I have just come across this concept again and realised I had never fully understood. it. People often talk about ‘sorting out their Chakras’ and I’ve just understood it as ‘sorting yourself out mentally’. But what is it actually about?
OK so a Chakra is an invisible energy point within your body meant to be imagined as a spinning wheel and every beginner guide seems to start with the seven main ones which are all in a row from the bottom of your spine to just above your head.
They should all be spinning that is but aren’t if something is wrong. Not only should they all be spinning but they should be spinning in harmony with each other.
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The Base/Root Chakra (Red) – located at the bottom of the spine and represents your feelings of safety and security, how well grounded you feel, what stamina you apply to tasks, your ability to avoid addictions, how much time you devote to yourself.
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The Sacral Chakra (Orange) – located halfway between the Root Chakra and your naval and represents your desire to use your senses (hearing, taste, smell, touch, sight) and connect with them internally. The better you do this the more creative you are and the more sensual your pleasures become.
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The Solar Plexus Chakra (Yellow) – located above your naval and represents your feeling of self worth and confidence in your inner power.
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The Heart Chakra (Green) – located …. guess where … but still in a line with the other Chakras. This one represents your contact with your inner self and your ability to express emotions to others and yourself.
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The Throat Chakra (Blue) – yes, you know where! Represents how well you can communicate with others (communicate as in listen as well, not just talk at others) and with yourself.
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The Third Eye Chakra (Indigo) – located just above your eyebrows in the center of your forehead it represents your intuition and connection with your spiritual self, perhaps even your ability to communicate mentally and see into the future!
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The Crown Chakra – located at the top of your head. This one is the biggy to do with being in touch with a divine source, the universe and even your past lives if you believe that way.
So how are my Chakras?
Well one Annie Pichette has made an excellent short video which not only explains them in more detail but includes questions that will tell you what state your Chakras are likely to be in.
I have to say I scored pretty badly across the board!
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Root Chakra – I do feel safe and secure but I haven’t, until recently, taken time for myself. I used to prioritise others but feel that is resolved now. I do show signs of addiction (I’m a smoker) … so some failings there!
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Sacral Chakra – I do feel emotionally stable … but … I’m not that creative and I’m certainly not that in touch with sensual pleasures such as enjoying food. I do these things as a “must be done” rather than seeking pleasure from them …. so room to improve here!
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Solar Plexus Chakra – I do feel self-confident and find it easy to make decisions. I’m not sure I feel other people’s true energy. I can feel when someone is enthusiastic but I wouldn’t be able to feel through that and see depression underneath if it existed … so more to do to achieve this!
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Heart Chakra – Oh dear! I’m terrible with emotions so this is a big fail from the start although I don’t feel lonely or loneliness.
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Throat Chakra – I’m quite confident with ‘on the surface’ communication but I have lost the empathy I used to have and I’m not good at all with expressing my emotions but that might be because the Heart Chakra would have to be sorted out first in order to access some!
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Third Eye Chakra – Bad fail on this one. I don’t trust my intuition at all, I need facts to weigh up. I’m certainly no where near connecting with my spiritual self but that’s the aim of this journey.
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Crown Chakra – most of this is not me but there was an interesting question here: “Have you had a moment of pure bliss?” to which I would answer yes but I might well have got this wrong. I’ll blog about this separately.
So in order to work towards self improvement Chakras give you an idea of where you should physically concentrate your thoughts when you meditate. If you are as all over the shop as me then start at the Root Chakra.
What do I make of it?
Like so many methods that I’ve found on this journey I can see how this one is very useful. One of the skills of a therapist, for example, is to ask you the right questions that help you explore your emotions.
Chakras are a good stand in. They focus your mind on possible issues and give you starting points to question without the need to pay someone to do this.
Chakras are a good mental image as well. A wheel slowly rotating is a relaxing projection, even more so if you feel you got it moving by thinking things through.
I can really see how someone could sit down for a morning meditation, gradually go through each Chakra until they are all slowly spinning and then feel mentally prepared and invigorated for the day.
I can also see how useful it would be in helping someone organise their thoughts and issues about various aspects of their lives.
But it still seems to come down to one thing. It is a gateway ‘tool’ rather than an ultimate path. It can be useful for some but not work for others. Getting all your Chakras on the move, for example, can help someone meditate for longer.
Ultimately though it just seems like a gimmick laden way to self awareness. Those who practice perfecting their Charkras don’t seem to be any different to Witches practising their art through rituals in order to achieve exactly the same ends.
In other words it can be seen as useful on one hand and a bit of a distraction on the other. Checking your Chakras might help you get started in meditation but after a while it distracts you from true meditation via complete emptying of the mind.
Chakra thoughts
Its interesting to me that I just to happened to look into Chakras after writing about the Spectrum of Creation. This other therapy also bases itself on various physical points being related to issues (although not necessarily the same locations).
I’m going to give this a whirl though in my next few meditations and see where it gets me because on the one hand I’m moaning that its a bit gimmicky but on the other I haven’t been able to get anywhere fast so far. Perhaps some visualisation is just what I need ….