The Benefits of Chakra Meditation for Beginners

You’ve hit the gym, hydrated like crazy, and even managed to avoid your favorite fast food place. But what are you doing for your mind and Spiritual body?

Chakras play an important role in balancing our physical and emotional well-being. By meditating on your chakras regularly, you help keep them functioning smoothly and promote good physical health, inner peace and creativity, as well as success in your relationships and even eliminating negative emotions.

What are chakras?

To understand the chakras we must first try to understand the three aspects to our being: the physical, the astral, and the causal. These bodies exist together as one, much like a hologram.

Your chakra system lives within the astral body. For some, these unseen subtle bodies may be difficult to perceive at first. Deeper understanding comes through meditation. It is then that we begin to "feel" their existence.

The individual chakras themselves are colorful beehives of healing energy located in or around the nerve plexuses of your physical body. It is ideal to keep them healthy and active. The major ones are located along the length of your spine starting from the base and moving all the way to the crown of your head.

Each chakra has its own unique set of characteristics that rule over different aspects of our being. When a chakra’s energy becomes “closed” or “blocked”, we develop illnesses and disorders. Let’s touch briefly here on what the “energy” is and how it flows:

Prana and Nadis

Prana (if you do any research) is a word that seems to defy definition. It is not something you can see under a microscope, yet it is found everywhere in the universe; from the smallest cells of your body to the far reaches of the galaxy. Simply put, it is the energy source of all life.

Nadis then, are the channels or tubes or meridians throughout your astral being by which this life-force flows.

There are approximately 72,000 nadis inside of you. Where two or more nadis cross, energy junctions or chakras form. The seven major crossing points form the seven major chakras. While less busy “intersections” form the minor chakras.

Let’s look at each major chakra a little more in depth: (Don’t be scared off by their crazy names)

1. The Muladhara chakra. (Red) Located around the base of your spine and also known as your root chakra. Think here of stability and grounding; standing on your own two feet. Imbalances in this chakra can lead to problems such as: obesity, arthritis, chronic fatigue, and knee and foot problems.
2. The Swadhisthana chakra. (Orange) This chakra is located around the genital region of your body. The energy here is associated with creativity, pleasure, sex, and procreation. This power is more about letting go of guilt and frustration, rather than sex; and enjoying the flow of life. Creative impulses also originate here. And health issues may include: varicose veins, kidney and bladder problems, menstrual ailments, and impotence.
3. The Manipura chakra. (Yellow) Located at your solar plexus, this chakra is your power base. It is related to willpower and self-esteem and confidence. Personal growth also comes from this energy. Physical ailments from imbalance include: digestive problems, blood sugar problems, diabetes, and eating disorders.
4. Anahata chakra. (Green) Your heart center. It links your physical and spiritual realms. Think here of compassion and forgiveness and hope. Health problems from blocked energy include: asthma, bronchitis, shoulder and upper back pain and even lung and breast cancer.
5. Vishudda chakra. (Blue) The throat chakra. Promotes constructive communication and positive self-expression. Many negative habits are linked to an imbalance in this chakra. They include: gossip, over-eating, smoking and alcoholism.
6. Ajna chakra. (Indigo) The brow chakra. Promotes self-knowledge, wisdom, clairvoyance, insight, and visualization. When balanced, you are highly intuitive, imaginative, and prone to psychic phenomena.
7. Sahasrara chakra. The mystical center located at the crown of your head. The highest of the seven chakras. It is the entrance for prana into your chakra system. It is here that you can understand your connectedness with the rest of the universe.

A few tips on meditation

Understand that meditation is a daily discipline. Some days I just don’t feel like brushing my teeth, but I do it anyway. A discipline is something you do especially on those days when you just don’t feel like it. We all want the healthy rewards of a good workout, but it is only those people who have the discipline to workout day after day who benefit. Meditation is a workout for your mind and spirit.

Find some time. Ten to fifteen minutes to start. Find a quiet space and be still. Focus on absolutely nothing but your breath; in and out through the nose only.

FEEL the breath inside of you. Visualize it moving in and out. The first five minutes or so will be difficult because your mind will wander repeatedly. That’s what it does. Continue to bring your focus back to the tip of your nose and your breath.

Notice that after a few weeks of practice you have gained wonderful control of your thoughts. You now can use your brain for the tool that it is, and put it away when you are through.

The goal here is to stop living in the frantic, racing mind. Separate yourself from it by giving the present moment your complete attention. It is only when you still your physical body and have command over your mind that you can begin to sense a deeper more spiritual self. Try this for a couple of weeks, and remember that there is no such thing as wasted effort.

Some sessions will be deep and beautiful. While other times you might struggle to stay focused. Relax and take your session for what it is: a discipline. As your body quiets down, your breathing will slowly fade into the background and you will begin to sense your spiritual body and the vibrant prana energy.

Feel the prana tingle in your hands and feet. Feel it in your shoulders and head. It is a wonderful sensation the first time you witness for yourself that there is more to you than your physical makeup.

Once you reach a deep state of concentration it is time to begin focus on the seven chakras. Use the image above for their location, and if you want you can visualize their individual colors glowing within your body.

Spend time breathing and focusing on each chakra. Picture them healthy and glowing. If you stick with it, you will eventually FEEL the vibrant energy of these chakras throughout your day as well as during your meditation.

The ultimate goal, which takes much effort to experience, is to raise the kundalini energy from the base of your spine out through the crown of your head. It is an amazing blast of pure white energy that channels up from the earth, shoots along your spine and seems to connect you to the heavens. To achieve this however you must first free yourself of many personal blockages and negative emotions.

Cleansing and balancing my chakras has helped me overcome numerous hurdles in my life that therapy and medication could never accomplish. The power to change is within you! The Kingdom of God is within you! Take the time to make the change.