Many of you already are familiar with our energy centers. If you’ve worked with me before, you’ve probably had your chakras opened, cleared and balanced at one time or another! But I want to take some mystery out of them and talk to you about practical ways to know if one is misaligned, closed or unhealthy. So each month for the next 7 newsletters, I’ll share with you a little bit about each chakra and simple things you can do to stay healthy and aligned!
Let’s start with what a chakra actually is! Chakras are energy gateways, each one serving a particular purpose in our overall health and wellbeing. Most of what ails us began in an unbalanced energy center! The hardest part about working with these energy centers is that there isn’t a real easy way to examine them. They won’t show up on x-rays or MRI’s or even during a physical exam. So how do we know if they are healthy or not?
First, there are physical symptoms that can indicate you have a block. But you can also have an energy practitioner check them using a pendulum. It’s really cool to watch how it reads our energy, and how the power of your thoughts and focus can direct your energy to do what you want it to. Sounds weird, huh? But it isn’t, really! There is so much scientific data on all of this now that it is no longer even considered to be woowoo. The ancient ones, indigenous cultures, eastern cultures and practices, were actually more advanced than we are today with the knowledge and care of our energy fields.
To begin, we’ll talk about our SEVEN main chakras. These are attached to our physical body’s energy field. The first is called the ROOT. It is located at the base of our spine and opens toward the earth. There is SO MUCH to know about each chakra, but to get you started, here are a few fun facts:
It is associated with the color red. It was activated before you were born and develops up until the age of 6 or 7 years. It holds the energy that formed in our subconscious beliefs and patterns. Feelings and beliefs about our security and safety are at the heart of this chakra. Things you might notice if it is blocked or imbalanced would be: Experiencing anxiety, fear, panic attacks, worry, overthinking, depression, nightmares, emotionally disconnected, disconnected from the body, anger/rage, feeling stuck, inability to take action, feeling exhausted or lethargic, or increased distractibility. Your root chakra may be blocked if you feel unsafe in the world, insecure in yourself, or generally lost and uncentered.
I don’t know about you, but at one time or another, I have experienced a lot of those symptoms. Balancing your energy center is not a substitute for good physical or mental health care! But there are things you can do to support the journey back to health.
So, what can you do to support your ROOT chakra? There are many free meditations on YouTube that you can use. Many of these videos use sound healing techniques that enhance the meditation experience. You can also eat many of the naturally red foods available: red peppers, radishes, apples, strawberries and more! Consciously connect the food to being supportive of the root energy center. There are companies that sell blends of tea that you can drink while working with the root chakra. I highly recommend the Magic Hour Tea Company out of Oji, California! And last, my favorite is journaling. Look at some of the patterns showing up in your life. Is there anything that happens that causes you to say, “That always happens!” Or, “that never happens.” Journal about those patterns you see because they are the window into your subconscious beliefs that were installed before you were 6 years old! Many we don’t even know we carry! Some are even passed down generationally.