Chakras, what are they? You may be hearing this word used a lot lately. It is as if it is a new concept, but really it is not. The concept and understanding of the word chakra has existed for thousands of years is believed to have originated from the Hindu culture and Tantric teachings. But without dipping deep into that pool of wisdom, let’s stick to the basics here. At the end of this series, I will offer an extensive list of books that are wonderful resources if you wish to dive deeper into the topic!
Chakras are described as wheels or energy centers that reside within the human body. And I say the human body because from a spiritual perspective, one has a human body and a spirit body. Note; when healers talk energy and energy work, a healer works with both bodies, spiritual and physical. When one does not recognize and work with imbalances in the spiritual body they will eventually show up as illness and dis-ease in the physical form or human body, but here I go again, getting off topic! I just can’t help myself sometimes.
Now, these energy centers, a.k.a. chakras, run the vertical length of the human body. Beginning with the crown and moving down you have the third eye, throat, heart, solar, sacral, and root chakra. There are 7 main chakras that run through the body itself. However, there are many more chakras throughout the body that are not commonly discussed. And I will address those at a later date. These 7 energy centers make up the main focal points of the human body and can be described as the survival centers.
Each chakra represents a certain aspect or function of the body, whether to feel safe, to feel powerful, to feel loved, and to feel heard and so on. When these chakras are in balance then a person will feel these things as they should and function normally on a physical, mental, and spiritual level in their waking life. They will be healthy and happy. However, when these chakras are not in balance then the opposite will happen. They can feel depressed, have anxiety, relationship problems, health issues, financial issues and more.
Very rarely is a person ever in balance every waking moment of their life, unless they are a healer themselves and work on themselves daily, consistently, the entirety of their lives. See where I am going here? That doesn’t mean there is not hope for the non healer! This just means knowledge is power and that’s why I am here! I am here to help provide understanding and resources.
The reason why one’s chakras could be out of balance are too numerous to list, but a few examples could be poor sleep, over worked, stress, illness and so on. Then there could be major reasons such as traumatic events, difficult home life or a difficult upbringing and I will just stop there. The point is that we are spiritual beings having a human experience; you may have heard that before ;). And just like we have to take care of our physical bodies through diet and exercise, we have to really focus on our spiritual bodies, as that is really were our health begins!
And the best way to start taking care of yourself is by making time for YOU! Set aside time each day for quiet, uninterrupted time. I know that seems very difficult, from personal experience here. But even if it is just 5 minutes in the bathroom, a closet-I’m serious, outside in nature on a short walk. Anything just to take a few deep breaths relaxing the mind and body; and if you can take it one step more, then let’s do legs up the wall! Legs up the wall is a yoga asana that I love to do when I am absolutely spent!
You simply lie down somewhere safe, I usually do it in the living room because if I try to escape then everyone will try to find me, this way I am not trying to hide therefore no one comes looking! Ha ha, reverse psychology baby ;) Back on topic, find somewhere to lie down that is comfortable and flat, preferably with some space around you to stretch out your arms some. Come into a seated position NEXT to the wall, couch, or even coffee table if you choose. Then lie down on your side so that your bum is next to the item that you are placing your legs against. And in one swoop, roll onto your back while bringing your legs into the upright position making an “L” against your support. Your back will be flat on the floor and your legs will either be upright up the wall or upright up and over the couch or coffee table.
The point here is the get your legs higher than your heart and rest. Not only are you elevating your feet which relieves pressure from a long day, you are also reduce that stress and work that the heart has to do to bring the blood back up from your feet to your heart. This allows you to recover quicker! Lying on your back allows you spine to lengthen which relieves pressure on the spine itself, you are creating more space in the torso to breath more deeply which oxygenates the body faster and more efficiently. Do I need to go on here?
Leg’s up the wall people! Let's go!! Until next week…
In light,
Jamie