Spiritual Fridays: Chakras and Chakra Healing

The word ‘Chakra’ always elicits a mystical as well as curious response, every time it is spoken of. Chakras are intense energy points present at the junctions of various energy channels that criss-cross our body. Since there are around 72,000 energy channels (nadis) in our body and correspondingly thousands of junctions between them, there are simultaneously thousands of chakras in almost every part of our body. Yet the below mentioned seven chakras, which are present in our bodies from the waist above, are considered to be the most important ones.

How to heal your chakras?

The word used to describe the energy is called Kundalini, symbolically imagined as a coiled serpent (coiled two and a half times at the muladhara chakra), which can be opened one by one, systematically from bottom and upwards. We do not recommend using of this technique or concentrating on one chakra at a time for a lay person, because one needs to have reached a certain spiritual and emotional stage to handle it. Else, it can be damaging to the person as well as others. Instead, we recommend yogic techniques to strengthen the whole body.

For balancing chakras with yoga there several asanas or pranayams, but to select the proper asana, one would require the right diagnosis with the opinion of an expert. However, there are two yoga activities that one can safely perform to balance the energy and hence the chakras, without going much into diagnostic details.

Alternate Breathing

This is based on the concept that the major energy channels of our body, which are Ida and Pingdala are connected to the two nostrils, left and right respectively. Moreover, our health is related to the smooth flow of energy through these energy channels; illness occurs when this energy is imbalanced. Breathing alternately from the nostrils evens out the imbalances, and helps us restore our health, by restoring the balance.

Procedure:
– Sit straight (preferably without back-support).

– Join the index and middle finger of the right hand and keep it on the Ajnya chakra between your forehead and while doing this exercise, use the thumb to block the right nostril and little finger to block the left. (The picture above will give you more clarity)

– Close your eyes and focus on your breath for a while. Then close your left nostril and breathe in through your right nostril. As you finish taking your breath in, close your right nostril (with your thumb) and start to breathe out through the left nostril. After you finish breathing out, again breathe in through the same (left) nostril and then breathe out through the right one. Repeat this process continuously. With practice the breathing should become smooth and gentle, so don't worry if it doesn’t happen so initially.

– Keep your breathing natural, don't try to control it with prolonged deep breaths.

You can continue this irrespective of the problem for as long as you think it is required. Practicing alternate breathing before sleeping, improves the quality of sleep and also aids in overall healing. Doing it regularly will also prepare you for the second activitiy—meditation.

Meditation
– Sit comfortably with your head straight, back erect and shoulders slightly pulled back. Attempt to keep your body relaxed.

– Now, slowly shift your attention to your breathing and try to be aware of the movement of air as it passes through your nose when you breathe in and out. Let your breathing be slow and gentle and practice more to let that happen.

Regular meditation will create a calm state of mind and a balanced state of emotions, which in turn will balance the affected chakra. As you progress in meditation, you can slowly start shifting your attention to focus on your chakras one by one. Meditate on each chakra till you feel the need to move ahead. Correspondingly, you may place your right palm on the chakra that you are focusing on for healing.

Understand yourself to Heal yourself

While our chakras or energy points surely have an impact on us, it's also important to understand how other aspects of our being impact the chakras and vice versa. Hindu philosophy divides our existance into five koshas (sheaths): Annamaya Kosha refers to the tangible physical body; Pranamaya Kosha refers to the sheath of prana (energy or chi) flowing in our body through subtle channels (nadis), invisible to the naked eye; Manomaya Kosha refers to the mind, which encompases various emotions; Buddhimaya Kosha refers to our intellect, logic and thoughts that determine our actions; and finally Anandamaya Kosha refers to a state of bliss that's ever residing in us, but can only be experienced not explained through words.

While all five levels are present in all of us, each of us may consider one or the other kosha more real or more important depending on our personal beliefs. The five koshas are inter-related and therefore when one level is affected, there's disturbance at other levels too. For instance, a headache (belonging to the physical level) can be caused by disturbed emotions (belonging to the mind) and can therefore be corrected by balancing the disturbed emotion. Healing for one level, can also be done by healing or balancing other levels. Therefore, though the chakras relate to the energy (Pranamaya) sheath, they can be affected by or can affect the other sheaths or koshas. This is another reason we have recommend alternate breathing and meditation for healing.