Chakras must be a word you must have heard from your yoga or meditation trainers. People talk about balancing their 7 chakras to reduce stress and bring in mindfulness but what are the 7 chakras? How do you know they are unbalanced? How do you unblock them? These are questions that we have answered in this guide to unite your body and mind.
Here’s what they say about the 7 chakras:
Table of Contents
The Definition of Chakras: What Do The Ancients Say?
The 7 chakras are the center point of all energy in the human body, according to ancient meditation practices. They have been mentioned in the Vedas (1500 to 100 BC) and have found their popularity with the recent increasing interest in yoga. Chakra translates to “wheel” and is thought to be spinning discs of energy that correspond to major organs, bundles, or nerves, and the areas that relate to our emotional well-being.
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Some believe that there are at least 114 chakras in the human body. But the chakras usually referred to are only the 7 main ones and each of them corresponds to
A focus on a particular health
Specific areas of the spine from the crown of the head to the sacrum
A color
A name
A number
Did you know: In Kundalini yoga, the breathing exercises, mantras, kriyas, bandhas, mudras, and visualizations are focused on manipulating the subtle energy flow through the 7 chakras of the human body.
The Seven Chakras of The Human Body
- Root Chakra (Muladhara)
Location: In the tailbone area at the base of your spine
Color: Red
Meaning: Grounding, stability, physical identity
The root chakra has the responsibility for your well-being, stability, and security. It helps you withstand challenges and stay grounded at the same time by acting as the base for life itself.
How would you know if your root chakra is blocked? It will manifest as physical issues in your
Colon
Bladder
Joints (arthritis)
Intestines (constipation)
Apart from that, an unbalanced root chakra may also make you feel emotionally insecure about your well-being, finances, or even basic needs. When it is balanced and in alignment, you will start feeling more grounded and in control of your emotions as well as your physical health.
- Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana)
Location: Above the pubic bone and just below your belly button
Color: Orange
Meaning: Creativity, pleasure, sexuality
The sacral chakra is linked to your emotional well-being and creative energy. It is also seen as an energy point for others’ emotions. If the Svadhisthana chakra becomes unbalanced you may experience
Impotency
Lower back pain
Urinary tract infections
As mentioned above, the sacral chakra is connected to your feeling of self-worth around creativity, sexuality, and pleasure. Improving this chakra can balance your lifestyle completely.
- Solar Plexus Chakra (Nabhi-Manipura)
Location: In the stomach region (upper abdomen)
Color: Yellow
Meaning: Confidence and self-esteem
The solar plexus is the energy center that represents self-esteem and confidence. Controlling this chakra to make it balanced is getting back control of your life in your hand. You must have heard that a way to someone’s heart is through food. It denotes the well-being that this chakra rings with the help of proper, improved gut health.
So how do you figure out that your sacral chakra is blocked? Check out for these signs of physical issues:
Indigestion
Eating disorders
Heartburn
Ulcers
The chakra to personal power, a balanced Nabhi-Manipura chakra makes sure that we interact with society with utmost confidence.
- Heart Chakra (Anahata)
Location: Just above the heart at the center of the heart
Color: Green
Meaning: Compassion and love
We have always associated love with our hearts and this is exactly what the Anahata chakra emphasizes. This energy center gets affected by two types of issues: our physical health through matters related to cardio and people’s emotions (heartbreak is a kind of physical pain).
Now, what are the physical issues involved with a blocked Anahata chakra?
Weight issues
Asthma
Heart problems
Psychologically, people with an unbalanced heart chakra fail to recognize their detriment while putting others’ emotions first. Since it is the middle of the 7 chakras, it acts as a medium of union between the lower and upper chakras. It also represents our ability to connect and communicate with others. Once properly aligned, we feel less isolated, insecure, and lonely.
- Throat Chakra (Vishuddhi)
Location: The throat
Color: Blue
Meaning: Communication
Communication is key: you must have heard this a thousand times over in your therapy sessions. Both physically inducing this in your life by taking care of your throat health and making sure you communicate your feelings (positive or negative) constructively are what this chakra stands for.
An unbalanced Vishuddhi chakra would mean you will issue with your throat and voice as well as any ailment related to your mouth, gums, or teeth. These are physical health issues but a blocked throat chakra can also cause certain changes in your behavior like
Having trouble speaking your mind
Speaking without thinking
Gossiping
Dominating conversations
Once aligned you will feel the need to be true to your words and speak confidently and honestly. It means your mind and heart are being aligned so that you do not conflict with your words.
- Third Eye Chakra or Brow Chakra (Ajna)
Location: On the forehead, in between the eyes
Color: Indigo
Meaning: Imagination and intuition
As you must have noticed by this time, all the 7 chakras are interconnected among themselves. This is the chakra that represents gut instinct and intuition. It also is the energy center for imagination and when it is unbalanced you may experience:
Headaches
Hearing issues
Issues with concentration
Problems with eyesight
An unbalanced Ajna chakra can also manifest as the inability to listen to reality. Once open, you will be able to see the big picture of any and all situations you come across.
- Crown Chakra (Sahasrara)
Location: At the top of the head
Color: White or violet
Meaning: Intelligence and awareness
Your Sahasrara represents the spiritual connection you have with yourself, others around you, and the universe or nature. Balancing the Crown chakra is a step towards figuring out the purpose of life as it is also connected to every other chakra in your body. It affects not just your organs but also your nervous system and your brain. Anyone with a blocked crown chakra may be stubborn, skeptical, and narrow-minded but once open it can pave the way to keep all 7 chakras balanced.
Unbalanced or Blocked Chakra
We have been talking about unblocking or balancing the 7 chakras all this while. What we mean to say is reviving the depleted flow of energy so that it manifests in your behavior and your physical health. When the 7 chakras are low in energy, you will not be able to express the particular qualities associated with a chakra. But if it is overactive, those qualities become a dominant part of your life (both emotionally and physically).
How Does a Chakra Become Unbalanced??
Here are certain causes of an unbalanced chakra
Too much stress
Poo physical alignment or posture
Self-destructive behavior
Unhealthy diet
The prolonged imbalance of a chakra can lead to
Anxiety
Depression
Musculoskeletal issues
All kinds of illnesses and diseases
Tips to Balance The 7 Chakras
Now that we know all about how to identify an imbalance chakra and how it could affect your health and life, let’s check out how you could bring it back to alignment. Generally, you could adopt these activities in your life to balance the 7 chakras:
Meditation to bring calmness and clarity
Breathing exercises to encourage the flow of energy
Yoga postures to improve overall health
Yoga is a great way to improve your 7 chakras as the poses involve every aspect of the human body. With the perfect trainer to guide you through it (something that we at Yogashala offer), you will see your perspective toward life and health improvements in no time. Here are some poses that may help you:
| Sl. No. | Chakra | How to Balance The Chakra |
| 1. | Root Chakra | Balancing poses like the warrior pose Mountain pose Tree pose |
| 2. | Sacral Chakra | Pelvic strengthening poses like the Bridge pose and/or deep hip opening poses like Lizard pose Pigeon pose |
| 3. | Solar Plexus Chakra | Core strengthening poses like the Triangle pose Boat pose |
| 4. | Heart Chakra | Heart, chest, arms, and shoulder opening pose like the Wheel pose Camel pose Cow face pose Humble warrior pose |
| 5. | Throat Chakra | Neck opening poses like the Fish pose Plow pose |
| 6. | Third Eye Chakra | Upper body opening poses like the Folded eagle pose Forward fold pose |
| 7. | Crown Chakra | Savasana or corpse pose to strengthen your crown |
The Bottom Line: What are The 7 Chakras of The Human Body and Their Significance?
Chakras represent the 7 energy centers of the human body. They represent various physical health and emotional states depending on where they are located. Any imbalance of chakra causes a deterioration in your health which will affect your quality of life. Yoga is the best way to align all your 7 chakras. Once you decide to do so, find yourself a certified yoga instructor or a reiki practitioner who is experienced in energy healing.