Chakras are invisible energy centers that sit along physical points in the body. They are linked to various emotions, experiences, and sensations. When these chakras are aligned you will feel calm and connected, with an overall sense of happiness and joy. When you have a single or several unbalanced chakras, you may experience the feeling of being stuck or out of balance.
In the following article, you will learn how to balance your own chakras. You will also learn several techniques you can practice yourself, as well as what to do if you want help from a chakra-balancing professional.
What Are Chakras?
Stemming from Ayurveda, the ancient and holistic healing approach that originated in India, chakras are energy centers that run along the spine in specific centers. They also believe that past lives live in these Chakras.
There are seven main chakras located at particular points in the physical body, starting at the base of the spine and traveling all the way up to the crown.
These seven chakras in the chakra system are:
- Root Chakra (base of the spine)
- Sacral chakra (stomach or core)
- Solar Plexus (sternum)
- Heart chakra (chest)
- Throat chakra (throat or neck)
- Third Eye (middle of the forehead between the eyebrows)
- Crown chakra (top of the head)
Each chakra is linked with specific characteristics and functions. These are said to govern particular aspects of a person’s mental and emotional well-being.
The word ‘chakra’ means ‘wheel’ in Sanskrit. These energy centers or ‘wheels’ should be in a constant state of turning, indicating that energy is flowing freely through them.
When the chakras are open and balanced, energy moves through them without any problem. When this happens, a person experiences good physical health and mental well-being.
However, when the chakras are blocked, when they are unbalanced, sluggish, and stagnant, energy cannot move properly through the individual, and illness or feelings of unrest can manifest.
6 Ways to Balance Your Chakras
To keep your energy centers working and to help the energy flow freely through them, there are several things you can do for chakra balancing or chakra healing.
1. Yoga & Breathwork
Yoga is a fantastic practice, not just for your chakras but for general mental and emotional well-being. During the practice, you will automatically bring breath and energy to each of the chakras. There are certain yoga poses designed to help balance each energy center.
Moving through the yogic postures will relieve tension in your physical body. As your body loosens up, you will bring more energy and clarity to yourself.
Using breathwork to let go and ground is a perfect tool for quickly clearing and aligning chakras. If you are feeling uptight or worried take in a deep breath and imagine as you are breathing out you are clearing each chakra. This technique can also clear your mind. Feel how quickly you can move the energy with just one or two breaths.
2. Meditation
Meditation is a wonderful daily practice to begin for many reasons, chakra balancing being just one. You can find several chakra-balancing meditations online, each of which will calm your nervous system and allow your energy to flow freely.
When doing a chakra meditation, you will be asked to concentrate on each respective chakra. Focus on the color and the positive attributes thereof. You can visualize the ‘wheel’ turning and the color becoming more vibrant.
3. Crystals
Crystals hold energy that can help you dive deeper into a spiritual practice. Each crystal has a specific property that, when worked with, can enhance its related property in your life. For example, rose quartz is good for love. Working with it can bring inner child healing into your life.
Each chakra is associated with several crystals. When you are working to balance a specific chakra, use the related crystal to supercharge your healing. Place the crystal near or directly on the respective chakra as you work with it.
- Crown chakra: Moonstone and clear quartz
- Third eye chakra: Lapis lazuli and amethyst
- Throat chakra: Aquamarine and turquoise
- Heart chakra: Amazonite, malachite and rose quartz
- Solar plexus: Citrine, tiger’s eye and jasper
- Sacral chakra: Amber, topaz, carnelian
- Root chakra: Obsidian, garnet and hematite
4. Sound healing
Each chakra has a corresponding sound and frequency. Bringing sound healing or sound therapy into your chakra balancing process can amplify the healing.
Popular tools for sound healing include Crystal bowls, tuning forks and Tibetan singing bowls. There are also several musicians and artists who make music at specific frequencies for this purpose.
5. Essential oils
Aromatherapy is another great tool for chakra healing. Similar to crystals, each chakra has a related essential oil that can be used.
Derived from naturally occurring plant oils, essential oils can be inhaled directly or they can be diluted with a carrier oil like jojoba oil to create an effective massage or bath oil.
6. Energy healing
If the DIY route isn’t your style, or you’ve hit a block and want some assistance, working with an energy healer is a great route to go. There are a few options here, namely Reiki, which is a hand-based healing technique for shifting energy, or alternate, shamanic energy healing.
Reiki is a great healing modality but it can be tedious and results may take time. Shamanic energy healing is quick and effective. It goes straight to the root of the problem, the cause of the energetic imbalance, so it can be addressed and released. Learn more about shamanic energy healing.
Balancing Each of The Seven Chakras
The seven well-known chakras are located at specific points in the physical body. These points correspond to particular organs, emotions, systems, and processes. Each chakra has energy radiating outward from the physical point in a growing, turning radial motion.
Next, we’ll discuss each individual chakra and ways you can heal and balance them.
Root Chakra (Muladhara)
The root chakra is the base of your physical and energy system. It is located at the bottom of your spine (more specifically, in the perineum in males and at the cervix in females). Sanskrit. Its color is red.
The root chakra relates to one’s basic need for survival and safety. The chakra is associated with one’s adrenal glands, which are imperative when experiencing danger, a threat, stress or a need to survive.
Associated with the element of earth, when the root chakra is in alignment, you will feel ease, grounded and secure. If the root chakra is out of balance, you could feel overly stressed, anxious, worried or plagued by fear.
Balancing the root chakra:
- Use grounding techniques such as walking barefoot and spending time in nature. You even sit with your back against a tree. The root chakra is strongly related to the earth, so immersing yourself in earth energy will be extremely helpful. Take a mindful walk outdoors and be very intentional with it: with each step, really visualize yourself connecting to the earth.
- Meditation is a great tool for balancing the root chakra, as it will calm your system and relieve your stress. There are a plethora of meditations available online; try and search for one that is a chakra-balancing meditation.
The Sacral Chakra (Swadhisthana)
Located in the center of the lower abdomen, 2 inches below your belly button, the sacral chakra is associated with the color orange and is related to creativity, pleasure and sexuality. Physically, this chakra is associated with the genitals.
When your sacral chakra is blocked, creative energy may not flow freely through you. You may feel like you are shut off, closed off to others, and that you are not able to give and receive energy easily. These blockages can cause you to feel self-conscious or low self-worth. Other emotions you may experience can be boredom, lethargy, or generally disinterest in life.
As the sacral chakra is connected to sexual energy, another sign that your sacral is blocked could be a lack of sex drive or feeling inhibited.
Balancing the sacral chakra:
- The sacral chakra is associated with water, so spending time in or near water can be extremely effective. Go to the beach, lake or river, or have a long bath. Also, drink plenty of water.
- As this chakra is located in the pelvic region, exercises with hip opening movements, including yoga poses like bound angle pose, could be great.
- Jumpstarting a creative practice could be great for this chakra. Dance, paint, create, make music, do anything that taps into your creativity.
Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura)
Associated with fire and the color yellow, the solar plexus is an energy center that sits in between your rib cage. It is the light that one sees when you enter and exit a room. It is also an intuitive center. Your 2nd brain.
The solar plexus chakra represents one’s personal power and self-confidence. The strength of one’s solar plexus is linked to the success one experiences in life, as the energy is so tied to feelings of confidence, security, and personal strength. When the solar plexus is in alignment, a person can feel unstoppable, as if good things are just waiting to happen to them. They will feel very accomplished and confident in their abilities and won’t be thrown off course if things go wrong, as their sense of personal power is intact and they intuitively know what is good for them. In other words they trust themselves.
If one’s solar plexus is blocked, they could feel very insecure or plagued by self-doubt. They could feel low, depressed, unsure, and disconnected from their purpose. Due to the location of the solar plexus, when it is blocked, digestive issues could also occur.
Balancing the solar plexus:
- If you can, focus on core strengthening exercises. If you are doing yoga, choose poses that hone in on the core. Simply holding warrior pose for a few minutes can help strengthen the core and balance the solar plexus. Warrior is such a strong pose that commands energy, so it will cause your solar plexus chakra to jump start.
- The solar plexus chakra is associated with the sun, so going outdoors and soaking up the sun’s rays will also be really helpful. Also, another yoga flow would be a sun salutation, ideally in direct sunlight.
- Belly breathing to the count of 4, holding to the count of 4, exhaling to the count of 4, holding to the count of 4 will also activate the solar plexus.
- Listening to your inner wisdom and trusting yourself, is a great way to balance and have boundaries.
The Heart Chakra (Anahata)
The fourth chakra, the heart chakra, is located behind your sternum in the center of your chest.
Associated with love, acceptance, empathy and kindness, the heart chakra governs all things to do with compassion, love and kindness. The color of the heart chakra is green, and is associated with the element of water.
A blocked heart chakra could manifest in several ways. It could cause someone to shut off or shut down emotionally, making themselves distant or difficult to interact with. A blocked heart chakra could also signal an inability to forgive, a difficult time connecting with others, a lack of self-love, and holding far too tightly on past experiences and past hurts. All of this will ultimately lead to feelings of loneliness.
Balancing the heart chakra:
- Forgiveness work is huge here. Taking the time to consciously forgive those who may have hurt you in the past can be extremely healing and will open your heart. Many blockages of the heart chakra are caused by holding onto the past and reliving the trauma of being hurt by others. Accepting what has happened, letting go of the experience, and choosing to move forward will balance the heart chakra. If you had a very tough experience in the past and have had difficulty letting go or moving on, consider an energy healing session.
- Yoga poses that work on opening the chest, such as the yoga pose camel, are great for opening the heart leading to a balanced chakra.
Throat Chakra (Visshudha)
The fifth chakra in the body, the throat chakra, rests in the middle of the neck or at the back of the throat. Its color is blue, and the energy is associated with expression, communication, creativity, and sound.
The throat chakra is associated with one’s voice and it represents your ability to express yourself. This is certainly verbal communication, but it also can encompass written communication too, as well as singing.
When the throat chakra is blocked, you may have difficulty expressing yourself or communicating your needs. You may find it tough to speak your truth, or, may have difficulty saying what you really mean. In situations like this, you may be less firm with your boundaries. When the throat chakra is balanced, communication is easy and effortless. You’ll be able to share and discuss openly and won’t have a fear of judgment for expressing yourself. An open throat chakra equals open communication, the only way we can express our true emotions. Having clear communication creates a strong sense of self.
Balancing the throat chakra:
- Balancing the throat chakra requires radical honesty. You’ll need to confront your emotions and be brave enough to express them. To begin, use a journal and write down what you feel. It is important for you to get all of your feelings out so that they can begin processing. If required, build up the courage and have conversations. GIve yourself time. Be clear with how you want to express yourself.
- Singing or toning is great for balancing the throat chakra.You can start by humming. Humming can also connect you to your heart. The vibrations that your voice will make are good for harmonizing the energy flowing throughout all the chakra as it will break up stagnant energy.
Third Eye Chakra (Ajna)
The third eye chakra is the sixth chakra and it is situated in the center of the forehead, just above the area between the eyebrows. It is said that this chakra connects to the pineal gland.
Also called the Ajna or brow chakra, the third eye chakra governs imagination, intuition, higher knowledge, and psychic ability. When this chakra is aligned, you will be able to ‘see’ clearly, have strong powers of intuition, and have firm trust in your inner guidance system. Your sense of inner wisdom is anchored and your ability to process spiritual knowledge or information from your higher self is heightened. Your intuitive powers are activated.
When the chakra is blocked, you may feel disconnected from your purpose, confused or directionless, and have difficulty making decisions. Physically, a blocked third eye chakra could lead to headaches, brain fog, sinus issues, or pains related to the eye. You cannot see things clearly.
Balancing the third eye chakra:
- Mindset work, EFT tapping, and using affirmations are great for identifying limiting beliefs and replacing them with new ones. When doing so, you could focus specifically on your intuition and spiritual self.
- Journaling is another great practice that can help bring more introspection into your life, another good way to balance the third eye chakra.
- Listen to your thoughts. Ask yourself, “Is this thought serving me?” If it is not, change it.
Crown Chakra (Sahasrara)
The final chakra on the physical body is the crown chakra. It is located at the top of the head and is said to be one’s connection to the divine or their seat of higher consciousness.
The energy of this chakra is the epicenter where matter and consciousness come together. As a spiritual being, you are tapped in and connected to the universal source. Your crown chakra is where the connection happens.
When your crown chakra is balanced, you will feel a strong connection to the higher realms. You will feel tapped in, turned on, and in love with life, like the true child of the universe that you are. You’ll be inspired, connected, and be motivated by any challenge that comes your way, not bogged down by it.
Negative experiences won’t get you down because you will have such strong knowledge that they are lessons and are for your higher good. You will be able to see your life from a higher perspective.
When your crown chakra is blocked, you feel completely disconnected from your spiritual self. You may be focused on material things, have a strong attachment to physical possessions and have a loss of faith. Or you may feel cloudy and unsure. You may have a feeling there i nothing to life, no meaning, or purpose,
Balancing the crown chakra:
- Meditation is key. Take a while to develop a regular and manageable meditation practice. If it is your first time practicing, consider using a guided meditation in the beginning.
- Close your eyes. Use your breath and intention to clear. Visualize the color purple and vibrate at the highest frequency possible. Feel your energy rise and clear, balancing your connection.
Final thoughts on balancing your chakras
When your chakras are out of balance, you can feel totally off. Even one blocked chakra can cause you to feel unhappy. Maintaining a strong and healthy spiritual practice is important for a myriad of reasons, including keeping your chakras balanced and aligned.
When your chakras are in full alignment, you will feel absolutely incredible. Nothing will get you down. You will have a clear mind, make good decisions, trust your intuition and have an innate sense of confidence. You will exude magnetic energy and live in line with your purpose. With perfectly balanced chakras you can feel connected to source energy and be able to manifest and attract all the abundance you desire.
If you have trouble clearing or balancing chakras and would like help from a trained professional, book an energy healing session with Shaman Isabella.
