life. Instead, most of us live fast-paced lives, full of complex challenges. We meet these challenges through the veil of enormous emotional wounds that compromise our aliveness. We live in a culture in which that compromise is taken for granted. To heal this rift, many of us have been working on ourselves for decades, undergoing the journey to heal ourselves and find our life’s purpose, the journey of individuation and awakening.
A chakra is a center of organization that receives, assimilates, and expresses life force energy. The word chakra literally translates as “wheel” or “disk” and refers to a spinning sphere of bioenergetic activity emanating from the major nerve ganglia branching forward from the spinal column.
chakra. It is the seven major chakras that correlate with basic states of consciousness, and it is these that we will examine in this book.
Whether the symbol of the circle appears in a primitive sun worship or modern religion, in myths or in dreams, in the mandalas drawn by Tibetan monks, in the ground plan of cities, or in the spherical concepts of early astronomers, it always points to the single most vital aspect of life—its ultimate wholeness. C. G. JUNG
The lower chakras, for example, which are physically closer to the earth, are related to the more practical matters of our lives—survival, movement, action. They are ruled by physical and social law. The upper chakras represent mental realms and work on a symbolic level through words, images, and concepts. Each of the seven chakras has also come to represent a major area of human psychological health, which can be briefly summarized as follows: (1) survival, (2) sexuality, (3) power, (4) love, (5) communication, (6) intuition, and (7) consciousness itself
Metaphorically, the chakras relate to the following archetypal elements: (1) earth, (2) water, (3) fire, (4) air, (5) sound, (6) light, and (7) thought. (This is my own interpretation; classic texts only list the five elements earth, water, fire, air, and ether.)
The word chakra literally means “disk.” How fitting that in modern times, disks are the common storage unit of programmed information. We can use this analogy and think of chakras as floppy disks that contain vital programs.
The chakra system is an evolutionary program and can be used to reprogram our lives. If we can learn this on an individual level, perhaps we can apply the same methods to our culture and environment.
When energetic contact is made through the body, it is called grounding. Grounding comes from the solid contact we make with the earth, especially through our feet and legs. It is rooted in sensation, feeling, action, and the solidity of the material world.
When consciousness is detached from the body, it is wide and vague, dreamy and empty, but capable of great journeys. When it is connected to our body, then we have a dynamic energy flow throughout our entire being. In this way, the spiritual realm becomes embodied, making it tangible and effective. In effect, we have plugged in the system, just as we plug in our radio, so we can tune in to various frequencies. The chakras then become like channels, receiving and broadcasting at different frequencies.
Only through embodiment can consciousness manifest. This means that the energy current must be run through the body/hardware to activate the necessary programs.
Unfortunately, both currents are affected by negative experiences. Physical pain, childhood traumas, social programming, and oppressive environments or activities all cut us off from our ground, and hence from the liberating current that originates at the base.
Integration of mind, body, and energy makes healing possible. It is not enough to merely understand without action or to merely move energy without understanding. It is the integration of these two currents that creates the changes we seek in our lives.
A block develops from equal and opposing forces meeting on a particular plane. We cannot merely eliminate one or the other force. They must be integrated.
What blocks a chakra? Childhood traumas, cultural conditioning, limited belief systems, restrictive or exhausting habits, physical and emotional injuries, or even just lack of attention all contribute to chakra blockage. Difficulties abound in life, and for each one, we develop a coping strategy. When difficulties persist, these coping strategies become chronic patterns, anchored in the body and psyche as defense structures.
It effects our posture, breathing, metabolism, and our emotional states, as well as our perceptions, interpretations, and belief systems. Obviously, since the body-mind system is so affected, we see manifestations in our relationships, work, creativity, and belief systems—all of which tend to perpetuate the pattern.
Unblocking a chakra requires addressing the problem on multiple levels. Understand the dynamics of that particular chakra. This means knowing the chakra system well enough to understand both the nature of each chakra and its function in the system as a whole. This way we know what the chakra is trying to accomplish, and how it behaves in its optimal functioning. Examine the personal history related to that chakra’s issues. Each chakra has a developmental stage, with traumas and abuses that affect its functioning. Understanding your programming from each particular stage gives vital information about the nature of the block. Apply exercises and techniques. As the chakras are physically embodied, there are specific physical exercises designed to open particular parts of the body. There are also meditations, real-world tasks, and visualization techniques to help influence change in a chakra. Balance excess and deficiency. If a chakra is blocked by chronic holding, we learn to let go. If it is blocked by perpetual avoidance, we learn to focus on that area in both our bodies and our lives.
Excess And Deficiency
So many of life’s problems stem from too much or too little of something. We spend our lives searching for balance.
The way an individual copes with stress, negative experiences, or trauma usually falls into one of two categories: increasing one’s energy and attention in order to fight the stress, or decreasing it in order to withdraw from the situation. This results in an excessive or deficient coping strategy.
frightened person who talks constantly would have an excessive fifth chakra.
A densely overweight person may have an excessive first chakra, using body weight to feel protected and grounded. Excessive chakras overcompensate for loss or damage by focusing excessively on that issue—usually in a dysfunctional way that fails to heal the loss.
Character structure describes overall patterns of armoring in the body.
THE SCHIZOID/CREATIVE. Lowen named this structure Schizoid because of its characteristic split between mind and body that results from first chakra alienation. People with this structure are highly creative and intelligent, with upper chakras that are overdeveloped.
THE ORAL/LOVER. The Oral structure is discussed in the second chakra chapter as it results from deprivation in the nurturing/nourishment stage of dependency related to chakras one and two. Since Oral types are strongly oriented toward emotional merging and giving, they are also referred to as Lovers.
THE MASOCHIST/ENDURER. The Masochist structure is fixated at chakra three with energy bound at the will. Robbed of their autonomy, masochists tend to hold everything inside in a conflicting pattern of pleasing and resisting, turning their blocked energy inward against the Self. They are strong and loyal, and can endure difficulty well, so they are more positively referred to as the Endurer structure.
THE RIGID/ACHIEVER. Wounded at the heart by lack of approval, this type tends to focus their energy on achievement. They are highly functional but often afraid of relationships, commitment, and feelings of intimacy. The Achiever structure is discussed in the chapter on chakra four.
THE HYSTERIC. This structure is a variation on the Rigid/Achiever and tends to occur more often in women, who have more cultural permission to be emotional. The wounds and patterns are similar to the Achiever, but where the emotions are initially held back, they later erupt with an intensity that gives this structure its name.
THE PSYCHOPATH/CHALLENGER-DEFENDER. The Psychopathic structure is also developmentally related to the third chakra, but the result is excessive rather than deficient. This type is oriented toward power-over and is also called the Challenger-Defender, as they defend the meek and challenge the strong. Since their holding pattern brings energy upward in the body, especially to the neck and shoulders, I discuss the Challenger in the fifth chakra chapter.
CHAKRA ONE: The right to be here.
I may have grasped my right to be here, but still have trouble allowing myself to have such things as time to myself, pleasure, money, possessions, love, or praise.
CHAKRA TWO: The right to feel.
CHAKRA THREE: The right to act.
Most people follow in the footsteps of others, afraid to innovate, afraid to be free.
CHAKRA FOUR: The right to love and be loved.
CHAKRA FIVE: The right to speak and hear truth.
CHAKRA SIX: The right to see.
CHAKRA SEVEN: The right to know.
Identity is a constantly changing and expanding manifestation of spirit. Without it, our power is too diffuse, but if we cling to it, we become limited.
It is not a problem to have clothing—we need different outfits for different occasions, from jeans to tuxedos to sexy lingerie. It is a problem if we think the clothing is who we actually are, and never remove it.
The identities can be seen as metaphoric layers of clothing, as ways to cover the essential soul underneath.
CHAKRA ONE: Our first identity level is known as the physical identity, and its job is self-preservation. Here we learn to identify with the body—when my body is hungry, I am hungry, when it hurts, I hurt. The body cloaks the invisible soul, and reveals its shape and expression. When we identify with the body, we identify with the soul’s expression in physical form, as well as its physical qualities of male, female, young, old, fat, thin, healthy, or sick.
CHAKRA TWO: Beneath the surface of the body churn the emotions. The emotions are the clothing of our feelings.
The second chakra, then, is our emotional identity, and its job is self-gratification. Emotion emerges from our physical identity and yet brings in an added dimension. We have to feel our bodies in order to feel our emotions and learn to interpret their messages.
CHAKRA THREE: In the third chakra, we identify with our will, behavior, and our actions. This is where we realize that we are a separate entity with the power to choose our own actions and consequences.
This is the identity most often in charge. But we have to remember—it is only a middle manager.
CHAKRA FOUR: In the fourth chakra, we create a social identity, also known as the persona. The persona is the personality created to interact with others—it is the part of ourselves that the ego allows to rise above the surface, separated off from the shadow. Our social identity may be the compulsive helper, the seductive lover, the pleaser, or the entertainer.
CHAKRA FIVE: The fifth chakra is the center of our creative identity. Here we identify with our self-expression—what we say and produce.
The creative identity expands outward, through its ability to contribute and give back to the larger system. As this level matures, we begin to identify with larger possibilities and reach for inspiration from the great works of civilization, from the inspiring acts of heroes and saints, poets and painters.
Our path is the realization of our personal contribution to the larger system. Ideally, the path leads to an ever-expanding growth of consciousness and an eventual transcendence of the personal self into the transpersonal self. Its foundation is a healthy ego, social confidence, and a sense of compassion for others.
CHAKRA SIX: In the sixth chakra, we expand into our archetypal identity, transforming the individual I into something transpersonal.
We enlarge our understanding of Self as we find our own life themes reflected in fairy tales, mythology, movies, and news stories. We experience self-reflection in the larger system. We realize we are players in a much larger drama, riding the waves of the cultural tide’s ebb and flow. As we mature at this level, we consciously embrace the evolution of the archetypal symbols that speak to us.
CHAKRA SEVEN: In the crown chakra, we come to the final and largest identity: our universal identity. The more our consciousness expands, the larger our identity can become.
Each of the chakras has what I have come to call a specific demon that interferes with its health and undermines its identity. I use the word demon not to denote some kind of evil creature, but as a way of naming the counterforce that seemingly opposes the natural activity of the chakra. The reason I say seemingly is that demons arise to teach us something. A counterforce usually results in strengthening whatever it opposes. The presence of the demon keeps the chakra from doing its job, but that challenge also forces us to bring more awareness to that job, so eventually we can do it better.
The demon of chakra one is fear. Fear arises when something threatens our survival. It prevents us from feeling secure, focused, and calm. It creates hypervigilance, which forces energy into the upper chakras. The demon of chakra two is guilt. Guilt undermines the natural flow of emotional and sexual energy through the body, and inhibits us from reaching out, diminishing emotional and sexual connections with others. Chakra three has shame as its demon. Shame undermines self-esteem, personal power, spontaneous activity, and joy. Shame collapses the third chakra and turns its radiating energy inward against the self. Grief is the demon of the heart chakra. Grief counteracts the heart’s lightness and expansion, and makes it feel heavy and closed. Grief results from hurts to the heart. Lies are the demonic antithesis to the communication of truth in the fifth chakra. Lies twist our relationship to the outside world through distorted information. Illusion is the demon of chakra six. Illusion fixates the attention and keeps us from seeing accurately. And finally, attachment is the demon of the seventh chakra. Attachment is the small focus of attention that obscures realization and unity with cosmic consciousness.
CHAKRA ONE Mid-pregnancy to 12 months after birth, peaking at 4 to 5 months
Successful progress through this stage gives us a sense of hope and affirms our right to be here and our right to have. This stage builds the foundation of security and groundedness that enables self-preservation and forms the physical identity.
CHAKRA TWO 6 months to 2 years, peaking at 12 to 18 months The second chakra,
This stage focuses on the formation of an emotional identity which is mainly interested in self gratification.
CHAKRA THREE 18 months to approximately 4 years
The child at this stage is naturally self-centered, and wishes to establish a sense of personhood, power, and the ability to self-create and self-define. He is aware of himself as a separate entity, and is now focused on power dynamics through exploration and development of his personal will.
CHAKRA FOUR 4 to 7 years
CHAKRA FIVE 7 to 12 years
This is a period of expansion, experimentation, and creativity. For this reason it is important to support the child’s natural curiosity and creativity. It is also important to model healthy forms of communication. This is the formation of a creative identity, with the important property of
CHAKRA SIX Adolescence
This is the emergence of Piaget’s formal operations stage, where imagination helps the child develop his symbolic conception of the world.
There may be a dawning interest in spiritual matters, mythology, or symbolism, whether through music, lyrics, popular movie icons, or the latest fashion at school. When allowed to mature, this leads to the formation of archetypal identity, whose interest is self-reflection. Erikson named the conflict of adolescence as identity vs. role confusion.
CHAKRA SEVEN Early adulthood and beyond
For many people, adult chakra development never occurs as they remain in dependency and powerlessness and never break from their programmed instinctual patterns. They may never have spiritual cravings and may never discover the potential of their higher selves. As the process of awakening is often fraught with challenge and difficulty, who is to say whether they are better or worse off? But for those who are unsatisfied with the script given them, who long for something greater, here is a description of the second round of personal evolution through the chakras.
Individuation means becoming a single, homogeneous being, and in so far as individuality embraces our innermost, last, and incomparable uniqueness, it also implies becoming one’s own self … or “self-realization.” C. G. JUNG
CHAKRA ONE: The first issue to solve is one of survival—getting a place to live, learning to care for yourself, and finding a means of independent income. The time spent on this stage clearly varies from person to person—for some it is a lifelong struggle. Successful completion marks basic independence and self-sufficiency.
CHAKRA TWO: Once this is accomplished (or simultaneously) one forms sexual relationships. This is not to say that sexuality has not been occurring for many years, but awareness of “other” now becomes more acute and the need for partnership may become primary. Satisfaction of emotional needs is the underlying drive, usually projected on the partner. Emotional frustration may awaken unconscious patterns from the shadow, which may sabotage early relationships, often with misunderstandings, blaming, and emotional turmoil. This is even more acute when the adult senses of personal will and responsibility have not yet awakened.
CHAKRA THREE: In adults, the individuation process liberates us from having to conform to the expectations of parents, friends, or culture, and allows us to become a true individual operating under our own power and will. Here we move from dependency, powerlessness, and obedience to the creation of our own path and future. This may or may not awaken in one’s life. It is often triggered by meaningless jobs, or the enslavement of relationships in which we are defined by the needs and expectations of the other person.
The misaligned third chakra seeks power over others; the awakened third chakra seeks power with others.
CHAKRA FOUR: The focus on relationships eventually matures into true empathy and altruism and the maintenance of lasting partnerships.
Sometimes the loss of a previous relationship causes us to examine the nature of all our relationships, including our family of origin.
CHAKRA FIVE: Once again, creative and personal expression come into play. This is the stage where one makes their personal contribution to the community. It may mean creating a business, writing a book or thesis, building one’s own house, or seriously pursuing an artistic hobby.
midlife. With more creative personalities, it happens much sooner and may precede or dominate other activities.
CHAKRA SIX: This stage involves the reflection and study of patterns through exploration of mythology, religion, and philosophy. There may be a period of searching in the form of travel or renewed study of inner paths.
CHAKRA SEVEN: This is the time of wisdom, spiritual understanding, knowledge, and teaching. Now we bring together information gathered throughout life, and pass it on to others. For some this means leaving the mundane world for a spiritual pursuit, while for others it is a time of teaching and sharing, a time to develop mastery.
First Chakra At A Glance
HEALING PRACTICES Reconnect with body Physical activity (aerobics, weights, running, dance) Lots of touch, massage Bioenergetic grounding Hatha yoga Look at earliest childhood relationship to mother Reclaim right to be here
AFFIRMATIONS It is safe for me to be here. The earth supports me and meets my needs. I love my body and trust its wisdom. I am immersed in abundance. I’m here and I’m real.
To be solid is to face what is in front of us without flinching, to remain anchored in truth in the face of opposition, and to remain calm and secure.
This keeps the body in a state of hyperstimulated readiness, flooded with stress hormones that promote the instinctual fight-or-flight response. One may feel restless, tense, and unable to sleep deeply, which may lead to frequent health problems over time.
By reclaiming the first chakra, we can live harmoniously with our basic survival instincts without being unconsciously ruled by them.
Fear brings our attention into the here and now to address the threat, but focuses the attention outward and upward to the chakras of perception and mental activity. We become hypervigilant, restless, anxious. We can’t settle, relax, or let down. It’s as if we are jumping right out of our skin.
To work through fear is to learn to relax and feel the subtle energies of the body, to have pleasure and expand our attention to a wider vista. To combat fear is to strengthen the first chakra. To live with fear is to weaken it.
This may include such things as building self-esteem, learning martial arts, or improving communication skills.
Although fear is the demon of the first chakra, it is also a sacred adversary, a presence that has much to teach us. Fear exists as an ally of self-preservation, teaching us of our own importance and the need to take care of ourselves. Only when we acknowledge this demon as an ally can it be truly mastered.
Fear is a belief that something awful might happen, while faith is a belief that something good will happen. Although the results are different, the causes are the same—both are beliefs that govern our behavior and influence the way we feel. If we can replace unreasonable fear with reasonable faith, then we have a natural antidote to our first chakra demon.
Many people who consider themselves spiritual have greatly improved their lives when they learned to send their energy downward as well as upward. We are typically taught that spirituality is only found in the nonphysical realms, yet to truly experience our body’s aliveness is to experience a profoundly spiritual state—achieved by embracing our natural tendencies rather than denying them through ascetic practices.
Eating disorders are often manifestations of first chakra issues of nourishment. My friend Connie turned to food whenever she felt lonely, trying to make solidity out of her feelings of emptiness.
In order to manifest, we must be able to accept limitation. We have to be able to focus on what we want, to be specific about it. We have to be able to stick with it long enough for manifestation to occur.
Trust or mistrust is the basic element of your first chakra program, which is a foundation for all the other programs that follow.