Chakras

Hey everyone, welcome back to my blog!! I was originally going to write about stress management for this week's post as requested by one of my friends but I'd feel a bit hypocritical if I wrote about it seeing as my coping mechanisms haven't been the healthiest lately. I am super jetlagged which I was quite surprised by because when we got back to London, I woke up at 8am UK time but after that I struggled to sleep and wake up again at UK times. Alongside that, I have obviously been back to dance and other sports, I have a psychology test later today and an economics test tomorrow. On Saturday I have school sports awards which is like a dinner thing and then on Sunday I am going to an Ateez concert WHICH I AM SO EXCITED FOR. That leaves me with bank holiday Monday to sort out my life. All of this stuff being at the same time has caused me lots of stress and also I don't know how I'm going to mentally prepare myself for the amount of social interactions I have this week, even just the thought is making me feel sleepy. I forgot to write this before but we also have a dance show coming up and I'm in 3 dances so that's also added to all my other worries. Long story short, I'm tired both physically and mentally so I thought I'd write about something I have lots of knowledge on that's be easy for me to write about. I just wanted to give a pre warning that this post does not replace any doctors advice you may have been given as I am no medical professional.

What is a Chakra?

The concept of chakras originate from early Hindu scriptures. They are spinning wheel sort of things of energy that cannot be seen by the physical eye but can be felt and sensed by intuition. There are many chakras but only 7 within the human body so I thought I'd focus on those ones for this post. Chakras provide subtle energy which help your organs, mind, body and intellect work at it's best.  I think I may have said this in another post but one time a friend told me a really good phrase which I still haven't got out of my head. He told me 'we are not simply physical beings therefore not all our problems are physical, they are also metaphysical' and this applies to chakras because you can do chakra healing or get it done by a professional to essentially heal the parts that are unbalanced. You can use chakras to help solve physical and emotional problems by 'balancing' them back into their place as each chakra is associated with a different area of the body and that is essentially what the energy healers do, you can also do it to yourself through many mediums but that's a post for another time.

Maludhara (root chakra) - This chakra is located at the base of your spine and is associated with the colour red. It is the grounding chakra which allows us to connect ourself to Mother Earth and the Earth's energies. When unbalanced, it can bring anxiety and a form of insecurity because you essentially lose your sense of self, you are shaken from the root and it brings a lot of instability. This can lead to further mental problems or physical problems such as arthritis. When the Maludhara chakra is balanced, you feel safe, secure, grounded and connected to the world. 

Whenever I hear about grounding exercises which are used in psychology to treat anxiety disorders, I instantly think of how people don't believe in chakras but will do the exact same thing if a psychologist told them to, despite these traditions being practiced in my culture for so long.

Swadhisthana (sacral chakra) - This chakra is located in your lower abdomen and is associated with the colour orange. It is known to be the centre of sexual energy but also where your creativity resides. It helps maintain a yin-yang balance in our body. When unbalanced, there could be problems with fertility, reproduction and sexual energy in general. It can also give you problems with expressing yourself and emotions and could make you lose your ability to have fun. When the Swadhisthana chakra is balanced, you feel creative, passionate, sexual and ready to take risks.

Manipura (sacral chakra) - This chakra is located just above your navel and is associated with the colour yellow. It defines our self-esteem and our personality (ego) that is developed during puberty. When unbalanced, it can give you physical problems like digestion issues, diabetes and high blood pressure. It can give you emotional problems like fears of rejection and criticism and reduced self-esteem. When the Manipura chakra is balanced, you feel in control, confident, self-respect and self-compassion.

Anahata (heart chakra) - This chakra is located around your heart space and is associated with the colours green and pink. The heart chakra is the centre of unconditional love and energy to get us through difficult times. When this chakra is unbalanced, it can bring issues like heart disease, breast problems, upper back and shoulder problems, fear of loneliness, anger, jealousy and loving to the point of suffocation. When the Anahata chakra is balanced, you feel gratitude and compassion, you can gain trust easily and also forgive easily.

Vishuddha (throat chakra) - This chakra is located in your throat space and is associated with the colour sky blue. The throat chakra is associated with the vocal chords and thyroid glands. It is the chakra of communication, telepathy and creative expression. When unbalanced, you may feel a fear of not being in power and have troubles with expressing yourself through communication or written means. It can also cause physical problems around that area, for example, laryngitis or ear infections. When the Vishuddha chakra is balanced, you have free flowing words of expression and are truthful but firm. You are also a good listener. 

Ajna (third eye chakra) - This chakra is located in between your eyebrows where your 'third eye' is and is associated with the colour indigo. It determines our ability to differentiate between reality and fantasies. We are also able to evaluate past experiences through with wisdom of the third eye chakra. It contains our intuition and is linked with our physical and metaphysical sense of sight. When unbalanced, you daydream a lot with an exaggerated imagination, you may struggle with moodiness and self-reflection. Physical problems could manifest itself as headaches or eye tension. When the Ajna chakra is balanced, you could potentially reach into your psychic powers (everyone has them, some people just aren't able to connect with them), we feel clear and can easily tell the difference between illusion and reality. We are also open to receiving wisdom and insight.

I just thought I'd quickly write this here but I have seen many people on social media claiming to know how to open their third eye but please be careful where you get your resources from because as sad as it is, spirituality and a lot of my culture is 'trending'. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy that people are getting access to spiritual knowledge but sometimes information comes in the wrong hands so please don't try out stuff you see on Instagram or TikTok unless you know you can trust them.

Sahasrara (crown chakra) - This chakra is located on the crown of your head and is associated with the colours white and violet. This chakra serves as an entryway into the universe and allows you to receive energy from the universe to be dispersed to the other chakras. It is where you receive higher spiritual knowledge which allows you to eventually reach enlightenment. When unbalanced, you could experience depression, inability to learn, sensitivity to light/sound/environment and also issues with self-knowledge and greater power. It can be imbalanced through rigid thoughts on religion and spirituality. When the Sahasrara chakra is balanced, we live in the present moment and have unshakeable trust in our inner guidance.

I hope you enjoyed this week's post, I am sorry if it's a bit complex but I am also very sleep deprived so I if it isn't the clearest then that's why!! I just wanted to quickly add in that chakras and many other aspects of spirituality that people are practicing nowadays do come from my culture and many other cultures so when learning or practicing them, please be respectful to where it originates from and please have an understanding on the true roots of the spiritual belief before believing random trends, thanks! See you next week, love you guys <33