Present in the body of every human being, the chakras are the focal points for our energy. We may or may not be aware of them, but our chakras have an effect on our lives, whether for good (as when they are in alignment) or when they hold us back from getting the most out of our lives (such as when they are out of alignment or blocked).
Chakra means energy in the Sanksrit language and the idea of chakras has been handed down from the Hindu religion. However, energy doesn’t know or care about religion; it is a force of nature which passes through us all. The path with this energy takes through our bodies and into (or out of) our personal energy field is the chakras.
Ensuring that your chakras are aligned will allow you to better understand yourself; in body, mind and spirit. Most people are unbalanced, with their chakras being unaligned. Chakra meditation is for that reason a very useful practice. You must first know where your chakras are and their function in order to begin chakra meditation.
Situated in important areas of your body like the heart and the top of the head, the chakras influence the organs which surround them and they also play a part in proper energy flow. The number of chakras in your body is seven.
Located at the base of the spine, the Root Chakra is the first of the seven. This chakra represents our body as well as our relationship to it. Your health and constitution are connected to this chakra. This chakra is also the one which helps us to understand how we connect to the world outside of ourselves. This chakra’s color is red.
In the lower abdomen is out second chakra, the Navel Chakra. Representing our physical drives toward love, pleasure and sex, as well as giving and receiving, this chakra is where you will feel generosity, harmony and selflessness, as well as some acts of creativity. The color of this chakra is orange.
The third chakra is the Solar Plexus Chakra, located just below our chests near the diaphragm. This chakra represents our will and our ability to change and transform. Our own control over our personal energy is governed by this chakra. This chakra is also the source of self discipline and acts as a check upon the ego. This chakra’s color is yellow.
Fourth is the Heart Chakra, located at the very center of our chests. Unsurprisingly, this chakra represents our feelings of love, understanding and compassion. The Heart Chakra governs love which is beyond the physical. The color if this chakra is green.
Fifth is the Throat Chakra, which sits between the top of the sternum and your chin. This is the chakra which is in charge of communication and helps you to understand that honesty, expressed through speech can be a source of truth and wisdom. This chakra’s color is sky blue.
Your sixth chakra is the Brow Chakra, which can be found on your forehead (and for this reason is sometimes called the third eye). This is the chakra which controls imagination, intuition and insight. Properly aligned, this chakra lets you examine your soul by looking inward. Experiences of the divine are found here, in the chakra which is also the source of peace of mind. The color of the Brow Chakra is indigo.
The final chakra is the Crown Chakra, obviously based on the name it is found at the top of the head. So it should go with out saying then that anything that deals with the mind and spirit is controlled here. It is the Crown Chakra that is tied to our individual journey into understanding our own consciousness and our place in time and space. Anything dealing with the Higher Self is rooted in the Crown Chakra. The color for the Crown Chakra is violet.
Knowing the location and function of each chakra will assist you in chakra meditation. There are meditations which you can use to align all of your chakras and meditations which focus on one chakra at a time.
Tags: Root Chakra, Body Mind And Spirit, Chests, Spine
