chakra stone.
Crown
The crown chakra located at the top of your head is responsible for our connection with the divine, the universe, ourselves, and other people, represented by the color indigo. When our crown chakra isn’t in balance, we feel disconnected and isolated from other people. We also feel depressed and may struggle with a healthy sleep cycle.
To unblock our crown chakra, we can practice specific exercises such as performing headstands, doing the tree pose, or doing a yoga and meditation mix. Because an imbalanced crown chakra is also associated with migraines and headaches, it is healed through silence and connecting with your inner self.
General ways to heal chakras
While there are specific ways to heal chakras, some practices that have been beneficial for many chakras are reiki healing, yoga, and having a balanced and healthy diet. We may not realize it, but the food we consume plays a significant role in our chakras function.
You might even consider seeing a professional healer if you are struggling. Professionals find healing ways that work under your comfort level, personal struggles, and how much guidance you need.
Visualizing where each of your chakras are when you are meditating is an excellent way to imagine optimistic, healing energy flowing in and unlocking the chakra. When you are grounded — you can imagine the healing powers of the universe flowing through you and cleansing you of the blockages in your chakras.
Final words
When you’re able to heal your chakras, you’ll feel much more attuned to your body. Chakra imbalances can cause many health problems, such as the ones mentioned above, mental health issues, poor posture, eating habits, and physiological conditions.
When we work out the blockages in the chakras, we’re able to feel more open to life’s experiences and genuinely live to our highest potential.
“It is up to us, how we explore the great wonders in our body, its life force, and subtle centers we call “CHAKRAS.” We can either deny that they exist or learn to understand, work, and awaken them in order to live a more fulfilling life on planet Earth.”