The Chakras

(Originally Written on Friday, March 29, 2013)

I find it hard to grasp the concept of energy centres in the body, (also called chakras). It just doesn't come naturally to me to believe that any such thing actually exists, though I know the idea is central to many belief systems and interpretations of the way the human body works. 

That being said, I have done A LOT of work with chakras, or at least been involved with stuff that incorporated them into the teachings or practices.

For example, I did a one month intensive yoga retreat during which we brought our attention to, and talked about, chakras all the time. I have also practiced different styles of yoga that involved focusing on the chakras - probably hundreds of times.

I dd another separate eight week (once per week) workshop style class on kundalini yoga - again, practically the entire focus was on the chakras.

I also took a three day tantric seminar - non-stop chakra-talk.

Come to think of it, I even studied about the chakras in university during my courses in mahayana Buddhism. And in my own time, I have read dozens of books that explored or at least referred to the chakras and energy (or chi/prana, depending on the religious system or philosophy).

Finally, I once had a series of energy healing treatments with the goal of unblocking my chakras and allowing energy to run more smoothly through my body. It was an enjoyable and relaxing experience, and as a matter of fact I do believe that I gained a lot of benefit from these treatments.

Oh yes, one more thing: I took an online course in intuitive development that included two different guided meditation that involve clearing one's own chakras, which I still listen to from time to time. I have been taught that intuition in the spiritual sense is strongly linked to an awareness of the chakra.

So, anyway, clearlyI would like to believe in chakras. Intelligent people I trust think of them as very real things - tangible as well. And I have felt the effects of energy healing. I do believe that people can store hurt and negativity in different places in the body, and that this can have negative consequences for their health as well as the way outside factors relate to their existence. I also believe in good and bad energy, because I am quite sensitive to it. It sounds weird, but if I don't feel well, like if I have a stomach ache or I'm tired, and I play with a puppy or cuddle a baby, or even just cuddle or get touched by a person with what I feel is good energy, I absolutely feel the benefit of that. (Actually I have felt guilty about this before, as though maybe I am taking something away from them. But I think it's OK). Nonetheless, I still struggle with feeling the positive effects of clearing out my own chakras. And I don't seem to feel that a yoga class is any different when I focus on this chakra or that one, or if I spend the whole class thinking about how I just want to be skinny and hope that I'm burning enough calories I still feel just as good or neutral. Really. Doesn't that sound superficial, but I get really annoyed with the fake talk I hear amongst people that practice yoga. I really just need to be real about this.

Anyway, I do enjoy what the chakras represent, and I am obviously attracted to philosophies and religious practices that talk about energy centres. So I decided to make the seven days of this week correspond to each of the chakras, beginning with the root, which was Monday, as part of my quest to become mindful.

I made 7 little cards, one of which to slip into my journal each day. Each has three related affirmations to help me to keep my focus. See:

By the way, I didn't make these affirmations up myself, I just found them on the Internet. I like them well enough. I also changed the screen on my iphone each day with a symbol for each of the chakras (again I found the images on the internet and just saved them on to my phone).

Here are the results so far:

On Monday, I wore a great red sweater (red is my favorite color, by the way), and focused on my root chakra, and said the affirmations quite a lot. I also tried to stay very awake and aware and non-reactive. I had a good day. However, a big issue I am having right now is with snacking, especially out of boredom and loneliness, as well as stress. I did buy a chocolate croissant on Monday. But I feel that I took an important first step in recognizing why I have been doing the snacking, and I asked myself if the urge was irresistible - my answer was yes, absolutely. Haha. So I just had the snack and was done with it.

Tuesday (sacral) was a hectic day for me. I forgot to say the affirmations. I feel this may be significant as I do struggle with second chakra issues, and I feel that making romantic connections is borderline impossible for me right now. Also, this does sound like a funny thing to admit but I am working on developing the sensual, sexy side of myself by doing things like eating and moving slower, being aware of the way I move and the expression on my face, not being so spazzy, stuff like that. And it's really tough! I also forgot to wear orange. Haha. I had a great yoga class, though - that was a highlight. Unfortunately, I felt the need for a treat again - I had a tall green tea frappuccino from Starbucks.

Wednesday was solar plexus day - the solar plexus is a huge focus of mine right now because of the emphasis placed on it in the Master Key system, (a 24 week self-study course that I am on, which I am sure I'll make reference to in the future). I don't have anything yellow, I discovered, except panties, so I wore those :) Again, I had a hectic day and kept forgetting to say my affirmations, but I did manage to keep the focus.

Yesterday, Thursday, was heart chakra day. This was significant because I found myself feeling a lot of anger and irritation with my students, my parents, even people that I didn't encounter yesterday. At first I found that disheartening (pun intended) because yesterday was the day I was "supposed" to be feeling love and forgiveness, and actually I felt less of that than usual, but eventually I just decided to go with it. That is what came up: what can you do? So I allowed myself to feel those emotions and explored them gently. I also had a bit to drink last night. Maybe I was dealing with some stuff on the sub-conscious level. I did remember to wear green.

Today is throat chakra day, and yes I am dressed in blue. I also started this blog today, and began the day with some journaling, and worked a tiny bit on my novel, which has become a real rarity. Today I am focusing on expressing to the people in my life how I truly feel in a calm, gentle, and honest way, instead keeping quiet about it and letting anger build up inside of me. This is a strong tendency that I have, one that is closely linked to my need to be liked, accepted - as well as my fear of "getting into trouble." However, it often results in nasty or unpleasant encounters where I find myself speaking bitterly, sarcastically, hurting a person's feelings, or even picking a fight. I really believe that my life and my relationships will improve dramatically once I get better at not bottling things up inside and having the courage to be honest with the people in my life about the way that I feel. I never realized how much courage it could take to be honest. But it does.

Also, I am going to work on my art in a little while, which is another aspect of being creative and expressing myself. I have been doing a lot of art lately, which feels really great.

So...the chakras. At the very least, they're a great focus. I'll report on third eye and crown chakra days (tomorrow and Sunday - which, interestingly, is Easter) in a few days.