Chakra Meditation: What It Is, Benefits, & Chakra Types
Meditation is the spiritual practice of stillness and awareness. It is not so much about quieting the mind as observing, and detaching from it.
The stronger our ability to watch the mind without reacting, the more we allow our subconscious, intuition, psychic senses, and connection to spirit to awaken.
There are many forms of meditation. There is silent meditation, where one brings their attention to the breath, or parts of the body and gently observe the thoughts. In guided meditations, we embark on a journey beyond the physical world, where visuals help to focus on and tune into spirit and energy. Walking meditations train us to bring awareness to your surroundings, the sights, the smells, the sounds. Chanting meditation requires a mantra, or a ritualistic phrase, that is repeated rhythmically to attain a state of trance. Movement meditation incorporates music and dance to bring awareness to the energies of the body and the frequencies of sound. Writing, drawing, creating, and even mundane tasks such as folding laundry and cooking can also be forms of meditation. Different methods work for different people, the main objective is to soften the thinking, analytical left brain and achieve inner peace and mindfulness.
What Are Chakras?
Chakras are energetic centers that line the body, from above the head to below the feet. Chakra comes from the Sanskrit word for "wheel"—the points are seen as wheels because they spin clockwise, and when tuned in, one can actually feel the spinning energy vortexes in their body. There are believed to be as many as 114 chakras in the entire body, but there are seven that govern the different aspects of our physical, spiritual, emotional, and psychological well-being. Each chakra vibrates at a specific frequency, thus holding different colors and actually mirrors the color sequence of a rainbow. Think of chakras as extensions of the physical body: Just as feet are responsible for walking and running, lungs for breathing, and eyes for seeing, chakras have their own responsibility within our system.
The Meaning of the 7 Main Chakras
Root Chakra/Red/Earth Element
This chakra is located at the base of the spine. It governs our connection to the physical world—our sense of groundedness. When balanced, we feel safe and secure. All of our needs are met, and we trust in our ability to provide for ourselves and those we are responsible for. When out of balance, we feel fearful and unstable, and we lack trust in universal abundance.
Sacral Chakra/Orange/Water Element
This chakra is located at our reproductive organs. It governs our emotions, creativity, and sexuality. When balanced, we feel expressive. We are in touch with our emotions and listen to their messages, and we enjoy physical pleasure (sex, food, etc.) in healthy and uplifting ways. When out of balance, we feel creatively blocked, we feel overwhelmed by our emotions or we bury and ignore them, and we carry destructive judgements about physical pleasure or are overly indulgent, and sometimes addiction-prone.
Solar Plexus Chakra/Yellow/Fire Element
This chakra is located above the navel and below the chest. It governs our personal power, self-confidence, and ambition. When balanced, we feel motivated to succeed. We feel energized and alive and empowered to put ourselves out there and show the world our light. When out of balance, we may feel apathetic, directionless, and lethargic—or suffer from low self-esteem.
Heart Chakra/Green/Air Element
This chakra is located at the center of the chest. It governs our ability to love—to give it and receive. As the middle chakra, it is the bridge with the lower physical chakras and the higher spiritual chakras. When balanced, we feel compassionate and empathetic toward ourselves and others. We see ourselves as lovable and are able to offer love in return. When out of balance, we feel unworthy of love, or give too much without receiving, and we may hold on to anger, jealousy, and hatred.
Throat Chakra/ Blue/Ether (Space) Element
This chakra is located at the center of our throat. It governs our ability to communicate, to speak truthfully, and to listen intently. When balanced, we act from a place of integrity and speak with clarity and honesty. We listen to what others have to say and download information calmly and thoughtfully. When out of balance, we may shy away from speaking our truth, or speak loudly but ineffectively. We may hear what others say but not listen to what they actually mean.
Third Eye Chakra/Indigo/Light (Shadow) Element
This chakra is located between your brows. It governs intuition, dreams, and psychic vision. When balanced, we see things as they are in their truth. We have strong visualization abilities and can see something manifest in our mind before they come to reality. We are tapped into our inner voice and psychic senses. When out of balance, we may have difficulty trusting our intuition, and we may have trouble seeing the bigger picture, instead focusing in little problems, thus causing stress and anxiety.
Crown Chakra/Violet/Spirit Element
This chakra is located at the crown of the head. It governs our connection to the spirit world, our sense of spirituality, and our awareness of self and others. When balanced, we feel supported by spirit. We feel like part of the divine plan, we feel expansive and attuned to our higher self, our guides, and the universal life force. When out of balance, we feel depressed and detached, we feel alone and abandoned, and we lack a spiritual practice.
The Relationship Between Meditation, Chakras, and Psychic Energy
Meditation is a method of further developing psychic senses, chakras are energetic channels that govern these specific psychic senses, and psychic energy, or spiritual energy, is the life force that connects us to the unknown and the unseen.
Through meditation, we can access and feel the world of energy: the energy running through the body, the energy pumping in and out of our lungs, the stillness and space between the physical world. When we are in this state of heightened awareness, we have the ability to open, close, and awaken our chakras with spiritual energy. Spiritual energy, in turn, comes from source, or god, and is channeled through our chakras. Through meditation, we bring the energy down from the cosmos, through our crown chakra and down to our root chakra, past our feet, and into the Earth. The idea is to connect to the world of spirit, while keeping our energy grounded, thus running spirit and Earth energy through the body simultaneously.
The crown chakra allows for claircognizance. The third eye chakra allows clairvoyance. The throat chakra allows clairaudience, clairgustance, and clairscent. The heart chakra connects the higher and the lower chakras and allows empathy. The solar plexus chakra allows clairsentience—the "gut feeling" we sometimes experience. The sacral chakra allows clairtangency and the physical sensations of energy. The root chakra grounds the spiritual energy into the Earth and keeps us in the physical body.
Before opening our chakras, it is important to ask our spirit guides, loved ones in spirit, or who and whatever we believe in to protect us in this process.
