The Seven Major Chakras
The word chakra is Sanskrit for "spinning wheel." Each chakra is believed to store some of our life-force. In Japanese life-force is called "Ki", the Sanscrit (Hindi) word for life-force is "Prana" and one of the Chinese words for it is "Chi." These terms are fairly interchangable, and it is the way we address the white light reiki life-force energy that flows through our bodies and connects us to the universe. In fact, the Japanese word "Rei-Ki" means universal ("Rei") life-force ("Ki").

Each energy center, or chakra has it's own particular area of life experience that it governs, and the health of our chakras gives us information aobut our emotional, physical and spritual health or vice versa. There are thousands of chakras all over the body, but the major seven run up and down the spine. There are many ways to rebalance the energy flow and stimulate or release stagnant energy. Manipulating the "Ki" or life-force through Reiki is just one way. Reiki is an energy modality and there isn't a lot of hard science to back it up, that said, as our scientic instrumentation becomes more sensitive, we will be able to quantify and refine what we know about Reiki. Until then, much of what we know about Chakras comes from the ancient Hindu texts called the Upanishads which talk about the manipulation of the chakras, universal spirit (Brahman) and the individual soul (Atman). To find out more about click each tab to reveal the properties of that chakra.

Red - Root or base chakra: Muladhara
The base chakra is called MULADHARA, which means 'root' or 'foundation' in Sanskrit. Red is the longest wavelength of light that we can perceive. It is reputedly one of the first colors we see when we open our eyes as babies, and it is also one of the colors that can be restored to the color blind with laser surgery. The color red is a complex symbol of blood, birth, anger, passion, life and death in human psychology. In a vast array of Neolithic graves from various countries, red ocher has been found at the site. Either stored in pots, or dusted over the deceased, the red paint is an emblem of passing and a life of belonging. Red ocher or iron oxide was one of the first paints used by humanity. The root chakra is located at the tailbone - right at the end of the spinal column. This is where the three main nadis begin the Ida, Pingala and Sushumma combine to form the kundalini energy base. Tribal instincts form here, whom we feel most comfortable, our connections to our surroundings, and our grounding or stability, start with this chakra. Safety and fear of being hurt both psychologically and physically start in this region. Physically, this chakra governs our sense of smell, our large intestine and ability to process elimination, our bones and our adrenal glands i.e., our fight or flight response all derive from this chakra.

When this chakra is out of balance, you may find you are fearful of people or situations. You may feel or act flighty rather than grounded, and you may find that physical reality is boring. If you're tired, suffer lower backaches, bloating or feel like you're 'carrying a heavy load', it could be time for a chakra adjustment.

To harmonize this area, we need to listen to the beat of our heart, calm ourselves and allow our consciousness to affect the world. We belong where we are because we have something to learn from where we are. Try not to let painful events overwhelm you, rather remember that there is a cycle to all things. The passage of time will allow new growth and change to take place, concentrate on grounding where you are. Foster the health of your base chakra with a hearty meal. Pasta with tomatoes and red wine will help ground you. Share it with friends to help foster belonging, and learn to relax. You do belong, and belonging brings grounding.

Orange - The sex center or sacral chakra: Svadisthana
The Sacral Chakra is located just below the belly button. It governs our creativity, our ability to give and receive, our sexuality, our sense of sensuality and fulfillment, and of course, procreation.

Our sense of awe or wonder is also derived from this chakra. When it is working properly we are able to find fulfillment in our work and our relationships and we can give and receive without effort. If this chakra is too weak, we may have trouble feeling connected to our partner or to our work. We may find it hard to see the creativity that we bring to our job, and feel undervalued or unappreciated. If this is the case, there are steps that we can take to help balance this area of our lives.

Use the image of something orange as a meditation device. Close your eyes half way and blur the image in view, so that it simply becomes a field of color. As you become quiet, you may find that messages flow to you from your subconscience. Concentrate on how you can use this information. Dismiss any negitive thoughts, by saying "cancel, clear" to yourself. When good thoughts surface say in your mind, "I am applying this now." Then with breath, let the though go.

To open the chakra you may find it helpful to use the mudra (hand postures) associated with the strengthening of this chakra area. Keep your hands in your lap left hand under right hand palms up, and thumbs touching. As you sit, remember to pull your belly button towards your spine. This helps to circulate the energy in the sacral chakra area, and helps to open the area and make the lower back more flexible. You can do this in a meeting or on the bus, but if you are able to go into a meditative state all the better. Use the mantra VAM (Sanscrit for compassion and wisdom) to further enhance the experience.

Yellow - Solar plexus, navel chakra: Manipura
Manipura: the navel chakra or the Solar Plexus Chakra is located just above the belly button. This is the chakra of "fire within the body or the life force." It governs our self-esteem, our confidence in our selves, and our inner strength.

Our ideas about how capable we are, and our ability to create abundance is derived from this chakra. When it is working properly, we are able to see 'golden' opportunities in every thing, regardless of what befalls us, we can find something good in whatever happens. We feel good about following our 'gut instincts', and we trust ourselves. We have confidence in our abilities, and our place in the world.

If this chakra is out of alignment, we may physically have trouble 'digesting a situation', or understanding our role in it. We may have an upset stomach frequently or a queasy sense of fear or uncertainty in our gut. Conversely, needing to dominate or to control situations and others can indicate that this chakra is out of balance in the opposite extreme.

Either way, to harmonize this area, we need to practice self-appreciation, tolerance and love. When we feel out of balance, there are steps that we can take to help stabilize this area. A number of traits are associated with self-awareness, inner strength, and power. What you probably most need to work on when you are stressed or weak in this area is self-appreciation to increase the circulation and power of this area.

Green (and Pink) - Heart chakra: Anahata
Anahata: Green (and Pink) Heart Chakra governs romantic love, affection, caring and compassion, great strength, and the ability to change. It also is the chakra that governs our hands, heart, lungs and circulatory system, physically, and it is our center of emotional balance too.

If this chakra is under stimulated, we may suffer from indecision or anxiety, fear of rejection and clinginess. If it is over stimulated, we may not be able to express "love", and we mistakenly identify lust and longing with love, and arrogance with power. When this chakra is out of balance, we will experience the lower natures of man, versus man's higher nature. To regulate this area we can use the sound "YAM" in meditation.

The benefits of a balanced heart chakra include the ability to express love and compassion, a nurturing nature, a desire to befriend others, confidence, and a protective mental layer of aura able to transmit and receive information effortlessly. A number of basic traits are associated with this chakra: love, devotion, connection, and compassion. Everyday life can easily knock our heart chakra out-of-wack. Stessful situations, attending the needs of others before our own and the like can lead to insecurity, inability to express oneself, loneliness, hostility or anger. All of which are symptoms of the heart chakra needing nourishment. If any of these issues arise, look for ways that you can associate with things that you care about in a natural environment. Find ways to incorporate situations in which you need to devote yourself, and surround yourself with people you admire or love. Trust your intuition, and reach out to find your heart.

Light Blue - Throat chakra: Vishuddha
Vishuddha: the throat chakra is the color of ice blue cough drops. It is the Communication Chakra located just below the Adam's apple in the throat, and right around the thyroid gland which regulates our growth hormones. Associated with clarity and growth, this chakra governs our ability to express ourselves. We can strengthen this area by using sound. Our inner voice and our "abstract intuition" (instant problem solving without formal logic) are derived from this area.

If this chakra is over stimulated, we may suffer sore throats, feel we have 'something stuck in our craw' or have a tendency to 'run at the mouth'. If it is under stimulated we may not be able to express ourselves with ease, and we may have a tendency to speak too softly, or strain our voice when trying to get a point across. To regulate this area we can use the sound RAM or RANG in meditation. In Tibetan "Rang" means "self" and the goal is "rang tong" or to become "empty of self" to further enhance the experience of connection with all. Ego play a major role in our inability to express ourselves. If we can loose our Ego, then we loose all anxiety in self-expression. We know we are already accepted. The benefits of a Balanced 5th Chakra are the ability to be heard, one's words hold weight with others, the ability to effectively use a creative outlet via communication, spoken, written or otherwise, confidence in the ability to express oneself and access to the Etheric communication.

"In our society it seems as though one is always struggling to get their voice heard. When one has balance in the 5th center, an interesting coincidence is that one may find that their need to communicate with frequency reduces, but the power of their word increases." (Quoted from:Kundalini Yoga Blog)

Historically the color blue is associated with truth and fidelity as in the English idiom 'he's true blue', or the folk rhyme 'Married in Blue, your love will always be true', which is where we get our something borrowed, something blue tradition. Hence, various shades of the color blue are used in advertising, business and the military to instill confidence in their message and ability to get the job done. The traits that are associated with the throat chakra will have to do with truth and communication, authority, trust, and taking action.

Indigo blue - Third-eye, brow chakra: Ajna
The Brow or third-eye Ajna chakra center is called "the seat of the soul." It governs our awareness, our ability to foresee things and visualize desired outcomes. It is the Clairvoyant-Intuitive part of our brain residing in the frontal lobe, which corresponds with our higher brain functions. Our ideas about reality and our ability to create that reality are derived from this chakra. The color associated with Ajna is dark midnight blue, or indigo. Vincent Van Gogh's painting "The Starry Night" makes great use of this color.

When the third-eye chakra is working properly, we are able to visualize easily, our memory is sharp as is our ability to reason. We know almost instinctively how to help someone without their asking, and we trust our intuition and ourselves.

If this chakra is out of alignment, we may have trouble understanding our role in the creation of our reality. We may chalk things up to fate or luck. We may not accept we control a lot of how things turn out. Freewill always plays a part in the creation of our circumstances, which are partly based on our worldview.

Physical manifestations of misalignment include headaches, eye aches, anxiety regarding social behavior, and odd sleeping patterns. Conversely, needing to dominate or to control situations and others can indicate that this chakra is out of balance as well. To harmonize this area, we need to practice controlling our thoughts, and maintain focus on our present actions to reach our goals. Psychic energy is very powerful. Focusing your mind on how good life is, even through the rough times, will help you to vanquish many psychic and physical aliments. To develop your intuition and third-eye chakra you can try meditating near the ocean or a lake. Large bodies of water help to develop and sooth the mind at the same time. We open up when we are in great natural spaces that are vast. Use a picture if you can't physically get to a vast body of water, or find a patch of sky, it has the same effect. Expanse and expanding is the name of the game with this chakra. A number of traits are associated with the Brow Third-eye chakra: psychic ability, wisdom, and pure brainpower. Learn to harness them wisely.

Violet - Crown chakra, spirit: Sahasrara
The crown chakra (Sahasrara) is the seat of higher consciousness and the master chakra of the body. It is associated with the pituitary gland and the thalamus. These glands control the central nervous system, and they are located in the center of the brain. Recent studies have linked them to consciousness, and new studies indicate that they actually respond to light, giving credence to the idea of our third eye. Release of old patterns, effortless manifestation, understanding others and ourselves intuitively, and renewed compassionate awareness is what concentrating on the crown chakra yields. As it has been said, we are spirits in human form, when we remember this essential truth and act on it we become truly aware. There is a very interesting article that backs-up esoteric history with scientific fact and further discusses the thalamus and pineal glands' role in physiological-psychic phenomena. [http://www.book-of-thoth.com/article1542.html]

Violet was once the color reserved for Roman, Egyptian and Persian royals, and it was considered the color of blood. Greek myth credits Hercules, or rather his dog with discovering the dye, when Hercules' dog came back with his mouth stained purple from chewing on snails along the Levantine coast. In the last days of Rome, the mollusk Murex was becoming scare, due to over fishing. Dyers reputedly smelled like dead fish, according to written accounts, but cloth dyed that color was worth its weight in gold. So smelling to high-heaven became the smell of wealth. It is a color not only rich in hue but also in human historyIf this chakra is out of alignment, we may have trouble feeling compassionate toward others. We may not see our role in the greater creation of our world. Our worldview may be narrow in scope. Anxiety, not sleeping well, general feeling of persecution and anger indicate a possible problem in the crown chakra. Conversely, demanding that reason and logic dictate all outcomes and explain everything can also indicate that the crown chakra is out of balance as well.

To harmonize this area, we need to appreciate and understand our role in the world. Just as the beat of a butterfly's wings can start a tsunami, we need to remember that our consciousness affects our world. A simple act of kindness can do wonders for developing your crown chakra. To develop your spiritual awareness and crown chakra you can try meditating outdoors in sun light or moon light. White Light is helpful in realigning this chakra. Sitting in the sun will restore and balance the violet spectrum. Be careful not to overdo and wear appropriate sun gear and sunscreen. Practicing peace, love and understanding are the ultimate aids in developing our higher consciousness. Make the choice to live by higher principles and see how your perspective changes. A number of traits are associated with the Crown Spirit chakra: compassion, enlightenment, and consciousness. Increase your inner bodsattva by developing your Crown chakra.