Open Your Spiritual Chakras

 

Chakras, according to Buddhist/Hindu belief, are pools of energy which are used to govern our psychological qualities.  There are a total of 7 main chakras which includes 4 in the upper part of your body (governing your mental properties, and 3 in the lower part of your body (governing your instinctual properties).

After taking a look at the 7 chakras in the previous section we will now take a look at opening each of the chakras:

• Muladhara (root)
• Svadhisthana (sacral)
• Manipura (solar plexus)
• Anahata(heart)
• Visuddhi (throat)
• Ajna (third eye)
• Sahasrara (crown)

Each of the chakras should contribute to your overall well-being.  When you begin opening your chakras you may find that some are not open all the way, some could be over-active or even closed. 

If your chakras are in balance the natural instinct is for them to join forces with your feelings and thinking.  If your chakras are out of balance, you won’t be able to achieve peace with yourself.

Before you begin remember that if you are opening some of the chakras which were previously closed or over-active, you don’t need to make your over-active chakras less active.  Over-active chakras are compensating for the inactivity of the of the closes ones.  As soon as you open the closed chakras, you become balanced and the energy evens out.

 

Muladhara  (Root-Red)

This chakra will allow you to become physically aware and feel comfortable in a variety of situations.  When this chakra is open, you will feel well-balanced, secure, stable and sensible.  If this chakra is open you are aware of what is happening right now, are connected to your physical body and feel present in everything you do.

If the Muladhara chakra is over-active, you might tend to be greedy and materialistic.  If it is under-active, you can become more nervous, fearful and don’t feel welcome in a host of situations.  You don’t want to feel these things and want to be secure but are unwelcome to change.

Here are some things you can do to open this chakra:

• Around the house you can do some simple items such as house cleaning, yoga, or take a walk. Make use of your body by doing something active and become aware of it allowing this chakra to strengthen itself.
• Ground yourself by connecting with the ground and allowing your body to feel it beneath you. To do this, try a stance such as standing up straight, putting your feet shoulder width apart, slightly bend your knees and relax.  Keep your body balanced but at the same time move your pelvis slightly forward.  Try staying in this position for several minutes.  After you have stayed as long as possible, sit on the ground cross-legged for several minutes while taking the tips of your thumb and index fingers touch in a peaceful position. 
• While in this position, concentrate on this chakra which is in a spot between the genitals and your buttocks. Think about what this chakra stands for.
• Relax, chant the sound “LAM” while thinking about the meaning of the chakra and how it should affect your life. Don’t stop until you are completely relaxed or have a “clean” feeling.
• Use this to help you visualize during this opening: imagine a closed flower. A very powerful energy radiates the flower as it slowly opens revealing petals full of energy.  Contract the perineum while doing this by holding breath and then releasing it.

 

Svadhisthana (Sacral-Orange)

 

The Svadhisthans chakra deals with feeling and sexuality.  If the chakra is open, feelings are free to be released and can be expressed without you becoming overly emotional. 

You can be passionate, outgoing, have no sexuality problems and open to affinity with this charka.  If, on the other hand, the chakra is over-active, you will tend to be emotional and sensitive all the time.  Also, if it is under-active, you tend to be closed to everybody, are impassive and unemotional.  You may also be closed sexually.

Here are a few tips to help you open this chakra:

• Sit with your back straight while resting on your knees. Stay relaxed.
• Take your hands and place the palms up one on top of the other and lay them in your lap. The left hand should be underneath with the palm touching the back fingers of the right hand and the thumbs gently touching.
• Now concentrate on this chakra which is the sacral bone on the lower back.
• Chant the sound “VAM”
• Relax, think about the chakra, what it means and how it should affect your life or how it is affecting your life. Do this until you are completely relaxed and experience a “clean” feeling.

 

Manipura (Solar Plexus-Yellow)

 

This chakra, when open, allows you to feel in control, have good feelings about yourself along with dignity, and confidence.  If the chakra is over-active, you will feel imperious and aggressive and if it’s under-active, you are likely to be indecisive, apprehensive and passive.

Let’s take a look at what you can do to make sure this chakra stays open.

• With your back straight, stay relaxed and sit on your knees.
• Take your hands and place them on your stomach (slightly below the solar plexus). Join all your fingers at the tips and point them away from you.
• Straighten the fingers and then cross the thumbs (this is an important step).
• Concentrate on what this chakra stands for which is slightly above the navel
• Chant the sound “RAM.”
• Continue relaxing and thinking about this chakra and its meaning. How does should this or does this affect your life?
• Again, when finished, you should have a “clean” feeling.

 

Anahata (Heart-Green)

 

This chakra is all about the heart, endearment, caring and love.  When this chakra is open, you are friendly, have amicable relationships and are extremely compassionate.  If this chakra is over-active, you “love” people or those close to you so much that you tend to smother them and it can almost be portrayed as being “selfish.”  If this chakra is under-active, you can appear unfriendly and cold.

To open this chakra, do the following:

• Sit with your legs crossed and put the tip of your index finger and thumb together on both hands.
• Put your right hand on the lower part of the breastbone and your left hand on your left knee.
• Concentrate on this chakra and think about what it means in relation to the heart.
• Chant the “YAM” sound as you sit silently and concentrate.
• Relax your body as much as possible all the while thinking about this chakra and how it should and how it does affect your life.
• Continue concentrating on the chakra until you are completely relaxed and you feel “clean” as it intensifies within your body.

 

Visuddhi (Throat-Blue)

 

This chakra, because it deals with the throat, is connected to communication and self-expression especially through art.  When this chakra is open, you can express yourself much easier.

 

If the chakra is over-active, you tend to dominate conversations and speak so much that people get annoyed.  Because of this, you tend to be a bad listener.  If it’s under-active, you tend to be more reserved and quiet so people say that you are “shy.”

 

Let’s take a look at how you can open this chakra:

 

• Sit on your knees, straight back and cross your fingers on the inside of your hands without the thumbs. Let your thumbs touch at the tops and pull them up.
• Concentrate on the chakra and what it means at the base of the throat.
• Chant the sound “HAM.”
• Relax your body while thinking about the meaning of this chakra and how it should affect your life and how it does affect your life.
• As all of the other chakras, do this for about five minutes until a “clean” feeling intensifies.

 

Ajna (Third Eye-Indigo)

 

This chakra deals with insight meaning that you have clairvoyance and tend to dream a lot.  If this chakra is over-active, you live in a dream world imagining all day long.  The bad side to this is that you could be a frequent daydreamer or have hallucinations.  If the chakra is under-active, you tend to rely on other people to think for you.  You also appear to be confused all the time because you rely far too much on beliefs.

 

To open this chakra:

 

• Sit with your legs crossed and put your hands in front of the lower part of your breast. Your middle fingers should be straight and touching the tops, again, pointing away from you.  Your other fingers should be bent and touch at the two upper phalanges.  Your thumbs will be pointing towards you and meet at the tops.
• Concentrate on this chakra and what it stands for which is centered a little above/in between both of your eyebrows.
• Chant the sound “OM” or “AUM.”
• Your body should be relaxed now so continue to think of this chakra, its meaning and how it should and does affect your life.
• Once again, you will feel a “clean” feeling as it returns or intensifies.

 

 

Sahasrara (Crown-Violet/White)

 

The last chakra is the most spiritual chakra and represents your being one with the universe and encircles your wisdom.  When this chakra is open you become more aware of the world, prejudice disappears and you connect yourself with the world.

 

If this chakra becomes over-active, spirituality comes first to your mind and you intellectualize things all the time.  Some people who have an overly-active crown chakra tend to ignore their bodily needs such as shelter, food and water.  When this chakra is under-active, you appear to be not that spiritual and can be quite rigid in your thoughts.

 

Here are some suggestions to open this chakra:

 

• Sit with your legs crossed and lay your hand before your stomach keeping your little fingers pointed up and away from you. Let the fingers touch at the top and cross the rest of the fingers with the left thumb underneath the right.
• Concentrate on what the chakra stands for at the very top of your head (or crown).
• Chant the sound “NG”
• Your body should be totally relaxed and your mind should now be at peace. Even though you are at peace, don’t stop concentrating on the chakra.
• This is the longest meditation and you should spend no less than ten minutes on it.
• There is a special warning with this chakra being opened: if the Muladhara or root chakra is not strong or open don’t use this meditation.  If you are going to deal with this last chakra, you need to have a strong “foundation.”

 

Now that we have covered how to open each chakra, here are a few ideas as to where you might want to sit when opening the chakras:

 

• Nice quiet, warm area
• Field
• Garden
• Park
• Area in your home specifically set aside for meditating
• A sauna
• Listening to meditation type music
• Basically anywhere quiet where you will not be disturbed by outside distractions

 

Chakras are an extremely important part of understanding yourself and your body.  Learn and understand the Chakras to lead a more fulfilled and satisfying life!