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Chakras and Emotional Healing: A Mind-Body Connection

Each chakra is connected with different mental and emotional states, which can serve as a window into your consciousness. The body and mind are intimately connected, and you can clearly see this connection through understanding how the chakras work and influence you on a holistic level. Due to these deep connections, the chakras are an excellent tool for emotional healing.

The first step to using the chakras for emotional healing is to understand what the chakras are and the emotions connected to each of the seven chakras. Next, you can begin to explore specific methods for using the chakras for emotional healing. We will explore all of these topics and more in this article today. So, let’s get started!

What are the Chakras?

The word chakra in Sanskrit means wheel, and essentially, the chakras are centers in the body where energy is more concentrated, and this energy moves like a flowing wheel in this region. The chakras came from yoga philosophy as a way of understanding the movement of kundalini energy, or the divine serpent energy that resides at the base of the spine. There are many different systems of the chakras in yoga philosophy, but the most commonly used is the seven-chakra system.

Chakras – The Root of the Mind-Body Connection

One of the most incredible benefits that the chakras provide us is a way of comprehending the mind-body connection. The chakras are like an interface between the physical body, the nervous system, and the subtle energetic layer of the spirit. Each chakra has a physical location in the body, but it is not something that can be physically seen or touched. Instead, the chakras are something that can be experienced on a subtle, energetic level.

By working with the chakras, we can influence the subtle flow of energy in the body, causing profound changes in your mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies. The chakras can influence your mental and emotional states, providing an avenue for change on a deeper level.

The Primary Emotions Connected to the 7 Chakras

1.     Root Chakra (Muladhara) – Survival, Stability, and Grounding

The root chakra is the first chakra in the seven chakra system. As the foundation for all of the following chakras, it is often connected with a primary sense of grounding, stability, and security. When your basic needs for food, shelter, safety, and security are not being adequately met, this can cause this chakra to become imbalanced or destabilized. On a primal level, this chakra is often connected with fear or lack of trust and the earlier stages of emotional and mental development.

2.     Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana) – Creativity, Passion, and Sexuality

The sacral chakra is connected to your reproductive organs, so this is commonly viewed as your emotional center of sexuality and sensuality. But sexual energy is more than just physical desire; this energy can also be used for creativity and overall passion for life. In general, this chakra highlights your primary desires and what brings you joy and pleasure in life. When this chakra is imbalanced, it can show up as internalized shame or guilt and overindulgence or codependency.

3.     Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura) – Confidence, Self-Esteem, and Assertiveness

The third chakra, solar plexus chakra or manipura chakra, is located in the center of your abdomen, so it is often connected to the emotional state of your “gut feeling” or inner confidence and knowing. This chakra is the seat of your inner fire, and when this fire is balanced, it can promote great personal power, confidence, and self-esteem. Alternatively, when this chakra is imbalanced, this may present emotionally as issues with low self-esteem or lack of confidence or alternatively an excessive amount of dominance, aggression, or arrogance.

4.     Heart Chakra (Anahata) – Love, Compassion, and Empathy

The heart chakra or anahata chakra is likely precisely what you think it is – the center of love! In yoga philosophy, the heart is also the space where the atma or soul is located, along with the spark of divine consciousness. Through this passageway of the heart chakra, we can begin to explore the concepts of divine love, divine union, and pure bhakti or devotion. The heart center is also connected to feelings of compassion, empathy, and forgiveness. When this chakra is blocked or imbalanced, it may present as low empathy, fear of intimacy, jealousy or possessiveness, codependency, or overly self-sacrificing.

5.     Throat Chakra (Vishuddha) – Communication, Self-Expression, and Authenticity

The throat chakra is the primary center for communication and self-expression. When this chakra is opened and balanced, it can lead to open communication, authenticity, truthfulness, and clarity in speech and understanding. However, when this chakra is blocked or imbalanced, it can lead to difficulties expressing yourself, a fear of speaking up, hiding your authentic self, being overly talkative, and having difficulties listening or understanding others.

6.     Third-Eye Chakra (Ajna) – Intuition, Perception, and Spiritual Insight

The third-eye chakra is the seat of intuition and where we begin to tap into a higher state of consciousness. Opening up your third-eye center can lead to deep intuitive awareness, extrasensory perception, and spiritual insight. This is also the center for imagination and inner wisdom. When this chakra is blocked, it can lead to a lack of clarity, difficulty making decisions, and closed-mindedness. On a more extreme level, when this chakra is imbalanced, it can lead to hallucinations, delusions, or difficulty connecting with reality.

7.     Crown Chakra (Sahasrara) – Spirituality, Universality, and Higher Consciousness

The last chakra is the seventh chakra, the crown chakra, which is the culmination of all the prior chakras but with a greater focus on spiritual expansiveness. This chakra is connected to a profound spiritual connection, higher consciousness, and connection with the divine. Opening the seventh chakra can result in feelings of bliss, unity, and enlightenment or moksha. When this chakra is completely blocked, it often shows up as a lack of spiritual connection, closed-mindedness, or extreme skepticism. Imbalances in this chakra can also present as dissociation from the body and fundamentalism or spiritual addiction.

How to Use the Chakras for Emotional Healing

Engaging in general chakra healing methods will often influence the emotions connected to each chakra without you even realizing it. For example, the standard techniques of chakra healing through chakra meditation, chakra bija mantra chanting, and yoga practices can have a profound impact on the balance of each chakra and, therefore, influence your mental and emotional state as well.

If you are interested in going deeper into influencing the emotions connected to each chakra, you can use specific chakra affirmations and visualization techniques or work with an energy healer who can help you explore even deeper. Crystal healing for the chakras is also a powerful way of balancing each chakra and promoting unity between your mind, body, and spirit.

The Best Methods of Chakra Emotional Healing

There are many ancient and traditional practices for chakra healing that can have a profound impact on your chakras but may feel difficult to understand for some practitioners. Thankfully, there are now many New Age developments in the understanding of the chakras that dive deeper into chakra emotional healing, allowing you to combine this ancient wisdom with modern practices for therapeutic growth and transformation.

See below for some of the best methods of chakra emotional healing:

·      Chakra Meditation – each chakra has a specific bija mantra or sacred sound connected to it that you can use to harmonize that particular chakra and heal from within.

·      Affirmations – once you understand the emotional blockage connected to your specific chakra imbalance, you can develop specific affirmations to help you break through this emotional wall.

·      Visualization – guided visualizations can help you explore these emotional blockages in greater depth, or you can visualize the chakras and heal these psychic centers through visualizations of healing colored lights flowing through your body.

·      Breathwork or Pranayama – breathwork or pranayama practices are specifically created to break through blockages in the chakras and find healing from within.

·      Yoga – there are many specific yoga poses that can target the physical regions of each chakra to support energetic openings of these centers.

·      Sound Healing – sound healing helps you tap into the vibrational frequency of each chakra for deeper healing on an energetic level.

·      Crystal Healing – each chakra is connected to a different type of crystal that you can use for healing purposes through meditation or just keeping one near your body.

Discover the Chakras in Our Online 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Course or Chakra Healing Course Online

Each chakra is connected with a different mental and emotional state, showing the deep mind-body-spirit connection through this subtle energetic system. The more you learn about the chakras and practice various chakra healing techniques, the better you will be able to harness the power of the chakras in your personal life. This intricate and complex system can seem overwhelming at first, but ultimately, understanding the chakras requires practicing techniques and experiencing these energetic centers for yourself.

The chakras are a primary component of yoga philosophy, so one of the best ways to learn more about the chakras is in a yoga teacher training course. Through our online yoga teacher training, you will gain a foundational understanding of the chakras in yoga philosophy, along with guidance on how to use various yoga practices to balance your chakras. If you are interested in diving deeper into chakra emotional healing, then reach out to us today for more information on our online YTT course!  We take a deep dive into the chakras and esoteric body in our 200 hour yoga teacher training online.  We also have a separate continuing education course you can take, our chakra healing course online.