Yoga is an ancient Indian practice that has gained popularity worldwide in recent years. Known for its various benefits, yoga is good for establishing a mind and body connection. Yoga is one such activity that can help you to develop physically, mentaly and spiritually as well. Yoga is more than just meditation and coms with various health and beauty benefits as well. The perks of yoga are endless and one can not emphasise them enough. When we talk about yoga, we can not leave behind the yogic chakras as they are an integral part of it. Here let us learn about the 7 yogic chakras and ways to open them
Yogic Chakras
Before defining each chakra and its importance, let us take a glance at what actually the term yogic chakra means. “Chakra” is a sanskrit word that directly translates into “disk”. This chakra or disk is a representation of the fact that these spinning disks are the ones that circulate the energy throughout the body. Chakras are said to be the essential points within the human body through which the energy flows.
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Mainly there are 7 chakras in the human body and each one of them correlates to a part of the human body. Through these chakras the energetic channels of the body align with the physical channels which creates an equivalency between the two. These 7 chakras start right from the base of your spine and continue all the way up the crown. Here we have listed the 7 chakras, the body parts they affect along with their locations, signs of blockage and ways to open them.
#1. Muladhara Chakra or The Root Chakra
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Located at the base of the spine, muladhara chakra has earth as its main element and is represented by red color. Also known as the root chakra, this yogic chakra is a representation of groundedness, safety and foundation as the word muladhara itself translates to “foundation”. Some signs that indicate the blockage in the muladhara chakra are overthinking, panic, depression, lack of trust, lack of confidence, anger, emotional disconnect and anxiety. The ways in which one can open up his/her muladhara chakra are-
- Meditating on the root chakra
- Practicing yoga poses like squats, standing forward pose and child’s pose.
- Walking barefoot
- Eating naturally red colored food items
- Practicing grounding meditation
- Wearing red colored clothes
#2. Svadhinta Chakra or The Sacral Chakra
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A chakra that represents creativity, sexuality, fluidity, passion, trust, intimacy and procreation, Svadhinta or Sacral chakra has water as its prime element. Represented with the color orange, this chakra is blocked by the elements of guilt, trauma, insecurity, creative disconnect, conflict or judgement. The blockage of this chakra can be understood by lack of emotions or sexual desire, guilt, bladder issues, kidney problems, lack of motivation, guilt and addiction. The blockage of this chagra can be cleared by following these steps-
- Practicing yoga poses that focus upon opening the hips
- Having healthy sexual relationship
- Meditating
- Eating naturally orange colored food
#3. Manipura Chakra or The Solar Plexus Chakra
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A yogic chakra that is directly associated with your digestive system, manipura or the solar plexus chakra is a representation of power, vitality and independence. This chakra is represented by the color yellow and has fire as its base element. The blockage in this chakra could be caused by eating bad food or because of being a victim of abuse. This blockage results in slowing down the metabolic process. The signs of blockage of the manipura chakra can be stomach pain, digestive issues, anxiety, liver diseases, aggressiveness, etc. One can open up the blockage in their manipura chakra by-
- Wearing yellow clothes
- Practicing hip opening yoga poses
- Meditating on the solar plexus chakra
- Practicing sun salutation/ surya namaskara , cobra pose, boat pose or bow pose
- Performing breath exercises such as kapalbhati and bhastrika pranayam
#4. Anhata Chakra or The Heart Chakra
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As the name of this yogic chakra suggests, anhata chakra is associated with the heart and has air as its base element. This chakra represents love, affection and compassion. This chakra can be blocked by lack of love, stress or some kind of trauma. The signs of blockage in anhata chakra are anxiety, lack of commitment, loneliness, holding grudges, etc.
- One can open the blockage in this chakra by following some simple steps-
- Spend some time out in nature
- Follow yoga poses such as cat pose, camel pose or cow pose
- Meditate on the heart chakra
- Eat green food
#5. Vishuddha Chakra or Throat Chakra
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A yogic chakra represented by the color blue, throat chakra controls the energy flow in your throat and has its base element as space. This chakra represents hearing, speaking and voice and can be blocked by staying quiet, dealing with trauma or due to not getting a representation. The blockage in this chakra can be understood by hearing problems, neck pain, sore throat, problems with larynx and thyroid and temporomandibular syndrome. This blockage can be treated by
- Practicing yoga postures like plow pose, fish pose and shoulder stand
- Meditating on throat chakra
- Wearing blue
- Practising simha pranayam
#6. Anja Chakra or The Third Eye Chakra
Located between the eyes and represented by the color indigo, the third eye chakra has light as its base element. This chakra represents wisdom, intuition, understanding and seeing. Usually blocked by the illusion and lack of spiritual practices the blockage in anja chakra can be understood by observing anxiety, lack of intuition, eye problems, headache, sinus, daydreaming, etc. To open the blockage in this chakra one can-
- Do yoga exercises such as fish pose, cat pose camel pose and cow pose
- Practise nadi shodha pranayam
- Do meditation in the presence of a burning candle
- Meditate
- Spend some time in nature
#7. Sahasrara Chakra or The Crown Chakra
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Located in the crown this yogic chakra is represented by the color white or violet and is thought to be its base element. Being at the crown, this chakra represents spirituality, balance, mindfulness and connection. It usually gets blocked by ego, negative relationships and a fear of change. For confirming blockage in this chakra one can look for the signs such as headache, losing memory, lack of coordination, losing balance and fear of death. This blockage can be resolved by-
- Practicing headstand or corpse pose
- Meditating
- Spending time in nature
- Meditating on crown chakra
