In this article, Caroline Stewart explores how to balance chakras and release the energy in your body.
How To Balance The Chakras
Chakras are energy centers in the body. In Sanskrit, the word chakra translates to wheel or disk. There are seven core chakras, which are aligned to the spine extending from the base of the spine up to the crown of the head. A chakra can be visualized as a swirling wheel of energy. These energy centers correspond to large collections of nerves in the body. Each of the seven main chakras contain these nerves, are associated with major organs, as well as psychological, emotional and spiritual states of being.
When we are in balance, all flows freely through our chakras. When there is blockage, energy cannot flow. When a chakra becomes blocked or imbalanced, it is necessary to open the chakra again.
Awareness is the key. Our body, mind, soul and spirit are deeply connected. When we draw awareness to the blockage, we influence all aspects of self and help to bring balance back.
Let’s explore each of the seven chakras, moving from the base of the spine—from the root chakra—up to the top of the head—to the crown chakra—, look at what creates imbalances and how we can balance the chakras.
Read more: Explore the key elements of the 7 chakras, their associated colors and sounds as well as which regions of the body the chakras govern and corresponding yoga poses to restore these areas.
1. The Root Chakra (Muladhara)
The Root Chakra’s role is to connect your energy to earth energy. You’ve likely heard the term grounding. This is what connecting to earth energy means. The Root Chakra is linked with your day-to-day survival in this earthly experience. This energy center’s role is to provide you with everything you need to survive.
Signs Of An Imbalanced Root Chakra
When your root chakra is overactive, you will likely experience nervous system issues such as anxiety. This is because fear is overdetermining your experience. If you have always had your survival needs met, you may experience an underachieve root chakra. In this case, you may experience trouble concentrating or feeling very ‘spacey’.
How To Balance This Chakra
Your root chakra is the base of your energetic anatomy. In practical terms, it’s important to take care of your survival needs first.
If the chakra is overactive, you can create calm by focusing on your connection to Spirit. Create a daily practice that will nurture your soul. This may include prayer, meditation or other self-care rituals.
Read more: Discover six meaningful approaches of how to practice self-love and self-care every day.
If you find yourself disconnected from the physical experience of your root chakra, you can reconnect to the earth by spending time out in nature. Nature walks, gardening and bare foot walking are helpful.
2. The Sacral Chakra (Svadhistana)
The Sacral Chakra is all about your identity as a human and how you express your creativity and sexuality. It brings your creative energy to life. Your sacral chakra is the home of the creative life force energy that moves through you and helps you enjoy your life here on Earth. It’s the energy that stirs you to enjoy the fruits of your physical experience including indulging in pleasure.
Signs Of An Imbalanced Sacral Chakra
The sacral chakra may become overactive when we overindulge in life’s pleasures. This often happens when we deny the full range of human experience in favour of only those things that feel good.
Alternatively, if you’ve focused much of your time on very practical things without taking time to enjoy the fruits of your labor, your sacral chakra may be underactive. You may experience symptoms of depression, lack of passion/creativity and low sex drive.
How To Balance This Chakra
To balance your sacral chakra, it’s helpful to discover first whether it is overactive or underactive.
If overactive, focus on drawing energy away from pleasure and upwards in your chakra system towards your heart. You can do this by asking yourself whether or not what you are choosing to do is nourishing your heart. Is it fulfilling on more than just a temporary, physical level?
Energizing your second chakra is lots of fun. Simply, it’s all about bringing the joy back into life! Nourish your creativity. Indulge in the simple pleasures of life. Make love to your partner.
Pause here and experience how to balance chakras with this guided meditation by Caroline Stewart:
- Chakra Balancing Practice Caroline Stewart 27:58
The best way to learn how to balance chakras? By practice! Browse through hundreds of free guided chakra meditation practices that help to focus on, stimulare and unblock the energy centers of your body.
3. The Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura)
The Solar Plexus Chakra is the seat of your self-confidence, personal identity and power. Much of your bodily wisdom is contained in this energy center. This is where “gut feelings” come from. You feel it in your solar plexus as a visceral knowing.
Signs Of An Imbalanced Solar Plexus Chakra
The solar plexus chakra becomes overactive when we extend our personal power to others in the form of “control” or “micromanaging”. When this chakra is overly active, you may feel yourself quick to anger or experience lack compassion or empathy for others.
When we feel a lack of personal power, we may experience an underactive solar plexus chakra. In this case, we will likely feel indecisive, insecure, timid and needy.
How To Balance This Chakra
If overactive, it is helpful to practice opening your heart with compassion practices such as a loving-kindness meditation. Refocus the power you have into love.
To energize your solar plexus chakra, it is essential that you get clear on your unique abilities. Reflect on your individual qualities and experiences that have come together to create the uniqueness that is YOU. Create your own personal affirmations.
4. The Heart Chakra (Anahata)
The Heart Chakra is the center of your love, compassion and kindness. We all associate our hearts with love and that’s exactly what the fourth chakra is all about. This includes love for self and love for others.
The heart chakra is the center of our energetic body and is considered the bridge between the spiritual realm and our physical reality.
Signs Of An Imbalanced Heart Chakra
When the heart chakra becomes overactive, we tend to drop our personal boundaries around love and compassion and attempt to put the needs of others before our own.
When your heart chakra is underactive we may feel jaded about love and focus on the selfishness of others. In this case, we tend to take things very personally.
How To Balance This Chakra
Balancing your heart chakra means activating compassion—both for self and for others. t is about re-focusing on self-care and maintaining healthy boundaries around love. Show appreciation for yourself, and give yourself the love that you want others to give to you. Then, spread that compassion to those around you.
Discover hundreds of free guided compassion meditation practices to foster feelings of kindness and compassion towards yourself and others.
5. The Throat Chakra (Vishuddi)
The Throat Chakra gives a voice to your personal truths. Physically, the voice comes from the throat and lungs, but on an energetic level, our truth actually comes from your fifth chakra. It lets you speak your truth with clarity.
Signs Of An Imbalanced Throat Chakra
Our throat chakra becomes overactive when we’ve spent a lot of time trying to force others to hear us. This often arises when we feel ignored or invalidated and seek to speak over the indifference.
Alternatively, we may choose to shut down our voice and keep our truth hidden. In this case, you may feel that it is difficult for you to express your emotions or struggle with finding the right words.
How To Balance This Chakra
Balancing your throat chakra is as easy as “being impeccable with your word” (The 4 Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz). In this way, you use the power of your word to speak truth and love. When you speak, speak with integrity. Do not speak against yourself or others and say ONLY what you truly mean.
6. The Third Eye Chalra (Ajna)
The Third Eye Chakra opens up your mind to information beyond the material world and the five senses. It can be thought of as your ‘sixth sense’.
The third eye is linked to intuition, psychic abilities and clear sight. Energetically and physically, the third eye is connected to the pineal gland. his gland has been called the “God organ” or the seat of the soul.
Signs Of An Imbalanced Third Eye Chakra
It is very unlikely your sixth chakra is overactive. Most of us are focused on our physical reality and find it difficult to activate the ‘sixth sense’. The cultural narrative tends to discount intuition and because of this, we often close off our third eye chakra. Closing off may cause us to feel disconnected from spiritual experiences.
How To Balance This Chakra
If you find yourself overwhelmed with psychic/spiritual information, it is important to take time to feel into your body and remind yourself that you have chosen this human experience. Get back to your roots—play in the garden, walk barefoot through the forest.
Energizing your third eye takes a bit more practice and focus. One of the simplest ways to active your third eye chakra is through meditation. Journalling your intuitive pulls is also helpful.
Explore free third eye meditation practices that help to focus your attention on this energy center.
7. The Crown Chakra (Sahasrara)
The Crown Chakra is the energy of pure consciousness. It is the most subtle energy center in the body. All of the rays of energy from this chakra radiate out in all directions in order to connect the soul with the energy of Unity; of God. Our individual consciousness is focused in the seventh chakra, as an expression of universal energy.
Signs Of An Imbalanced Crown Chakra
As your crown chakra is a reflection of Universal energy, it is not possible for it to be overactive. An underactive 7th chakra means that you’re human. This in itself is perfect.
How To Balance This Chakra
In order to activate your crown chakra, the focus should be on balancing the other six chakras. When we create balance in the energetic body, the subtle energy of life is free to move up through the chakra system and activate the crown.
