Chakras 101: a basic and simple guide to our energy centers

In this episode, I explain the 7 chakras in the most basic way.  This is an introduction to what they are, where they live and how they influence different aspects of your emotional, physical and spiritual well-being.

After exploring each energy center, I share a somatic exercise designed to help you reconnect with and support any chakra that may feel out of balance.  

Balance of the 7 chakras influence feelings of stability, creativity, confidence, love, communication, intuition, and inner connection. By understanding the chakras one by one, you can begin to identify areas of your life where you might be experiencing resistance, imbalance or emotional tension.  

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Transcript

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Let's talk about chakras today. So chakras come from an ancient Indian tradition, especially in things like yoga and Ayurveda. The word chakra simply means wheel or disc, and it refers to spinning centers of energy in the body. Chakras are thought to regulate the flow of life's energy. Balanced chakras equal healthy flow of energy, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Blocked or imbalanced chakras equal stress, emotional issues, or illness. So what are the chakras? Where are they located? And how can we get them balanced if they're feeling imbalanced? One of the reasons why I love talking about chakras is because it sections off different areas of the body. So for different reasons, if you're feeling imbalanced, you can focus simply on one part of the body. This isn't for everybody, but I love it. So we'll start with the root chakra. This is typically the first chakra. It's located at the base of the spine, and it's associated with safety, survival, and grounding. When it's balanced, you feel safe, secure, and stable in your life. If for some reason you feel like your root chakra is imbalanced, try going outside, stand barefoot, focus on your feet pressing into the ground, and take slow breaths. Imagining roots coming out from your feet and regrounding you to the earth. This has so many benefits. The second chakra is your sacral chakra. This is located in the lower abdomen and it's associated with emotions, creativity, and sexuality. When it's balanced, you feel expressive and emotionally connected. So if you're feeling imbalanced in your sacral chakra, set a 10-minute timer, draw, write, or move freely without any judgment. So this might mean shaking your body out or drawing one of the ugliest pictures you've ever imagined, or writing where the words really don't make sense. Do this without any judgment for whatever the end result is. You're focusing on the feeling, not the results. The third chakra is your solar plexus. This is located in the upper abdomen. It's often associated with confidence, personal power, and when it's balanced, you feel motivated and in control. So if for some reason you're feeling out of control, sit upright with your feet planted on the ground, breathe in and silently say, I can, and breathe out silently saying, I act. This is a great way to get reconnected with your confidence and personal power again. The fourth chakra is your heart chakra, and it's associated with love and compassion. When this is balanced, you feel open and connected to others. If for some reason you're feeling imbalanced in your heart chakra, think of someone you care about and say the words silently in your head, may you be happy, may you be safe. Repeat this a few times, and then end this with doing it for yourself with the words, may I be happy, and may I be safe. The fifth chakra is the throat chakra. Obviously, this is located in your throat. This chakra is associated with communication and truth. When it's balanced, you feel like you can express yourself clearly. If for some reason you feel like your throat chakra is imbalanced, try one of these three techniques. You can simply just hum and allow the vibration to be felt in your throat. You can try a breathing technique called the ha breath, which is when you take a deep breath in and on the release, you drop it with a ha, also feeling the vibration in your throat. Or you can try the um breath, which we've all heard in things like yoga and meditation. The only thing I will tell you about the um breath is that most people do it wrong. When you go into the um, you actually want to feel your teeth almost vibrating or chattering. That's when you know you're stimulating the vagus nerve when you feel that vibration in your teeth. The sixth chakra that we're going to talk about is your third eye. This is located in your forehead between the eyebrows. This chakra is associated with intuition and insight. When it's balanced, you have clarity and strong intuition. Our intuition is often something that's overlooked. We know that something's wrong or we know that we shouldn't do something, and we do it anyways. So when you're feeling like this chakra is imbalanced, sit quietly and focus on the breath. When thoughts arise, notice them and let them pass you by. You could also try a guided meditation, say a five-minute one. It doesn't need to be long, but when our body is trying to tell us something and we avoid listening to it, that really creates a strong imbalance in the third eye. And the last chakra we're going to talk about is the crown chakra. This is located at the top of the head. It's often associated with spiritual connection, and when it's balanced, you feel a sense of purpose and connection to something greater than yourself. If for some reason you feel like your crown chakra is imbalanced, do a quick body scan. Move your attention step by step. Start with your feet, your legs, your hips, move up to your stomach, your lower back, your chest, and you can go on until you get to the top of the head. The body scan is going to get you out of the thoughts that are overwhelming in your head and get you back into the body. It recreates a spiritual connection and a sense of purpose for yourself. While we all know chakras are not really part of the modern Western medicine world, they have been something that people focus on in Eastern medicine for thousands of years. The benefits aren't scientifically measurable. Many people who use chakra-based practices find this helpful for stress reduction, emotional awareness, mindfulness, and relaxation. And the exercises I put at the end of each chakra can really be great for calming your nervous system, building awareness, and help shift bad habits and thought patterns. So for the next seven weeks, I'm gonna release a meditation for each chakra. Hopefully, by focusing on sections of the body, it doesn't feel so overwhelming. So if you feel like your creativity is lacking, or if you feel like you're struggling with saying your truth or talking to people or finding connection and compassion in your heart, you can focus on smaller areas and make it easier so it doesn't feel quite so overwhelming. I hope everybody has a great week. I hope you've enjoyed learning a little bit about chakras. This is the most basic at best, but at least it gives you a little bit of an understanding of what chakras are, where they live, what they're associated with, and how if one of your chakras is imbalanced, you can kind of have a tool to get it refocused and back in balance. Thanks everyone. Till next time.