If you watched Dr. Strange, you know what opening your chakras can do for you. The great news is that you don’t need to go all strange and mystical to learn how to open those energy centers.
Because this ancient system is already encoded in you, all you need is a proper map that will guide you into your wholeness.
As you start to learn more about your energy centers, you can begin to understand how to open all the chakras and use them to achieve mental, physical, psychological, spiritual, and universal well-being.
What are chakras?
In Sanskrit, the word “chakra” means “wheel.” It refers to energy points in your body and is represented as spinning disks of energy.
Anodea Judith, the world’s leading chakra expert and trainer of Mindvalley’s Chakra Healing Quest, calls them the portals between the inner and outer worlds. So whatever you do inside transforms the outside.
She explains that chakras act as the gateway to your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Each of them is unique and responsible for a number of physical and emotional functions.
The traditional model identifies seven distinct chakras. Each of them has its own meaning.
- The root chakra or Muladhara is responsible for feelings of security and basic survival.
- The sacral chakra or Svadhishthana is about pleasure, joy, desire, creativity, sexuality, and emotional balance.
- The solar plexus chakra or Manipura governs self-esteem, confidence, and courage.
- The heart chakra or Anahata is about emotional freedom, compassion, empathy, social relationships, and love.
- The throat chakra or Vishuddha represents honesty, faith, artistic expression, and communication.
- The third eye chakra or Ajna is responsible for perception, imagination, wisdom, decision-making, and intuition.
- The crown chakra or Sahasrara is associated with bliss, enlightenment, spirituality, and universal energy.
In addition to these seven major ones, there are many minor ones located throughout the body and beyond.
How do you know if your chakras are blocked?
According to Anodea, the ancient chakra system is a roadmap that can guide you on the journey called life.
“It’s the map that connects you as a human being with your energy body,” she explains. “It connects you both to your earth’s existence all the way up to divine consciousness, everything that’s above and below.”
When it comes to blockages, it has to do with excessive or deficient chakras. The excessive one needs to release the charge, and the deficient one has to expand by taking the energy in.
For example, if you have an excessive root chakra, you can be overly attached to the material world or struggle with overeating. And the deficient root chakra makes you feel ungrounded, fearful, and unsafe.
So healing those energy centers essentially means bringing their energy into balance.
5 ways to open unbalanced chakras
Once you’ve identified which of the seven chakras needs opening, you can practice the proper techniques to allow your life energy to flow.
There are five methods that can be easily incorporated into your daily spiritual practice:
- Chakra meditation. This practice utilizes the power of creative visualization to cleanse, clear, and balance your chakra. The best part is that learning how to meditate this way is easy when you understand the main principles.
- Yoga postures. Yoga is considered an incredibly beneficial therapy for children and adults that improves their physical, mental, and emotional health. It’s also one of the inseparable aspects of chakra healing, according to Anodea.
- Mantras. Each chakra corresponds to a particular seed syllable called bija.
- Crystals. Crystal healing is a powerful way of clearing, cleansing, and balancing your energy centers. Since every chakra has its own unique vibrational frequency, you can use crystals to amplify and regulate them when they’re out of balance.
- Mudras. Mudras are special hand positions that can help activate and open your chakras. Each chakra has its own corresponding mudra that’s often used in meditation.
Let’s take a closer look at how to open up your chakras to find balance, health, inner peace, and happiness using these five methods.
How to open the 7 chakras
Regardless of the specific chakra that needs opening, it’s advisable to heal all seven of them, starting with the root and moving all the way to the top. This way, you will holistically balance your entire energy system, as opposed to an isolated approach.
Root chakra (Muladhara)
- Chakra meditation. Visualize a red spinning wheel at the base of your spine while taking deep, grounding breaths. As you do so, imagine that this red ball of light cleanses, clears, and nurtures your root chakra. Affirm to yourself, “I am safe on this planet. I am safe on my path.”
- Yoga postures. The most beneficial poses are standing poses, such as Warrior I and II, and seated poses, such as Bound Angle Pose.
- Mantra. Chant “LAM.”
- Crystals. Since the corresponding color of the root chakra is red, all red crystals are healing for this energy center. Also, red jasper and black tourmaline ground your energy.
- Mudras. Practice the “Prithvi Mudra” by touching the tips of your thumb and ring finger together. This mudra connects you with the earth element and instantly grounds you.
Sacral chakra (Svadhisthana)
- Chakra meditation. Visualize an orange spinning wheel below your navel, giving you a warm sensation in your lower abdomen and reproductive organs. Breathe deeply into that area with the intention of healing your sexuality, unlocking your creativity, and vitalizing your sacral chakra. Affirm to yourself, “I’m open to experiencing pleasure and joy.”
- Yoga postures. Hip-opening poses release tension in the hips and pelvis and improve circulation in your sacral area. Pigeon Pose, Triangle Pose, and Wide-Legged Forward Bend are great choices for the sacral chakra.
- Mantra. Chant “VAM.”
- Crystals. Orange-red crystals, such as carnelian, orange calcite, and amber enhance your creativity and promote sensuality. Also, moonstone is associated with the divine feminine energy that’s great for your intuition, emotional healing, and receptivity.
- Mudras. Practice the “Varuna Mudra” by touching the tips of your pinky finger and thumb together. This mudra balances the water element—the element of the sacral chakra.
Solar plexus chakra (Manipura)
- Chakra meditation. Visualize a yellow spinning wheel above your navel, imagining a sun-like radiant energy in the solar plexus area. This is your personal power being amplified by this ball of light, giving you a sense of confidence to walk your path. Affirm to yourself, “I trust my power and my abilities to achieve my goals and fulfill my potential.”
- Yoga postures. Core-strengthening poses are the best for activating your personal power center. Practice Boat Pose, Revolved Triangle Pose, and Side Plank to strengthen the muscles of the core and give you the balance you need.
- Mantra. Chant “RAM.”
- Crystals. One of the most potent crystals for the solar plexus chakra is citrine and yellow topaz. They enhance your confidence and personal power. On top of that, citrine is known for its powerful energy you can use to attract more money.
- Mudras. Practice the “Apana Mudra” by touching the tips of your middle and ring fingers to your thumb while extending your other fingers. This mudra stimulates digestion and helps detoxify your body.
Heart chakra (Anahata)
- Chakra meditation. Visualize a green, spinning wheel in your heart center, spreading warm, loving energy in your chest and throughout your entire body. Breathe in that energy of unconditional love and breathe out self-doubt and a sense of unworthiness. As you do so, affirm to yourself, “I love freely; I am loved unconditionally; I am divine love.”
- Yoga postures. One of the best heart-opening poses is Bridge and Camel Pose. They stretch and open your shoulders and chest, bringing you emotional balance. The key is to move mindfully into the postures and breathe deeply, allowing yourself to fully surrender and open your heart.
- Mantra. Chant “YAM.”
- Crystals. Opt for crystals that expand your ability to love and promote self-forgiveness and compassion. The most potent crystals that can help you do just that are rose quartz, green aventurine, rhodonite, and emerald.
- Mudras. Practice the “Hridaya Mudra” by touching the tips of your index finger and thumb together while extending your other fingers. This mudra opens your heart and connects you with universal, unconditional love.
Throat chakra (Vishuddha)
- Chakra meditation. Visualize a celestial blue spinning wheel in your throat area as a clear and expressive energy, cleansing and opening your vocal cords. Affirm to yourself, “I am safe to speak my truth freely and unapologetically.”
- Yoga postures. Fish Pose, Cobra, and supported shoulder stands and headstands stimulate the throat area and balance this energy center.
- Mantra. Chant “HAM.”
- Crystals. Lapis lazuli and aventurine are powerful crystals to improve your communication and self-expression. All celestial blue crystals are go-to healers for the throat chakra.
- Mudras. Practice the “Ushas Mudra” by touching the tips of your thumbs and middle fingers together. This mudra stimulates your vocal abilities and creativity.
Third eye chakra (Ajna)
- Chakra meditation. Visualize an indigo spinning wheel in your third eye area and let this intuitive energy in to your mind. Imagine this indigo light spreading throughout your headspace, clearing all confusion and judgments and opening you up to spiritual insights. Affirm to yourself, “I see clearly myself and the world.”
- Yoga postures. Tree Pose, Eagle Pose, Child’s Pose, and headstand help calm the mind, improve focus, and balance the energy of the third eye chakra.
- Mantra. Chant “OM.”
- Crystals. Amethyst and clear quartz are the best crystals for improving your intuition and inner wisdom. The latter helps gain clarity and dissolve ego-based judgments.
- Mudras. Practice the “Shanmukhi Mudra” by using your fingers to gently close your eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. This mudra stimulates your intuition and inner focus.
Crown chakra (Sahasrara)
- Chakra meditation. Visualize a deep purple spinning wheel above your head, representing divine spiritual energy. As this light enters your system through your crown, imagine it shooting all the way up to the center of the universe and all the way down to your roots. Breathe in the source of energy and breathe out stagnant energy. Affirm to yourself, “I am one with the universe and all living beings.”
- Yoga Postures. Child’s Pose and Savasana help you surrender to the divine and trust the higher guidance. In fact, Savasana is one of the most challenging poses of all, as it teaches you to fully relax and be still.
- Mantra. Chant “OM” or “AH.”
- Crystals. Clear quartz, amethyst, and selenite are potent high-vibrational crystals that facilitate your spiritual growth.
- Mudras. Practice the “Sahasrara Mudra” by touching the tips of your index fingers and thumbs together while extending your other fingers. This mudra connects you with the divine and improves your spiritual awareness.
When it comes to chakra opening, it’s important to remember that it’s a life-long process. In other words, you learn tools to work with your chakras on a daily basis to keep them balanced. This is how you can create balance in your life across the board.
Heal your chakras, heal your life
Healing your chakras starts with acknowledging your birthright to be whole and live your life fully. That’s why chakras can be seen as your formula for wholeness—when you apply the healing system to every energy center, it makes you whole as it connects your body, mind, and spirit in a cosmic, orderly way.
Most importantly, this system can be learned and applied by anyone without any background knowledge. All you need is proper guidance.
And this is what Chakra Healing Quest with Anodea Judith can offer you—a step-by-step, 35-day journey into the deepest core of yourself with the leading chakra expert.
The best part is that you can sample classes from this quest by unlocking your free access.
Welcome in.
