What's a Chakra?

Chakras are defined by ancient meditative practices through the various religions including Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. They are thought to be energy centers located throughout the body, associated with different roles and resulting in specific illnesses when out of balance through blockage or overactivity.

The classical model locates 7 in the midline of the body along the spine, beginning at the bottom and moving up:

1. Root (pelvis): red, representing basic trust

2. Sacral (mid abdomen): orange, representing sexuality and creativity

3. Solar plexus (upper abdomen): yellow, representing wisdom and power

4. Heart (chest): green, representing love and healing

5. Throat (neck): light blue, representing communication

6. Third Eye (mid forehead): dark blue, representing awareness

7. Crown (above the head): purple, representing spirituality

In a healthy state, there is a natural flow of energy circulating through the chakras. Problems arise when there is restricted expression or overactivity of a chakra. Restricted expression would cause blockage or stuck energy and, in the traditional practices of ancient medicine, disease is thought to develop from these areas of stuck energy. Different techniques are therefore utilised to get the energy moving and to keep it moving by healing the underlying reason for the “stuckness”. Similarly, an overactive chakra is also implicated with different disease states.

For example, if the throat chakra is under-expressed due to reservedness and a reluctance to express oneself, there is a build-up of un-moving energy that accumulates in the throat that can manifest as disease such as thyroid issues or in the most extreme and prolonged case scenarios, throat cancer. Similarly, overexpression of this chakra through criticism of self or others, judgement, verbal abuse or arrogance can lead to diseases such as acute upper respiratory tract illnesses.

Once the energy imbalance is identified and restoration initiated using one of the body techniques, maintenance requires healthy expression of the chakra that was previously under or overexpressed in daily life. For example, someone reluctant to express themselves honestly or communicate truthfully would be encouraged to do so. Similarly, overexpression would be balanced by reserving criticism etc.

I am certainly no expert in this specific area and I would encourage professional guidance but understanding this, provides yet another model available to help achieve and maintain physical wellness. Allowing a balanced expression of ourselves through each chakra has the potential to restore and maintain harmony in the body. And so to be fully true to a healthy expression of ourselves and each chakra we would, in general:

1. Root: have our basic needs met without becoming fixated on achieving material wealth

2. Sacral: express ourselves creatively and avoid sexual suppression or overexpression

3. Solar plexus: stand in our power, express our inner strength and resolve without arrogance

4. Heart: give and receive love from others and ourselves without dependence

5. Throat: speak honestly and express truthfully while reserving judgement

6. Third Eye: listen to and act on our intuition

7. Crown: deepen and honour our spiritual connection

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