With the growth in popularity of yoga, chakras, the wheels of life, have become well-known to more people nowadays. Chakra literally means “wheel”. It refers to the energy points found in a person’s body. These are the areas of spiritual energy in the human frame.
As such, they are thought to be like spinning disks of energy that should remain “open” and aligned as they correspond to the nerves, organs, and areas of a person’s energetic body. Mainly, these are responsible for his emotional and physical well-being.
Chakras in the Human Body
The recent studies made mention of the seven main chakras found in a person’s body which are as follows:
- Root Chakra – Once this is aligned and opened, a person will feel grounded and secure, both emotionally and physically;
- Sacral Chakra – This is connected to a person’s feelings of self-worth around pleasure, sexuality, and creativity;
- Solar Plexus Chakra – This is related to a person’s self-esteem and self-confidence since this is the chakra of an individual’s personal power;
- Heart Chakra – This represents a person’s ability to love and connect to others. So, when this is out of alignment, a person feels lonely, insecure, and isolated;
- Throat Chakra – When this chakra is aligned, a person can speak and listen with compassion and feel confident when he speaks as this is mainly connected to a person’s ability to communicate;
- Third Eye Chakra – When this chakra is aligned, a person will be able to follow his intuition and be able to see the big picture; and
- Crown Chakra – This is linked to every other chakra and considered as the chakra of enlightenment and represents a person’s connection to his life’s purpose and spirituality. When this is opened, it makes all the other chakras open, thus, bringing to the person bliss and enlightenment.
Life is Like a Wheel
In sum, all these energetic chakras in the body corresponds to feelings and emotions. For chakra practitioner well-versed in the wheels of life and areas of spiritual energy, a person must know how to align and open them in case there are blockages in one or any of these chakras. Failing which, this may lead to negative occurrences, not just emotionally but physically.
Everyone could admit that, by learning how these life’s wheels [chakras] work, emotional feelings and well-being may be satisfied, trickling down to health and wellness balance.
Most of us experience energetic blockages and imbalances, as well as energy-draining activities or feelings that prevent us from reaching our full potential, which then results to exhaustion. Channeling, therefore, our areas of spiritual energy to achieve alignment will do away with such energy imbalance and blockade.
However, it must be understood that a person is full of energy and the ability of these chakras, these energy centers, are to function in its optimal use. Functioning optimally, these wheels of life can keep a person psychologically, emotionally, physical, and spiritually balanced.
On the other hand, when a life’s wheel is blocked, there might be unevenness in a person’s physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects.
The Chakra Awakening
Based on these, it can be said that awakening our chakras can improve a person’s life in various respects. Since chakras are the physical, mental, and spiritual centers of energy in your body, they can help an individual reach his different levels of existence and understanding resulting in improved power, wisdom, growth, balance, communication, relationships, emotions, healing, intuition, and creativity. All these improvements can also lead to better relaxation and enlightenment.
Today, chakras are now used for physical healing. Before, chakras were appreciated as self-realization concerning a person’s body and mind. Chakra awakening requires a change in the consciousness of a person which takes place only after years of meditation, not just a simple emotional opening or physical cleansing. Hence, the opening of chakras lead to a higher state of consciousness and awareness of the “self”.
Chakra System
Before a person can traverse the path of chakra awakening, there are a lot of things to learn about his own self, his chakras, his energies, especially the chakra system. He has to be familiar with the steps on how to properly and successfully awaken and open his chakras.
By not carefully following such measures and steps in chakra awakening, it might lead to a series of negative consequences, occurrences. Proceeding with it without these cautions may even result to a great waste of time and effort.
It should be known to a person, who will start his journey in stimulating his chakras, that the Root Chakra and Crown Chakra are always open. Yet, he will need to make them feel alive or vibrate faster to awaken them. The remaining five chakras are normally closed.
Hence, a person has to gradually work to emerge his chakras. It is not a speedy and abrupt process. He has to designate or allot a certain period of time for each chakra when he works on developing them.
How to Start?
There can be lots of hidden feelings associated with each of your chakras. It is also advisable to do it in a private area of your home. By doing this, you can properly take time dealing with such emotions in opening and closing your chakras.
It is also best that when arousing your chakras and activating them, you are in the most comfortable room or area in your home. You must have sufficient rest so you can easily concentrate and have a focused breathing. You have to slowly inhale and exhale while thinking about the air you breathe and channeling it to every part of your body.
You have to relax and focus on your breathing as much as possible and imagine a warm white light filling your room. This will make you relax more and put you at ease. Imagine that each time you inhale, you absorb the white light. Each time you exhale, the light spreads all over your body. You must feel its relaxing effects in all parts of your frame and sense it within your nerves.
While still focusing on your breathing, you have to think of the physical location in your body of the chakra you first want to open. After imagining such, you now have to think of all the other things associated with that chakra—be it your body, nature, or your feelings and let those emotions fill your thoughts. If ever you have come across a negative thought or emotion related to that chakra, breathe it out from your system.
When you are finished, let all the thoughts and emotions that you generated slowly fly away from your mind. It should be remembered that it is better to start meditating or focusing on opening one chakra per session or each time that you do chakra activation.
You have to always remind yourself that this is not a race that you like to win. Instead, you must understand that it is a process that takes time. Hence, you have to make each session time worthwhile. After then, if you think that you are ready to work on the next chakra, just repeat the same procedure.
What happens when chakras are activated?
In order to determine if the chakras are opened, you have to check the signs and note the experience may vary from one person to another because of some factors affecting it. But, the main experience when a chakra is opened is that there’s already a deepened sense of unity of universe with one’s self. The signs of opening for each chakra are as follows:
- Earth Chakra – When this is opened, the person experiences the qualities of the cosmic earth element which are hardness, roughness, density, and texture, which is a sign that the person becomes cognizant of formative acts in the universe in its capacity to produce and sustain form;
- Water Chakra – When this is opened, the person experiences the qualities of water element which are softness, wetness, coldness, and flowing nature, which is a sign that the person perceive subtle experiences and understand all purificatory acts of the universe;
- Fire Chakra – When this is opened, the person experiences the qualities of the fire element which are light, color, heat, and illumination, which is a sign that the person perceives the radiance or aura behind things and their appearances;
- Air Chakra – When this is opened, the person experiences the qualities of the air element which are motion, changeability, subtlety, and penetration, which is a sign that the person understand behind all contacts in the universe and its energizing role;
- Ether Chakra – When this is opened, the person experiences the qualities of space which are lightness, subtlety, pervasiveness, and clarity, which is a sign that the person perceive subtle sounds and recognizes the underlying spatial structure of the universe;
- Mind Chakra – When this is opened, the person experiences the qualities of a mind which are perceptiveness, creativity, discrimination, and detachment, which is a sign that the person gained mastery over the mind as well as an awakened mind and understands its manifestations; and
- Consciousness Chakra – When this is opened, the person experiences the qualities of consciousness which are infinity, immortality, peace and bliss, which is a sign that the person gained mastery over his consciousness and in the process of self-realization.
Knowledgeable Yoga Chakra Practitioners
There are number of enlightened Yoga enthusiasts like Anodea Judith who can help those people who want to embark on the journey of chakra awakening.
Anodea Judith created a Chakra balancing kit. It explains further and thoroughly the seven main chakra system, provides detailed exercises and meditations which can serve as a guide, includes a workbook which can help people fully understand the concept of chakra, and the path to chakra awakening.
Anodea Judith also offers more books about Chakras and yoga and at the same time conduct workshops on the same subject.
There are many other books and CDs about yoga and chakra created by knowledgeable authors and enlightened Yoga practitioners which makes information about this topic more accessible to the public.
It must be reminded that in the process of chakra awakening, it is best to have a competent and knowledgeable Yoga practitioner to guide the student to ensure the latter’s safety, and for the student to be able to control their emotions as a result of the chakra awakening process.
The yoga teacher, as the guide, must also be the one to determine if a student is ready for the process. The teacher should be able to share to the students actual and real-life experiences that can happen during the process.
The student must, likewise and always, be reminded that the road to chakra awakening is not an immediate process. It is best to enjoy the journey with the help of a yoga teacher and to make every step of the process worthwhile.
