A Beginner's Guide to the 7 Chakras

Chakras are nothing new to people who have taken yoga and meditation class, experienced healing sessions like reiki, or those interested in deepening their spiritual practice. If you are one of these people, you know the role they play in your energy flow. You may have also heard about the importance of keeping them open or unblocked. 

But what exactly are chakras, and what role do they play in your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being? In this article, we will discuss your main chakras and explain the impact they have on your mind and body, as well as keeping them open to promote physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness. 

What is a chakra?

Chakra is derived from the Sanskrit word “Cakra,” which means disk or wheel. This refers to the energy centers found in different parts of your body. These disks or wheels of spinning energy have their own effect on particular nerve bundles and major organs. To ensure that your organs function properly, your chakras must stay open or balanced. IF they get blocked, you may experience some physical and emotional symptoms related to a particular chakra. 

Our body has seven main chakras that run along our spine. The energy disks start at the root or base of your spine, extending to the crown of your head. Some people believe that we have at least 114 different chakras in our bodies, but only seven significantly impact our well-being and are the most popular. 

The 7 major chakras

When people talk about the chakra system, it refers to the energy centers found in our bodies. There are seven major chakras, each specifically located along your spine. Let’s take a closer look at each chakra. 

Root chakra

Also known as the Muladhara, the root chakra represents our foundation. It is located at the base of the spine and is responsible for giving us the feeling of being grounded. When the root chakra is open, we feel confident weathering different challenges in our life and can stand on our own two feet. However, if it’s blocked, we may feel threatened and often feel like we are standing on unstable ground. 

Sacral chakra

The sacral chakra, also called Swadhisthana, is linked to how we relate our emotions and the emotions of others. This is also responsible for governing our creativity and sexual energy. If this chakra is blocked, you could feel a lack of control in your life. 

Solar plexus chakra

The solar plexus chakra is the third chakra and is responsible for your confidence and control in life. It is also called as Manipura chakra. Whenever you feel like there are butterflies or pit in your stomach, it’s your solar plexus chakra working. If this chakra is blocked, you may feel overwhelming amounts of shame and self-doubt. But, on the other hand, if it’s unblocked, you can easily express your true self. 

Heart chakra

The heart chakra or Anahata bridges the gap between your lower chakras associated with materiality and the upper chakras related to spirituality. As its name implies, it can influence your ability to give and receive love from yourself and others. One sign of a block heart chakra is having difficulty fully opening up to the people in their life. An open Anahata means that you can experience deep compassion and empathy. 

Throat chakra

The throat chakra is responsible for giving voice to the heart chakra, controlling your ability to communicate your power. Also known as Vishuddha, this chakra allows you to express yourself truly and clearly when it’s open. If it’s blocked, you may have trouble speaking out about what you truly feel. 

Third-eye chakra

The Anja or third-eye chakra is responsible for our ability to see the big picture and connect to intuition. Chakras found in the upper part of your body give you the energy you need to communion with the divine. It is often considered as the eye of the soul, allowing you to register information beyond the surface level. An open third-eye chakra enables you to have a strong gut instinct. 

Crown chakra

The crown chakra, also known as Sahasrara, is the highest and sits at the crown of the head. It represents your ability to be fully connected spiritually. Unfortunately, only a few people can fully open their crown chakra, but you can access higher consciousness if it’s fully open. 

How blocked chakras affect your health

If a chakra is blocked or unbalanced, it may affect the parts of your body close to where the chakra is located. This can include your joints, bones, tissues, muscles, and even the organs near it. Apart from that, an imbalance chakra may cause an emotional imbalance, leading to anger, indecisiveness, sadness, and fear. 

An imbalanced or blocked chakra can be caused by various factors, including experiencing too much stress, poor physical alignment or posture, unhealthy diet, and other self-destructive behavior. If you have prolonge imbalanced chakras, they manifest as physical disease and illness, musculoskeletal issues, and even mental health challenges such as anxiety or depression. 

How to unblock chakras

There are various things you can do to unblock your chakra and promote a balanced chakra system. Here are some of them:

• Practice yoga postures. Below are are the yoga postures you can practice to keep your chakras open and balanced:
  

Root chakra - Warrior 1

Sacral chakra - Bound Angle Pose

Solar plexus chakra - Boat Pose

Heart chakra - Camel Pose

Throat chakra - Fish Pose

Third-eye chakra - Child’s Pose

Crown chakra - Headstand

• Breathing exercises. Breathing exercises can help encourage a healthy flow of energy in your body. You can accompany your practice with a 7 chakra smudge candle or 7 chakra incense to deepen it.
• Meditation. By meditating, you can bring clarity to your mind, helping you clear out negative energy that may affect your chakras. You can start your practice by smudging to clear out negative energy in your space, ensuring that only positive energy will flow into your body. 

• Wearing healing stones. Different healing stones are associated with your chakras. Wearing them can help realign and balance your chakra. For example, you can wear a 7 chakra bracelet with lava stones instead of owning several healing stones to heal and restore energies in your chakras.

The Mecka

If you’d like to take care of your chakra and keep it open and balanced, head on to our Chakra store and find the best products that suit your energy needs. Here at the Mecka, our goal is to help create a ritual and a process that allows you to relax and enjoy the essential things in life. We can't control what happens to us every day, but we can control how we react and feel. We should cherish every moment we have, but that's a lot easier said than done. That's why we find products and techniques that will help lead better lifestyles and instill better habits that will hopefully one day make our world a better place.