Chakras: The Importance of Balance

by Laurie Mazzarella

Ever wondered what a chakra is? You have probably seen the chakra charts with their different colors represented up the body. Chakras are not physical, yet the chakras interact with the physical. They are not emotional or mental, but the chakras interact with each of these realms. Chakras are best described as energy centers or, even, centers of consciousness. They are often described as spinning wheels that interact with the life force energy from within and from outside of us.

All chakras working together in harmony afford a person an ascending level of consciousness. If there are disharmonies in any of the chakras, there will be blocks to higher levels of thought and healing. One of the best ways to determine whether there are blockages is to examine our thoughts which often manifest in physical or mental ailments or dysfunctions. We are what we think. And, this is demonstrated in the harmony or disharmony of the chakras as manifested in our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual life.

While most people focus on the seven that run vertically up the body, there are many smaller, more precisely tuned chakras in the body totaling about 1,000. Our chakras   reflect our thoughts, feelings and emotions. They can be open or closed; they can be spinning fast or slow.

The seven chakras running up the center of the body are identified by a frequency with each chakra corresponding to a different frequency. There are colors, sounds, attitudes, gemstones, essence oils and even foods that vibrate to their corresponding chakra. For example, the 5^th, or throat, chakra vibrates at 384Hz. Since the 5^th chakra deals with, among other things, truth, anything that resonates with this frequency, will influence this area and affect our personal truth.

One of the best ways to balance the chakra frequencies is through meditation. By focusing on a particular sound or mantra, we affect the chakra that vibrates at the same frequency as the sound or mantra. Creative visualization is another tool to adjust an out of balance chakra. For example, the  6^TH chakra is associated with imagination and inspired communication. Practicing creative visualization strengthens the 6^th chakra like working out in a gym does for your muscles. Also, visualizing corresponding colors and chakras will strengthen the chakra that you are dealing with.  Using affirmations that relate to a particular chakra can also help the chakras to spin at their proper frequency. Movement can also open the chakras. For example, there are different yoga poses for each chakra that help to clear blocked energies. Breathing, or pranayama, is useful with meditation in bringing the chakras into balance.

Chakras close down or slow down when we have blocks in our thoughts and attitudes about whatever the particular chakra represents. In this case, the above tools can be used to help open or speed up the chakra energy center. When a chakra is out of balance, the Chi, or life force of a person vibrates below the appropriate frequency of that chakra. This can manifest as physical illness, mental dysfunctions, emotional disruptions or spiritual difficulties. The area or areas of your life that you think are not functioning well, whether they are physical, mental, emotional or spiritual usually points to chakra imbalances in the corresponding chakra. For instance, if you have an overactive 2^nd chakra, you may manifest this with poor personal boundaries, guilt, lower back problems or, even kidney problems.

Like any type of growth in life, chakras can be balanced at one point in your life and then become unbalanced if you have any crisis, trauma or experience where you need to change an  attitude, lifestyle factor or dispel a fear. Following is a brief explanation of each chakra and it’s corresponding associations.

First Chakra

Location – at the base of the spine

Sanskrit -  muladhara

Associations –  food and shelter, survival, safety, connectedness, tribal groups

Organs – reproductive, immune system, skeleton, bone marrow, endocrine gland: adrenal medulla

Element – earth

Color – red

Imbalance – chronic fear, paranoia, suspicion of the world, sciatica, depression, immune disorders, HIV, chronic fatigue, alienation

Balances – grounded, relation to earth, connectedness, belonging

Movement/Asana/Healing – warrior poses, mountain poses

Second Chakra

“Don’t get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water”  Bruce Lee

Location: 1” below navel

Sanskrit: Svadhisthana (dwelling place of the SELF)

Associations: creativity, procreation, emotional, sensual, money, passions, desires

Organs: reproductive, bodily fluids (blood, urine, tears), hips, sacrum, kidneys

Element: water; that flows and changes

Color: orange

Sense: feeling

Imbalances: fear of pleasure, out of touch with feelings, resistance to change, overly emotional, sexual addictions, poor boundaries, blame, guilt, money issues, constant entertaining, clairsentience

Healing: Being near water; being near the arts; getting involved in the arts.     Affirmation: “I am a money magnet and I attract abundance and prosperity into my life”.

Balances: creativity, money, change, able to flow and change without issue

Movement: pelvic rolls and circles, moving bridge, supported bridge, cobra

Third Chakra

Location: solar plexus

Sanskrit: manipura

Associations: self esteem, responsibility, personal power, self worth

Organs: liver, stomach, pancreas, gallbladder, intestinal tract

Element: fire

Color: yellow

Imbalances: power issues in jobs and family, recurrent ulcers, indigestion, heart burn, abdominal distress

Balances: healthy self esteem, dignity, respect, appreciation, belonging

Movement/Asanas/Healing: Abdominal exercises, plank, table top with alternate leg/arm extensions

Fourth Chakra

Location: center of the chest

Sanskrit: anahata

Associations: expansion of energy, unconditional love, giving and receiving love

Organs: thymus gland, heart, lungs

Element: air

Color: green

Imbalances: smothering, manipulative, excess guilt, easily hurt, depressed immune system, emotionally shut down, depression, withdrawn

Balances: compassion, healing energy for self and others, intuitive, empathetic, physically healthy

Movement/Asana/Healing: camel, bridge, savasana

 Fifth Chakra

“Truth resides in every human heart, and one has to search for it there and to be guided by truth as one sees it. But, no one has a right to coerce others to act according to his own view of truth.”    Mahatma Gandhi

Location: Middle of the throat

Sanskrit: Vishuddha (1^st chakra to focus on the spiritual)

Associations: faith, understanding, higher communication, speaking, hearing & listening, inspired communication, the poet, teach

Organs: thyroid, parathyroid, jaw, neck, mouth, throat, tongue, larynx

Element: ether/space (cosmos)

Color: sky blue

Sense: hearing, taste

Imbalances: neck and shoulders, jaw, throat, thyroid, fear of speaking, lack of authority, hearing problems, inability to listen, excessive talking, overactive thyroid, jealously, addictions, scoliosis, gum & teeth problems

Balances: able to discern truth vs lies, able to speak truth, able to speak up for needs, surrender to higher power, self expression, higher communication

Movement/Asana/Healing: neck stretches, plow, lion, inclined bound angle, chanting, singing, speaking, reading aloud (all affect cellular level)

Sixth Chakra

“To see a thing clearly in the mind makes it begin to take form.” Henry Ford

 “We are what we think, all that we are, arises within our thought, With our thoughts we make the world”.  Buddha

 Location: Center of the head in line with the brows

Sanskrit: Ajna – beyond wisdom or the perception center

Associations: center for clairvoyance, seeing your own truth, seeing energy, “bigger picture”, gain wisdom, see archetypically and symbolically, intuition, imagination

Organs: pituitary gland, eyes, head, lower brain

Corresponds to: “knowing”

Color: Indigo (bluish purple)

Imbalances: sinus trouble, headaches, living in your head, out of touch with intuition, judgmental thinking, criticism, hallucinations, difficulty in concentration, eye problems

Balances: “seeing things clearly”

Movement/Yoga/Healing: supported forward fold, eye exercises, shoulder stand, legs on the wall with rolls up and down, alternate nostril breath

 Seventh Chakra

Location: at the crown of the head

Sanskrit: Sahasrara

Associations: spirituality, oneness, harmony, guidance, wisdom

Organs: cerebral cortex, central nervous system, pineal gland, muscular and skeletal systems, skin

Element: Thought

Color: Violet

Imbalances: depression, scattered, genetic disorders, bone cancer, multiple sclerosis

Balances: higher consciousness, enlightenment

Movement/Asanas/Healing: mountain pose, tree pose, headstand, head massage

Meditation: “NG” sound, then get into Oneness, Harmony, Wisdom

This is just an overview of the seven main chakras. Keeping the chakras balanced means health in mind, body and spirit. It is also ongoing if you are to maintain the balance.

Namaste