The Beginner's Guide To Chakras
Updated: Jun 16, 2020
What are chakras?
The word ‘Chakra’ means ‘Wheel’ in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is a holy language of Hinduism and Buddhism. #Chakras are invisible to the naked eye & interconnect with our spiritual selves. When one of our chakras is out of balance it can affect that physical region of our body & also our emotional and #spiritual #wellbeing.
Chakras are linked to different parts of the body.
You may be feeling out of #balance and cannot work out why. Treatments such as #reiki, #crystal healing and sound healing can tell you which chakra is blocked.
However due to the pandemic we are unable to have these treatments. So, for now more than ever we need to use our #instincts to work out which chakras are blocked. In this blog there is a list of characteristics and behaviours that you will be able to identify with to help you restore your chakras.
A few small activities you can incorporate into your daily routines and #rituals is introducing new ways of working with #colour, essential oils, and #crystals. These three key elements help to awaken sluggish or calm overactive chakras bringing back balance and reducing anxiety. In addition, there are lots of other activities you can do to help improve your well-being and mental health.
Here are just a few examples:
Walks in #nature.
Read.
Spend time with your pets.
Take up a hobby.
Spending time with family.
Deep #breathing.
A warm bubble bath.
Relaxing in a quiet space.
Where are these invisible wheels situated?
There are seven main chakras, although it is argued that the Crown Chakra is technically not a chakra because it is located just above the head and therefore isn’t a true body part, however I am going to include it. Historically it is associated with the other six chakras as a chakra in its own right.
Root Chakra (#Muladhara) - Location: Base of the spine
Sacral Chakra (#Svadisthana) - Location: Between pubic bone and navel
Solar Plexus Chakra (#Manipura) - Location: Stomach are between navel and sternum
Heart Chakra (#Anahata) - Location: Centre of chest near the physical heart
Throat Chakra (#Vishudha) - Location In the neck/throat area
Third Eye Chakra (#Ajna) - Location On the forehead just between the eyebrows
Crown Chakra (#Sahasrara) - Location: Top of the head
How do balanced and unbalanced chakras affect your whole being, personality and behaviours?
In the next few paragraphs you will find a list of traits and symptoms to help you identify which of your chakras may need some help to become unblocked. The list is not exhaustive, and you may enjoy researching chakras in more depth. At the end of this blog you will find some useful resources to help you on your journey.
The following information has been taken from 'The Chakra Insight Oracle Guidebook' written by Caryn Sangster. This deck inspired Crystalight Candles' first collection, 'The Chakra Range’ using colours, crystals and essential oils associated to the chakras to help awaken sluggish and calm overactive chakras.
At the end of each chakra 'harmonious / balanced and inharmonious / out of balance characteristic' paragraph, click on the photo to take you to a beautiful meditation.
ROOT CHAKRA
Harmonious/Balanced Characteristics
• Ability to be patient
• Being organised & motivated
• Vitality and strength
• Sense of belonging
• Feeling proud of your heritage and family
• Feeling secure and stable
• Trusting
• Mind and body feel connected
• Connection with the community
• Ability to meet your survival needs and to function day to day
• Prosperity
• Ability to manifest your goals
• Connected to reality
• Feeling a right to be on earth
• Feeling connected to earth and nature
• Feeling fit, healthy and strong
• Balanced eating habits
• Being grounded
Inharmonious/Out of Balance
• Dysfunctions in the physical organs governed by this chakra - blood disorders, feet and leg problems, bowel problems
• Jealousy
• Fear about security and safety
• A focus on material possessions and wealth
• A need to satisfy all own desires
• Eating disorders - overeating or under-eating
• Mistrusting
• Feeling out of place and separate
• Feeling insecure or fearful
• Selfishness
• Greed
• Inability to let go of the past
• Out of touch with reality
• Feeling unstable and restless
• Addictions
• Self-indulgent or denial of basic needs
• Feeling limited by family values
Activities to tend to this chakra
• Connect with the earth and your community
• Anything physical, grounding, or close to the earth such as yoga, barefoot or tribal dance, walking or sitting in nature, camping, gardening
• Bringing any creativity into the material world such as doing art or writing.
• Wear or surround yourself with red/browns/earthy colours.
• The Root Chakra Candle has oils, colour, and crystal to help you back to balance.
Food: Red drinks and red tea. And any food to encourage grounding such as red apples, nuts, seeds, rice, oats.
Colours: Red, Rose Pink, Black, Brown, Earthy colours
SACRAL CHAKRA
Harmonious/Balanced characteristics
• Receptive
• Positive relationship to the body
• Ability to accept change
• Sharing emotions freely and with ease
• Nurturing
• Ability to express feelings and desires
• Ability to be creative & see different perspectives
• Ability to ‘let go’
• Friendly, calm, and kind
• Doing things for pleasure and enjoyment
• Indulging in creative ideas and following through with creative ideas
• Feeling joy and passion
• Feeling positive about life
• Regular menstrual cycle
• Abundance
• Open
• Awareness of the need to nurture appetites/ desires and ability to know when enough is enough
• Emotional stability
• Ability to comfortably express sexuality and sexual desires
• Able and willing to honour own sexual boundaries
• Allowing oneself to ‘feel’
• Acknowledging emotions
• Supportive in a relationship
Inharmonious/Out of Balance
• Compulsive, obsessive, or controlling
• Addictions
• Feeling unwilling or unable to socialise
• Guilt
• Jealousy
• Reproductive problems
• Disorders to the organs governed by this chakra such as breathing problems or urinary tract problems
• Over-eating / under-eating
• Repressed emotions
• Need ‘new’ relationships or environments frequently
• Overly rigid or loose sexual boundaries
• Trauma
• Feeling you do not deserve pleasure
• Inability to express feelings
• Negative, worries or obsessed thoughts about sexuality and sexual desires
• Inability to let go of the past
• Linking self-worth with what you do or what you have
• Suppressing natural needs or overindulging desires
• Over-exerting yourself and your energy
• Depression
• Feel unsure and uneasy when faced with sexual or emotional issues
• Emotionally dependent on people or possessions
• Money or desires are priority when making choices
Activities to tend to this chakra
• Nurture your needs
• Show love to yourself
• Allow pleasure in your life
• Have a meal or chat with friends, family or a colleague
• Do something that brings you pleasure
• Be social
• Express sensuality
• Rest, time out, walking, breathing or yoga
• Movements that flow, such as dancing or swimming
• Wear or surround your safe space with orange colours.
• The Sacral Chakra Candle has oils, colour, and crystal to help you back to balance.
Food: Sweet orange foods, carrot, pumpkin, sweet potato, melon, squash, increase water take,
Colours: All shades of orange
SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA
Harmonious/Balanced Characteristics
• Tolerant and accepting of others
• Confident and strong willed
• Sense of assertiveness without domination of others
• Have a strong sense and are proud of who you are
• Strong organisational abilities
• Strong analytical skills
• Feel unique but still connected to others
• Able to back down and admit when you are wrong
• Having goals direction and a purpose in life
• Ability to follow through with responsibilities
• Reliability
• Strong self-esteem
• Self-respect
• Ability to maintain boundaries
• Able to say 'no'
• Gut instincts are clear and acted on
• Feel powerful and in control of life
• Being aware of your freedom to make choices
• Feeling intellectual thoughts
• Ability to manifest goals
• Motivated
• Courageous
Inharmonious/Out of Balance Characteristics
• Lack of confidence
• Suppressed emotions
• Anger
• Afraid to be alone or unwilling to do things alone
• Passive
• Overly sensitive to criticism or easily upset
• Can't make decisions
• Weak sense of self
• Fear of power
• A need to dominate or control
• Ego-focused
• Stubbornness
• Inability to trust in the natural flow of life
• Disorders in the physical organs governed by this chakra such as digestive problems
• Needing approval and acceptance from others to feel worthy
• Fearful of rejection
• Taking on too much responsibility
A great need for material security
• Feeling as though you have 'no choice'
• Loss of direction or lack of drive
• Frequent or ongoing anger and frustration
• Self-worth is conditional on what we have or do
• Feel overwhelmed with responsibility for everyone and everything
• Constantly active
Activities to tend to the chakra
• Study something
• Be assertive
• Write goals steps to achieve them and take action.
• Mind puzzles/quizzes
• Sports and competitive games
• Find a passion/hobby you enjoy and enrol in classes
• Write down childhood memories
• Wear or surround yourself with yellow/gold colours.
• The Solar Plexus Chakra candle has oils, colour and crystal to help you back to balance.
Food: Yellow and orange foods honey pineapple banana corn, and any tea that aids digestion.
Colours: Shades of Yellow, Gold
HEART CHAKRA
Harmonious/Balanced Characteristics
• Balanced
• Peaceful
• Generous and giving
• Healthy/happy intimate relationship
• Awareness of right to love and to be loved
• Compassionate
• Ability to forgive yourself and 'move on'
• Ability to truly forgive others
• Ability to accept support
• Feeling happy and light
• Unconditional love and affection
• Purity of heart
• Ability to express love to self and others
• Ability to say 'no' to others without guilt
• Tolerance of life and people
• Sympathy
• Being patient with self and others
• Sense of understanding
• Feeling of wholeness and contentment
• Empathetic
• Innocent childlike love
• Sense of brotherhood and sisterhood
• Having a sense of playfulness
• Able to maintain long term relationships
• Sense of unity
Inharmonious/Out of Balance Characteristics
• Feeling resentful and bitter
• Overly sensitive or shy
• Inability to accept love and affection
• Not allowing yourself to be supported
• Feeling negative towards self and others
• Unresolved grief
• Depression
• Being anti-social
• Letting another person's emotions control your choices
• Disorders in the physical organs governed by this chakra e.g. heart problems blood problems, respiration problems immune system issues
• Feeling unable to let go of past 'wrongs' by others
• Not forgiving yourself
• Letting emotional 'scars' influence a current relationship
• Giving love insincerely
• Lack of self-love
• Fear of intimacy due to threat of being 'hurt'
• Jealousy
• Being intolerant and critical
• Unwilling/unable to participate in an intimate relationship
• Co-dependancy
• Possessiveness
Activities to tend to the chakra
• Breathing exercises
• Meditation
• Express love and allow yourself to be loved unconditionally
• Giving and showing love to others
• Simple touch or having/giving massage
• Do that which makes you happy
• Spend time around people/things you love such as family children, animals, or environment.
• Be positive and write down things you love about yourself or others
• Read a magazine/book or watch a movie that you love
• Wear or surround yourself with pink or green or both colours
• The Heart Chakra Candle candles come in green or pink and have oils, colour and crystals to help you back to balance.
• Food: Green vegetable or fruit green or red tea/juices. Anything made with love. Anything that aids circulation including beetroot, lentils, ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper and rosemary
• Colours: Green Pink and any colour you associate with love
THROAT CHAKRA
Harmonious/Balanced Characteristics
• Clear confident speech and voice
• Ability to express self- cry, laugh, joy
• Listening to intuition and inner voice
• Sense of integrity
• Expressing creativity
• Ability to communicate with ease
• Expressing will freely
• Listening to other people
• Speaking your truth
• Being honest and open about how you feel
• Confident in self expression
• Calm and patient speech
• Accepting trusting and acting on inner guidance
• Feel free and willing to voice your opinion
• Standing up for yourself
• Processing and transforming emotions through creative expression
• Sense of pride in what you say
• Believing your words are worth listening to
Inharmonious/Out of Balance Characteristics
• Stuttering
• Fear of speaking
• Fear of self-expression
• Disorders in the physical organ governed by this chakra such as having a sore throat or tonsillitis
• Inability to express yourself
• Feeling unable to communicate effectively
• Speaking abruptly and with anger
• Gossiping
• Needing to be centre of attention
• Being a 'chatterbox' - having a constant need to talk
• Worried about 'silences'
• Lying
• Self-betrayal
• ignoring your will and inner voice
• Fears about being judged
• Feeling unworthy of being listened to
• Problems with 'self-talk'
• Quiet, timid voice
• Not being honest and speaking out
• Not expressing yourself creatively
Activities to tend to the chakra
• Speak up / speak out for what you believe in.
• Be honest about who you are.
• Communication and expression in any form - singing painting chanting, drama, poetry writing.
• Engage in conversations with people / organised groups with similar interests to you.
• Read a story or recite poetry out loud.
• Wear or surround yourself with shades of blue.
• The Throat Chakra Candle has oils, colour and crystal to help you back to balance.
Food: Clear fresh foods broths clear soup herbal teas Echinacea. Avoid dairy where possible
Colours: All shades of Blue
THIRD EYE CHAKRA
Harmonious/Balanced Characteristics
• Independent thought
• Awareness and acceptance of spiritual aspects of yourself and of life
• Clear vision
• Good memory
• Ability to focus
• General sense of clarity with thoughts
• Peaceful sleep
• Connection to the universe
• Wisdom
• Ability to use intuition in daily life
• Allow visions
• Acknowledging intuitive thought processes
• Ability to learn from experience
• Perceiving the world free from judgement and prejudice
• Forgiveness and gratitude
• Trust in your 'inner knowing'
• Self-reflection / ability to be introspective
• Empathy and sense of understanding in general
• Good imagination
• Ability to see patterns in your life
• Recognition of spiritual aspect to life
• Ability to think symbolically
Inharmonious/Out of Balance Characteristics
• Prejudice towards people and situations
• Focusing only on intellect and science
• Seeing superficial meaning but afraid to look deeper
• Rejection of intuition
• Unimaginative
• Nightmares
• Confused and muddled thinking
• Delusions and hallucinations
• Disorder in the physical organs governed by this chakra such as problems with vision or sinuses
• Frequent confusion and misunderstandings
• Overly rational and mathematical about everything
• Being judgemental
• Unable to think for yourself
• Out of touch with reality
• Unable to differentiate between illusions and reality
• Being overly fearful or anxious
• Ego-focused
• Frequent negative perceptions of people and situations
• Rigid thinking patterns
Activities to tend to the chakra
• Be imaginative or daydreaming
• Meditation
• Write down dreams
• Enjoy natural light indoors
• Indulge your sight - let your eyes feast on interesting and inspiring things to look at
• Any body and mind centering exercise
• Reading and expanding knowledge and intellect
• Wear or surround yourself with shades of indigo or purple.
• The Third Eye Chakra Candle has oils, colour and crystal to help you back to balance.
Food: Fresh indigo/purple foods such as beetroot blueberries and cabbage, Fish and nuts
Colours; Indigo, white, purple
CROWN CHAKRA
Harmonious/Balanced Characteristics
• Gratitude
• Awareness of the unity of all of life
• Feeling blissful
• Lightness
• Living in the present moment
• Ability to tap into the universal consciousness
• Awareness and acceptance of a higher source
• Knowledge wisdom and clarity
• Ability to find answers within yourself
• Self-knowledge
• Ability to live your truth
• Having a sense of your own spirituality
• Strong spiritual connection
• Works with and for universal consciousness
• Recognition of one's own divinity
• Aware of the miracle of our own consciousness
• Feeling connected to the greater world
• Having direction and purpose in life
• A sense of meaning to life
• Charismatic
• Inquisitive mind
Inharmonious/Out of Balance Characteristics
• Disorders of the physical organs governed by this chakra such as headaches
• Nervous and mental disorders
• Fear of 'death' and fear of 'what's out there'
• Insomniac
• Belief in self-limitation
• Unsatisfied and feeling 'lost' in life
• Living in the past or the future
• Confusion
• Anxiety and fear
• Depression
• Ignorance
• Ego-based choices
• Selfishness
• Closed-mindedness
• Overly sceptical
• Overly rigid belief systems
• Overly intellectual
• Feeling isolated and alone
• Directionless, searching for answers
Activities to tend to the chakra
• Practising gratitude in daily life
• Prayer and meditation
• Anything that brings you peace and joy
• Write down dreams
• Rest and self-reflection
• Silence
• Take time to notice the Divine in daily life
• Wear or surround yourself with white, gold, and violet colours.
• The Crown Chakra Candle has oils, colour, and crystal to help you back to balance.
Food: Clear and light foods, wholesome gold, and violet foods. Monitored fasting. Avoid overeating.
Colours: White, Gold, Violet.
Further reading
(Click on links for more info)
Chakras for Starters written by Savitri Simpson
The Crystal Healer written by Philip Permut
Chakra Insight Oracle written by Caryn Sangster
Resources
Photos used have links on them taking you to their original source.
At the end of each Chakra Balanced/ Out of Balance Characteristics paragraph, click on the photo to take you to a beautiful meditation.
