Depending on your background the word chakra may either sound like gibberish or invoke feelings of discomfort as something from another world, perhaps even make-believe. I myself went through a time where hearing chakras mentioned in my yoga class simply didn’t click with me. I wasn’t adverse to them, I was simply unaware of what they were. I assumed my teacher was talking about my physical heart or my stomach, I thought she just had another name for these familiar body parts.
Throughout my training in Craniosacral Therapy and Reiki, my awareness of the subtle energy grew, and my senses are now at a level where I can indeed feel these energy centers. Actually, I had been feeling them before, but I didn’t really know or understand what they were so I ignored them. If you want to begin to work with your energetic body, don’t worry, you don’t have to get to a level where you can sense them with your touch to be able to benefit from working with them.
Think for a moment about the blood pumping through your body continuously. The intricate network of veins nourishes your entire system. It allows your body to fight off infections, to bring oxygen to your tissues, to keep you alive. If there is a clogged vein, calcification built up, or a point where too much blood is gathering, then of course you have a problem worthy of a visit to your doctor.
Much like the cardiovascular system, you also have a system of energy running throughout your body. This is the Chakra system or “energetic body.” It works automatically, just like your blood pumping, without any conscious effort from you. The chakras do many things, like keeping you feeling grounded, helping your nervous system remain in a calm state, processing and releasing trauma, it even links to your sexual health.
This system can sometimes get blockages or pooling of excess energy in an area. When this happens it can lead to unpleasant emotional outcomes and has also been shown to link to physical problems with organs or dysfunctions. For issues with your energetic system, or just a general balancing and “tune-up,” you may see a Reiki practitioner, acupuncturist, craniosacral therapist, or even yoga or meditation coach.
There are many ways to heal this energy system, as well as preventative care to keep it in good shape. Once you understand the energetic system of chakras, you can even begin to gain tools to heal and balance yourself.
This energy system is made up of chakras all over (and around) your body, the most common ones are located from the base of the spine to the top of the head. Although they are listed as separate, keep in mind that they are all just as interconnected as your veins, and so if one of them is blocked, energy will not be able to flow easily to the others.
According to Jungian psychology, these chakras begin to develop in accordance with the hierarchy of needs, beginning with the Root as your security and foundation and ending with the crown and connection to the Divine/Universe.
There is much to know about this energy system, and much that is still mysterious and left to be discovered. I would encourage you to begin exploring the chakras, get curious and see what shows up for you. This is something I love guiding my clients through and I have witnessed the most incredible ah-ha moments, and deep healing when working with the chakra system.
I work with clients in Los Angeles, and globally through distance energy work. Contact me if you would like to experience a chakra balancing session, or to learn reiki so you can balance your chakras yourself.
