Chakras

[steamvessel]

Admittingly, this is a silly, uninformed question... but does anyone have experience working with chakras? I don't even know if that is an applicable term... working with chakras I am starting a different approach to my recover, depression and life in general and at a songwriting camp I recently went to one of the counselors who works with musicians and athletes, uses meditation and chakra- based work where she will focus on one part of your body say your stomach, then your chest and heart and each part represents some part of you that needs help. Anyways, I found it interesting and was wondering if anybody had any experience with this?

[tyler]

I have a little experience with it. I completed a massage therpy program about a year ago. It was a 10 month, 600 hour program, and in part of it we learned about other "alternative" healing methods, chakras among them.

Now I gotta say, I'm one of the first folks to be skeptical about stuff like this....but I've had a number of experiences I just can't deny. As part of our class we had a polarity theripist come in to talk about her work and demonstrated in on a couple of people in class. One of the girls had a pretty intense experience (I had left early, so I didn't see it, but I knew and trusted her), so I decided to schedule an appointment with her and see how it went. I went with a large degree of skeptisim, but an open mind. What was scheduled as a one hour appointment turned into a 3 hour session where we uncovered some deeply burried memories that really were a major part of my addiction and my personality in general. This has been very helpful in my therapy and I am gently exploring it (though it is quite painful and I dont really enjoy it, but feel it is important to my "recovery".

When I moved recently I had to get a new theripist. I had gotten a referal from my ex (a psychologist/substance abuse theripist) and was looking through a list of covered theripists on my insurance. I was going over a couple of people with her and one of the one's I was considering had some "initials" behind her name I didn't know. When I googled it, it came back that she was certified in "energy work". Well that nailed it.

My first appointment I felt a real connection. I quickly went back for a second appointment and it was also helpful. A month went by (due to work constraints I wasn't able to schedule any appointments with her) and I had a Phychitrists appointment. It was rough. It was an assessment appointment and she touched on some areas of my childhood that I was not at all comfortable talking about. She took my blood preasure as part of the assessment and said I had high blood presure. (It was high because I was so freaked out, when she checked it a month later, it was 50 points lower!!) Fortunatly I had scheduled an appointment with my theripist afterwards. As I sat in her office, completely shellshocked, (I was just staring into space and didn't evern acknowledge her entering the room for about 10-15 sec) She sat me down and said she wanted to "align my chakras". I didn't really know how this was going to help, but went along because I was in such a bad place I probably would have done anything she suggested. We did an exercise and over the course of an hour I went from shaking, twitching, my mind completely out of control, to being calm (though still a bit frazzled), able to deal with my thoughts and much more at peace in general.

Do I belive in this stuff?? To be honest I'm still a bit skeptical, but I can't argue with the results. Do I understand it? I do know the chakras (had to learn them for class) but I really can't say I understand how it works. I've always been a very "results oriented" person, and I can't deny my experiences with this. You seem to be into more "eastern" philosophies and probably much more accepting of them that I am, so I would encourage you to find out more about this and how it can help you. Best of luck...take care.

[evmdimples]

Here's a simple explanation I came up with the other day, based on my knowledge. I think it's pretty accurate.

The 7 chakras of eastern tradition are said to be energy centers within the body; they align with the 7 endocrine glands in the human body.

Chakras, starting at the base of the spine and moving to the top of the head: root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, crown.

Glandular system: sex glands, pancreas, adrenals, thymus, parathyroid, thyroid, pituitary.

The goal with "energy" work is to balance and realign the chakras. The theory with energy work is that if one chakra is out of balance, the whole system goes off-kilter. It's why most "alternative" healing modalities try to locate the root cause (whether emotional, physical or energy/aura) rather than treat the symptom (bandaid effect, over medicating). Once the blockages have been cleared (can manifest as emotion, or physical as in heat, cold, etc.) at the causal point then the rest of the system can more easily be realigned/brought back into balance. Some people use crystals and colors for chakra healing. Certain crystals align themselves with certain chakras.

I'm a reiki practitioner, it's energy work, like laying of hands. It has pretty amazing results. You don't have to believe in it. It just works. A bit of trivia: it's been said that perhaps Jesus (historical Jesus, for those who believe this man existed) went to India to learn these techniques (reiki, laying of hands, it's what he did). That's one theory floating around to explain the missing years in his life story.

Thanks for a favorite topic!

[tyler]

That's a pretty good sumary. I might print it to use as a study aid for my national exam!! Thanks!!

[californiapoppy]

I have a tough time believing in anything. My husband had his own business in construction and worked and worked and his back and shoulders took incredible strain and he was in constant pain. He agreed to be a "guinea pig" for a group of physical therapists that were working on energies. He came out of there in bliss. That's all I can tell you. When he smiles my life is easier than when he's in pain. Doesn't matter if I believe or not, I'm happier !

[TheSunAlsoRises]

If you go into Itunes podcast list you can search Chakra Meditation Paul White and you will get a free guided meditations on the chakras... Its worth checking out... do I believe in this eastern healing business? Yes. But only because it works for me.

[OzSandy]

You can find some Reiki videos on YouTube, if you look under 'Reiki attunment' or 'Reiki meditation'. I went to a practitioner in my twenties. She laid her hands on my solar plexus and I could feel a very warm sensation in the back of my head. It's a holistic therapy, it helps balance and smooth out out the overall energies.

In another section yesterday I also mentioned 'Tapping', or the 'Emotional Freedom Technique', which I'm thinking of looking into as well.

[freya]

Wow...Can't believe you started this thread right now.....I have been talking to a couple of people about this in the last week.

I have known and "played around" with chakra work since I was in the 7th grade (~38 years ago!!!). I went to a very alternative Jr.High and there was a teacher there who was into a lot of alternative/new-agey spirituality stuff. And I've been working with them regularly and pretty intensely as part of my spiritual practice for about 6 years now.

Anyways, like I said, I've been talking to a couple of people about this over the last week and I am just going to post a copy of an "introductory" e-mail that I sent to one of them, so I don't have to rewrite it all.

This is the address of a page that has some very basic info on the 7 chakras, where in the body they're located, and the energies, attributes, abilities, etc... with which they are connected.

Learning Meditation - Chakra Meditation

I couldn't get it to copy as a link, so you'll have to cut-and-paste it. The site, in general, is pretty much devoted to sitting meditation, but the chakra info is good for a very basic start. I have some other stuff that I can give you next week. Part of it has to do with "I" statements that I personally associate with each chakra and recite when I'm working with them -- which is helpful for me just because I am kinda into words/language and it helps keep me focused:

1. Root...................Red.........."I Am"

2. Naval.................Orange......"I Feel"

3. Solar Plexus......Yellow........"I Can"

4. Heart.................Green........."I Love"

5. Throat................Blue..........."I Share"

6. Brow/3rd Eye.....Indigo.........."I Know"

7. Crown................Purple........."I Trust"

When I first started trying to work with this, I had to spend some time just kind of locating and focusing on each chakra separately and then, when I had a good sense of where they were and how they "felt" to me, I gradually worked at being able to trace/follow/move the flow of energy up and down through each of them.

Like I said on Friday, the upward flow (from root chakra to crown chakra) is about "liberation" -- or being connected with / comfortable in / effective in the spiritual realm -- and the downward flow (from crown to root) is about "manifestation" -- being connected to / safe in / effective in the physical/material world.

And, for me, it's been really, really important to acknowledge that the flows in each direction are equally important and necessary. (The "stupid"-- and very unsuccessful -- thing I tried with this had to do with trying to force the energy more in one direction than the other, which actually made logical sense at the time given the "issue" I was struggling with in my life....but, for me, the lesson there was a very strong message that what makes sense logically very often makes absolutely no sense spiritually...DUH!!!!)

So, anyways, the "practice" is simply to sense and connect with the flow of energy through your chakras and then to be able, from that, to sense and connect with its sources both in the spiritual realm and the material/physical realm. And, too, once you get a good sense of how the energy moves for you, you really can learn to use it to tell when you are having an issue/problem/struggle in a certain aspect of your life or your being...because, when that's happening, I can sense like either a blockedness or a stuckness or a heavyness is the particular chakra related to that......or sometimes even, when that is going on, I will find myself like "accidentally" skipping over or "forgetting" that particular chakra when I'm doing my meditation. And, then, it is very helpful to work on making sure that chakra gets the attention and the energy that it needs. It's acutually pretty amazing how working with "issues" on the chakra level actually helps to work things out / facilitate shifts in my life.

For me, at the beginning, it took some time to locate each one and to remember the right order, etc...etc....etc...but, once I got that basic part down, it's become pretty easy to follow them all the way through even in one deep, slow breath......which also comes in handy when I'm in a stressful situation and just need to try to calm down and connect with HP quickly.

Finally, for me, probably because of my tendency to focus more on things of the mind and spirit, I've found it works best to always start at the crown and follow down to the root and then back up (and it is important to always do the complete up-and-down or down-and-up movement)........but you might want to try to also practice it the opposite direction and see what flows best for you.

I hope all this is somewhat clear and makes some sense to you. I find it kinda hard to really communicate well about this stuff in writing...So, if you have questions and/or want to talk about it, let me know.

freya

P.S....and remember: The leap of faith is the most important part.....and all you have to do is give it a shot, not "not-believe," and be open to receiving whatever HP has to give you through it. All the rest of it is on HP.

And another thing, I recently was reminded recently by a very wise SR member that our growth / health / development in each and every area of our live is related to and affected by our growth and development in every other -- and that, therefore, we cannot ignore / dismiss any of them without holding back / compromising our overall recoveries /spiritual journeys.

For me, chakra work is a great way to make sure "all" of me is on track and moving in the same direction and that anything that might get in the way of that gets identified and dealt with before it starts causing major problems.

And THE LEAP OF FAITH is absolutely the most important part -- without my willingness to take that, nothing good happens.

freya

P.S. And thanks for this thread -- I always want to question myself when I feel lead to work with someone around issues of spirituality (Like "Who the h*ll am I to be doing this?????") and seeing this here at this moment feels very affirming.

P.P.S. Also, the Carolyn Myss (she's a medical intuitive) book, The Anatomy of the Spirit, has, IMO, a really nice intro to how and why chakra work works.

[steamvessel]

It's a hard concept to buy. I probably wouldn't have gave it a second glance if I haden't stumbled upon an actual chakra session. I've got to say it kind of makes sense. I really have always felt my abdominal area as kind of my "weak area" for some reason. It doesn't necessarily have to do with the societal pressure of you have to have six pack abs, and even if it did then why wouldn't I be as conscious about other parts of my body? It just makes sense that this is the area that deals with our sense of security and power, to me. The other thing that makes sense is the throat, because I really do feel like I censor myself, but when she said to focus on my throat and pretend that people want to hear what I have to say, and are accepting of me the way that I am without editing myself, it made me feel very free to open up to people. In fact, I started to do these things and they were working, I felt great. The other thing I like about this philosophy is it is simple, you can shoot holes in it if you want, but there really isn't much to criticize. It is a way of tuning into your body, it's very similar to meditation in my mind. In fact, it may even be called meditation. So far so good.

[mattcake79]

I do a lot of chakra work during meditation, it helps a lot

I could go on and on about it, but I'll just add something to Freya's list (I hope you don't mind, F!)... roughly, the "type" of energy/qualities associated with each one:

1. Root...................Red.........."I Am" --> Grounding

2. Naval.................Orange......"I Feel"--> Sexual (in the sense of creativity)

3. Solar Plexus......Yellow........"I Can"--> Feeling/emotional

4. Heart.................Green........."I Love"--> Unconditionality

5. Throat................Blue..........."I Share"--> Communication (in all aspects)

6. Brow/3rd Eye.....Indigo.........."I Know"--> Intuition

7. Crown................Purple........."I Trust"--> Faith, inter-connectedness

I was taught that, while many people say that so-and-so chakra is "blocked", this is apparently very inaccurate. According to my teacher, chakras don't get blocked but rather, they can get misaligned.. or "out of sync" (there's a sanskrit work to describe it accurately, but I can't remember it now - it literally means "out of conscious awareness"). This might sound like semantics, but it's important to keep in mind. The one exception is the 7th chakra which, while obviously always present, may not fully "kick in" without conscious effort.

In practice I usually find myself concentrating on the first chakra - I'm an extremely airy/mental person, so I can easily fly off like a balloon if I'm not careful, LOL. Conscious recognition of the red chakra helps a lot in this department. etc etc

Anyway, I'll stop rambling. There are many schools of thought regarding chakras. SV, I do hope that this type of meditation works for you. Keep us posted!

[jacksmith123]

The oriental ways of healing seem to be under focus all over the world. And I do believe that mystic ways of healing works. I recently had a spa session where precious black pebbles from the Himalayas were placed on my chakras followed by a soothing massage. It healed several pains in my body and I was left stress free.

[OzSandy]

Originally Posted by mattcake

In practice I usually find myself concentrating on the first chakra - I'm an extremely airy/mental person, so I can easily fly off like a balloon if I'm not careful, LOL. Conscious recognition of the red chakra helps a lot in this department. etc etc

I'm sorry I'm late to this, but this tends to be my problem too at times, have you discussed with your practitioner some 'grounding' meditations and practices, they can help. In fact I think that with all meditational practices there is an importance to stay 'grounded'. You can find a few guides around on the Internet.

Steam I also think that your intuition is pretty spot on, based on what I have read about the chakra system. I tend to follow the newer rather than the traditional models, which I find rather confusing and at times blurred by myth. But I do believe that our bodies have a matrix of energy and that we can share our energy. Thoughts themselves are a powerful form of energy. No single chakra can be thought of completely in isolation, they each have an influence on the others as a whole, the idea is overall balance. I've read several books about Reiki, magnetic healing and chakras. But my main learning source was Barbara Ann Brennan. I liked the way that she combined the scientific, physics, medical and spiritual aspects of it - it's kind of the way that I think myself, a balance of the western and eastern approaches to it all. Though I don't know if I agree with all of it now. I also read Louise Samways, and she explains some of the most basic methods - she's fairly scathing of the New Age movement and I do think she sort of despiritualizes and oversimplifies it all, in an attempt to 'demystify' it but it was a starting point for me. Some of her work is now available for free download on the Internet if you look around.

Thanks for bringing this up Steam. It's been awhile since I looked into it myself but at the time, when I was going through some extreme confusion in my life, I think it helped me enormously. I don't like just accepting what traditional religion has to tell me, I like to enquire and question, that's just me lol.