WHAT ARE CHAKRAS?
The word chakra in Sanskrit translates to ‘wheel’ or ‘disc’. It references a spiritual energy centre within our human body. They correspond to specific organs as well as physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual states of our being. They all influence all areas of our lives. They act as core centres; they coordinate the network of our mind and body. They also weave our polarities of spirit/matter, mind/body, masculine and feminine, and heaven and earth.
We have 7 chakras in our body. The lower chakra programs contain information about the body in term of survival, sexuality, and action. The higher chakras bring us to more universal states of consciousness and work our belief systems about spirituality and meaning.
ROOT CHAKRA
Element- Earth
Colour- Red.
Physical Body- it connects to our adrenal glands connects to our adrenaline.
Affirmation is- I HAVE- begins with increasing self worth, feeling deserving and ability to manifest.
The root chakra is for rooting, grounding, and survival (flight and fight mode). It is the foundation of our being and relates to earthly things; our bodies, our health, material and monetary needs. When our survival is threatened we experience fear and this counteracts our safety and security, so we feel trapped and ungrounded. Grounding exercises bring the root chakra into balance.
SACRAL CHAKRA
Element- Water
Colour- Orange.
Physical Body- connects to our ovaries, testicles- oestrogen, testosterone and progesterone. Connects to our hormonal levels, which controls our pleasure.
Affirmation is- I FEEL – expressing emotion
This is where duality lies and the realization of difference. There is importance on change here. Purpose of this chakra is to help let go and to create a flow, allowing something to connect with another. When movement is established there is life flow. Three ways to express ourselves in life creatively are creativity, sexuality and financial abundance.
SOLAR PLEXUS
Element- Fire
Colour- Yellow.
Physical Body- connects to the pancreas and adrenals- glucagon, insulin, and somastostatin.
Affirmation- I CHOOSE- changing our words to I choose, shows that we take responsibility for our actions. This forms communication with ourselves, hence really showing us our true, authentic selves.
The solar plexus purpose is transformation. It is from our will where we liberate and fix patterns and create new behaviours. This is our first step to transformation as we break old habits and create new ones. Also relates to self-esteem and personal power, which brings strength to our will. Personal power comes from unity and wholeness rather than separation. First step to developing your will is by realizing you have one- choices you make for yourself; food, clothes, being here etc.
HEART CHAKRA
Element- Air
Colour- green.
Physical Body- Thymus, thymine hormones.
Affirmation- I AM.
This is the central point of a chakra system. The purpose here is to integrate and balance our whole being to bring inner peace. It is the centre of love and unity and empathic connection. Love allows change and freedom. Love is part of self-growth as it promotes self-acceptance. We must be able to communicate, have autonomy, power and also need to be able to see and understand without judgment. Inner balance is very important in our relationships to bring harmony.
THROAT CHAKRA
Element- Ether
Colour- Blue
Physical body- endocrine glands, thyroid and parathyroid.
Affirmation is- I SPEAK
We communicate to connect with other. We take patterns of thought and make them specific by naming it. Naming focuses our consciousness by drawing limits around something, by clarifying it to set boundaries. Naming brings structure and meaning to our thoughts. Communication shapes our reality and creates our future.
THIRD EYE
Element- Light
Colour- Indigo
Physical body- pineal gland which controls the whole body. it acts as a light meter for the body relaying message to the body through the nervous system. Melatonin is produced here which aids sleep, strengthens immune system, reduces stress. And if there isn’t enough of this it causes sleeplessness, depression, and manic states.
Affirmation is- I SEE
The purpose here is to see. This gives us the ability to take in a lot of information about our surroundings. Intuition helps us see our way through situations, having wisdom guides us. Through perception we have the ability to access memories of the past and have imagination for the future. We have the ability to take in images through our perception and form inner images which is visualization. To hold an image n our mind increases the possibility that it will materialize so we our on our way to manifestation.
CROWN CHAKRA
Element- Thought
Colour- Violet
Physical body- pituitary gland and hypothalamus, connects to the nervous system.
Affirmation is- I KNOW
The purpose here is ultimate liberation. It is the wisdom and intellect as well as beliefs and the awareness of all. This is what we experience as the mind. Our thoughts in our mind assimilate into our experience which constructs our belief systems. The belief systems construct our reality. This is where creation begins. We must first conceive an idea before enacting it. This begins in our mind and goes down to the other chakras. Each chakra is a manifestation of consciousness at different levels of reality. Ultimately we want all this would lead to a sense of meaning in our lives and when we have this we become part of something bigger. It helps us connect to one another and ourselves and we are brought closer and to unity.