CHAKRAS, ELEMENTS AND EMOTIONS
By Farida Sharan

Source:  Natural Healing Newsletter, March, 2008 

An experiential study of the chakras, elements and emotions offers great gifts to support our human experience and our spiritual journey. The inter-relationship and the movement of change and evolution of the dominant or deficient energies and their movement toward balance within us support a conscious, healthful and joyous life.

CHAKRAS

Yogic systems teach us about the energies of the spinning spiraling vortexes of chakras and how they affect the physical nerve plexus and our human evolutionary experience. They are drawn as wheels with petals but are multi-dimensional in their range of movement and influence. Four chakras flow up the stem of the spine to the throat and then rise to the brow where spiritual practitioners focus the third eye of attention, meditation and prayer that opens the crown chakra into soul connection.

CHAKRA EMOTIONS:

Sacrum Root Chakra ­- fear, clinging, resistance OR security, instinct

Pelvic Water Chakra -­ attachment, desire, lust OR curiosity, caring, service

Solar Plexus Fire Chakra -­ anger, resentment, jealousy OR humor, laughter, joy

Heart Air Chakra -­ greed, rush, selfishness OR love, compassion, kindness

Throat Ether Chakra -­ grief, hunger, ego OR longing to merge with the divine

At times in life we are drawn strongly and passionately into a particular chakra to learn life lessons. If there is a dominant chakra that influences our life experience we can choose to diffuse the dominant one and develop the ones that are deficient.

A water dominant person could have difficulty becoming angry; a fire dominant person with caring feeling; an earth dominant person with taking risks and letting go; an air dominant person with considering the effects of their actions on others and an ether dominant person with sadness.

Although the pull of the chakra vortexes is powerful, it is possible to learn to dance with the energies instead of indulging in them so that we can move through excesses and deficiencies and restore balance. Once we become aware of the energies, how they feel and how they change, our awareness guides us to appropriate action.

We learn to restore emotional balance by centering our consciousness beyond the emotional field of dramatic emotions (e-motions!) and become more sensitive to subtle feelings and internal messages that help to guide us in our lives. If we choose harmony and peace as our goal it becomes easier to let go of excessive emotions if we have skills to release the emotions associated with each chakra.

For example - If we become angry we can release the emotion with a powerful movement as if we were chopping wood accompanied by a release of the HA sound. Once the excess is released we can deal with the situation appropriately.

Healthy body organs in each chakra plexus support balanced emotions. If the bowels are functioning well there is less tendency to fear. A healthy liver reduces imbalances of anger, aggression and competition. Conversely, conditions like TB are often associated with excessive grief and heart conditions with lack of ability to give and receive love.

Clearing the emotional energies of the chakras can be achieved through movement, sounding, treatments, yoga, color healing, rebirthing, emotional release and meditation. Also whenever natural therapeutics are used to cleanse the body systems together with rejuvenation through rest, nourishing healing diets, bodywork and naturopathy treatments, transformation and evolution takes place naturally.

CHAKRA ORGANS:

Root Chakra - sacrum, coccyx, bones, adrenals, perineum, large intestine, anus, body tissues, muscles and skin.

Water Chakra - ­ body fluids, reproductive and urinary organs or glands.

Fire Chakra - digestive organs, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, spleen, stomach, duodenum and small intestine.

Air Chakra - heart, thymus, arms and hands

Ether Chakra - throat, ears, lungs, thyroid and parathyroid

Brow Chakra - pituitary gland

Crown Chakra - pineal gland

ELEMENTS

The elements of earth, water, fire, air and ether weave our physical, emotional, social and mental world, as well as the world of world of nature that sustains us. We inherit an elemental constitution, which usually has a dominant element or elements that strongly influence our behavior, health and approach to life. How we live creates an excess or shortage of an element. The elements within us also influence each other in a dynamic interchange and flow.

We may experience a state of harmony from time to time when the elements are in balance. Alternatively, we may experience a deficient element or elements that will affect our lives.

Usually the elements move in tandem with the constant changes in life. Imbalances of the elements can be adjusted through naturopathic therapeutics and conscious choices that enhances wellness. Eventually with practice, effort and surrender we move less from the center of being towards imbalance. From the center of our being we are then able to inhabit balance, harmony and peace for longer periods of time.

Elemental balance is influenced by weather, altitude, temperature, climate, food and drink, emotions, thoughts and also shock or trauma. If we consider these factors in our life and whether they are causing excess, shortage or balance of the elements then we begin to dance with the elements. If you don't dance the elements they dance you!

Ancient systems of medicine were based on creating a harmonious return to a balance of the elements. Whether the elements were called Greek humours, Ayurveda doshas, Chinese elements, or Hindu chakras, the awareness of the energies that weave our inner and outer ecology were seriously considered as a major influence on the patient's condition and method of treatment.

Other systems such as the water cure of Austria and Germany, Victorian ocean cures, high altitude dry cures for tuberculosis or the cave cures of ancient China utilized a specific element for a specific cure. Today luxury destination spas are created around the elemental energies to inspire the experience of the harmonizing effect of treatments and environments that encourage a return to balance.

Also within each healing system there are elemental treatments such as heart nourishment, body work, water cure, fire heat, air breath, etheric sound, meditation and beauty which are offered to restore health through a balance of the elements.

EMOTIONS

The elemental healing systems and mystic spiritual traditions reveal wisdom about the relationship of the elements to the five passions from which all emotions stem.

When we truly become interested in the mystery, magic and vast possibility of our own being we become fascinated by the energies that weave our life experience. Using the senses associated with the elements to feel, see, touch, hear and taste our world and our own being allows us to come into present awake attention so that we can learn from nature, life experiences, relationships and our own being.

We begin to notice how the energies and emotions change, how cycles influence our experience, sequences repeat, and patterns reappear. The study of yoga, tai chi, the I Ching, the healing arts, meditation, purification and rejuvenation diets and participation in personal and group retreats and training allows the time to deepen and approach the mystery of your own being.

In today's world the multi-cultural mystic and healing systems are discovering they are teaching the same basic truths and realities of this world and our human experience.

If you wish to explore your inner being and discover what the teachings of the chakra elements and emotions can offer you in your journey to understand, live and enjoy life as you fulfill your human destiny your, be assured your life will be enhanced in ways you never imagined.

MYSTIC YOGA RETREATS WITH FARIDA SHARAN Retreats based on the chakra, element and emotion teachings combined with living food and mystic yoga are offered by Farida Sharan, ND, Director of the School of Natural Medicine in Boulder, Colorado. Browse www.purehealth.com for upcoming seminars in Iceland, Boulder, Colorado and Puerto Rico. Retreats & Seminars will be soon be offered in Singapore and Bangkok