Chakras for Beginners
Hearing the word “chakra” can seem weird to some who has never heard of them before. It can seem like this big daunting thing that people spend their entire lives working on. It doesn’t need to be overwhelming. The chakras are simply observations that many people had that are put down into words and images for us to understand.
It is thought by many that the body has energy or prana running through it. Our thoughts, feeling, behaviors, and emotional reactions to things, conscious or unconscious, effect your prana or energy. The goal of balancing your chakras is to allow the prana to flow through you freely, and allow you to feel free within your own life. This prana flows both crown chakra to root chakra and root to crown. When all chakras are aligned or in balance, this energy will flow through you instead of stopping and pooling at a chakra.
“Chakra” in Sanskrit literally means wheel or disk. Each chakra is a circling disk of energy/light flowing through you. It could even be visualized more like a vortex or whirlpool. There are seven chakras in total, each with their own color, locations on the body (although most run along the spin), lotus symbol, mantras, asanas, and even foods, organs of the body associated, and symptoms you might have if a chakra is out of balance. The lotus symbolizes the three stages someone must go through in spiritual life: ignorance, aspiration, and illumination. “It represents spiritual growth from the lowest state of awareness to the highest state of consciousness.” -S. Sarawati (page 527)
The names of the chakras are the Root or Muladhara, Sacral or Svadhisthana, Solar Plexus or Manipura, Heart or Anahata, Throat or Vishuddha, Third Eye or Ajna, and Crown or Sahasrara. Each day of the week I will be going through the chakras one-by-one, giving a detailed written explanation for each chakra. There will also be a meditation video for each chakra to help you better visualize and tap into your chakras.
If you are more interested in the chakras right at this moment, Yoga Journal has a wonderful article. As Adriana states, “Start by thinking of chakras as a blueprint for your own self-care, and your yoga practice as the architect that makes that blueprint a reality.” If you are more interested in some books to read, Wheels of Life by Anodea Judith, and The Ultimate Guide to Chakras by Athena Perrakis are great reads! They are available on both Kindle or Paperback. Wheels of Life also has an audiobook available.
Balancing your chakras will allow you to feel closer to your inner self or spirit. Take your time. You might not really notice a difference until you have been aware of your chakras for some time. Some might feel a difference immediately. It personally took me a few weeks before I could really visualize my chakras and feel the effects throughout my body. I noticed a slight difference in the beginning but really could sense my chakras after working on it for about a month. I did feel a bit silly in the beginning too. That’s okay. You are doing something that is foreign to you. If you working on it a little bit everyday, it won’t be foreign to you anymore. It will become second nature. You will get there. Just be kind to yourself and be grateful for your progress.
Namaste,
Rachael
Click on the photo above to go to a Yogapedia article about the Chakras.
