7 Chakra Activation – Unblock, Align and Balance Your Chakras

The word “chakra” is quite commonly used these days, especially in yoga and reiki circles, but how many people really understand what chakras are and what they do?

In this article, we are going to take a closer look at the seven main chakras and how they correlate with our everyday lives.

What are the chakras?

They are energy centers that connect to the physical body.

Unless you are clairvoyant, you will be unable to see the chakras, as they are not physical in nature.

Even so, they affect your physical body very strongly. In fact, they affect all areas of your life including your emotional, spiritual and mental wellbeing.

What do they look like?

Chakra (pronounced shack-ruh) means “wheel” because they look like colored wheels of energy spinning round.

They are funnel shaped, with the narrow part of the funnel near the spine, getting wider the further they are from the spine.

The first chakra points downwards from the base of the spine whilst the seventh chakra points upwards from the top of the head.

The remaining five project out from both the front and back of the body.

Each chakra spins at a different speed.

The first chakra at the base of the spine spins at the slowest speed.

The seventh chakra projecting from the top of the head spins the fastest.

There are chakras above and below the physical body too.

 

 

What is the purpose of the chakras?

Their purpose is to step down universal energy so that it is at the right frequency to be utilized by us here on Earth in our physical bodies.

Imagine if you plugged an electric shaver into a normal wall socket. It would blow up because too much charge would be going through it.

So we use an adapter, which “steps down” the flow of energy.

That is what the chakras do. In that way, you could call the chakras adapters or transformers.

Where are the chakras?

They are located along the spine. In your physical body, the nervous system runs along the spine and into the brain.

Your main energy channel also runs along the spine.

It has three channels called ida (rhymes with beaver), pingala (ping-gala) and sushumna (soo-shoom-nuh).

The ida and pingala wind to and fro up the sushumna in the same way that the two snakes wind around the staff in the symbol of the caduceus.

The places where the ida and pingala cross are where the chakras are located.

These crossing places coincide with the places in the physical body where there is a cluster of nerve plexuses.

What color are the chakras?

Each chakra corresponds to a different color.

The first is red, the second orange, the third yellow, the fourth green, the fifth blue, the sixth indigo and the seventh violet (or sometimes white with gold edges).

How many chakras are there?

There are seven main chakras, plus many minor ones such as those at the back of the knees and the palms of the hands.

There are also ones above and below the physical body.

How do the chakras affect us?

Each of the chakras is related to a different area of your life. If that area of your life is being addressed and is in balance, the chakra too will be in balance.

The first chakra:

The survival instinct. Being grounded and rooted on the earth in your physical body. Trusting that your physical needs will be met. A sense of security.

The second chakra:

Relating to the world and people in it. Finding what brings you pleasure. Sexuality. Money and creativity.

The third chakra:

The ability and drive to complete things. Using your willpower. Being able to identify and follow your gut feelings.

The fourth chakra:

Love – not just personal and exclusive love, but unconditional, compassionate love. Feelings of empathy. Self-acceptance.

The fifth chakra:

Expressing your truth for the benefit of others. Communication through speaking and writing. The ability to listen.

The sixth chakra:

Intuition. Sixth sense. Psychic phenomena such as telepathy, precognition and clairaudience.

The seventh chakra:

Connecting to spirituality and your higher purpose. Surrender of ego. Wise discernment.

How do the chakras get blocked or unbalanced?

When the chakras are fully functioning they will be open, in balance and spinning freely.

If we have a difficult experience, we either unconsciously block the energy flowing through a chakra or the chakra locks open. Either of these will cause an imbalance.

The chakras can become unbalanced at any time. As they are not fixed, they don’t get into balance and stay that way forever.

They can change moment to moment, so it’s a constant balancing act, day in and day out.

A block in any chakra will affect the entire system.

Compare it to a central heating system. If there is a block in one of the radiators, the whole system will be affected.

Understanding how the chakras get out of balance is common sense.

An injury, a difficult emotional experience, a profound shock or putting too much emphasis on any one part of your life at the expense of another are all the sorts of things that can put one or more of your chakras out of balance.

Some life events are out of your control, but you can choose a lifestyle that will help to keep your chakras in balance and spinning freely.

How can we balance our chakras?

Balancing the chakras isn’t something mystical or unworldly. The health of your chakra system comes down to choosing a positive and healthy lifestyle in the physical world.

Your lifestyle has a direct and powerful effect on the vitality and health of your chakras.

For example, if you sit around all day watching soaps on television, don’t clean and tidy your home and never go out in nature, then your base chakra is likely to be under-functioning.

In that situation, one way to redress the balance would be to make sure to take a walk in nature a few times a week. It really is that simple!

Here are some practical and easy ideas to spring clean and help to balance all seven of your chakras.

First Chakra (Root Chakra)

1. Spend half an hour a day just concentrating on your sense of smell wherever you happen to be.

2. Buy an Obsidian crystal and carry it with you all day.

3. Practice standing on one leg until you can stay in balance without wobbling.

4. Fill a bowl with warm water and add one or two drops of patchouli oil or a handful of salt. Sit with your feet in the water.

5. Try to bring a sense of order into your home by clearing up one room at a time. Get rid of excess belongings and buy a filing system to put your paperwork in order.

Affirmations

– I love my body.
– All my needs are met.
– All is well in my world and I am safe.

 

 

Second Chakra (Sacral Chakra)

1. Have an “orange day,” as orange is the color of the second chakra.

Wear orange clothes and eat orange fruit and vegetables – oranges, carrots, swede, squash, etc.

2. Run a nice warm bath, put in a few drops of tangerine, rosemary or juniper essential oils and have a soak.

3. Spread a plate with foods that represent different flavors – sweet, bitter and sour.

Eat slowly and concentrate 100% on the taste sensations as you do so.

You could make this into a game, wearing a blindfold and asking a friend to feed you the foods.

4. Choose a pleasurable activity. Again, be 100% aware during that activity and fully experience the pleasure of what you are doing.

5. You probably know your sun sign in astrology. Find out your moon sign too and read up about it.

Affirmations

– I am balanced and healthy.
– My life flows.
– Everything is a gift.

Third Chakra (Solar Plexus Chakra)

1. Lie down and place one hand just above your belly button and the other one just below, palms facing down and fingers spread.

Just concentrate on your breathing. Observe the movement in your hands. They should both be moving as you breathe in and out.

If both hands are not moving you need to breathe a bit more deeply. Bring the breath into your belly!

2. Have a day when you eat just fruit, allowing your digestive system to have a day off.

3. Write “I am worthy to receive” on a piece of paper and stick it on your bathroom mirror.

4. Have a bonfire or fit a wood burner or a real fire into your home.

5. Buy some yellow flowers for your home.

Affirmations

– I accomplish tasks easily and effortlessly.
– In a smooth and healthy way, I release all unresolved emotions.
– I claim my personal power now.

Fourth Chakra (Heart Chakra)

1. Spend a day treating yourself as you would treat your best friend.

2. Book an acupuncture treatment to check the state of your heart meridian.

3. Make a list of five things that you are grateful to have in your life. Give thanks for them.

4. Close your eyes. Breathe in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth, allowing the tongue to relax and hang out.

Keep the tongue out throughout this exercise. Do this for eleven breaths.

5. Buy or borrow a book of poetry and read it, even if you don’t normally read poems.

Affirmations

– I freely and easily give and receive love.
– There is an infinite supply of love.
– I forgive, I forgive, I forgive.

Fifth Chakra (Throat Chakra)

1. Sing! Buy a “Teach yourself to sing” CD and begin singing in the safety of your bedroom or play your favorite music in the car and sing along.

2. Write an affirmation “It is safe to express myself” and stick it on the bathroom mirror.

3. Stick your tongue out as far as it will go. Hold it out for as long as you can. When you need to take a breath, slowly draw the tongue back in.

4. Lie flat on your back and look up at the blue sky. Feel yourself being bathed in the color of the sky.

5. Spend a day telling the truth in every single situation you encounter.

Affirmations

– It’s okay to speak my truth.
– My thoughts and opinions are valuable.
– I am a creative person and it is safe to create.

Sixth Chakra (Third Eye Chakra)

1. Record your dreams for a week.

2. Try guided meditation. You could either download some meditations online or use a CD.

3. Each evening reflect on the day and make a note of the three most beautiful things you saw.

It could be a work of art, a flower or an act of kindness.

4. Listen to classical music, especially in the key of A. There is a different musical note associated with each chakra.

Humming or listening to the note will help to get the chakra in balance.

5. Place your right palm on your right temple and your left palm on your left temple, allowing your fingers to point towards the back of your head. Press gently but firmly.

Stay for a few minutes then release your hands and sit quietly for at least five minutes.

Affirmations

– My intuition is strong. I trust my intuition.
– I can see clearly.
– I trust my inner wisdom.

Seventh Chakra (Crown Chakra)

1. Place a quartz crystal in a glass of spring water and put it where the sun shines through the glass. Allow the room to fill with this light crystal energy.

2. Imagine you had only five years to live. Set five goals you would like to achieve before that time is up.

3. Go for a walk and count your steps as you walk. If you lose count or forget to count, go back to number one.

4. Breathe in through your nose and blow the air out through your mouth, pursing your lips as you do so. Repeat eleven times.

5. Find somewhere silent – old churches are good for this – and simply sit and listen to the silence.

Affirmations

– I am guided by my own inner wisdom.
– Everything I experience is good for me.
– I trust life.

 

 

Hilary H. Carter is co-creator of TaiYoga and co-founder of Higher Moon transformational workshops.

She studied energy healing and tai chi in London before qualifying as a British Wheel of Yoga teacher.

She is also a workshop leader and consultant astrologer, having studied with the world-renowned Faculty of Astrological Studies in London.

Hilary has written books on several topics, including numerology, coincidences around the number eleven, and a further volume on real-life stories of recovery from depression, addiction and burnout.

Her book “The Chakras Made Easy” has been termed: probably the most down to earth, easy to understand, practical and helpful guide to the chakras yet written.