Finding Balance

A few years ago, I went to Kerala in Southern India with a friend as part of an Ayurvedic retreat. First time in my life I’d ever done anything that even smelled remotely of self-care. While there, we stayed for a couple days in Varkala, a gorgeous sea-side community with amazing views, vibrant culture, and lots of wonderful shops and eateries. One afternoon, we decided to peruse through some of the crystal and bowl shops that were in the area. We passed by a shop where the shopkeeper offered to align our chakras with the crystals he sold. Intrigued, we went in.

Now, I will confess that at this point in my life, I had very little knowledge of chakras. I did take yoga classes so I knew they were an integral part of ayurveda. I just didn’t know much else beyond that. My three other friends, however, immediately sat down to get aligned as if it were a normal thing, like getting a haircut (Which now that I know better, it should absolutely be as normal as getting a haircut).

I watched as the gentleman brought out various crystal rods and bowls and started praying over one of my friends. He would move the crystal rod over different parts of the spine and chant. Sometimes, he would pause in a certain chakra point and suck in air, then turn to the side and expel his breath, almost as if he were sucking out poison and spitting it out. He repeated this ritual with each of my friends. When he finished, he looked at me expectantly and I shook my head. I didn’t know anything about chakras and I felt that even if I got an alignment, I wouldn’t even know the difference. My friends, however, kept encouraging me to do it, but I resisted. Eventually my friend pointed out that it didn’t matter if I believed it, the results would be the same; sort of like the idea that you don’t have to believe in gravity for gravity to work on you.

So I sat down, closed my eyes, and willed myself to keep an open mind. After he completed the ritual, I opened my eyes. Honestly, I didn’t feel any more “aligned”.

The man looked at me and said, “Your heart chakra is blocked.” Then he handed me a large, roughly cut, rectangular piece of unpolished jade. “For you, to help you unblock. No charge.”

I was confused. I wasn’t even sure what he meant. Then my friend explained to me that the heart chakra was the center point for love – love for ourself, love for others, compassion, empathy, forgiveness. If it became blocked or out of alignment, it could mean difficulty in developing and keeping healthy relationships. I nearly burst into tears. At this point in my life, I was struggling with severe impostor syndrome at work and my husband and I were in marriage counseling. Outwardly I was still laughing and smiling, but inwardly I felt miserable. Having a blocked heart was not what I expected to hear, but it was exactly what I needed to hear.

Needless to say, I left there intrigued and eager to learn more about this ancient system of energies.

Chakra is a Sanskrit word meaning “disk” or “wheel”. Traditionally, there are seven main chakras, or energy centers, that run along the spine from the perineum to the crown. Each chakra is associated with a particular body location, a color, a central emotional/behavioral issue, as well as many other personal aspects including spiritual growth, identity, and goals.

Working from the bottom up, the seven chakras are:

• Root chakra – Muladhara. This chakra sits at the base of the spine and helps us to feel grounded. It is associated with the color red and the element of earth.

• Sacral chakra – Swadhistana. Located in the lower abdomen, roughly 2 inches below the navel. It governs creativity and sexual energy. It is associated with the color orange and the element of water.

• Solar plexus chakra – Manipura. This chakra is located in the upper abdomen in the stomach region and governs your feelings of self-worth, self-confidence, and control. It is associated with the color yellow and the element of fire.

• Heart chakra – Anahata. This chakra sits in the center of your chest just above the heart and influences our ability to give and receive love – for ourself and others. It is associated with the color green and the element of air.

• Throat chakra – Vishuddha. Located in the throat, this chakra is the center for communication, self-expression, and voicing our truth. It is associated with the color turquoise or light blue and the element of sound or music.

• Third-eye chakra – Ajna. This chakra rests between the eyes and relates to our ability to connect to our intuition and imagination. It is associated with the color blue and the element of light

• Crown chakra – Sahasrara. This chakra sits at the very top, the crown, of the head and represents our spiritual connection. It is associated with the color purple and the element of divine consciousness.

Being blocked, or unaligned, in one or more of these chakras can have a negative impact on both your physical and psychological health. For instance, someone with a blocked sacral chakra may have a lot of indigestion and feeling like they have no control over their lives. Someone with a blocked throat chakra may have frequent throat infections, as well as have difficulty finding words to express their feelings. By working to keep your chakras aligned and balanced, many practitioners believe that you can increase your lifespan as well as improve your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Although you can always search for a spiritual healer to help you align your chakras, a relatively simple way to start the process of aligning them is through the practice of yoga. In yoga, the life force energy known as prana travels through the body along nodes called nadi that intersect with the chakras. By doing certain yoga poses, we can force the “stuck” energy to move in the direction of alignment with the other chakras.

In my case, my blocked heart chakra meant that I struggled to love myself and accept the love of those around me. This left me feeling a lot of loneliness and grief. By consciously working to unblock my heart through yoga, meditation and therapy, I have been able to feel better about myself and fully appreciate my marriage.

If you’ve been feeling off or stuck in a rut lately and traditional healing methods haven’t helped, you may want to check in on your chakras and get them balanced. The results may surprise you.