If you are familiar with meditation, then I am guessing you must have heard about Chakras ? Perhaps you have come across Chakra Meditation ?
I believe before you start practicing Chakra Meditation, it is vital for you to understand what are these Chakras and their meanings ?
So let’s dive in.
What do you mean by the word “Chakra” ?
The word “Chakra” is a Sanskrit word, which literally means wheel or disk. As per ancient Vedic texts, the chakras are considered to be wheel like energy centers which are present in our body.
It is said, the life force or prana (invisible energy) that moves inside you is spinning around the energy centers. There are 7 main chakras stretching from the base of the spine to the top of your head. To visualize a chakra in the body, imagine a swirling wheel like round structure as shown in the image below.
Before I get into details of these 7 Chakras, it is important to understand that by learning about the 7 Chakras you can become more in tune with the energy centers of your body. This will eventually help you to live a healthy and harmonious life.
At times these chakras might even become overactive or inactive and this will have an impact on your mental and physical health. Hence, it is important to maintain a balance in all the chakras, so that the energy flows smoothly and there are no energy blockages.
To learn how to set up a daily meditation practice effortlessly, I highly recommend you check out >>> Master Your Mind Beginner’s Meditation Course
What are the 7 Chakras ?
The 1st Chakra: Root Chakra (Muladhara)
The official name of this chakra, muladhara comes from the words Mula, which means root and Dhara means support. So, this chakra’s role is to connect all of your energy with the Earth (i.e. the root) and provide the necessary support to survive.
This chakra governs the way we connect to the outside world and oversees everything you need to survive i.e. food, shelter, and in modern age even financial and emotional security.
This chakra is located at the very base of the spine, near your tailbone and its color is red as shown in the above image. When your root chakra is balanced, then your connection with fellow human beings is good and you experience peace when it comes to thing’s like money, safety, food and shelter.
What happens if your 1st chakra is overactive ?
An overactive root chakra may result into anxiety and fear. You might be constantly experiencing stress when it comes to your survival. Hypertension, aggression can be noticed in the behavior and physical problems like prostate issues in men, ovarian cysts in women are experienced.
What happens if your 1st chakra is under active ?
If your survival needs are met, then you may find this chakra becoming inactive. However, you may find yourself disconnected from your life. You may feel lonely or restless.
How to strengthen and find the balance in your 1st chakra ?
To strengthen this chakra, it is important you take care of your survival needs. Take time each day to meditate so that you can bring your mind to peace and take action. The only way to rule out uncertainty or fears from your life is to face them.
To find more balance you need to reconnect with earth and nature. Indulge in gardening or spend some time with nature. Volunteering, doing small acts of kindness daily, will help in fostering the lost connection with fellow beings.
The 2nd Chakra: Sacral Chakra (Svadhishana)
This chakra is all about your ambitions, desires as a human being and what you can do with it. This chakra gives you energy to work towards your goals, it motivates you to enjoy good thing’s in life, indulge in pleasurable activities like sex. This chakra is located below the navel and is linked to our creativity and sexuality. It is associated with orange color.
What happens if your 2nd chakra is overactive ?
An overactive sacral chakra may develop addiction to drugs, alcohol, excessive eating and can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. It significantly impacts your reproductive organs and lower back. You may even experience mood swings and can even become very obsessive in nature.
What happens if your 2nd chakra is under active ?
In case of an under active chakra, you might often feel guilty when it comes to enjoying life or being materialistic. You will not find time to play and it will be just work all the time. There will be no enthusiasm or zeal in your life. Other symptoms include decreased sex drive and lack of creativity.
How to strengthen and find the balance in your 2nd chakra ?
To find balance in your second chakra you need to simply enjoy life more. Pleasure is good thing and there should not be any guilt in enjoying good thing’s life has to offer. Take time for yourself and make love to your partner. Find your passion and slowly mold your career around it.
The 3rd Chakra: Solar Plexus (Manipura)
The third chakra is the center of your self-confidence, your willpower and self-discipline. It gives you the power to choose and make conscious choices in life. It reflects the ability to move forward in life and overcome the challenges in life. It is located in the center of the belly button and extends up to the breastbone. It is associated with yellow color.
What happens if your 3rd chakra is overactive ?
An overactive chakra can cause a lot of emotional distress. You can become stubborn and the desire for control and perfectionism can at times lead to frustration and anger. You may even suffer from digestive issues and internal organs like kidneys and pancreas may get affected.
What happens if your 3rd chakra is under active ?
You tend to feel insecure and lose confidence. You tend to procrastinate matters and find it hard to make decisions and stick by them. You just don’t know how amazing you are and allow fear to stop you from moving forward. Here again you may suffer from stomach ailments and might suffer from diabetes.
How to strengthen and find the balance in your 3rd chakra ?
Practice meditation with affirmations to balance your 3rd chakra. Often remind yourself that “I can figure thing’s out, I am capable”. Empower that feeling of assertiveness by repeating these positive statements.
Set a goal you have been putting off for some time, break it into smaller steps and go for it. The idea is to keep moving forward and take action towards something that is meaningful to you. When you succeed, reward yourself.
The 4th Chakra: Heart (Anahata)
This chakra is not hard to understand. This chakra is where your love, kindness, empathy, compassion are empowered. It is associated with person’s emotions and feelings. Our ability to appreciate others, love others and above all to love ourselves are the traits of this chakra. It is located at the middle of your cardiovascular system and is connected to organs such as heart and lungs. It is associated with green color.
What happens if your 4th chakra is overactive ?
An overactive chakra can lead to the point of losing your sense of identity and misusing the power of love. You will go blind in love, saying ‘yes’ to everything and everyone even if it is not beneficial for you. Loving indiscriminately and putting the needs of others before your own. High blood pressure and circulatory problems can be experienced.
What happens if your 4th chakra is under active ?
Heartbreak – I am sure very you are familiar with this one. Mostly, when people go through a bad relationship (break-up) they tend to have an under active heart chakra. You feel like there is no ‘real love’ in this world and you build a wall around your heart so that no one can let in. In simple words you lose trust in love.
How to strengthen and find the balance in your 4th chakra ?
The fundamental thing to strengthen your 4th chakra, is to first begin to love yourself. To find balance, you need to focus on being more grateful. The simple act of journaling all the thing’s you are grateful for in your life will boost this chakra. Give yourself the love that you want others to give to you.
To learn how to set up a daily meditation practice effortlessly, I highly recommend you check out >>> Master Your Mind Beginner’s Meditation Course
The 5th Chakra: Throat (Vishuddha)
Throat chakra is driven by the principle of expression and communication. This chakra is located in the region of neck and shoulders and its color is blue. The energy of this chakra allows to express your authentic views and speaking truth i.e. who you are and what you stand for.
What happens if your 5th chakra is overactive ?
An overactive throat chakra often lead to arrogance and rude behavior. You might excessively criticize yourself for things not under your control. Self-loathing becomes a habit.
What happens if your 5th chakra is under active ?
If you have an under active throat chakra then you may find yourself unable to express your voice. You may be shy and struggle for words when you try to speak your truth i.e. (you tell a lot of white lies). You would never keep up your word, which might cost you your job or even put an end to beautiful relationship.
How to strengthen and find the balance in your 5th chakra ?
Speak your truth, allow yourself to be the way you are, do not restrict yourself in expressing your emotions through words. You can even gargle with salt water. You can even try chanting a mantra ‘OM’ or even singing your favorite song.
The 6th Chakra: The Third Eye (Ajna)
The third eye chakra governs intuition and insight. It is located in the middle of the forehead between your eyebrows. It is associated with indigo color. The third eye chakra is driven by the principle of imagination.
What happens if your 6th chakra is overactive ?
It is quite seldom that you will have your third eye chakra overactive. That said, if you notice losing grip with reality i.e. you have hallucinations and visions of dimensions you have no familiarity with, then probably you are experiencing overactive third eye chakra. You might even have a paranormal experience. Headaches and insomnia are associated with an overactive third eye.
What happens if your 6th chakra is under active ?
If you simply cannot plan or set goals then mostly your third eye is under active. You might feel stuck in mundane job and are not able to look beyond your problems. Lack of clarity and poor vision for your future are signs of an under active third eye chakra.
How to strengthen and find the balance in your 6th chakra ?
Unfortunately, for most of us, developing our third eye chakra abilities may seem out of reach. Some ways to awaken the third eye is through meditation. Just sit calmly and watch your breath and silence your mind. If your mind is busy you will miss the message that comes through your third eye.
The 7th Chakra: Crown (Sahasrara)
The crown chakra is situated at the top of the head and associated with violet or white color. It is also know as the ‘thousand petal lotus’ chakra. The energy of this chakra allows us to experience a deeper meaning to our life. You will truly realize that everything is interconnected at a fundamental level and we all are a part of the same source.
What happens if your 7th chakra is overactive ?
An overactive crown chakra may create feelings of superiority towards others. You can feel lost at times and can experience mental fogginess.
What happens if your 7th chakra is under active ?
If you often a get a feeling that life has become chaotic and feel depressed then you are experiencing a weak crown chakra. Crown chakra helps us find purpose and direction in life, if it is under active then you will find yourself drifting in life with no interest and become a pessimist.
How to strengthen and find the balance in your 7th chakra ?
Your crown chakra can strengthen by following a daily meditation practice. Learn to let go of your ego and connect with the source. Choosing love over hate, criticism and being judgmental, will help balance this chakra. Finding a purpose in life which will make an impact or helping fellow beings will enable you to strengthen your crown chakra.
Final Thoughts:
As you can understand it is a good idea to balance and strengthen the chakras every day. One of the best ways you can achieve this balance is by following a daily meditation practice. You cannot see chakras with your naked eyes however they have an effect on our mental, spiritual and physical life.
One of the actions you can take today is make meditation a daily habit. Post your comments and let me know if this article has helped you ?
To learn how to set up a daily meditation practice effortlessly, I highly recommend you check out >>> Master Your Mind Beginner’s Meditation Course
Hi Satish,
This was a very interesting read. I have always promised myself i would start meditating. But I never make it a habit. I didn’t know about the 7 Chakras, but what I learned from your post is that we need to reach balance in all of them to have a healthy and fulfilling time on earth. The notion of different Chakras help us have an holistic view of our bodies and soul, so we take effective measure to improve different aspects of our lives. That is all invaluable information!
Thanks for sharing
Hi Stefan,
You are absolutely right I strongly believe that if you have the knowledge of these Chakras and have a regular meditation practice then it can do wonders to our overall quality of life. Not many are aware of about these wheel like energy centers that are present in our body. You cannot see the Chakras with your naked eyes however they have an effect on our mental, spiritual and physical life. Daily meditation practice automatically helps in strengthening and finding a balance among all the Chakras. I wish you success with your meditation practice ~ Stay Blessed 🙂
Hi Satish,
This article is so interesting and informative. I appreciate that it was written with details in mind and easy to understand. From the detailed information and after spending some time relating to what is going on in my life, I think I roughly know which chakras in me are over or under active! Great article!
Hi Lynn,
I am glad to know that this article has helped you in identifying the Chakras which are under active. To be honest with you each one of us have some Chakras which are active and some which are under active. So the onus is on us to identify and take appropriate measure to strengthen the Chakra/s. In my opinion the simplest way to do this is to start a meditation practice and I wish you success with that ~ Stay Blessed 🙂
Hi Satish,
I enjoyed reading your article on What are the 7 Chakras? A Complete Guide For Beginners. There’s a lot of helpful and interesting information.
I agree with you that it’s good to balance and strengthen the chakras and that meditating can bring your mind to peace. I don’t find the time to meditate, but after reading your article, it’s a good idea to practice on a regular basis. I love yoga and practice yoga regular. Can you do meditate and yoga together? or when should you do the meditation before or after your yoga practice?
You have a great website and I have learned a lot about meditating. There are so many good benefits of meditating. I am going to try this on my daily schedule. Thank you for Sharing!
Best Wishes,
Margaret
Hi Margaret,
Meditation and yoga are interrelated. They work together to unite our small self with our higher soul self. One cannot be present without the other. We need to be aware of the body in order to forget about it, in order to go inward in meditation.
Yoga postures are a great way to prepare the body for meditation. Yoga is not only rejuvenating for the body but also the brain. Yoga postures were actually designed to systematically prepare the body to meditate.
So to answer to your specific question of when to do meditation before or after yoga – I would suggest meditate once your yoga practice is done. As you mentioned that you don’t get enough time, my suggestion is take out only 2 – 3 minutes for the meditation practice. It is important that you first form the habit and then you can gradually your increase your meditation time. Ideally, you should meditate for 15 minutes atleast once during the day.
Yoga helps us to bring the body to a point of stillness by clearing away the restless energy we carry around, and prepares us to become fully immersed in deep concentration for our meditation practice. I wish you success with your daily practice ~ Stay Blessed 🙂
Hi Satish!
I apologise for what some might perceive to be a bit of a silly question, but is there any difference between chakra and chi? Or is it one and the same thing?
Hi Schalk,
No it is not a silly question at all.
Chi is another name for ‘life force’ or ‘invisible energy’ that is often used in China.
A Chakra is an energy center or “vortex” in the body (or more correctly the aura located at different places around the body). So in simple words, a Chakra is like a power station and the Chi is the electricity that runs through the various power stations. I hope you got my point?
If you want to know more about this there’s a very good book on the subject – “Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body.” Check this out ~ Stay Blessed 🙂
Hello Satish,
Thank you for this very informative article. I’ve been practicing Meditation for a little while now, but honestly can say that I have very little knowledge of Chakra. I appreciate the elaborate breakdown of what it’s all about.
Currently I’m practicing the art of “Mindfulness Meditation”, are you familiar with this? My mind is slowly becoming less chaotic as a result, which is very good for alleviating anxiety. Let me know if you have thoughts towards this style of Meditation, as I always appreciate new information.
Thanks again,
Tyson
Hi Tyson,
Thank you for stopping by and reading the post, I am glad you found this informative.
Mindfulness and Meditation are two sides of the same coin. Both are life skills which rely on our ability to focus on the present moment. Meditation focuses inwards, whereas Mindfulness focuses outwards.
Meditation is usually performed by sitting at one place for 5 or 10 minutes in the morning or evening or both. It is practice that trains your mind to witness all thoughts going in your mind and not get engaged with them.
Whereas, Mindfulness is a practice that trains your mind to stay focused in the present moment at any give point of time. It stops the mind by going on autopilot and deliberately brings the focus on the NOW. It can be performed any time, while having food, taking a shower, brushing teeth or walking.
It is all about engaging your 5 senses i.e. See – Hear – Smell – Feel – Taste at any given moment.
Hope this helps. I wish you success ~ Stay Blessed 🙂
Hi Satish,
I learned a lot about myself by this post. I have been wanting to learn about Chakras and this post really breaks it down nicely. More meditation and yoga is coming my way. Thank you so much for sharing!
Hi Geri,
I am glad you found this post useful. Thank you for stopping by and your comment. I wish you success with your meditation practice ~ Stay Blessed 🙂
Hi Satish,
Your article is well written and contains a lot of good information. It is a great read even for people who are not into meditation.
I like the way you explained each Chakra, what happens if they are either over/under-active and how to strengthen and find the balance in that Chakra.
Notwithstanding that this is the first time I came across this topic, the general conclusion applies to everything we have here on earth, i.e. it is important to maintain a balance in all everything so that the energy flows smoothly and devoid of energy blockages.
Hi JRandZen,
Thank you for reading the article and you are absolutely right “balance” is the key in everything. One of the best ways you can achieve this balance is by following a daily meditation practice. I wish you the very with your meditation practice ~ Stay Blessed 🙂
Hi Satish,
Thank you for this excellent, clear cut explanation of the Chakras. By far the best info I have found on the 7 Chakras. It has definitely peaked my interest and I look forward to read more insightful articles on this topic.
Hi Christian,
I am happy you found this post helpful. Wishing you the best with your meditation practice. You can check this link if you wish to know “How to Practice Chakra Meditation” https://missionmeditation.com/the-chakra-meditation-for-beginners-10-simple-steps/
~ Stay Blessed 🙂
Hi Satish,
This is definitely a complete guide, just what I needed. Just wanted to say thanks for sharing.
Hi Habib,
I am glad you found this post useful, thanks for your comment. Wishing you success with you meditation practice ~ Stay Blessed 🙂