The Chakra
System
Root Chakra
Location: Bones, Feet, Knees, Legs, Perineum,
Coccyx
Energetics and Imbalances: Our bones are
the densest manifestation of our spirit, the last part
of our body to solidify and the last part to decompose.
It is in the bones where blood is produced. This is the
blood of our ancestors, our tribe, and our future children.
Bones provide structure, safety and security for our home,
our temple called the body, while we reside on Mother Earth.
This home requires a caretaker to occupy it, to notice
how it feels and what it needs. If we don't take up residence
in all the rooms, we may appear spacey, aloof-not really
here. As a result, we may develop aches and pains in our
feet, knees and legs. Often times, severe neglect or traumas
such as assault, rape, life-threatening illnesses or accidents
can cause us to leave our bodies because it feels too scary
to be in them. This can be the start of a cycle of violations
to the body, be they emotional, energetic or physical.
Other manifestations can show up as anxieties, phobias,
insomnia, substance abuse, impoverishment or victimization.
These symptoms can also show up if we sever, lose, or have
shame around our connection to our family and roots.
Chakra Balancing: Exercises in nature
which activate feet and legs and demand presence. Good
nutrition. Adequate sleep. Dancing. Claiming one's home
in the world. Bodywork which provides safe exploration
of and reintroduction into, body sensations and emotions.
Affirmation: I feel grounding support
of the Great Mother under my feet and unconditional love
of God above. I am safe.
Root Chakra Correspondences
Element: Earth
Gland: Adrenal
Incense and Oils: Sandalwood, Cinnamon,
Garlic, Myrrh, Cedarwood Stones: Bloodstone, Garnet, Ruby,
Hematite, lodestone, Onyx, Tiger's Eye
Musical Note: C
Type of Music: Drumming
Sacramental Association: Baptism
Animals: Elephant, Ox, Bull
Food: Proteins, Meat
Right: To Be Here, To Have
Positive Archetype: Great Mother
Negative Archetype: Victim
Sacral Chakra
Location: Kidneys, Bladder, Sex Organs,
Sacrum, Hips
Energetics and Imbalances: The pelvic
bowl contains so many of our fluids, the ocean of rhythms
and tides. It holds the spectrum of emotions from the depths
of silent dark waters to the crest of torrent waves. Love
and pain swim in this ocean, which undulates with our passions
and desires. If we don't allow ourselves to feel the variety
of currents, our water may freeze, or boil and dry up.
We may become passionless either out of a need to control
ourselves or from fear that we won't get what we want.
If we do not keep a witness to our emotions, we may drown
in them and create unnecessary dramas in our lives. Either
extremes may cause sexual disfunction such as a constant
need for pleasure or rejection of pleasure due to fear
or shame. Physical symptoms can include chronic menstrual
cramping, endometriosis, infertility, sterility, prostate
problems, sciatica and hip pain.
Chakra Balancing: Take baths. Practice
fluid movement exercises, such as swimming, dancing or
yoga. Wear sensual fabrics. Acknowledge your desires. Know
your boundaries; i.e., where you end and another begins.
Engage in healthy pleasure. Ask for what you want. Sensuous
massage. Tantra Yoga.
Affirmation: I welcome and acknowledge all of my feelings and desires,
easily discerning the appropriateness of acting on them.
Sacral Chakra Correspondences
Element: Water
Gland: Ovaries/Testes
Incense and Oils: Orange blossom, Jasmine, Neroli, Rose
Stones: Tiger's Eye, Onyx, Carnelian, Coral, Citrine, Golden
Topaz
Musical Note: D
Type of Music: Latin Dance
Sacramental Association: Communion
Animals: Sea Creature Wanting to Be Fed
Food: Liquids
Right: To Feel
Positive Archetype: Emperor/Empress
Negative Archetype: Martyr
Solar Plexus Chakra
Location: Liver, Pancreas, Gall Bladder,
Intestines, Stomach
Energetics and Imbalances: Our gut hears
our truth and feels our desires. It is our will center
and place of power where our individuality asserts itself.
This center holds our digestive system, our body's engine,
which burns fuel to provide energy for us to pursue our
callings.
If we betray our body with unhealthy foods or substances, our engine may start
to malfunction. It can send acid back up into the throat, stop our bowels from
evacuating regularly, speed up or slow down our metabolism, affecting absorption
of nutrients and blood sugar levels, causing diabetes or hypoglycemia. Hepatitis,
gallstones and pancreatitis may also result. If we don't act according to our
truth, we may experience frustrations, anger, shame, lack of joy or low self-esteem.
When our engine is overtaxed our energy level drops and chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia,
lupus, and other autoimmune disorders can occur and create a sense of powerlessness.
Chakra Balancing: Act from your truth to avoid creating shame and
anger. When in hurtful circumstances beyond your control, practice forgiveness
and compassion for self. Eat healthy foods, limiting sugar, caffeine and alcohol.
Celebrate your uniqueness. Laugh from your belly. Practice Qui Gong orTai Chi.
Affirmation: I honor my truth and my body. I am powerful beyond
measure.
Solar Plexus Chakra Correspondences
Element: Fire
Gland: Pancreas
Incense and Oils: Lemon, Juniper, Grapefruit, Bergamont, Cinnamon
Stones: Yellow Citrine, Amber, Topaz, Sunstone, Areganite,
Golden Calcite
Musical Note: E
Type of Music: Marches
Sacramental Association: Confirmation
Animals: Lion, Ram
Food: Complex Carbohydrates
Right: To Act, To Create
Positive Archetype: Spiritual Warrior
Negative Archetype: Slave
Heart Chakra
Location: Lungs, Heart, Arms, Hands
Energetics and Imbalances: We breathe
heaven and earth energies into our heart chakra, our higher
mind, where our thoughts and feelings are processed through
unconditional love. With each inhale our body is connecting
with and receiving the exhale of our planet. With each
exhale we are nourishing our earth home. This intimate
exchange is essential to our survival. Balance between
giving and receiving is regulated in our heart chakra.
The depth of our breath is equal to the depth at which
we are engaged in life. The extent to which we fully love
ourselves, including our shadow, demonstrates the love
we can share in with others. If we don't love ourselves,
we may start to collapse in our chest and experience feelings
of isolation, loneliness, depression and even despair.
If our lack of self-love continues we may puff up our chests,
close our fists and fight the world in order to keep it
away. Physical manifestations include tuberculosis, high
blood pressure and angina.
Chakra Balancing: Look in the mirror and
say "I love you" until you get it. Get together
with supportive friends. Light candles. Sit around a campfire.
Practice deep breathing. Tell others that you love them.
Breathwork with a practitioner.
Affirmation: I am deeply loved by God.
I am completely lovable.
Heart Chakra Correspondences
Element: Air
Gland: Thymus
Incense and Oils: Rose, Lily of the Valley,
Carnation, Melissa
Stones: Emerald, Rose Quartz, Peridot,
Jade, Moonstone, Malachite, Kunzite
Musical Note: F
Type of Music: Choral
Sacramental Association: Marriage
Animals: Dove, Antelope, Deer
Food: Vegetables
Right: To Love
Positive Archetype: Lover
Negative Archetype: Performer
Throat Chakra
Location: Mouth, Jaw, Throat, Ears, Shoulders
Energetics and Imbalances: The throat
chakra is where we use sound to express our individual
beliefs and truths. This chakra is also a conduit in which
divine wisdom and beauty are transmitted through a variety
of creative modalities. Speaking positively about ourselves
and others raises our vibrations and can enhance our immune
system. Speaking our highest truth strengthens our will
center (Solar Plexus). If we are not honest with ourselves
or others we may create dysfunctional patterns in relationships,
work, or any other number of places. This can lead to neck
stiffness, tight shoulders, headaches, temporal mandibular
joint syndrome, incessant talking, malicious gossip, almost
no talking, sore throat or thyroid conditions. Severe dissonance
may lead to dangerous situations where we may be harmed
or harm others.
Chakra Balancing: Sing. Create. Listen deeply and speak truthfully. Align your
behaviors with your truth. Avoid speaking or listening to gossip. Learn positive,
clear, communication skills.
Affirmation: In silence I hear my deepest truth, and from that place I speak.
Throat Chakra Correspondences
Element: Ether
Gland: Thyroid and parathyroid
Incense and Oils: Blue Chamomile, Gardenia, YlangYlang
Stones: Turquoise, Blue Agate, Aquamarine, Celestite, Sodalite,
Amber
Musical Note: G
Type of Music: Opera
Sacramental Association: Confession
Animals: Sparrow, Hawk, Elephant, Bull
Food: Fruit
Right: To Speak
Positive Archetype: Communicator
Negative Archetype: Masked Self
Third Eye Chakra
Location: Eyes, Base of Skull
Energetics and Imbalances: Vision is a
complex system of light, refraction, communication with
a higher source and interpretation or perception of what
is seen. There is both physical sight and seeing through
intuition or sixth sense. Wisdom is gained by observing
patterns in our own lives and patterns which have occurred
throughout history. Insight into our subconscious mind
and the collective conscious comes in the form of dreams
and visions.
Some people sense beyond the illusory veils of time and space and are able
to see angels, fairies, loved ones who have died, other dimensions, past and
future. Others need proof that what they are seeing is real, and will not allow
themselves to believe in anything other than that. There is a wide spectrum
in between and beyond the two. In the extremes, a person may experience nightmares,
hallucinations, paranoid fantasies, misinterpretation of intuitive information,
insensitivity or oblivion to the subtleties around them. Physical symptoms
can include migraines, blindness and other eye problems, brain tumors and strokes.
Chakra Balancing: Keep a journal by your bed and write down your dreams upon
waking. Explore the patterns in your life. Create new ways of being which serve
your highest purpose. Surround yourself with beauty and light. Pay attention
to your intuition and cultivate it. Meditate to clear your mind.
Affirmation: I see with clarity through the eyes of God.
Third Eye Chakra Correspondences
Element: Light
Gland: Pituitary
Incense and Oils: Sweet Pea, Heliotrope, Camphor, Hyacinth
Stones: Lapis Lazuli, Sapphire, Clear Calcite, Azurite, Purple
Fluorite
Musical Note: A
Type of Music: Classical
Sacramental Association: Ordination
Animals: Hawk, Owl
Food: None, Consciousness-Altering Substances
RIght: To see
Positive Archetype: Wise Elder
Negative Archetype: Skeptic
Crown Chakra
Location: Top of head, Brain
Energetics and Imbalances: This is our
organizing body, like a filing cabinet or mother board.
Similar to the south pole (root chakra), which provides
the structure for our tissues, the north pole (crown chakra)
provides the structure for our thoughts and belief systems.
It is continually reorganizing and shifting to assimilate
new ideas and experiences. These structures can expand
through high, awesome experiences which give us a deep
sense of connection with God. These structures close down
when we stay attached to old beliefs which no longer serve
us. Over thinking and analyzing in order to fit new experiences
into existing structures restricts our ability to expand.
This restriction can also lead to feelings of aloneness
or futility due to the absence of connection with a higher
power. Expansion without our feet on the ground can create
delusional states and disassociation from the body. Either
extremes can create learning and perceptual difficulties,
neurosis, insomnia, color blindness and epilepsy.
Chakra Balancing: Consistently engage
in spiritual practices that nourish you. Connect with nature.
Read inspirational writings. Practice gratitude for all
that you have and all that is. Surrender to the will of
God. Meditate.
Affirmation: I trust in a higher power
and know that I am one with all that exists.
Crown Chakra Correspondences
Element: The Cosmos
Gland: Pineal
Incense and Oils: Lavender, Lotus, Elemi,
Violet, Frankincense, Rosewood
Stones: Amethyst, Alexandrite, Diamond, Sugalite, White Tourmaline, Clear Quartz
Musical Note: B
Type of Music: Indian Ragas
Sacramental Association: Extreme Unction
Animal: Eagle
Food: None, Fasting
Right: To Know
Positive Archetype: Sage
Negative Archetype: Egoist
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