We make our way through our daily lives searching for inner peace and satisfaction. We often find ourselves searching for ways to connect with and find joy in our surroundings—we search for new musical events to go to, new healthy restaurants to try, new thrift stores to shop. But what happens when that search for meaning starts within? When our interactions with ourselves come first? Healthy living is a commitment to knowing yourself, to using your yoga practice regularly, finding your mantra, and embarking on your own personal journey to find substance within. Opening, unblocking our chakras is a powerful way to begin.
What Are Chakras?
In Ayurveda, chakras can be found in seven places throughout our bodies and are where we store our life-affirming energies:
- The base of the spine: The Root Chakra (stability)
- Lower abdomen: The Sacral Chakra (creativity and positive relationships)
- Upper abdomen: the Solar Plexus Chakra (self-confidence)
- Middle of chest: The Heart Chakra (love)
- Throat: The Throat Chakra (truth)
- Between the eyes: Third Eye Chakra (wisdom)
- Top of the head: The Crown Chakra (connection to the universe)
Each chakra is like a storage unit holding energies that can help guide us through our lives, but if these doors are closed, can we walk within? Of course not—the question then becomes, how do we open our inner storage unit doors, or unblock our chakras?
Unblocking Chakras
When a chakra is blocked, Ayurveda teaching tells us that we experience almost a reversal of its energy—for example, if our heart chakra is blocked, we may experience jealousy rather than love, and if a sacral chakra is blocked, we may battle loneliness or addiction. In order to unblock a chakra, you can engage in yoga, meditation, find your mantra, utilize gemstone chakra healing, or you can use mala prayer beads to guide your journey towards inner peace. It is in our search for ourselves that we ask the integral questions: “Who am I?” “What do I love?” “What do I fear?” “How can I learn to accept the things that I love and learn to love the things that I fear?” How we make and find meaning through confrontation with ourselves helps us remain at peace with our humanity and the divinity within? Sit, release, open. You are the light!
For more information on healing and mindfulness aids, check out Sakura Designs.
