Chakras: Self Awareness, Health and Wellbeing

My intention: To include my awareness of the chakra system in my approach to a holistic healthy lifestyle that includes nutrition, meditation, sound health advice, physical activity and spirituality.

Chakra System:

So, what is a chakra? The word in Sanskrit means wheel and this describes the energy centres in the human body. These wheels spin with energy and interacts with our organs, skeleton, senses, and emotions, etc. For the chakras to operate optimally, they need to be open and balanced.

If there is very little or too much energy, you may experience a symptom of emotional or physical unwellness. There are about 114 chakras in the human body, of these, there are 7 main chakras:

There is a lot of information about chakras, but for this article I am going to describe how I use chakra awareness to improve my health. My hope is to inspire others to be aware of their chakras. Also, bringing chakra awareness into your approach to healthy living takes time, learning and practice. I consider myself to be a lifelong student of living my best life. So, I am always learning something new.

What is holistic health?

Holistic health is about approaching your health as a whole person and not just taking care of each physical system as it happens. That means you are looking after your emotional health, physical needs, spiritual needs, and your role in your community. All these aspects contribute to your overall health. For example: if you're not getting exercise, gaining weight and have a poor diet, this affects all aspects of your overall health such as your physical health, emotional health and your social connections. You feel unwell physically from a poor diet and have a lack of energy; therefore, you have no motivation to make social connections. This leaves you at risk for loneliness.

Root Chakra/Muladhara Chakra

The root chakra is at the base of our spine. We can not see it but imagine a spinning wheel of light at your spine. This wheel of energy corresponds to the lower part of our body and deals with the function of excretion. The organs associated with the root chakra are kidneys, bladder, anus, lower spine and back. It also is associated with our sense of smell. Our physical safety, security, libido, self esteem, and feelings of anger are associated with the root chakra.

This is the first chakra that we work on. It is important to understand that to work on any chakra we need to start from the ground and then work up to the other chakras. I think of it as building a house: you would want the construction to begin with the foundation not the roof.

To be grounded means:

· to feel physically safe

· To have our primal needs met such as having enough money for food and shelter.

· Allowing yourself not to worry while taking care of your day to day needs not matter what is happening in the world.

· The fear or flight response is balanced.

When we are unbalanced at the Root, we tend to have issues with:

· aggression/anger issues

· unable to adapt to changes.

· hyperactivity

· greed

· low self esteem

· lack of energy/motivation, poor focus

· low libido

· depression

· loneliness and insecurities for food and shelter addictions

These can manifest into physical issues:

· poor sleep (insomnia)

· poor muscle coordination, varicose veins, and painful legs

· diarrhea, gas, bladder problems

· addictions

· weight issues

When our root chakra is balanced, we are able to adapt to change and we are not afraid for our safety, we have enough food and shelter. We are grounded.

So, time to get grounded!

As tarot is a big part of my life, I include a tarot reading for spiritual guidance to get started.

Question for the Tarot:

What do I need to know about my self esteem?

From my deck I pulled the VIII The Justice Card from the Major Arcana in the reversed position. What did this card tell me about my self esteem?

Perhaps in the past, there were harsh judgements and maybe harsh consequences that play heavily on the memory. Not everything was fair and this led to resentment that is still being held on to. It is time to let this go because it does not serve me anymore. Also, the need to be careful of making harsh judgements. Not everyone is judging or making quick assumptions. So let's not assume that everyone is judging what I am doing or worrying what others are thinking about in regards to your work and how you do things. This is a signal to my inner judge: me. It is time to go with the flow and not be afraid of making mistakes in front of people. It is brave to take a chance! Look inside yourself to and make peace with who you are and do not worry about explaining yourself. Just you do you. Each of us has our own role in the universe and The Justice cards reminds that we have to be ourselves and allow others to be who they are.

It is hard to get over the emotional hurts of past friendships. It is better to let these people go and learn to set boundaries that keep you safe from the people who drain you emotionally. Let God and the universe take care of those who don't accept you for you and you keep being you.

Crystal Healing:

Magnetized Hematite is a grounding and protective stone that aids in boosting self-esteem. It helps melt all the negative energy around you. If there is someone physically close to you who is negative, this crystal will absorb their negative vibrations. Good to have on you if you are dealing with someone who does not respect boundaries and you are working on establishing safe boundaries.