Introduction to Charkas

The concept of Chakras comes from the Hindu tradition. Chakras are energy centers that are located all over your body, moving like "spinning wheels". These spinning wheels of energy affect our mood, our health, and our balance in life. While you have chakras all over your body, the column of 7 chakras which run along you spine are the most well known and are the ones which are most often worked with. Keeping these main 7 charkas in balance is an important part of your spiritual health and practice.

You may be wondering how to know if your chakras are imbalanced, how to balance them, and where exactly these charkas are located. The first chakra is the root chakra, located at the base of the spine near the tail bone. This chakra has to do with feeling of safety and security. The root charka also has to do with our basic needs, instincts, and our ability to feel grounded in out lives. When this chakra is out of balance we may feel fearful, insecure, and anxious. Our root chakra is our foundation and needs to be strong and balanced for us to feel secure in our lives. The root chakra is associated with the color red, and most red and dark brown crystals can be used to help keep it in balance. A powerhouse stone for the root chakra is garnet.

The next charka is the sacral chakra. This chakra is located just above the root chakra, between the belly button and tailbone. This charka deals with our emotions, our creativity, our sexuality, and our relationships. When this chakra is out of balance we may feel that our creativity has fallen flat, that our emotions are ruling our lives, or that we have no emotions or desire at all. This charka is the hub of our emotional well being, and must be balanced for us to express our emotions appropriately and to understand the emotions of others. The sacral chakra is associated with the color orange, and most orange and light brown stones can be used to help balance it. Carnelian and shiva lingam are good stones to turn to when you have a sacral chakra imbalance.

After the sacral chakra comes the solar plexus chakra, located two finger-widths above the belly button. The solar plexus charka deals with our confidence, independence, our will, and personal power. When this charka is out of balance we may feel like we must control every detail of your life. We may become manipulative, or even feel as though we have lost our purpose. This chakra is associated with the color yellow, and most yellow and some orange stones can be used to balance this chakra. Good stones to choose when you have a solar plexus charka imbalance include tiger's eye, citrine, and yellow tourmaline.

The next charka is the heart chakra. You can locate this charka in the center of the chest. The heart chakra is associated with our ability to love, this includes loving others, ourselves, and universal love. When this chakra is out of balance we may feel that we are not loved, like we are incapable of loving, that we do not love ourselves or that we have strong negative feelings about ourselves, that we need to isolate from others, or strong feelings of jealousy. This chakra is associated with the color green, and green and pink crystals can be used to help balance this chakra. Rose quarts, jade, green aventurine, and rhodonite are good stone to use when this chakra is out of balance.

Above the heart charka is the throat chakra, located in the center of the neck. This chakra deals mainly with our ability to find, tell, and accept the truth in our lives. This chakra also has to do with our ability to communicate effectively. When this chakra is imbalanced we may feel a fear of speaking, that we speak too much or that what we say is often inappropriate to the situation. We could also feel that we do not listen well, are dishonest, that we can't keep a secret, or on the other hand that we are too secretive. This chakra is associated with the color light blue, and most light blue stones can be used to balance this chakra. Think of using lapis lazuli or blue lace agate when your throat chakra is feeling imbalanced.

The next chakra is the third-eye chakra located at the center of the forehead. This chakra has to do with our psychic abilities, our intuition, wisdom, insight, and inspiration. When this chakra is blocked we may feel cut off from our connections, that we have no purpose and are stuck in the grind of life. To balance this chakra turn to dark blue stones, as this chakra is associated with the color dark blue. Stones like lapis lazuli (also good for the throat charka) and amethyst are good stones for balancing this chakra.

The final chakra is the crown chakra, located at the top of the head. This charka has to do with our connection to a higher consciousness, or wisdom, and ecstasy. When this chakra is imbalanced, we may feel closed-minded, cut off from our spirituality, or cynicism toward sacred practice. This chakra is the hub or our spiritual self. White and purple are associated with this chakra, and thus stones of these colors can be used to balance this chakra. Turn to amethyst (also good for the third-eye chakra), opal, moonstone, or selenite to help balance this chakra.

Placing stones on charka locations and meditating for a few minutes can help to open and balance your chakras. You can focus on one chakra, or do all of them at once. Be sure to create a sacred space free of negative energies when you are working with opening and balancing your chakras. Having balanced chakras can help energy flow more freely through you, and bring a sense of happy balance to you life.

Blessings.

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