Your Body is Energy
Your body is a powerful electromagnetic field powered by both electrical impulses and signals, and chemical reactions(1). Simply put, your cells are constantly conducting electrical currents which are directly involved in essential functions of the body, such as pumping blood into your heart and in making sure that your brain carries its neural functions properly(2). In fact, what we call nerve impulses are electrical signals which neurons use to pass on messages, allowing you to create your perception of reality, thoughts, feelings, and also your overall emotional state(3). Moreover, this cooperative electrical communication happens ‘at all levels of physiology, including cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, as well as the entire body’ (4).
Traditional Medicine and Energy
Traditional medicine systems such as TCM and Ayurveda, are grounded on this energetic system-based perspective as a way of bringing energetic balance into the body through the way of energy medicine. ‘Energy medicine, is the use of known subtle energy fields to therapeutically assess and treat energetic imbalances, bringing the body’s systems back to homeostasis (balance)’. Practices such as acupuncture, reiki, yoga, qi gong and meditation are all considered forms of energy medicine. All of these varied healing systems approach energy healing through the ‘theoretical basis of a model of a bodily energy system’(5). In other words, these methodologies educe the energetic human body through the basis of energy points in the body which function to regulate the physical, spiritual, and emotional state of being. These energy points or energy centers are called chakras and play a major role in traditional medicinal systems in controlling the circulation of vital energy and in bringing balance into the body. Interestingly enough, the physiology of this ancient energy system coincides and correlates with new findings of western science based on modern anatomical models of the lymphatic, nervous, and endocrine systems.
These energy points or energy centers are called chakras and play a major role in traditional medicinal systems in controlling the circulation of vital energy and in bringing balance into the body
The Seven Chakras
There are seven core chakras in the body running along the length of the spine, starting at the base of the spine to the top of the head. Each chakra rules over a specific physical and emotional realm as well as it abides to a specific set of symbols, colors and vibrational sounds.
Root Chakra (Muladhara)
Mantra:
Lam Color: Red
Location: At the base of your spine.
Balanced Chakra: You feel grounded and in connection with your loved ones and the world. You are in tune to the feeling of belonging.
Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana)
Mantra: Vam
Color: Orange
Location: In your lower abdomen, below your navel.
Balanced Chakra: You are creative, seek new experiences and are in touch with your intimacy and healthy sexuality.
Chakra Imbalance: You are easily affected by life’s changes, you have difficulties with commitment and experience emotional and/or creative blocks.
Solar Chakra (Manipura)
Mantra: Ram
Color: Yellow
Location: In your stomach, above the navel.
Balanced Chakra: You trust yourself and possess self-confidence. You are assertive and feel in control.
Chakra Imbalance: You feel shame, self-judgement, you overcommit and your identity is attached to your accomplishments.
Heart Chakra (Anahata)
Mantra: Yam
Color: Green
Location: In the center of your chest, in the heart and its surroundings.
Balanced Chakra: It is easy to feel love, compassion, loving-kindness, gratitude and trust.
Chakra Imbalance: Feelings of isolation, abandonment, mistrust, jealousy and bitterness.
Be guided through your mantra practice through simple coloring exercises to put your samadhi + focus into practice.
Throat Chakra (Visshuddha)
Mantra: Ham
Color: Blue
Location: In your throat.
Balanced Chakra: You are a good listener, you are honest, you are able to express your needs.
Chakra Imbalance: Lack of willpower, fear of speaking and communicating with others truthfully.
Third Eye Chakra (Ajna)
Mantra: Om
Color: Indigo
Location: In your forehead, in the middle of your eyebrows.
Balanced Chakra: Intuition, inner wisdom, and clarity.
Chakra Imbalance: Mental wandering, overtly sensitive to one’s environment, mental fog.
Crown Chakra (Sahasrara)
Mantra: Ah
Color: Purple & White
Location: At the top of your head.
Balanced Chakra: You feel in unison with the universe and the divine. You trust your reason to be here.
Chakra Imbalance: You are overtly skeptic of the spiritual world and see yourself through your material attachments.
Chakra Meditation
Chakra meditation consist of meditating on an energy center through the use of breathwork, visualization, color, and a mantra. Partaking in this form of meditative energy practice is meant to uplift the energetic balance in your body by moving your internal energy or unblocking a chakra by bringing it back to balance.
By way of concentrating on your energetic centers you are bringing your life force into the invisible power of your energy that lies within you.
Starting chakra meditation can sometimes be difficult as it can be tricky to focus on breathwork, visualization, colors, and mantras, all while trying to achieve a quiet state of mind. For this reason, guided meditation tools such as the the Coloring Method can be of great help in accompanying you through a supportive and intentional-based meditation.
Explore the Chakra Meditative Workbooks so you can be guided through your chakra meditation through simple coloring exercises to put your samadhi + focus into practice. Download a free sample exercise from the Coloring Method Chakra Series Meditative books in the box below.
Download a free print-at-home sample
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Explore + Shop the Coloring Method’s Publications on Chakra and other Yogic-based Mantras.
Resources
- Levin, David. Q&A — Developmental biologist Michael Levin: Controlling Electric Signals in the Body Could Help it Heal. Knowable Magazine from Annual Reviews. October, 2018.
- Nelson, David L, and Michael M Cox. 2013. Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry 6th Ed. Book. 6th ed. New York: W.H. Freeman and Co.
- Dougherty, Elizabeth. What are thoughts made of?. Ask an Engineer. MIT. April, 2011.
- Ross CL. Energy Medicine: Current Status and Future Perspectives. Glob Adv Health Med. Feb, 2019.
- Tianjun Liu. The scientific hypothesis of an “energy system” in the human body. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medical Sciences, Volume 5, Issue 1 2018, Pages 29–34.
- S.M. Roney — Dougal. Recent Research into A Possible Psychophysiology of the Yogic Chakra System. Psi Research Centre, Glastonbury, Somerset, Britain.
