Tag Archives: Anahata

Chakra Quiz

Try this fun quiz to determine which of your chakras are low in energy and in need of an extra boost. Please see my previous blog to find ways to energise weak chakras.

In the questionnaire you will see that there are 7 options for each question. Jot down the number of each reply on a piece of paper. You can choose more than one option if appropriate.

At the end of the quiz, see how many times you recorded each number. Each number refers to a chakra, ie. 1 = root/base chakra, 2 = sacral chakra, 3 = solar plexus, 4 = heart chakra, 5 = throat chakra, 6 = third eye and 7 = crown chakra. You will be able to see where most of your energy is focused. In other words, if you have a dominant number 3 recorded, your solar plexus chakra needs the most attention and healing. Similarly if you record a particularly low score with a particular chakra, that chakra may also need healing and energising.

Question 1: Which area(s) of your body do you dislike?

Feet and legs
Between waist and hips
Waist
Chest
Neck and shoulders
Face
Head

Question 2: Which area(s) of your body are you proud of?

Feet and legs
Between waist and hips
Waist
Chest
Neck and shoulders
Face
Head

Question 3: Which area(s) of your body are most affected by health issues?

Feet and legs
Between waist and hips
Waist
Chest
Neck and shoulders
Face
Head

Question 4: Which colours do you like the most?

Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Dark blue/indigo
Violet

Question 5: Which colours do you like the least?

Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Dark blue/indigo
Violet

Question 6: Which are your favourite foods?

Meat/fish/pulses
Rice/orange fruits
Wheat (bread)/yellow fruits
Green fruit and veg

Question 7: Which sorts of exercise/interests attract you?

Fast action
Dancing/painting
Crosswords/puzzles
Outdoor activities
Drama/singing
Mystery/crime novels
Doing nothing

Question 8: What sort of people do you look up to or admire?

Sports people
Artists/musicians
Intellectuals
Conservationists
Speakers/politicians
Inventors
Mystics/religious figures

Question 9: What sort of person do you think of yourself as?

Get on with things
Creative
Thinker/worrier
Emotional
Chatterbox
Quiet
Daydreamer

Question 10: What emotions do you consider are uppermost in your life?

Passionate
Easy-going
Contented
Sharing/caring
Loyal
Helpfully distant
Sympathetic

Question 11: What emotions do you have that you would like to change?

Temper
Possessiveness
Confusion
Insecurity
Needing things to be black or white
Feeling separate from others
Not saying ‘no’

Question 12: If you get angry, what is your most common reaction?

Rage/tantrums
Sullen resentment
Get frightened
Blame yourself
Keep quiet
Withdraw
Imagine nothing happened

Question 13: What are you most afraid of?

Dying
Lack of sensation
Things you don’t understand
Being alone
Having no-one to talk to
Losing your way
Difficult situations

Question 14: Which of these describes the way you prefer to learn?

Fast
Slowly
Quickly but forget
Through feelings
By rote
Instinctively
Can’t be bothered

Question 15: What best describes your reaction to situations?

Enthusiastic
Go with the flow
Think things through
See how things feel
Ask a lot of questions
See the patterns then act
Drift along

Question 16: If you are criticized or reprimanded, what is your usual response?

Anger
Resentment
Fear
Self-blame
Verbal riposte
Think about it
Denial

Question 17: How would you describe your favourite books, films, video games?

Combat action
Art
Skill/intellectual
Romances
Courtroom dramas
Detective stories
Spiritual or self-development

Question 18: Which category best describes your friends?

Competitive
Creative
Intellectual
Loving
Idealistic
Rebellious
Spiritual

Energising the Chakras

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A weak, under-active chakra can be brought back into balance in a variety of ways. This ensures stability and wellbeing of the individual at every level of body, mind and spirit.

Base Chakra

Imbalances in this chakra can manifest as a chronic lack of energy, exhaustion, problems with stiffness and painful movement particularly in hips, legs and feet. Healing and energising is also needed when someone is uncomfortable with their body which can lead to a sense of confusion or unreality, lack of drive or motivation and an aversion to dealing with practicalities and taking physical exercise.

To energise the base chakra:

A warm bath.
Massage, aromatherapy or reflexology.
Walking, running, drumming, dancing or jumping. Just stamping the feet can improve circulation, co-ordination and our link to the earth.
Gardening for extra grounding.
Attend to practical matters.
Meditation to bring you back to the present and increase focus.
Eating, especially high protein foods. A good mineral supplement can also help. (Shortage of zinc is one of the most common causes of ‘spaciness’ and lack of mental focus.)
Haematite crystal for increased focus and grounding.

Sacral Chakra

This chakra is concerned with balance and flow including the ebb and flow of the emotions. Any imbalances in this chakra can manifest as poor balance of fluids and lack of flexibility such as irregular or painful menstruation, constipation, lower back pain, sciatica, fertility problems, arthritis and rigidity of joints. Imbalances can arise when we become fixated on something that is unrealistic or inappropriate which can lead to unhealthy emotional dependency, lack of emotional flexibility and repression of feelings. Adults who display sacral chakra imbalances may have experienced a lack of close physical contact as young children.

To energise the sacral chakra:

Tai chi, chi kung, hatha yoga or belly dancing to increase sense of movement and balance and increase chi in the tantien.
Creative pursuits such as painting, drawing, writing or making music to help blocked energy start flowing.
Moonstone, rose quart and clear quartz crystals placed over the sacral chakra.

Solar Plexus Chakra

This chakra is associated with the element of fire. Fire can bring comfort and warmth but can also bring fear and terror when out of control, echoing the emotional breadth of this chakra. Imbalances in this chakra can manifest as anxiety, digestive disorders, lack of personal power, victimhood or dominating others.

To energise the solar plexus chakra:

Seated spinal twist hatha yoga pose.
Visualise a golden sun in your solar plexus chakra.
Learn to accept yourself for who you are.
Meditation without form or Vipassana/still point meditation to take you beyond your sense of who you are.
Spiritual development including recogising that people and situations are a reflection of ourselves to stop you taking things so personally.
Citrine and calcite crystals.

Heart Chakra

This chakra governs our interactions as we reach out to touch and embrace others. It continually strives to bring balance between external stimuli and internal emotions. The state of this chakra indicates our capacity for joy, compassion and tolerance. Imbalances can manifest as feeling remote and isolated from the world around us or living your life according to other people’s rules. When you listen to your heart, you will be directed along a path which allows you to achieve your maximum potential.

To energise the heart chakra:

Join groups/classes or do community work to meet people and make new friends if you have been feeling isolated.
Gomukhasana hatha yoga pose to open the heart centre.
Find a balance between your personal needs and the needs of others.
Examine your values and beliefs to see if they are really yours. If not, identify your own and start to live by them instead.
Pink and green crystals to strengthen and energise the heart chakra.

Throat Chakra

This chakra is associated with communication, self-expression and finding a path of inner peace. Individual expression can be stifled by overbearing discipline. When that happens, energy is either directed upwards where it is locked in a fantasy world of imagination or downwards to distort the lower three chakras as aggression or excessive manipulation and dominance over others. Imbalances here manifest as lack of inner peace, communication difficulties and understanding the communication of others, difficulties swallowing or breathing, throat and thyroid disorders, metabolic disorders, neck and shoulder tension

To energise the throat chakra:

Singing, chanting a mantra or toning to release physical and emotional tensions.
Release and purifying hurt, angry feelings by writing them down and burning the piece of paper.
Creative/artistic expression such as drawing or painting.
Ustrasana (camel pose) from hatha yoga.
Examine core beliefs and see where there are conflicting viewpoints.
Don’t tell lies; try to practice open, honest communication.
Blue crystals such as blue lace agate, lapis lazuli and turquoise to assist self-expression.

Third Eye/Brow Chakra

This chakra governs perception, understanding, interpretation, perspective and thought processes. It interprets information received by the brain. Imbalances here manifest as confusion, poor vision, jumping to conclusions or a closed mind.

To energise the brow chakra:

Creative visualisation with images of light.
Cultivate a sense of detachment from strong emotional involvement to increase possibility of flashes of intuition and inspiration arising in the mind.
Send distant healing regularly to increase inner vision/clairvoyance.
Practice psychometry, with an open mind and sense of fun!, to receive impressions about an object, its history and owner.
Practice tratak (candle-gazing) meditation to strengthen third eye.
Indigo or violet crystals such as lapis lazuli or amethyst.

Crown Chakra

This chakra relates to spirituality understanding and concept of oneness or unity. The crown chakra is also the main co-ordinating centre of the body and connects the individual to universal sources of energy. Imbalances here manifest as limbic system disorders (body temperature, appetite, sleep patterns, emotions and movement), chronic fatigue syndrome and ME, lack of co-ordination, dyslexia, detachment and isolation or over-dependence on a person or way of living. If the crown chakra is weak or prevented from working normally, it cannot provide all the energy and information required by the other chakras.

To energise the crown chakra:

Physical exercises such as cross crawl (right elbow to left knee etc) to improve co-ordination.
Adho mukha svanasana (downward dog) hatha yoga pose to balance energy between feet and crown.
Improve body-mind co-ordination with activities such as juggling and rubbing your stomach while tapping your head.
Practice meditation and develop an interest in spirituality.
Reiki or other energy healing attunements.
Practice yoga nidra to visualise flow of energy and information throughout the body.
Clear quartz crystal to energise whole auric field and selenite crystal to live more in tune with higher self.

Helen Shortland is a Reiki Master Teacher, Meditation Teacher and Holistic Therapist based at Little London Herbal Stores on Kings Walk in Nottingham city centre. For further information about her courses, workshops and therapies, please visit her website at http://helenshortland.com.

The Chakras: Qualities, Correspondences and Stages of Development

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This picture depicts the seven major Chakras with descriptions. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Each of the chakras is symbolised by layers of imagery and energetic associations such as colour, element, note and a bija mantra sound, which can be used to promote balanced functioning of the chakras. Each chakra also relates to an endocrine gland, an area of the physical body and several mental/emotional qualities, which can result in various physical disorders when the chakra remains out of balance long term. Using a crystal of the appropriate colour can also be used to help re-balance a chakra – hold it over the chakra and visualise breathing its energy into the chakra with the in-breath for 5 or 10 minutes at a time.

Root or Base Chakra

Name – Muladhara, meaning ‘foundation’

Represents fearlessness, stillness, stability, survival instincts, will to live.

Colour – red, Element – Earth, Bija Mantra – Lam

Gland: Adrenal glands

Physical organs: Base of spine, bones, legs, feet, rectum, immune system.

Physical disorders: Chronic lower back pain, sciatica, varicose veins, rectal disorders, depression, alcoholism, immune-related disorders, flu/colds.

Crystals to help rebalance: red jasper, haematite, smoky quartz.

Stage of Development: Conception and birth up to approx 1 yr old – creation of physical body.

Sacral Chakra

Name – Svadistana, meaning ‘sweetness’

Relates to emotions, sensuality and creativity.

Colour – orange, Element – Water, Bija Mantra – Vam

Gland: Ovaries/testes

Physical organs: Reproductive organs, bladder, large intestine, appendix, pelvis, hips.

Physical disorders: Lower back/pelvic pain, gynaecological/reproductive disorders, sexual potency, urinary problems, migraine.

Crystals to help rebalance: carnelian, tiger’s eye, rose quartz; rhodonite and rhodochrosite to heal wounds.

Stage of Development: 6 months to approx 2 yrs – becoming an individual, separate from mother.

Solar Plexus Chakra

Name – Manipura, meaning ‘city of gems’

Relates to control of energy, personal power, self-esteem and self-confidence.

Colour – yellow, Element – Fire, Bija Mantra – Ram

Gland: Pancreas

Physical organs: Stomach, liver, gallbladder, kidneys, pancreas, spleen, mid back.

Physical disorders: Arthritis, gastric/duodenal ulcers, intestinal problems, pancreatitis/diabetes, indigestion, anorexia or bulimia, liver dysfunction, hepatitis.

Crystals to help rebalance: calcite, citrine, amber, tiger’s eye.

Stage of Development: Small child 18 months to approx 4 yrs – development of language and autonomy and search for balance between freedom and discipline.

Heart Chakra

Name – Anahata, meaning ‘unstruck’

Relates to harmony in both inner and outer worlds, love and relationships, compassion and forgiveness.

Colour – green or pink, Element – Air, Bija Mantra – Yam

Gland: Thymus

Physical organs: Heart and circulatory system, lungs, shoulders, arms, ribs, breasts, diaphragm.

Physical disorders: Heart failure, asthma/allergies, lung cancer, bronchial pneumonia, breast cancer, upper back and shoulder pain.

Crystals to help rebalance: emerald, green aventurine, rose quartz, kunzite.

Stage of Development: The child 4-7 yrs – relating to others outside immediate family, building self-esteem and self-acceptance.

Throat Chakra

Name – Vishudda, meaning ‘pure’

Relates to union of the elements, communication, self-expression, creativity and strength of will.

Colour – blue, Element – Ether/Space, Bija Mantra – Ham

Gland: Thyroid

Physical organs: Throat, thyroid, trachea, neck, mouth/teeth/gums, oesophagus.

Physical disorders: Sore throats, stuttering, mouth ulcers, gum problems, temporo-mandibular joint problems, laryngitis, swollen glands, thyroid disorders.

Crystals to help rebalance: lapis lazuli, turquoise, blue lace agate, chrysocolla.

Stage of Development: Pre-pubescent 7-12 yrs – beginning of stage of self-expression.

Third Eye or Brow Chakra

Name – Ajna, meaning ‘command’

Relates to seeing clearly, insight, intuition and imagination.

Colour – indigo or violet, Bija Mantra – Aum/Om

Gland: Pituitary

Physical organs: Left eye, lower brain, nose, ears, pituitary gland, nervous system.

Physical disorders: Brain tumour, haemorrhage, stroke, neurological disturbances, poor vision, full spinal difficulties, seizures, nightmares, headaches.

Crystals to help rebalance: sodalite, lapis lazuli, kyanite, amethyst, fluorite, sugilite.

Stage of Development: The adolescent – reflecting on patterns in own and others’ lives and creating a role in the world.

Crown Chakra

Name – Sahasrara, meaning ‘thousand-petalled lotus’

Relates to unity, formlessness, potential, knowledge and understanding.

Colour – violet or white, Bija Mantra – Nng

Gland: Pineal

Physical organs: Upper brain, right eye, pineal gland, skin, muscular and skeletal systems.

Physical disorders: Energetic disorders, chronic exhaustion, mystical depression, extreme sensitivities to light, sound and other environmental factors; co-ordination problems, feeling detached from others.

Crystals to help rebalance: amethyst, clear quartz, selenite.

Stage of Development: The adult 20-27 yrs – fully reacting and interacting with the world.

Cycles of Nature

Each of the cycles of nature can be regarded as a time during which certain skills are developed. The precise shift from one stage of development to another will vary from person to person, often with stages overlapping. In some cases, however, stress or trauma disrupts the chakra energy, often causing an underlying problem for subsequent growth. If one function remains under-developed, all the others dependent upon it will be negatively affected.

Having gone through a whole cycle, root to crown chakra, the individual often asks themselves existential questions such as ‘Why am I here?’, which may cause radical changes in life and work. The whole cycle then begins again, starting at the root chakra, with a metaphorical rebirth. The chakra cycle can repeat itself many times in a single lifetime, providing opportunities to heal and grow and express more of your potential.

A Holistic Approach

When you perceive the chakras as aspects of consciousness, it can be understood that the physical systems of the body cannot be separated from the subtler structures of mind and emotions. In fact, they are all fundamentally linked together. Changes at one level will bring automatic changes at the other levels. Dysfunction at the physical level is echoed in the function of the chakras, while stress in the chakras can manifest as discomfort at the level of body, mind or emotion.

This is the second in a series of 3 blogs looking in detail at the human energy system. Part 3, Energising the Chakras and a Chakra Quiz, will be available at the beginning of July.

The Chakras: Their Purpose and Vibration

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What are they?

‘Chakra’ is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘wheel’ which describes their spinning motion while absorbing, giving out and distributing life force energy (ki) throughout our subtle and physical bodies. The chakras are the major energy centres of the body: when they are functioning correctly there is good free-flow of energy throughout the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies, resulting in balance and harmony. Chakras should be open to let energy flow freely in and out and between the different auric levels. The more energy that flows, the healthier we are. Illness in the system is caused by an imbalance of energy or a block in the flow of energy: in other words, lack of flow in our energy system eventually leads to disharmony and dis-ease.

There are 7 major chakras – crown, 3^rd eye or brow, throat, heart, solar plexus, sacral and root/base. Each is positioned along a central channel called the sushumna which runs from the base chakra to the crown chakra. The base and crown chakras form our connection to earth and spirit. The sushumna is encircled by two energy channels called Ida and Pingala which spiral upwards in opposite directions from the base chakra. The points where they meet along the central channel are known as the chakras. Chakras can be likened to multi-dimensional gateways that allow us to access different experiences and states of consciousness.

Each chakra relates to a different colour, note, element, endocrine gland and auric layer, which I will address is more detail in the next two blogs.

Purpose of the Chakras

The chakras have three main functions:-

1. To vitalise each auric body and therefore the physical body.

2. To promote the development of different aspects of consciousness. Each chakra relates to a specific psychological function.

3. To transmit energy between the auric layers.

Why do they vibrate at different frequencies?

Everything in the universe consists of vibrations occurring at different frequencies. The colours we see all around us are different frequencies of visible light as perceived by our physical senses and interpreted by the brain. Beyond this range lies ultra-violet light, radio waves and other light waves.

In eastern esoteric literature, each chakra is seen as having a certain number of petals. These appear to be small rotating vortices spinning at very high rates. Each vortex metabolizes an energy vibration that resonates at its particular spin frequency. For example the base chakra has 4 small vortices and metabolises 4 basic frequencies of energy, vibrating at the colour red. Four vortices is a relatively small amount of energy being metabolized and so this chakra relates to the physical, material world and issues of survival and security. The 3^rd eye chakra has 96 vortices and corresponds to the colour indigo. Now consider that the crown chakra has 972 vortices and vibrates at the colour violet-white. This seventh chakra metabolizes the greatest amount of energy out of all the 7 major chakras and carries a very high spiritual vibration.

The chakras vibrate at different frequencies according to the spiritual qualities that govern each chakra:-

Root/base chakra – security and survival – colour red

Sacral chakra – relationships with others, power and control – colour orange

Solar plexus chakra – sense of self, self-esteem and self-worth – colour yellow

Heart chakra – compassion, tolerance, joy and love for others – colour green or pink

Throat chakra – self-expression and communication – colour blue

Brow/3^rd eye chakra – vision, direction, understanding and mental processes – colour indigo or violet

Crown chakra – sense of connection, oneness and spiritual awareness – colour violet or white

Personal Variations

Each chakra deals with particular functions but the quality of the energy in the chakra can vary from person to person. For example, a strong red root chakra indicates someone who is well grounded with strong physical energy and vitality. If this chakra was dull in colour or weak, it would indicate an imbalance in the corresponding mental/emotional qualities such as lack of stability and financial security.

For most people the heart chakra vibrates at the colour green but in those who have developed greater compassion and universal love, it vibrates at the higher vibration colour pink. Similarly the crown can be violet, lavender or white, according to the level of spiritual development of the individual. If the higher crown chakra, the seat of the soul, is activated, the crown area is likely to be white, indicating a person living in line with their higher self, and living by higher truths with a strong sense of oneness and spiritual connection to others.