Learn How to Open & Balance Your 7 Chakras

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What are Chakras?

Chakras are the “Subtle Energy” center and part of your “Energy Body.”

Throughout history, several philosophies, mystic traditions, religions, and alternative medicine frameworks have included states connected to overall health and the evolution of consciousness.

Chakra is a Sanskrit word meaning wheel, disc, or circle and refers to the shape of this subtle energy structure.

However, accounts seen through clairvoyance describe Chakras as a cone with a tip close to a person’s skin.

As non-physical structures, they belong to the extra-physical dimension.

Therefore, you cannot feel Chakras using your physical senses, such as touch or sight.

Detecting their existence involves perceiving your bio-energies (subtle energies) through psychic ability.

And yes, you can learn and perceive your Chakras through study, technique, and persistence without including religious beliefs, rituals, or innate skills.

The number of Chakras and their position varies considerably depending on which source you are consulting.

In conscientiology, a neo-science of consciousness, the model adopted includes seven main Chakras while acknowledging that the number can be in the tens of thousands when counting the secondary and peripheral ones.

The Seven Main Chakras

1. Sahasrara or Crown Chakra.
2. Ajna or Third Eye Chakra.
3. Vishuddha or Throat Chakra.
4. Anahata or Heart Chakra.
5. Manipura or Solar Plexus Chakra.
6. Svadhistana or Sacral Chakra.
7. Muladhara or Root Chakra.

Each of these seven main chakras has a corresponding number, name, color, specific area of the spine from the sacrum to the crown of the head, and health focus.

Muladhara or Root Chakra

A blocked root chakra can manifest as physical issues like arthritis, constipation, and bladder or colon problems, or emotionally through feeling insecure about finances or our basic needs and well-being.

When it’s in alignment and open, we will feel grounded and secure, both physically and emotionally.

How to Open the Root Chakra

• ​Let the tips of your thumb and index finger touch.
• Concentrate on the Root chakra at the spot between the genitals and the anus.
• Chant the sound, LAM.

Balancing the Root Chakra

The Root Chakra is often thought of as providing energy to other Chakras, so if it’s blocked or unbalanced, your other Chakras likely are as well.

Just like a building, ensuring that your Chakras have a firm foundation—with a balanced root Chakra—is crucial to having a healthy, open Chakra system.

For example, your root Chakra might need balancing if you feel controlling, quick to anger, undriven, and self-conscious.

When your root Chakra is balanced, you have energy and self-confidence rather than arrogance or fear, and you feel calm, centered, and ready for what life brings.

Here are easy tips for balancing your Root Chakra.

• Envision the color red glowing brightly at the base of the spine, where this Chakra is located, which is the beginning of root Chakra cleansing and balancing.
• Start with the simple meditation of imaging a bright red light at the base of your tailbone.
• Picture this red light extending down your legs and feet, grounding you to the earth.

• Dance is good, and it does not matter that you think you “can’t dance.”
• This is one of the best ways to balance this Chakra.
• Even better—turn on music and sing along, as singing cleanses your throat Chakra for a bonus.

• Mindfully moving is a powerful form of meditation. 
• Concentrate on your foot, leaving the ground and connecting to the earth again with each step.
• You’ll give your mind a break and cleanse your root Chakra simultaneously.

Learn more about the Root Charks.

Svadhistana or Sacral Chakra

Issues with this Chakra can be seen via problems with the associated organs, like urinary tract infections, lower back pain, and impotence.

Emotionally, this Chakra is connected to our feelings of self-worth and, more specifically, our self-worth around pleasure, sexuality, and creativity.

How to Open the Sacral Chakra

• ​Put your hands in your lap, with palms facing upward.
• The back of the right hand rests on the left palm.
• The tips of the thumbs touch gently.
• Concentrate on the lower back at the sacral bone.
• Chant the sound VAM.

Balancing the Sacral Chakra

When the Sacral Chakra is out of balance, symptoms include—but aren’t limited to—attachment issues, sexually-related guilt, timidity, emotional volatility, hypersensitivity, and trust issues.

A person can act both completely disconnected and cold towards others if this Chakra is under-active or needy and emotionally dependent if the Chakra is over-active.

This Chakra is your most important emotional center, and because of this, at one time or another, most of us will experience an imbalance here.

Here are ways to balance this Chakra. 

• Dance like no one’s watching.
• Dancing is one of the best—and easiest—ways to open this Chakra.
• Get out with friends as you move your hips to your favorite rhythm. 
• Taking care of your body and keeping your muscles strong and healthy is also essential.

Visualize Orange

• Orange is the Sacral Chakra’s color.
• Imagine a bright, healing orange glow filling your lower abdomen—remember, we’re three-dimensional.

Balance your other Chakras

• A severe imbalance in one Chakra almost always means imbalances in other Chakras.
• Your Throat Chakra, particularly, has strong connections to your Sacral Chakra.
• You can also try working a pose-like bridge to connect with many of your Chakras simultaneously, flowing slowly in and out of the posture as you connect your breath and movement.
• Learning to let go—of unhealthy emotions, people, and memories—is so important.

Learn more about the Sacral Chakra.

Manipura or Solar Plexus chakra

Blockages in the third Chakra are often experienced through digestive issues like ulcers, heartburn, eating disorders, and indigestion. It’s the Chakra of our power.

This means it’s related to our self-esteem and self-confidence.

How to Open the Solar Plexus Chakra

• ​Put your hands before your stomach, slightly below your solar plexus.
• Let the fingers join at the tops, all pointing away from you.
• Cross the thumbs. It is vital to straighten the fingers.
• Concentrate on the Navel chakra located on the spine, a bit above the navel level.
• Chant the sound RAM.

Balancing the Solar Plexus Chakra

Healing the solar plexus requires honesty about all the parts of yourself you want to change.

Worthiness is not possible without bold self-acceptance.

Here are ways to balance your Solar Plexus Chakra.

Physical:

• Bring on the core work.
• Yeah, there’s a reason core work is so tricky!
• You burn through some of your self-limiting beliefs every time you do crunches or bicycle curls.
• So set yourself up in a forearm plank, engage your core muscles, and hold it longer than you think you can.
• Set a timer for 90 seconds, but when the timer goes off, stay in the pose.
• Whenever you think it’s impossible to keep going, keep going!
• Aim for three minutes and build up to seven. 

Mental:

• Make friends with your inner critic.
• Make a list of all the ways you judge yourself.
• Include everything about yourself you don’t like.
• Then, close your eyes and visualize yourself as a teenager.
• Silently tell your teen self that they are perfect as they are.
• Go through each item on the list and silently tell your teen self that all of these qualities are welcome.
• Thank your inner critic for protecting you all these years, then acknowledge that you no longer need that protection. 

Emotional:

• Try this mirror-gazing exercise.
• Stand in front of the mirror, look yourself in the eyes, and say the following words to yourself out loud over and over, getting louder each time:

1. I AM enough.
2. I AM worthy.
3. I AM capable.
4. I AM powerful.

• The louder you raise your voice, the more uncomfortable the exercise becomes.
• Don’t let the discomfort stop you.
• Keep raising your voice until you scream at yourself in the mirror. 

Spiritual:

• Practice the breath of fire.
• Breath of Fire is a kundalini yoga practice powered by the solar plexus.
• It is a rapid, continuous breath through the nostrils with the mouth closed.
• Inhale and exhale equally in length, with no pause between them (approximately two to three cycles per second).
• Start by sitting tall, lengthening the space between your navel and your Heart.
• Then, powerfully expel air through your nose on the exhale by pulling the navel point back toward the spine.
• On the inhale, allow the upper abdominal muscles to relax, the diaphragm to extend down, and the breath to flow effortlessly.
• Start with three minutes and work up to seven.

Learn more about the Solar Plexus Chakra.

Anahata or Heart Chakra

Blocks in our heart Chakra can manifest in our physical health through heart problems, asthma, and weight issues.

But blocks are often seen even more clearly through people’s actions.

People with heart chakra blocks often put others first, to their detriment.

It’s the middle of the seven chakras, bridging the gap between our upper and lower chakras and representing our ability to love and connect to others.

Being out of alignment can make us feel lonely, insecure, and isolated.

How to Open the Heart Chakra

• ​Sit cross-legged. Let the tips of your index finger and thumb touch.
• Put your left hand on your left knee and your right hand in front of the lower part of your breast bone (so a bit above the solar plexus).
• Concentrate on the Heart chakra at the spine, level with the Heart.
• Chant the sound YAM.

Balancing the Heart Chakra

If you want to open your Heart Chakra, loving others is not enough—you must also cultivate bold self-love.

We are not dying of heartbreak because we do not know how to love one another.

We are dying of heartbreak because we do not love ourselves! 

Many of us are cloaked in too much armor to receive love from others fully.

Unconditional love cannot be shared or received until self-love has been generated and sustained.

This is the work of the Heart Chakra.

Here are ways to balance your Heart Chakra.

Physical:

• Pay attention to your posture.
• Most of us are walking around like hunchbacks, unconsciously closing our hearts.
• Begin to become aware of your posture while sitting, standing, and walking.
• Straighten the spine, engage the core, open the front of your chest, and drop your shoulders.
• Check in frequently to ensure you don’t lose it, and notice if you feel somewhat vulnerable in specific scenarios.

Mental:

• Write a love letter.
• Spend some time writing to yourself.
• Tell yourself all the things you love about yourself.
• Write as if you are writing to the love of your life.
• Eventually, that is who you will become.

Emotional:

• Try a metta meditation.
• Close your eyes and visualize yourself sitting in front of you.
• Wish yourself the following:

1. May I feel safe?
2. May I be healthy?
3. May I be joyful?
4. May I know, love?

• Next, visualize someone you love or appreciate.
• Wish them the exact phrases of loving-kindness:

1. May they feel safe.
2. May they be healthy.
3. May they be joyful.
4. May they know love.

• Next, visualize someone you have a conflict with or find challenging.
• I wish them the same:

1. May they feel safe.
2. May they be healthy.
3. May they be joyful.
4. May they know love.

• Sit in meditation for five minutes, bathing in the feelings you have generated for yourself and others.

Spiritual:

• Participate in a service or volunteer activity.
• Being of service is an opportunity to give unconditionally.
• Choose an activity that allows you to interact with others who may be suffering in ways you are not.
• Being of service is a way to generate compassion and experience how your compassion for others affects your well-being.

Learn more about the Heart Chakra.

Vishuddha or Throat Chakra

As one would expect, this Chakra is connected to our ability to communicate verbally.

Voice and throat problems and any problems with everything surrounding that area, such as the teeth, gums, and mouth, can indicate a blockage.

Blocks or misalignment can also be seen through dominating conversations, gossiping, speaking without thinking, and having trouble expressing your mind.

When in alignment, you will speak and listen with compassion and feel confident when you talk because you know you are being true to yourself with your words.

How to Open the Throat Chakra

• ​Cross your fingers on the inside of your hands without the thumbs.
• Let the thumbs touch at the tops, and pull them slightly up.
• Concentrate on the Throat chakra at the base of the throat.
• Chant the sound HAM.

Balancing the Throat Chakra

A balanced Throat Chakra is capable of communicating truth. Therefore, there are no misunderstandings or missed connections when the Throat Chakra is open.

The voice of someone with an open Throat Chakra can change the world with words, pitch, and vibration. For the Throat Chakra to open, the message must be so authentic,

Here are ways to balance your Throat Chakra.

Physical:

• Practice the Cat-cow yoga pose.
• Begin in a table-top position on your hands and knees.
• As you inhale, arch your spine toward the ground, dropping the belly; gaze up and create a backbend shape in the backbone for a cow pose.
• The neck extends at the end of the movement, opening the throat.
• As you exhale, pull the navel back toward the spine, arching the spine toward the sky for a cat pose.
• The crown of the head drops at the end of the movement, closing or gently constricting the throat.
• As you inhale, the whole front of the body opens, and as you exhale, the front body curls in, and the back body opens.
• This complete spine movement creates compression and opening in the throat.
• Move slowly with your breath for three to seven minutes. 

Mental:

• Communicate with awareness.
• Share your current life goals and dreams with a friend.
• As you speak, become aware of when your language choices become obstacles to manifestation.
• Notice where you are saying, “I can’t,” “I haven’t,” or “I am not.”
• Correct yourself whenever you make a statement that does not reflect your goals as a reality.
• The more you practice this, the more your language will become a vehicle to manifest effectively. 

Emotional:

• Sing to yourself as a child.
• Singing is one of the best ways to explore your voice.
• However, singing can also bring up a lot of emotions, including shame, discomfort, and embarrassment.
• So start by singing alone at home, and choose songs that elicit many memories and emotions.
• Next, visualize yourself as a child and sing your childhood self a lullaby.
• As you become more comfortable with your voice, share your singing in public while walking down the street or sing to your family and friends.
• Notice the range, words, and pitch most comfortable.

Spiritual:

• Practice a mantra.
• Chanting a mantra aloud is a great way to consciously direct vibration into the world.
• “Sat Nam” is a powerful and famous mantra in Kundalini yoga.
• It means “truth is my identity.” Practice chanting “Sat Nam” for three to 11 minutes daily.
• You can also get creative and make up your mantra.
• Choose a positive affirmation that supports your current life goals.
• Chant it aloud daily.

Learn more about the Throat Chakra.

Ajna or Third Eye Chakra

Since this Chakra is physically located on the head, blockages can manifest as headaches, issues with sight or concentration, and hearing problems.

People with trouble listening to reality (who seem to “know it all”) or are not in touch with their intuition may also have a block.

When open and in alignment, it’s thought that people will follow their intuition and be able to see the big picture.

How to Open the Third Eye Chakra

• ​Put your hands before the lower part of your breast.
• The middle fingers are straight and touch at the tops, pointing forward.
• The other fingers are bent and feel at the upper two phalanges.
• The thumbs point towards you and touch at the tops.
• Concentrate on the Third Eye chakra slightly above the point between the eyebrows.
• Chant the sound OM or AUM.

Balancing the Third Eye Chakra

To open the third eye is to see ourselves fully—to see how we play the victim and project our judgments, insecurities, and assumptions onto others.

Someone with an open third eye is also aware of all the roles they play in the world.

Perhaps you are not the same person with your lover as you are with your mother.

Perhaps your behavior in some of your relationships responds to other people’s assumptions about who you are or the things they project onto you.

An open third eye sees all of this. It leaves us no choice but to move past the illusions that define our existence.

Here are ways to balance your Third Eye Chakra.

Physical:

• Practice the Pituitary gland series.
• This Kundalini kriya is an excellent practice for the third eye. 

Mental:

• Identity journaling practice.
• Consider yourself as you are today and write a list of sentences that begin with “I am …” Write down as many things as you can think of that feels true right now.
• For example, “I am a writer, a sister, a wife, I am happy, beautiful, lonely, etc.”
• Then imagine yourself ten years ago, and create a similar list.
• Choose another one or two time periods in your life and do the same thing.
• Notice the differences in these lists, and reflect on how your sense of self has changed. 

Emotional:

• Teach yourself to act through your emotions.
• Acting is a great tool to access a wide range of emotional experiences, and those experiences affect our behaviors and sense of self.
• In this exercise, use your memory to elicit emotions.
• Focus on a funny memory and make yourself laugh.
• Force the laughter until it becomes natural.
• Focus on a sad memory and make yourself cry.
• Focus on a situation that infuriates you, and scream words of anger into a pillow.
• Exaggerate the emotions as an actor does, but don’t sit with any of them for too long.
• Remind yourself that no single feeling defines you.

Spiritual:

• Keep a dream journal.
• The third eye is naturally active in the dream state.
• The more you remember your dreams, the more connected you become to the unconscious—where all your blind spots live.
• Spend 10 minutes every morning writing down everything you remember about your dreams.
• If you cannot remember anything, spend the time in meditation, clearing your mind before turning on any electronic devices or auditory stimuli.
• Eventually, you will remember!

Learn more about the Third Eye Chakra.

Sahasrara or Crown Chakra

The Crown Chakra is linked to every other Chakra (and therefore every organ in this system), so it affects not just all of those organs but also our brain and nervous system.

It is considered the Chakra of enlightenment and represents our connection to life’s purpose and spirituality.

Those with a blocked crown chakra may seem narrow-minded, skeptical, or stubborn.

When this Chakra is open, it is thought to help keep all the other chakras open and to bring the person bliss and enlightenment.

As these are all energetic centers of the body that correspond to feelings, one of them probably resonated with you as you were reading. A different one may resonate with you tomorrow.

One likely resonates with you more than others as an ongoing problem, a chakra where you often deal with blocks.

Other blockages may pop up now and then. In the chakra system, these patterns have specific terms, and there are recommended treatments.

How to Open the Crown Chakra

• ​Put your hands before your stomach.
• Let the ring fingers point up, touching at their tops.
• Cross the rest of your fingers with the left thumb underneath the right.
• Concentrate on the Crown chakra at the top of your head. Chant the sound NG.

Warning: don’t use this meditation for the Crown chakra; you don’t have a strong Root chakra (you need a strong foundation first).

Balancing the Crown Chakra

While many of us have and will experience an opening of the seventh Chakra, few people can sustain it long-term.

To live with an open Crown Chakra is to trust and accept all of the suffering and injustice in the world.

For most of us, this is too much to bear, and we cannot begin to hold the wounds and suffering of all of humanity until we have worked through our own.

This is why exploring the shadows and challenges of the lower six Chakras is necessary to open the crown.

Here are ways to balance your Crown Chakra.

Physical:

• Get to know your cycles.
• The best way to experience the Crown Chakra physically is to connect with the body’s cycles.
• This may mean sleeping earlier and waking up at sunrise for a few weeks to strengthen your circadian rhythm.
• For women, keeping track of their menstrual cycle and noting the moon’s phases at different points in their process can be a great way to access the wisdom of the crown.
• Notice the connections between your body and the great cycles of the universe. 

Mental:

• Contemplate the right question.
• The key to opening the Crown Chakra is a straightforward question: “How can I best serve the whole?”
• If there is anywhere in your life (meditation, journaling, coaching, conversation) where you are asking about your purpose, change the question from “What is my purpose?” to “How can I best serve the whole?”
• Meditate on this question and write down whatever thoughts arise.
• Simply asking this question activates the Crown Chakra.

Emotional:

• Cultivate the feeling of awe.
• There are many ways to do this, but spending time in nature is the most potent.
• Get into the mountains or stare out at the ocean and feel the humility of how small we are.
• Stargaze under the vast night sky and try to catch as many sunrises and sunsets as possible.
• Let nature move you with her majesty.

Spiritual:

• Be of service.
• Being of service is a great way to nourish the Crown Chakra.
• Find a community or a cause that inspires you, and offer your time or resources.
• Whether your service is spending 10 minutes making impactful email introductions or your Saturday at a beach cleanup doesn’t matter.
• The intention to serve the whole is medicine.

Learn more about the Crown Chakra.

Chakra Cleaning and Balancing Mudras and Mantras