Stephanie Jean

I’ve always been a big believer in energy. When I was in second grade, my grandfather fell ill and was in a coma for an extended amount of time. My mom repeated over and over that we had to think positive, and not to doubt my grandfather’s ability to get better. We were to send him nothing but positive energy, and she made it clear that worrying was simply a waste of energy. Energy was the word that piqued my interest. I knew vegetables gave you energy, or so my parents told me, so how could we pass on “positive energy” to my grandfather when he couldn’t eat his vegetables?

Fast forward to today- my grandfather recovered, and I’m sure as I type this, he’s out working on his various projects. He’s fallen ill again multiple times since, the most recent being just in fall of 2012, but each time we’ve kept up the positive energy. Even when we’ve been sitting in the surgical waiting rooms with other families, watching both good and bad news pass right below our noses. Grampi has come through every time.

So, if our energy works, there has to be more to it, right? Wondering this led me straight to chakras.

What is a chakra, anyway?

Your body is a system. It’s full of energy, as you know- your heart can’t pump blood without it. The beautiful part about the human body is that you don’t need to remind your heart to beat. It does it for you, all the time, relieving you of the responsibility.

Your seven chakras are energy too. They’re energetic centers, located on specific parts of your body, that correspond with certain emotions, vibrations, and overall connection with certain aspects of the human experience. These energies, however, need your time and attention in order to function properly and cohesively.

It’s important to keep the chakras in balance- having too much or too little of one chakra energy can lead to anxiety or even physical problems.

Above is a handy chart to show where your chakras are located.

So how do I know if my chakras are imbalanced?

You could go on a journey of self discovery, or you could simply honestly answer a few questions on an online quiz (oh, Internet, you make life so easy for us). Feel free to Google “free chakra test” and find one that suits your fancy, or click here for one.

What can I do to balance my chakras?

There is so much you can do! You can meditate, you can read inspirational material, try aromatherapy, chakra centered essential oils, see a reiki master, carry crystals… personally, I do a lot of meditation. My cousin taught me this one: when you’re walking somewhere, imagine the energy of your footsteps echoing through the floor, and with each step, repeat “I am here” to yourself. Bam, you’ve just worked on balancing your root chakra by reminding yourself of the security in your footsteps. Neat, huh?

A little note: balancing your chakra isn’t all rainbows and happiness. Negative energies that have burrowed away in your subconcious will come up- you just have to deal with them, let them go and move on. Headaches after chakra meditation are common in the beginning; just think of the headaches as negative energy dislodging itself and moving out of your head.

Check out the list below for some further resources on chakra healing:

Chakra Anatomy for more information related to specific chakras.

AuraCacia Chakra Center for information related to chakra healing with crystals.

My Inspiration Pinterest Board for an ongoing feed of new chakra information.

Etsy for tons of chakra-balancing products.

A quick Youtube video for a four minute video on chakras.

Hope this helped! Until next time….