A Complete Guide to Balancing and Healing Your Chakras

HJ: This is an extremely comprehensive guide to the chakra system and does not need much introduction.  By the end of this article you will have a full understanding of the mental, physical and spiritual aspects of your chakras.  Enjoy!

– Truth

The Chakra System

By Ayal Hurst | Trans4Mind

—

All of life is made up of frequencies. Everything is made of light. We as human beings, are made of light: we are atomic and molecular, which are the building blocks of life and which are made of light.

Ever wonder why all people are so enthralled with, mesmerized by, and love rainbows? It is because the human body is, in effect, designed as one. In the deepest stratum of our beings, we somehow know that. That is why seeing a rainbow resonates so deeply within us, producing feelings of awe and joy. It reminds us of our Divine Nature. The rainbow of light spectrum found within the human body is known as the chakra system.

The light spectrum has different frequencies which create different wavelengths, or patterns of energy, which we see as colors. These colors, or patterns of energy vary, depending upon the speed of their vibration, red being the slowest, then orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. We too have different wavelengths in our bodies that: a) vibrate at varying frequencies and b) correlate to the light spectrum. We are, energetically, a spectrum of light with different frequencies vibrating within us.

The word chakra means wheel, and it refers to the many vortices of energy that penetrate not only the aura but the physical body as well. They are, in effect, openings where the Divine pours into and manifests as the human body The chakras are so sensitive that they are affected not only by the energy of other people but also by the energy found around a place. When healthy, chakras spin in a clockwise direction drawing in energy from the universal energy field to continually revitalize our entire being. Since they spin at different speeds, they emit a different light frequency, which is seen as a different color. The light spectrum of the chakras found in the human body is located along the spinal column and begin with red, at the coccyx region. This chakra, the root chakra, or first chakra, deals with our roots, our family, our tribe of origin. The chakras end at the crown of the head, at the seventh chakra, which is the violet ray or aspect dealing with higher spiritual thought, awareness, and communion with the Divine.

The chakra system is an archetypal depiction of individual maturation through 7 distinct stages. The chakras are vertically aligned, running from the base of the spine to the crown of the head, suggesting that we ascend to the divine by gradually mastering the seductive pull of the physical world. At each stage we gain a more refined understanding of personal and spiritual power, since each chakra represents a spiritual life lesson or challenge common to all human beings. As a person masters each chakra, he/she gains power and self knowledge that becomes integrated into hir spirit, advancing hir along the path to spiritual consciousness in the classic hero’s journey.

In the chakra system, each energy center contains a particular power. These powers ascend from the densest physical power to the most etheric or spiritual power. Remarkably, the challenges we face in our lives tend to follow this alignment as well. They are a map for the development of our physical power, how to use that power appropriately, as well as a spiritual map for healing and a map of the inevitable challenges we will face on our life’s journey. By mastering the lessons inherent in each chakra, we reach our fullest potential as beings made in the image of God. The chakras represent the blueprint, as it were, or the qualities of the Divine aspects of God. Perfecting God’s energy is a very refined process – like going through the eye of a needle – or like silk thread ripping if it catches on the slightest snag – they are the strongest and yet most sensitive and refined energy there is.

We all use various energetic tactics to protect ourselves from the energy we pick up around us, to manipulate others, and to hide our vulnerability, and when we do so, usually on an unconscious level, the chakra can be distorted or damaged. When we are conscious of how a chakra operates and what the lesson involved is, we can keep our chakras and our energy functioning in a healthy way.

Symbolically, the chakras are depicted as lotuses. The spirals indicate the contrasting energies of the psyche and spirit, and the ever re-cycling energy of God, keeping your energy in present time, recycling within your own system.

The energy of the chakras flows in both directions. The root chakra takes in energy from the earth and also allows us to ground spiritual energy much as a lightning rod grounds electricity. It gives us stability. Meanwhile, the crown chakra brings in energy from above and forms our direct access point for absorbing higher spiritual energy ( soft spot on a baby’s head). The channel for the flow of energy between the crown and the root is sometimes referred to as the vertical or central power current, or shushumna. When we have mastered and can generate energy at the highest level, we awaken what is called the sleeping serpent or dragon, known as Kundalini energy, an energy which can rush from the root chakra to the crown in a huge surge of power, and we become enlightened beings. The intimate connection and interdependence of the chakras can be seen as one lesson weaves into the next: a lesson is first introduced on one level and refined and deepened in the next, and this means that it is impossible to think of them in isolation when discussing their effect upon us as total human beings. They are interconnected and actually look like a DNA strand. I think they are God’s spiritual DNA – and maybe this is as close as we get to looking at the body of God.

Chakras 1, 2, and 3 are calibrated to the issues that engage us with physical or external power. Chakras 4, 5, 6 and 7 are calibrated to non-physical or internal power. Since all the chakras are intimately linked, a block at one will affect the functioning of the others, causing physical, emotional, mental, and or spiritual damage and distress. If you look closely at people’s body language, or even listen to the tones of a person’s voice, you can see where they are protecting themselves and what chakra is probably involved.

In summation: Each of these centers relates to a particular gland or organ. Each light frequency, or chakra, corresponds to a different level of conscious evolution, and each chakra offers us a specific, universal life lesson to master. As mentioned, each chakra center is also associated with one of the colors of the rainbow and they are also associated with a characteristic musical tone. When you are exposed to the pure color and tone of one of the body centers, the glands or organs will be stimulated to vibrate in their purest resonance. It is only when all the body centers are in harmony and balanced with one another that you can function at optimum capacity and deal appropriately with the life lesson you are to learn that corresponds to that chakra. The mythological gold (God) at the end of the rainbow that everyone seeks is actually the treasure of your own Enlightenment!

In developing your psychic awareness, it is important to understand and balance the energies of your body centers.

How each note affects the chakras:

The way you balance the energies of the body through chakra clearing is to sit down each day for perhaps 15 minutes, in a quiet space, with eyes closed, as you would sit quietly in prayer or meditation, breathing slowly and deeply until you are very calm and relaxed.

When you are relaxed, beginning at the base of your spine, at the tailbone, you visualize a beautiful, glowing, fire engine red gently spinning wheel of light filling up that area.

You ask with each chakra that it be restored 100% to perfect health, form, and functioning – that whatever needs to be restored, be restored, and whatever needs to be corrected be corrected.

When you sense that you are complete with that chakra, you move up the body and visualize a beautiful gently spinning wheel of orange light at your reproductive area. Repeat the process. Then, moving up the body, see a bright yellow spinning wheel of light at the navel area.

Remember, as you do this, you are asking silently that each area you are visualizing be cleared and brought back to perfect health and functioning.

Then you move up to the heart and visualize a glowing spinning wheel of emerald green light there. Then on up to the throat, where you clear that area by seeing a beautiful spinning wheel of sky blue light. Then up to the brow, the center of the forehead, where you see a glowing, gently spinning wheel of indigo light. Then to the crown of the head, where you see a beautiful, gently spinning wheel of violet light.

Even if you are not adept at being visual or seeing these colors, just by saying to yourself that that color is there will begin the healing for you.

To finish, surround yourself with a beautiful, glowing white light. Visualize it totally filling you up from head to toe as well.

There are actually minor chakras, or light intersection points, which function and serve as intersecting energy vortexes in the body, bringing energy into the physical body from the universal energy grid. Besides the major seven centers, these minor chakra points number 144, to be exact. Simply ask that they all be lit up with white light – similar to imagining oneself lit up like a bright starry sky or a Christmas tree.

This will help immensely to get you back in balance. Clearing the chakras is a very important way to stay healthy and in balance. Deepak Chopra has a great book out, in tape form as well, called ‘Magical Mind, Magical Body’ about this. Also, Caroline Myss, one of the great clairvoyant, intuitive healers of our time has a wonderful, inspiring and fascinating book out called ‘Anatomy of the Spirit’, that goes into a profound explanation of the chakras and what we are dealing with in each one. Either of both of these would be wonderful to read. They are both deeply enjoyable reading.

More Detailed Information about the Chakra System

The 1st chakra: Muladhara, or root chakra

The seat of the immense power of the kundalini…

(a) The energy content of this chakra is tribal power. Archetypally, the word tribe connotates group identity, group force, group will power, and group belief patterns. The first chakra is the family we are born into; ancestral patterns; DNA. It is our connection to traditional family beliefs that support the formation of identity and a sense of belonging to a group of people in a geological location. It is all about how we handle being in a group identity – we experience the power of sharing a belief and a moral code with other people. We learn how to live honorably with one another, and how to bond. We learn the truth that “All is One” through experiences connected to group dynamics . We are connected to all of life and we learn through the energy of this chakra that every choice we make and every belief we hold exerts influence on the whole of life. The first chakra deals with lessons related to the physical world – to be part of a tribe is a primal need – to be completely dependent for one’s basic needs.

(b) The first chakra grounds us – it is our root system. The root chakra takes in energy from the earth and also allows us to ground spiritual energy much as a lightning rod grounds electricity. It gives us stability. Orients us in time and space and to our 5 senses. Being sense oriented, it gives us literal, not symbolic interpretations of the world.

(c) It gives us The stability to let go sexually and to experience pleasure with complete abandon – to soar in ecstasy and know we can return safely.

(d) Physical energy and the will to live – joy in life – basic survival instincts – eating, sleeping, self preservation – keeps us going until we complete what we came here to do.

(e) Outer authority/mass consciousness – having an external center of gravity.

(f) The foundation of mental and emotional health.

(g) A need for logic, order, and structure (tribe/ childhood).

(h) Love manifests as learning loyalty, a code of honor, justice, and tribal support – loving our own kind. Accepting and acting accordingly to the spiritual truth that All is One. Your bond to your physical family is symbolic of your connection to everyone and all that is life. Violating this energy bond such as considering those who are different from us as being less than us, creates conflict in our spirit and therefore within our spiritual body.

(i) The ultimate lesson of the first chakra is that we must shift our faith in order to see that the only real justice is Divinely ordered, to see God’s reasoning and what happens as Divine plan, not as human punishment or tribal law – seeing our tribal circumstances as “arranged by God” to promote spiritual advancement, In order to move from human to Divine authority we must evolve beyond misperceptions that contradict the truth “All Is One”.

(j) Primary fears: fear of physical survival, abandonment by the group, loss of physical order.

The 2nd chakra: Svadisthana or sacral chakra

(a) The 2nd chakra is the partnership/power of relationships chakra. With the 2nd chakra, energy shifts from obeying tribal authority to discovering other relationships that satisfy, personal, physical needs. Every relationship we develop serves the purpose of helping us to become more conscious.. Relationships are all spiritual messengers. To learn to see ourselves as reflected by the duality. from all is one (tribe), to being/seeing the other. Mirroring. We create our own reality. Life reflected back to us. divide before we can come back together consciously.

(b) Exploring the power of choice – dealing with duality/significance of opposites so that we come to know ourselves/personal and professional decision making ability and talent.

(c) Independent interactions – giving and receiving physical, mental, and spiritual pleasure. Flow of power between self and others – relationships and their effects on us.

(d) The ability to survive physically and financially on one’s own: power, money; self sufficiency/personal identity and boundaries/ to defend and protect oneself/ fight or flight/ ability to take risks/ the resilience to recover from loss.

(e) The desire to create, managing creative energy, and contribute – honor one another – managing sexual power/the quantity of emotional and sexual energy.

(f) Love manifests as caring for others to whom we are not connected by blood.

(g) Enables us to generate a sense of personal identity and protective psychological boundaries- the 2nd chakra energy of a healthy physical ego keeps us able to interact with the world of seductive forces ( sex, money, other people, etc) without having to sell ourselves.

(h) Our need to control the dynamics of our physical environment. Attachments to authority, money, people, other power sources.

(i) To learn to interact consciously with others to form unions with people who support our development and to release relationships that handicap our growth

The 3rd chakra: Manipura or solar plexus

(a) The energy of personal power – the magnetic core of our ego and personality; the process of individuation/forming self/ego self esteem. To create an identity apart from our tribal self.

(b) Personal power in relation to the external world.

(c) Gravitational center is partly internalized – how we relate to and understand ourselves – honor oneself.

(d) To mature in our self understanding – how we stand on our own and take care of ourselves – self respect/ self discipline, ambition, strength of character, ability to handle crisis/generosity, courage to take risks/ ethics/ ability to generate action (animal body).

(e) Healing – intentionality toward health.

(f) Love manifests as love of external things, of our personal, physical and material needs.

(g) Facing experiences that reveal to us our strengths and weaknesses as separate from the influence of our elders. Our survival intuition, our sense that protects us when we are in physical danger and alerts us to the negative energy and actions of other people: gut instinct.

(h) When we are secure in our own identity, allows us without jealousy or envy to also have joy in the success and empowerment of others.

The 4th chakra: Anahata or Heart chakra

(a) Central powerhouse of the human energy system – the emotional power chakra – mediates between body and spirit and determines their health and strength. The symbolic doorway into our internal world.

(b) Propels our emotional development – how to act out of love and compassion – to recognize that the most powerful energy we have is love.

(c) To generate an emotional climate and steadiness with which we respond to experience/circumstance.

(d) To let go and let God – to be able to see our experiences and circumstances as part of the divine plan.

(e) Openness trust toward life – ego and will to outer world.

(f) Getting to know ourselves in relationship to ourselves alone, not in regards to anyone else.

(g) The ability to heal oneself and others.

(h) Love recognized as commitment to self love as primary factor for healthy relationships with others – love of self, forgiveness, compassion – a force that influences and determines biological activity – heals us and others.

(i) Love is Divine power. Love is the only authentic power. Not only our minds and spirits, but also our physical bodies need love to survive and thrive. To refine our capacity to love others as well as ourselves and to develop the power of forgiveness ( acceptance).

The 5th chakra: Vishuddha or Throat chakra

(a) The power of will – the challenge of surrendering to the will of God. Complete union with Divine Will which = true authority. The awareness that we were born for a specific purpose, that life contains a Divine plan. The center of the desire to make contact with that Divine plan.

(b) The emotional and metal challenges of learning the nature of the power of choice.

(c) The capacity to make decisions knowing that no matter what decision we make, we can keep our word to ourselves and to another.

(d) Choice and consequence – spiritual karma – learning the balance between head and heart – each choice as an act of conscious personal power that affects everything. personal responsibility for our energy contributions – understanding the energy consequences of our thoughts and beliefs – becoming honest to a new degree. Personal integrity.

(e) Communicating and assimilating. Speaking the truth cleanly, with compassion.

(f) Love manifests as global/universal responsibility – orientation of self in profession and society.

Surrendering our will to Divine will is the greatest act we can perform to bring spiritual stability into our lives.

The 6th chakra: Ajna or Crown

(a) The power of the mind – our mental and reasoning abilities. From this chakra we receive the energy to search for answers to the mysteries we encounter.

(b) Our psychological skill at evaluating our beliefs and attitudes – becoming conscious. Healing as a conscious act. Capacity to understand and visualize concepts.

(c) Our conscious and unconscious psychological forces – the spiritual eye – interaction of mind and psyche leads to intuitive sight – seeing beyond polarity into the oneness of creation/going beyond judgments. Evolution/merging with the higher mind. Ability to transform concepts into being.

(d) Wisdom achieved through detachment – seeing the big picture – a state beyond the influences of the personal mind – developing an open mind/impersonal. Seek only the truth – the difference between truth and illusion. The energy pulsating from this chakra continually directs us to evaluate the truth and integrity of our beliefs. It pushes us relentlessly to let go of beliefs that are untrue.

(e) Receiving inspiration/great acts of creativity.

(f) Love is manifested as the contribution of spirit/wisdom to our life and others.

The 7th chakra: Sahasrara

(a) The chakra of prayer/meditation – tells us that our spirits are eternal/to realize that our bodies relationship to chronological time is an illusion – This chakra is the entry point for the human life force from God – connecting ( and nourishing) the entire physical body to the 7th chakra. The connection to the transcendent dimension of life – to our spiritual nature and our capacity to allow spirit/spirituality to become an integral part of our lives and guide us

(b) Seeking and intimate relationship with the Divine. Spiritual awakening.

(c) The grace (good karma) – bank account – storage of power and energy through acts of faith and prayer. Access to Prana – purest form of energy.

(d) Gaining an intensity of internal awareness – devotion, inspiration, prophetic thoughts, transcendent ideas, mystical connection, inner guidance/ insight into healing/ trust in the divine.

(e) Calling one’s spirit back – finishing up old business to return to the spiritual dimension complete. Integration of self with higher power.

(f) Love as an intimate personal relationship with the Divine.

(g) All that faith represents in one’s life – insight into healing, inner guidance ultimate trust, peace that surpasses understanding, etc. Live in the present moment! Thus to receive Divine guidance each day. From this we receive inspiration that lifts us into Ecstasy. We thrive and we heal in ecstatic moments, when our spirits become stronger than our bodies, and our bodies can respond to the commands of our spirits. The soul is one with God. Consciously returning to the Divine.

More about the First Chakra: Muladhara

Have you ever wondered why some people have charisma, presence, why some people can be optimistic no matter what the circumstances? Do you wonder that they are able to manifest what they need after a setback? Underlying it all is the fact that they are well grounded, have a good foundation, they bonded well with their mothers and other primary caretakers the need to bond is within 12-15 hours after birth – birthing methods are also important!) and have a good sense of their physical bodies. A child is psychically bonded to the mother by an energetic umbilical cord until 7 – the 1st stage of life is from birth to 7 – during which time the focus is on physical development and being in the body/ learning to master the physical – that is why children need to be outside during this stage and being physical – not academic.

These charismatic people demonstrate a healthy, well balanced, fast spinning, unobstructed base chakra. Stability, security, and a sense of belonging are all root chakra. Contact with the earth and time to nurture ourselves are all part of having a healthy root chakra qualities – taking care of our roots, which also includes the very crucial 1st chakra issue of honoring and being a part of a tribe, or family. If the root chakra is weak or closed, we feel lost, insecure, ungrounded, alienated. This chakra is about matter, substance, the earth and all that comes from it, including our bodies. It is the foundation and support for the rest of the chakra system and constantly maintains a flow of solid, grounding energy. It is also ready to send a surge of power up through all of the other chakras whenever necessary, as long as they’re able to respond. It Revitalizes everything.

Work on any chakra brings improvements in every area of your life, but if you’re not truly grounded, the improvements can’t be sustained. The root chakra has the potential to shift all the other blocks that may be present in the system, and to make work at the higher centers much easier. Being able to ground yourself at will is of the utmost importance. Let’s check our percentage of how grounded we all are right now…

The root chakra is well named, as it roots us to the planet. Like a lightning rod, it grounds the energy. The Sefirot of Shekinah calls it the doorway into the Divine. “One who enters must enter through this gate” (Zohar 1:7b) – it is the place of birth. It gives us the opportunity to draw up the stimulating, dynamic energy of the earth and to discharge anything negative which otherwise could cause stress and psychic overload. This is one of the root chakra’s great gifts: to allow us to regularly let go (look where it’s located: where we shit also – same thing) and return to the earth whatever is no longer needed, knowing it will be safely handled. The root chakra spins to form a funnel of energy and light pointing toward the earth from the base of the spine or, more accurately, the perineum. Polarity work teaches us to relax the perineum – where we hold our energy in; if we’re up tight there due to trauma, we can’t absorb the energy from the earth or feel grounded.

We also need to feel that we belong to the earth and are bonded to her as the greater Mother. Like a hologram of many levels, we must be grounded to and belong to the smallest level up to the greatest – from tribe to universe. It is the slowest of all the chakras spinning at the frequency of red light. Rubies emit the same frequency. The root chakra governs survival: eating and eating patterns, sleeping and sleeping patterns ( both security issues), conservation of the species, self preservation. It governs our basic instincts – it’s associated with the adrenal glands – the fight or flight response that comes into play instinctively to protect us if we’re under threat. It deals with physical energy and the will to live, the ability to receive joy from life, to have vitality.

If the root chakra is closed, we have a totally different quality of sexual pleasure that’s only available when the root chakra can give us the stability to let go with complete abandon. An open base chakra gives us the ability to soar to the heavens in ecstasy (supports 7th chakra spiritual visions and energy, astral traveling, in this way as well) but remain whole and safe to return here when we are ready. It is symbolic of a parent to a 2 year old child who goes off to explore but comes racing back to see that it’s still safe.

The root chakra can be seen in this way as the Divine Mother energy, which is how the Tree of Life sees it. Shekinah (10th Sefirot) means Divine presence and represents the feminine spirit of the earth akin to Gaia – the grounding life force, feeding all that is alive. The first chakra deals with lessons related to the physical world. The sacrament of Baptism is to receive or bestow an expression of grace representing gratitude for one’s life in the physical world.

The energy content of this chakra is tribal power. Archetypally, the word tribe connotates group identity, group force, group will power, and group belief patterns. It is our connection to traditional family beliefs that support the formation of identity and a sense of belonging to a group of people in a geological location. To be part of a tribe is a primal need – to be completely dependent for one’s basic needs is as physical as it gets. Being part of a tribal energy, the root chakra sets us up to experience outer authority. We are connected to mass consciousness, and we experience an outer, not an internal, center of gravity. The first chakra is the family we are born into; ancestral patterns; DNA. Because of this, the root chakra is the foundation of mental and emotional health, and due to this the tribe and or family has a need for logic, order, and structure . The root chakra lesson is all about how we handle being in a group identity. As part of a tribe, we experience the power of sharing a belief system and a moral code with other people.

Love has its roots here and manifests as learning loyalty, a code of honor, justice, and tribal support – loving our own kind. We learn how to live honorably with one another, and how to bond. The Sefirot of Shekinah teaches that we must first honor our families and all human communities to ascend in spiritual truth.

In the Tree of Life, Shekinah is The Divine consciousness that creates and protects the mystical community of Israel. In the symbolic perspective, it is the Divine consciousness that creates and protects all tribes of the human race. The sacrament of Baptism to “do unto others as we would have them do unto us” is about respecting all of life on this earth and to live honorably as a member of the human tribe.

In The 1st Sacrament: Baptism represents a family accepting physical and spiritual responsibility for a child they have brought into the world. This sacrament symbolically alerts us to honor one’s biological family as sacred and tells us that our family was divinely chosen as the appropriate tribe from which to begin one’s life journey. By fulfilling these 2 commitments: (1) accepting that our family is divinely chosen for teaching us the lessons we need to learn in this life and (2) we commit ourselves to living honorably as a member of the human tribe, we baptize ourselves and honor our own lives.

Our challenge as spiritual adults is to accept symbolically, fully, and gratefully, the family into which we were born. It also represents honoring your family and yourself by forgiving the family members for any pain they caused you during your childhood. The power contained in such forgiveness is precisely the power that heals the body. We learn the truth of the 1st chakra’s universal life lesson that “All is One” through experiences connected to group dynamics. We are connected to all of life and we learn through the energy of this chakra that every choice we make and every belief we hold exerts influence on the whole of life.

Accepting and acting accordingly to the spiritual truth that All is One is the challenge of this chakra. Your bond to your physical family is symbolic of your connection to everyone and all that is life. Violating this energy bond, such as considering those who are different from us as being less than us, creates conflict in our spirit and therefore within our physical body. So, although we begin life and have our roots in the 1st chakra to family and tribe, we only begin our life journey here – but this lesson holds the seeds for the entire journey, and that is why some consider the root chakra to be the most complex of all the chakras: we cycle back, we come full circle , like the infinity symbol that has no beginning and no end, because when we arrive and deal with the truth of the 7th chakra, we once again learn that all is One, only this time we have chosen to arrive there in full consciousness in our own individuality. It’s all about remembering who we really are, and this begins at our tribal beginnings.

One of the ultimate lesson of the first chakra is that we must shift our faith in order to see that the only real justice is Divinely ordered, to see God’s reasoning and what happens as Divine plan, not as human punishment or tribal law – seeing our tribal circumstances as “arranged by God” to promote spiritual advancement.

In order to move from human to Divine authority we must evolve beyond misperceptions that contradict the truth “All Is One”. And, ultimately, although many people in a tribe or family forget this, the whole purpose of a tribe or parents is to give you roots so that you can fly to the freedom of developing your personal power – ultimately – enlightenment. It urges us to become all that we are capable of being, governing our drive to care for and nourish ourselves and to keep ourselves fit. In this way we are able to deal with whatever life sends our way and to prosper. It is our motivation to earn a living in order to live well, and our ability to manifest what we need. It assures us of the gift of good judgment, a tool necessary for survival to avoid danger, while still allowing us to be adventurous and to take risks.

The root chakra reminds us of who we truly are (All is One) – that we are essential to the overall plan, that we are part of the universe: amazing, magnificent beings with a physical body, a body that we must value and for which we are responsible.

The body houses the spirit, emotion, and intellect – it is visible evidence of our incarnation, from spirit into form, and we occupy it in order to work through whatever we came to learn. It interprets the physical world through a complex nervous system and our 5 physical senses. This chakra orients us in time and space and to our 5 senses. Trouble with a sense of direction can be a root chakra difficulty. Being sense oriented, it gives us literal, not symbolic interpretations of the world. It prompts us to acknowledge our innate beauty and our unique worth. It gives us focus, discipline, and a sturdy base from which to explore ourselves and our world. If parents are too protective, which indicates that their root chakra is damaged giving them little sense of security, it can cause damage to their child’s root chakra. The root chakra prevents us from scattering our energies to the wind. We are part of nature and fit into it as perfectly as the sunset, a waterfall, or the deer in the forest. Being out of touch with this 1st chakra truth creates environmental disasters, waste, abuse, separatism and and an arrogance that we as a species have more right to the planet than anything else.

If we use symbolic understanding, we recognize that the immune system is equivalent to the protection and love of the family. It protects us from harmful influences. When we dishonor our family, speak badly or abusively of them, we are in fact actually attacking our own immune system. We are our family, as All is One. To attack them, or even the larger family of humanity, or any part of life, is to destroy our own immune system. Most immune disorders are the immune system attacking itself. Members of a family attacking itself. Anyone know anyone with an immune disorder? What’s their relationship to their family or society at large?

You know, we all collude through woundology, the non productive habit of sharing our wounds with one another, of sharing our tough childhoods, either blaming our families, or making fun of them – but we’re really only damaging ourselves when we do. It’s become an accepted mode of conversation to make fun of our parents – but looking symbolically and energetically at what it does, it violates the truth of the 1st chakra. The spinal cord which is the channel for life force energy, and what supports us in life (our tribal energy/ family) rests in the pelvic basin, in our root. The base of the spine is where we connect to ancestral energy. If we dishonor that, what do you think happens to the spine, or our backs? Anybody here have back trouble?

Rape, sexual abuse , incest, are all distortions that begin in the 1st chakra. When one has a belief that we are not all one and that you can’t trust your tribe, or that you must compromise yourself, prostitute yourself in some way, or give away your power to gain security, you will be operating from a damaged 1st chakra. These beliefs will damage and distort the energy of this chakra as it goes against the first life lesson: All is One. Think about Global warming – the ozone which protects us is the planet’s immune system – and it is being attacked due to all the misuse of the planet, the harm to her body and the attack of life going on on the planet. Irrespective of the way we contribute to the earth, we become aware that our contribution is essential and unique. We affect the delicate balance of all life. This chakra. gives us the energy to do what we do well.

“Spilled on this earth are all the joys of heaven” –anonymous

And that is what we can use the power of the root chakra to enjoy.

Methods and exercises to heal the First Chakra:

1. Grounding – get in touch with the earth.
2. Think of 5 things you would really like to do: plan them, do them. Treat yourself. Keep your promises to your inner child!
3. Write in a journal anything that comes to mind about your 1st chakra. Let it be stream of consciousness flow. Let your intuitive right brain communicate to you.
4. Soul retrieval.
5. Meditations.
6. Releasing old beliefs and creating new ones taking responsibility for creating your own reality.
7. Therapy/ body work /movement.
8. Gem stones.
9. Polarity therapy – perineum release.

Homework:

1. Journal – ask for dreams to show you what’s going on with 1st chakra and write them down.
2. Practice the meditations and grounding exercises that pull you.
3. Make a drawing of your 1st chakra.
4. Clear chakra at least once a day.
5. Work with familial/tribal issues.
6. Do at least 2 things you’ve wanted to do.
7. Do 2 things related to being connected directly to the earth just by yourself.
8. Offer your children something you ethically value.

Here is an example of operating from an unconscious, misplaced understanding of life through a negative belief system or program and how a block in one chakra can lead to many others: the journey of healing it – you have a belief that you must give away your power to get security. You create getting raped at an early age which manifests this belief. You are born into an abusive family, and you have had many lifetimes of being victimized, giving up your power. 2nd and 3rd chakra issues develop – no trust in relationships and issues of self esteem and respect: You have a belief that no one will listen to you – you’re born to parents who don’t. Therefore you develop a negative program that you are not worth anything. You cannot face issues in yourself as this would validate that you are worthless. You block your ability to use the 6th chakra for internal or symbolic sight. You have no personal awareness of what energy you are putting out. You go through life angry. You have your mouth taped shut at school from talking non stop. This will effect the throat chakra – being able to speak your truth, the heart chakra, etc. You interrupt people and speak aggressively and with contempt as you feel you were treated by believing you weren’t worth being listened to – no one want to listen to you then as you project your feelings of self contempt onto others – leads you to being in fights every day at school and getting beaten up – developing a belief that life is horrible and will beat you up – 1st chakra blocks as your will to live weakens. Much inner work is required to align your chakras and attitudes with what is healthy, mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually.

Raising the Kundalini

Over the centuries, mystics have described the immense power of the root chakra by likening it to a snake or a dragon, the kundalini, which lies coiled, asleep within the pelvis. It waits to be awakened only when spiritual development is sufficiently advanced to allow us to cope with its power. When the kundalini begins to rise, its energy can travel quite rapidly within the central energy channel, the shushumna, up the whole length of the spine, passing through every other chakra on its way. It emerges, when raised appropriately, at the level of the 7th chakra, having cleared and revitalized the whole system, bringing enlightenment and spiritual freedom. The crown center and all those in between can be open and functioning without the raising of the kundalini having occurred.

However, in practical terms, a sign that the first chakra is open and the kundalini has risen is that the person has true charisma, not to be confused with charm. Light power. It’s a quality which encompasses a strong sense of self with good esteem and self worth, but without conceit or arrogance. Pure prana. Charismatic individuals attract others with their power and light, while healing energy flows from and around them. This individual has perfect balance in the other chakras too and is blessed with humility since the power is spiritual and does not come from ego.

Much has been written about the dangers of attempting to raise the kundalini prematurely, and there is a need to respect the extraordinary power of this base center. Premature raising of the kundalini has accounted for some episodes of disturbed behavior which are often mistaken for psychosis. Admittedly, the shock of a rapid and sometimes explosive opening of all the chakras without the right support and expertise can result in distressing behavior and physical harm. If the spiritual nature of the experience is missed (and if a person is strongly medicated the chances of this are greatly increased) the healing, recovery, and further development can be obstructed or delayed. Some powerful healing and grounding usually can help in these situations.