abode”). Think of how when you laugh heartily or breathe deeply—your lower gut feels relaxed and free of tension. Whereas the root chakra is symbolically associated with our ability to feel grounded and secure in our bodies, the sacral chakra has been likened to the aspect of us that embodies the water element through its flowing, yet still, abysmal depth; our expanse of emotion; and our ability to dive into the unconscious. When we are in touch with our lower gut and its energetic resonance, we dance to the music of our raw creativity, our unruly emotions, and our love of companionship. These parts of us ripple through our gut and undulate into finer expression with the help of the heart (love and passion) and throat (voice and authenticity) chakras. This chakra seeks relationship with another. It propels us out to the world to find connection and synergy. When we are deeply committed to our own sensitivity and creativity, we can be open to sharing this beauty with another, and in this process, create something anew.
Swimming upwards from the low belly, we enter our fiery, transformative energy-exchange center. With the vehicle of the body (root chakra) and the ability to emote, create, and form relationships with others (sacral chakra), we now have the tools needed to make our way in the world, and to exchange the energy of our self with the energy of society. If we can symbolically position this stage of our development, it would be at the ages of five to seven years old, when we are forming and solidifying our identity.
It has been said that who we were at this young age sets the stage for who we are to become as adults. We begin to have strong views, develop opinions, and have a sense of self as separate from the whole. Individuals with imbalances in this center often has issues around self-worth. For example, they are often the ones who can never have enough material possessions to give them a sense of worth. They continue to collect and hoard but ultimately receive no gratification in return. An overachiever seeks to find fulfillment through her accomplishments rather than who she is from within. Sometimes the most egocentric person is masking low feelings of self-worth; in other words, all that grandiosity is not who they really are. When it comes to foods and eating, these individuals are hungry for internal fulfillment and confidence, and may use external sources like foods and overeating in an attempt to fill this need.
The part of us that filters societal information and allows us to distill our own opinions, beliefs, and identity is held in the upper abdominal area and is known as the solar plexus chakra, or manipura (Sanskrit for “city of jewels”). The middle of the torso is the energetic home for the essential organs of transformation associated with the solar plexus chakra: the gallbladder, liver, pancreas, small intestines, and stomach. Energy, whether from the purely physical like food or from a charged interaction with a group of people at work, will enter in from the outside and is converted through this conduit into a form that we can process and recognize. In response to taking in the energy, we may even decide to give back energy from this center through movement, activity, and acting from our core.
An example of this exchange might be the simple act of eating a meal. The body sees the food as a vehicle of energy and breaks it down to the degree that it can reap the energy embedded within. As a result of taking in this energy, we may feel more alive, invigorated, and propelled into action. That energy may help us exercise, move through the day, and do our tasks.
The three lower chakras, the root, sacral, and solar plexus centers, form the physical basis of a person. The root chakra could be compared to the bricks of a house, giving a solid structure and foundation. The sacral chakra is like the windows built into the house, allowing us to see to the outside using our senses and our urge to connect with others. And the solar plexus chakra is like the front and back doors, enabling people to enter and for the inhabitants to exit.
From this point on, the chakras become much more ethereal in nature, and they are aligned more closely with the spirit than the body. Although no more significant than the lower three chakras, the upper four chakras have more delicate and finer vibrations than those of the lower chakras. Collectively, the upper chakras encompass the parts of a person that allows them to love, communicate, think, and connect with the Divine. If we continue with the metaphor of the house, they go beyond the house structure and take us into the periphery: into other neighborhoods, cities, countries, and even dimensions.
The journey of the upper chakras begins with the much-cherished heart chakra, or anahata (Sanskrit for “unstruck” or “unbeaten”). Common expressions such as “living from the heart” or “following your heart” have infiltrated people's lives, as has the ubiquitous heart symbol, which has made its way onto everything from t-shirts and lunchboxes to bumper stickers and greeting cards. The heart chakra is unique because it bridges the physical and the spiritual aspects (sometimes referred to as the “heaven and earth”) of a person through love.
Coming from the place of the heart center enables us to smooth any gaps between our body and spirit, and once this connection has been made, we are able to extend it to others by giving and receiving love through sound, song, and embrace. The heart chakra keeps the physical heart and lungs circulating with currents of blood and oxygen. Without the heart chakra and its organs, the body is unable to live on the earth plane of existence.
Working upwards from the heart chakra in the center of the chest is the throat chakra, or vishuddha (Sanskrit word for “pure wheel”), which oversees the throat, thyroid gland, mouth, ears, and nose. The throat has been likened to a birthing canal for the heart: it is the part of us that is responsible for choices we make, and we express those choices and who we are through the vehicle of the voice. In its highest form, it speaks the language of the heart.
Since there is choice and communication involved in this center, it also has a connection to a more refined form of creativity than that of the sacral chakra. The sacral chakra births raw ideas in a primitive form, and the throat chakra sculpts them according to the wishes of the heart. The throat chakra provides the physical manifestation of vibration through chanting, singing, and spoken words. It is also the point of entry for much of the energy that is exchanged through the solar plexus chakra, since the throat chakra can take in food, liquid, dietary supplements, and sensory input through the mouth, ears, and nose, and give out words in response to what the solar plexus chakra is processing.
All the energy exchange, sensory input, and communication produce thoughts. The activity of the brain falls within the realm of the third eye chakra, or ajna (Sanskrit word for “command”). Logically formed thoughts, emotional pattern recognition, and the master control center for much of the body's hormones live within this chakra's rapid vibratory rate. Think of the speed of a thought or the blink of an eye; this quick and dynamic energy reflects the resonance of this chakra.
The chakras are largely vessels of transition, places of our invisible, energetic landscape that funnel energy in all forms through the ethers into the flesh, and from the flesh into the ethers. The third eye chakra spins in many directions, gathering and receiving energy like an antenna, from many sources. It may be processing information from the physical plane, or it may be receiving signals from abstract, otherworldly places. So the third eye manages not only thoughts, but also intuitive insight that may be an amalgam of our earthly experiences and universal guidance underlying a Divine plan.
Finally, the crown chakra, or sahasrara (Sanskrit for “the supreme center of contact with God”) sits at the top of the head like a halo. It has the finest, lightest vibration of all the major seven chakras, and it feeds the body with cellular intelligence, universal consciousness, and life force. It represents our direct line to the spiritual part of us, the essence of us that knows no time, boundaries, form, or opposites. When we are in union with this part of ourselves, through prayer or meditation, we remember our true nature and origin and their spiritual roots.
Figure 2. The body with anatomical structures
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