The term “Chakra” translates into wheel or disk and refers to the energy field of the human body.
The human body has a powerful energy field. This human energy field is a reflection of your physical, emotional and spiritual conditions and it is extremely sensitive. When you suffer from disease and sickness, you develop blockages in your energy field.
This energy field is known as your aura, in which your chakras are housed.
Your Chakras start from the Crown of your head and end at the bottom of your spine. They regulate all parts of your body from your emotions to physical processing of wellbeing and health.
Understanding and decoding your Chakras is an art of spirituality and science. Understanding this can help give you insight and powerful clues to your own health and wellness.
In this overview of the 7 chakras, you’ll learn more about the defining characters of the main chakras, and how to identify when your chakras are unbalanced.
In this article
The Human-Body Energy
The seven levels of your body’s chakras are linked to different parts of your body.
The Chakras are thought to be centre of Prana, or life force energy or chi. In ancient Sanskrit chakras were known as “Wheels”.
Chakras are shaped like a flower or a wheel, containing petals or spokes. Your chakras contain and process energy in the body and just as energy can propel you, it can also block you.
The chakras act like a spinning little ball of light and energy within your body. Imagine a series of wheels running up and down your spine, always working to renew your energy.
In a well- balanced and healthy person, the chakras spin rapidly and smoothly, their colours naturally clear and bright. When we are stressed or ill, our chakras can get stuck and they may begin to slow down or even spin too quickly.
Each of us experience chakra imbalance at some time in our lives. Meditation and acupressure can help us heal and rebalance the energy in our chakras.
The Seven Chakras of the Human Body
1. Root Chakra
The Root chakra is the first chakra. It sits at the base of the spine.
The Root Chakra anchors the higher chakras down to the earth, providing you a feeling of groundless, stability and security.
Physical Location: Base of the spine (at your tailbone)
Colour: Red
Element: Earth
Purpose: The root chakra feeds and supports our adrenal glands, which are small glands located over our kidneys.
The adrenal glands secrete many critical hormones that help regulate the stress response. It is responsible for the health of our bones and muscles, our kidneys and bladder, our body fluids like blood, our rectum, and our immune system.
This important chakra can help us feel safe and secure. It provides
- Survival Instinct,
- Reality,
- Grounding,
- Security,
- Courage,
- Stability.
The energy of the root chakra is all about those basic survival needs.
Blocked Root Chakra symptoms: Without a strong chakra, we don’t thrive and we will struggle for survival.
When we are out of balance, our root chakra sends out our body powerful warnings through its associated glands and systems. We may feel anxious, experience depression, fear, constipation, our blood pressure may be out of balance, our bones may ache and we may experience chronic fatigue.
Balancing the Root Chakra: One should try and get connected to the nature and the earth. Activities like gardening, hiking or even sitting on the ground, doing some sort of physical exercise like Yoga pointing your energy toward Earth.
Affirmations of positive thoughts can help unblock a blocked root chakra. Start by chanting the affirmations:
- I am safe
- I am grounded
- I am financially strong
- I love myself and my body.
- I love life and people
- I claim a clean and a good heart
Find out more on how to unblock and balance your Root Chakra.
2. Sacral Chakra
The second chakra, located about two inches below the navel, is known as the Sacral chakra.
Physical Location: Lower back, below the navel
Colour: Orange
Element: Water
Located in the lower back and abdomen, the Sacral Chakra relates to our feelings, emotions and sexuality. It also feeds our creativity, connecting us to others through our feelings and desires.
This chakra allows us to experience sexual fulfilment, security and stability and can also help us embrace change.
The second chakra gets its energy from joy, creativity and pleasure. It helps us balance out both enjoyments and addictions.
Symptoms of a Blocked Sacral Chakra: When this chakra is out of balance or blocked, we may experience addictive behaviours or have issues with our reproduction or sexual functioning.
We may experience eating disorder, drug use, depression, polarity imbalance, asthma etc.
Other signs of a imbalanced or blocked sacral chakra can include any or more of the following:
- Dependency/ attachment on people or things for you to feel happy
- Being emotionally driven in your decision making and daily actions
- Sexual obsessions or lack of sexual desire
- The feeling of stagnation, or being consumed in a certain mood, feeling victim of the world
Balancing and Activating the Sacral Chakra: Do something creative and divert your energies by focusing on activities like drawing, painting, dancing, social services or a creativity you are passionate about.
Meditating, and chanting on the following affirmations is said to be good for flowing the energy to unblock your sacral chakra.
- I am a creative creature.
- I accept my sexuality
- Sex is a sacred connection
- I am a holy person
- I feel peaceful within
- My emotions are balanced
- I release any need for addictive substances
Find out more about the Sacral Chakra, how to unblock and flow your energy through meditation and affirmations.
3. Solar Plexus Chakra
The third chakra is known as the solar plexus chakra, located in the stomach and the centre of our abdomen.
Physical Location: Stomach, centre of abdomen
Colour: Yellow
Element: Fire
Emotionally, the solar plexus chakra effects our self-worth, confidence, personal power, knowledge, wit, laughter, optimism, curiosity, our will power and freedom of choice.
We feel more energetic with a healthy solar plexus chakra. The Chakra also brings us energy, effectiveness, spontaneity and a sense of power and is related to the element fire.
This chakra is also associated with our pancreas and the secretion of insulin.
Symptoms of a Blocked Solar Plexus Chakra: When this chakra is out of balance, we may experience:
- Lack of personal strength
- Loss of ambition
- Lack of purpose
- Fear of rejection
- Sensitivity to opinion of what people think
- Nervousness
- Addiction to stimulants
Balancing and Activating the Solar Plexus Chakra: One should aim to get up at sunrise and take in the sun energy for at least 10 minutes if possible, sunbathing.
If done properly for 5 to 10 minutes it can help balance all the lower four chakras.
Chant the following affirmations for help in unblocking your solar plexus:
- I have high Self-esteem.
- I am free from power struggle
- I am perfect and powerful.
- I use my power for good deeds
4. Heart Chakra (Anahat)
The fourth chakra is the all-powerful heart chakra, the exact centre of our energetic system, located in the middle of the chest near the heart.
Physical Location: Heart
Colour: Emerald Green
Element: Air
Emotionally, the heart chakra effects our experience of love allowing us to feel joy, compassion and peace.
A balanced heart chakra helps us exert self-control, allows us to feel guilt, to forgive. Harmony and growth in relationships are a simple by-product of a well balanced heart chakra.
The heart chakra feeds the thymus gland, an endocrine gland located behind the sternum. The energy of this chakra is important in terms of our blood vessels, lungs and breasts.
Symptoms of a blocked Heart Chakra: If the heart chakra is out of balance, we may feel anxious or hostile and we may experience cardiovascular or immune issues, heart condition, asthma, pneumonia, upper back and shoulder problems.
Love or lack of, compassion or lack of, confidence or lack of, despair, hate and envy, fear, jealousy and anger are some of the polar opposite emotional instabilities we experience whenever our heart chakra is unbalanced.
Balancing and activating the Heart Chakra: One has to learn to self-motivate, love someone, venture out into outside and admire nature and listen to the silence of nature, help people and learn to accept people as they are.
Affirmations which can help activate and flow energy through the heart chakra include:
- I love life
- I love nature
- I choose happiness
- I am compassionate
- My heart is free from past sorrows
5. Throat Chakra
The fifth chakra or throat chakra is, of course, situated in the throat.
Physical Location: Throat
Colour: Light Blue
Element: Ether
The throat chakra is responsible for our self-expression and communication, which includes releasing our feelings through crying, shouting, and laughing.
This chakra is also related to communication and creativity and linked to our thyroid and parathyroid glands, which are connected to our metabolism and calcium utilisation.
The fifth chakra helps us express ourselves in an authentic, healthy manner.
Symptoms of a blocked Throat Chakra: Physically, one would likely suffer from sore throat, mouth ulcers, voice problems, gum or tooth problems.
Mentally or emotionally, personal expression, difficulty in expressing creativity, suffering criticism or feeling a lack of authority are symptoms of an under-active throat chakra.
Balancing and activating the Throat Chakra: Learn how to express, motivate and learn to teach for self -confidence.
Instead of gossip, have meaningful discussions. Talk about deep topics – energy, space, spirituality. By expressing big ideas which are positive, you also create abundance around you.
The following affirmations can help with balancing your throat chakra:
- I communicate with ease.
- I am always able to find the right words
- I am confident when I communicate with others.
- I am an active listener
- My thoughts are positive
6. Third Eye Chakra (Ajna)
The sixth chakra called the brow or third eye chakra, represents our higher mind, our intuition and our imagination.
It is located between the eyebrow and helps us see both physically and intuitively.
Physical Location: In-between the brow
Colour: Indigo / Dark Blue
Element: Light
When this chakra is healthy it allows us to see clearly, in effect, letting us ‘see the bigger picture.’
A healthy third-eye increases our intuition and physic abilities. The ability to read-minds or know what happens next (DeJa Vu) and the finding of oneself through self-realization.
This chakra relates to our hypothalamus and our pituitary gland with the hypothalamus also controlling our autonomic nervous system.
Symptoms of a blocked Third-Eye: Physically, iIf this chakra is out of balance, we may suffer headaches, insomnia, dizziness, blindness, vision, migraines, ear ache, fear, paranoia, equilibrium imbalances or we may even have a nervous breakdown.
Mental and emotional issues due to a blocked or over-active third-eye include fear of truth, lack of discipline and lack of judgement, evaluation, emotional intelligence.
You may feel confused and lose sight of your goals and why you’re doing what you do.
Balancing and activating the Third Eye Chakra: Meditation and concentrating on the area in between your brows, imagine seeing your third eye open.
Affirmations which can help, include:
- In am intuitive
- I am clear
- My thoughts are calm
- I relate to my true path and purpose
- I have unlimited possibilities
- I am a spiritual truth
- I trust my inner teacher
7. Crown Chakra
The seventh chakra is the crown chakra or the thousand-petal lotus. The crown chakra acts as the operating system of the chakras and is located at the top of the head.
Physical Location: On top of the head
Colour: Violet
Element: Thought
PURPOSE: The crown chakra relates to consciousness and pure awareness.
It is our connection to the greater world beyond, to a timeless, space less place of all-knowing, wisdom, inspiration, charisma, higher self- meditation, self- sacrificing and divine connection.
The seventh chakra feeds the pineal gland, which is a small and mysterious little gland located in our brain. It is associated with things such as synchronising our wake and sleep cycles and secretes melatonin, a powerful antioxidant that can help us sleep and stay calm.
When this chakra is healthy, it gives us the ability to see clearly and to connect with our goals and life purpose.
Symptoms of a blocked Crown Chakra When this chakra is imbalanced, we suffer from depression, chronic exhaustion, become sensitive to light, sound and environment.
We may begin suffer from lack of purpose in life, loss of meaning or identity, trust, selflessness, lack the ability to see bigger picture in the life.
Balancing and activating the Crown Chakra
Meditation, and chanting positive affirmations may help in activating the flow of energy through your crown chakra.
- I am capable of loving divine energy
- I am an extension of the universe
- I am related to my higher self
- I am perfect and accept the way god made me
- I am related to the purpose of my soul.
Now you have a general overview, learn more in detail about each chakra, how to balance, unblock and what each means using the following tips:
