It is the discovery and appreciation of our Higher Self and finding the God within us that is the ultimate goal of the journey through the chakras.
2) Where are the 7 main chakras and what are their related life issues?
Besides their role in maintaining our physical health, chakras also oversee various life issues. Each of the 7 main chakras reflects essential aspects of consciousness and governs our lives, loves, learning, and spiritual awakening.
The 1st Chakra (Root) governs Physical Needs and Security. The 2nd Chakra (Sacral) governs Sexuality, Emotions, and Desires. The 3rd Chakra (Solar Plexus) governs Power. The 4th Chakra (Heart) governs Love, Forgiveness, and Compassion. The 5th Chakra (Throat) governs Communication. The 6th Chakra (Brow) governs Intuition and Reasoning. The 7th Chakra (Crown) governs Spirituality and Understanding.
The chakras are interrelated; one affects another. The Root Chakra is the lowest of the 7 chakras and spins the slowest or resonates at the lowest of the 7 vibration frequencies. The Crown Chakra is the highest of the 7 chakras and spins the fastest.
Each chakra is also a different color. The colors are similar to a rainbow and go from Red (Root) - Orange (Sacral) -Yellow (Solar Plexus) - Green (Heart) - Blue (Throat) - Indigo (Brow) - Violet (Crown).
3) What are energy blockages or energy imbalances in the chakras?
Imbalances in the chakras are known as energy blocks. When there is unreleased emotion such as fear, anger or guilt accumulated from past experiences or when there’s been a lack of nurturing, love, and encouragement during the developmental period, the energy flows less freely to/from the chakras.
Whenever a person blocks an experience, he/she blocks the flow of energy to/from their chakras. The chakras become blocked, clogged with stagnated energy, spin irregularly or backwards or can even become distorted or torn. When the chakras are functioning normally, each one will be open and spinning properly to metabolize the particular energies needed from the universal energy field.
If you were to completely think thoughts of love and faith, your body's energy would flow smoothly between and around the chakras. You would probably feel happy and healthy . Fearful thoughts negatively affect your chakras' ability to function. They cause the chakras to become dirty, shrunken or swollen. That is why you may feel out of sorts or lethargic and not know why. Obsessive thoughts cause the chakras to enlarge and become out of proportion.
When there is an energy imbalance in the chakras, the chakras tend to close down starting at the top chakra (Crown) and moving downward to the Root. Many people close down the top three chakras (Crown, Brow, and Throat) by the time they are three years old as a reaction to the disbelief of their parents and society in nature spirits, spirit friends, and past lives.
During the teenage years, the Heart or 4th Chakra often closes down or becomes blocked because of pain and rejection from parents, peers, and lovers.
The Solar Plexus or 3rd Chakra may close down or become blocked when parents and society force teens into molds they don’t fit.
By the time many of us reach adulthood, we have closed down all but the first 2 chakras (Root and Sacral) and even those often have imbalances due to energy blocks.
The closure or imbalance/energy blockage doesn’t usually occur in response to a single event. It’s the repetition of similar events without relief that eventually closes off the chakra or causes the imbalance/energy blockage.
After high school, there is usually less pressure to conform and some people begin to reverse the process and start opening their chakras. Usually the Solar Plexus/3rd Chakra opens before the Heart/4th Chakra and so on successively upwards towards the Crown. But this isn’t always true. Some people don’t need to work on their higher chakras. It’s their lower chakras that need balancing. When your childhood and adolescence have been healthy and nurturing, you may be balanced and open in every chakra.
4) Why do we want to identify and remove energy blocks/imbalances and balance our chakras?
Yogis knew that a person’s illness often first manifests in the chakras before the physical body. They knew that no one could be completely healed if the chakra system continued to be out of balance. When there is a blockage or imbalance in one part of the chakra system, it has an impact on all the other chakras.
Imbalances occur when there is too much or too little energy flowing through the chakras. By understanding how each chakra affects a particular body function and life issue, it is possible to identify where a chakra is malfunctioning. Various techniques can then be used to balance the chakra system and restore health in the individual physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
Holding negative thoughts causes chakras to become dirty with dense, dark energy. This prevents chakras from providing sufficient vital energy for the body. Unbalanced or “blocked�?chakras create a whole range of mental, emotional, and physiological conditions.
Some say we come into this life with a certain set of life challenges already factored into our chakras. This partly determines our attitudes and behaviors.
Many therapists believe that the imbalances in our chakras are in part from our childhood and cultural experiences. They say that one of the ways we try and protect ourselves is by closing down the relevant chakra so we won’t feel those uncomfortable emotions. It is a defense mechanism.
by Gayle Kirk
http://www.neholistic.com/articles/0064.htm
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