Our main area of focus on the two days of the training was the chakra system. For those of you unfamiliar with this concept, a chakra is a major energy center that exists in our bodies. We focused on the seven major chakras that run along our spine and we explored how they are interconnected with each other. Each chakra plays a vital role in our physical, mental, and spiritual health. Likewise, chakras can become unbalanced which can result in deficiencies or too much of something in our daily lives. In preparation for this training session, we were asked to read "Wheels of Life" by Anodea Judith. She explains each chakra beautifully.
As I mentioned before, each chakra plays an important part in our development, coping strategies, and how we live our lives. Furthermore, each chakra functions in conjunction with the other chakras. They are an integrated system. In other words, one unbalanced chakra can create an imbalance in one or more other chakras. Here are brief descriptions of each chakra and how they function in our bodies.
Muladhara Chakra - root center of physical experience, located at the base of the spine, represents Earth, represented in the color red, governs our basic needs, survival, and stability, the fight or flight system, when balanced a person is grounded, stable, and has trust in self and some others, excessive imbalance can be seen by hoarding, greed, and/or sluggishness, a deficient imbalance can been seen with restlessness, fear, and ungroundedness
Svadhisthana Chakra - positioned between the pubic bone and the navel, represents water and fluidity, its color is orange, influences the reproductive organs, aspects are procreation, family, creativity, and fantasy, when balanced a person can be creative, secure, and have healthy expression, an excessiveness can be addition and emotional instability, a deficiency can be frigidity, rigidity, numbness, and/or feelings of guilt
Manipura Chakra - positioned in the navel region or solar plexus, color is yellow represents fire, influences our will and our power to act, associated with the pancreas, when balanced a person can be self assure and vital, an excessiveness can be aggression, dominance, and hyperactivity, a deficiency can be passiveness, sluggishness, and shame
Anahata Chakra - positioned in the heart region, color is green, represents air, influences our ability to love and be loved, when balanced a person can be compassionate and balanced, an excessiveness can be lack of boundaries and jealousy, a deficiency can be isolation, loneliness, and sorrow
Vishuddha Chakra - positioned in the throat, color is blue, represents ether, influences our to speak and express ourselves, when balanced a person can clear speech and communicates well, an excessiveness can be lying, too much speech, a deficiency can be seen as lack or speech, fear when speaking, and poor rhythm
Ajna Chakra - positioned between the eyebrows, is the "third eye" or conscience, color is indigo, represents light, influences our intuition, clarity, and understanding, when balanced a person has wisdom an excessiveness can have headaches, delusions, lack of concentration, a deficiency can be seen as poor vision, lack of memory, and denial
Sahasrara Chakra - positioned at the crown of the head, color is violet to white, represents thought, influences our awareness, knowing, and spirituality, when balanced a person has spiritual connection, excessiveness can be dissociation, confusion, and spiritual bipass, a deficiency can be seen as skepticism, apathy, and materialism
Our instructor gave each of us an "om"work assignment. We had to write our very own chakra story. In other words, we had to write about whether each of our chakras are or have been balanced or not and how they got that way. This assignment was very personal and emotional for me to write. I have contemplated whether I could blog about it or not (which is why it has taken me a month to create this blog post). In addition, we had to create a playlist with seven songs, each representing a chakra. The playlist came easily to me. Talking about my story was another thing.
Muladhara Chakra - At first this chakra was imbalanced for me, but over time I have been able to find some stability in my life. Growing up with an alcoholic father, I learned from an early age to not trust anyone and brace myself for the "worst case scenario".
1. American Pie by Don McLean - This song is nostalgic for me and relates to my upbringing because it is about the day Buddy Holly died. The song lyrics include "the day the music died" which is how I felt when my father died.
Svadhisthana & Manipura Chakras - Basically to sum both of these up, I developed intense insecurities as a result of the emotional neglect from my father. I had difficulty in romantic relationships, never trusting the other person or myself. My creativity and will were blocked due to my intense insecurities. All and all, I felt ugly and unloveable. These feelings resulted in anxiety and depression for me.
2. Run (I'm a Natural Disaster) by Gnarls Barkley - the lyrics and fast beat of this song represent my anxiety
3. Swimming in the Flood by Passion Pit - the hopeless lyrics and dissonance of the music represent my depression
Anahata Chakra - This became balanced when my husband, Adam, entered my life. He has told me everyday since we started our relationship that I am beautiful. At first I didn't believe him, but he taught me to love and respect myself, something I had never done before. For the first time in my life, I felt beautiful and worthy of being loved.
4. Bonita Applebum by A Tribe Called Quest - I chose this song for this chakra because it is one of Adam's favorites. Listening to the lyrics, I learned it is about a guy who is into a curvy girl who he thinks is beautiful. She is skeptical about him, but he tries to convince her that they would be a good fit because it just feels right.
Vishuddha Chakra - This chakra really became balanced for me after a UT professor had the confidence in me to publish my master's report in grad school. He taught me to believe that I was a good writer. I learned that I had something to say and I said it well after so many years believing differently about myself.
5. I'm Coming Out by Diana Ross - this song really speaks for itself
Ajna Chakra - I feel that I reached a balance with this chakra while in graduate school. I felt that I had learned so much about myself during this time and was finally able to find peace in my experiences with my dad.
6. Comes a Time by Neil Young - I was listening to a lot of Neil Young in grad school. This song depicts the knowledge of that time period and also a sense of peace and acceptance for me.
Sahasrara Chakra - This will always be a work in progress for me, but I do feel a strong connection to those who have passed on from this life (i.e., my dad and Granny). This life force of loved ones' spirits is always with me through the joys and hardships of my life.
7. Unforgettable by Nat "King" Cole - Granny's favorite song. The ultimate spirituality for me.
Some books and websites that were helpful to me while learning about the chakras are:
"Wheels of Life" by Anodea Judith, Ph.D.
"Chakras: Energy Centers of Transformation" by Harish Johari
http://www.iloveulove.com/spirituality/hindu/chakratantra.htm
Thank you Priscilla for sharing your personal reflection with the support of the Chakra System. It is concise and makes me smile, as I sense the releasing and reflecting is happening for you via this experience you had. It is beautiful -
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