personal growth

What the Chakras Teach Us About the Mind and Body Connection

Parita Shah April 2, 2020
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What the Chakras Teach Us About the Mind and Body Connection

The Sanskrit word chakra translates to “wheel,” and refers to the energetic vortexes that align along the spine and head. They hold the energy of your thoughts, feelings, habits, deeds, and more. More than 4,000 years ago, ancient Indians suggested that there are seven major chakras, along with numerous other ones. Chakras are not physical in nature but influence your body and mind deeply. They can determine how you feel and act, as well as how you heal or harbor disease.

In the modern era, it’s even more important to honor your multidimensional needs. The chakra system can help you to see past judgment and separation during this time so that you can see the light in others. As you begin to look at yourself through the lens of the chakra system, you may be able to see yourself holistically, as well as how your projection creates your reality.

Embrace Your Human Nature

Chakras teach you to honor the many needs of being human.

  • The lower chakras (i.e., the root, sacral, and solar plexus chakras) have to do with earthly and physical matters such as survival, material well-being, sexuality, power, and confidence.
  • The heart chakra is at the center of the chakra system and holds energies related to love, kindness, compassion, and empathy.
  • The upper chakras (i.e., the throat, third eye, and crown chakras) relate to integrity, expression, intuition, and awakening.

Each chakra is equally important for health and well-being. The chakra system offers a pathway to deep inner fulfillment by teaching you how to embrace your multifaceted human nature. When you balance your chakras, you are helping to satisfy your soul’s need for love, community, creativity, connection with the Divine, and authenticity.

There Is Oneness in Mind, Body, and Spirit

What you think, feel, and experience in your mind and heart manifests in your physical body. There is not a thought or feeling that isn’t recorded in your being. Your cells, fluids, and organ systems process your perspectives, emotions, and environment—just as much as the mind does. The same can be said for your spirit—what you feel within your body and think within your mind is connected to your spirit.

The chakra system can help you see that you aren’t a puzzle with merely three pieces for your mind, body, and spirit, but rather one divinely created being. It allows you to explore the constant communication and synergy among them.

Duality Creates Balance

The chakra system introduces us to the dual nature of our humanity so that we live in greater balance. While the root chakra asks you to be strong and anchored, the sacral chakra asks you to flow and adapt. The solar plexus asks you to be fierce, powerful, and determined while the heart chakra asks you to surrender and accept. These contrasting qualities challenge you to grow in opposing ways—and in the process, you can find equilibrium.

Your Role in Manifestation

If you don’t process your encounters and life situations, then they can have immense power over your physical and mental well-being. Chakra energy can become blocked or stagnant, resulting in disharmony in your anatomy. For example, the loss of a parent, if you fail to cope, can manifest as lung issues. Or the energy from being bullied as a child can be held in the nervous system and you may project it into future relationships.

On the other hand, if you process your experiences through chakra healing, you will not project your emotional baggage into the future. Your past will not have power over you, and you will be less likely to engage in self-sabotaging behaviors.

Reveals Your Uniqueness

Thousands of perspectives, emotions, memories, and deeds accumulate to create the energy of a chakra. Since your composition isn’t simple and linear, the chakra system teaches you to honor your journey. Every part of your path was necessary to craft you into the person who you are today. As you connect with what is stored in your chakras, you begin to respect who you are today, as a result of what you’ve experienced thus far.

Explains the Power of the Subconscious

A large part of what you manifest in your relationships, health, and finances is from your imprints. Stories that you’ve been told from your family, culture, and society feed your subconscious and influence the chakra vortexes. This information then directs your experience of reality, and how you react to the present moment. Once you understand that direct correlation, you can choose to be more aware of what you consume through media and the people with who you surround yourself.

No Thought Is Left Idle

Working with the chakra system introduces you to the idea that everything you project through thought, feeling, or behavior will boomerang back to you. If you base more of your thoughts on love, you will create a reality that is rooted in love. This inspires you to become mindful of what you create in your mind and heart. You begin to consciously craft your internal state to reflect the external reality that you want to attract.

How Can I Connect with My Chakra Energy?

Self-observance or svadhyaya, can bring you into awareness of the chakras. By reflecting on your thoughts or behaviors, you can determine whether a chakra is strong or weak.

For example, if you have trouble setting boundaries with your boss, struggle with self-esteem, and choose to not be seen in your full potential, you are likely to have a deficient solar plexus chakra. Through reflective writing with chakra journaling prompts, you can unearth the limiting beliefs, suppressed emotions, and difficult memories that are blocking your energetic body. From there, you can nurture the chakras through affirmations, crystals, Reiki, and lifestyle changes. Visualization, meditation, yoga, and pranayama are stellar tools to support your energy field once you’ve identified the energetic blocks.

The Chakra system offers an integrated perspective on the mind and body connection. It teaches you how they come together and influence your peace, health, prosperity, relationships, and much more. The ancient philosophy is foundational in the schools of Ayurveda and Yoga and continues to enlighten energy healers of all backgrounds. Consider connecting with your chakra system through meditation, visualization, or free writing to experience its power.

Dive deeper into the wisdom of the chakras with The Mind-Body Connection, a 5-part-program guided by Dr. Sheila Patel, available now in the Chopra App.

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