The ZenGarden: Opening Your Chakras

To open your chakras takes practice and time and patience because they will not just open in one day. It takes time. One of the processes that I found to work for me, which I will use in this how to article, is the opening flower technique. There are many other techniques. This is just one of them and it may not work for everyone. The seven chakras starting from the bottom to the top are the root, belly, solar plexus, heart, throat, brow, and crown. Tip: Before you try to begin opening them it is best to get into a meditative state. The reason why I say this is so that you can concentrate and focus better. You can sit cross legged, lie down, or any other position that is comfortable as long as your spine is flat. Then breathe in and out slowly for bout fifteen minutes, relaxing your mind and muscles. When you achieve the state you can then proceed to start opening your chakras. Step 1: Starting with the root chakra, which is located at the base of the spine, if you have security problems or self-esteem issues this will affect the chakra. The color of this chakra is red as it is associated with survival also. If you are not grounded then your root chakra may be closed. To be grounded is to be really here and present, and to be unshakeable. To open this chakra, put your hand either above or on where this chakra is located and just visualize a red flower that is closed. The visualize it slowly opening. You may even, before you do that visualize a red light streaming into the chakra energizing it and then proceed to do the technique. This may or may not work for the first time, so do not force it open if it does not want to. You might not be ready yet and it can cause problems for you if you do. I would spend at least five minutes on each chakra before proceeding onto the next one. Step 2: The sixth chakra which is the belly chakra is associated with being able to let things go and has a lot to do with expressing yourself. This chakra is below the belly button but above the root. The problems that come along with this chakra can arise from blame, guilt, money and power. If you keep blaming yourself for things that have happened in the past or feel guilt from a past happening, you will not be able to move on and you will be stuck, not able to freely live. For this chakra to open you must learn to let things go and not hold onto them because they will build up and block your belly or if you want, sacral chakra, to the point it might shut down. It’s color is orange, so for this one you can visualize an orange flower opening. Sep 3: Next is the solar plexus, which is yellow and has to do with simple emotions instead of complex ones. This chakra is located just above your belly button but below your heart. You must learn to love yourself first before you can receive the love of others, which is why it is before the heart chakra, and why I started with the lower chakras first. Fear of rejection, image, and of secrets being found out by others can have an affect on this chakra. Not only that but so can having low self-esteem and being oversensitive. You have to be able to accept yourself for who you are and feel like you belong here or this chakra will not open. Use the same techniques as the other ones but this time visualized it as a yellow flower. Step 4: Moving onto to the heart chakra this has to do with unconditional love, forgiveness, and trust. This chakra can either be pink or green and emotional situations can affect it, like a breaking up of a relationship. Your trust crumples and you hold onto the memory, never really getting over it. You may not even forgive the other person. Letting go of this means you can move onto other things. Do not let the problems of others bring you down, because this leads to a bleeding heart. You must be able to transcend your feelings for them. Imagine a green flower opening and feel love and warmth coming into your heart region. Step 5: After that there is the throat chakra, which of course has to do with communication, dealing with speaking the truth and saying what you believe. Speak out when something is wrong, because when you do not and repress it, it can build up and lead to it bubbling over. Lying too can block the throat chakra because this chakra is all about trying to express ourselves truthfully. Issues with your throat can arise from decision making, faith, self expression, will. Creativity, and criticism. You must be able to speak the truth and accept truthfulness over deceit. So do not accept something you know to be wrong. The color of this chakra is blue so visualize a blue flower and watch it slowly open. Step 6: Following the throat chakra is the brow chakra, which is on the center of your forehead. This chakra has to do with being able to see the big picture and also about using your intuition. When this chakra is open you are able to see the difference between reality and fantasy. You are able to put things into perspective and learn from your experiences. When this chakra is closed, it is a failure to separate the two and you can become delusional, making the chakra not able to function right. For example, when you have fear of the truth, this chakra can be affected because then you readily do not accept it and thus becoming delusional. For you to be able to open this chakra you must have an open mind , and understanding, and know the difference between what is real and what is not. The color of this chakra is Indigo and you can visualize an indigo flower opening. Sometimes people visualize an eye that is closed and then visualize it opening. Others may envision a key and see the chakra as a door, and use the key to unlock it. If this does open up for you may experience seeing things and energy if you are not ready for this then do not try it. Step 7: Lastly there is the crown chakra, which can be seen as violet or white, and it is located on the top of your head. This chakra can be opened when you are able to awaken yourself spiritually, and are able to connect to the God source. Feeling as though you have no purpose or identity in life could mean that you have an issue with this chakra. As can being spiritually depressed affect it. To open this chakra you can either imagine a violet or white flower opening. Opening the chakras in the end will benefit you physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I started with the lower ones because the higher ones are harder to open and need the support of the lower ones to become stable and balanced. You also have to learn the lesson for each one before moving onto the next, because they are all connected to each other, like the solar plexus and the heart chakra. I hope that this technique will help others who wish to open their chakras ad gain a healthier perspective on life and themselves.