Movin' on Up

This week we are arriving at the top step in our chakra stairway.  Just because it is at the top, however, does not mean it is any more important than all the other steps that came before it.  We must be rooted and grounded in our bodies (root chakra) before we can start to interpret our emotions (sacral chakra) which will lead us to our passion and give us clarity on the direction we want to go (solar plexus chakra).  Once we have set our sights on our path, we can make decisions and lead with our heart (heart chakra) while we share our dreams (throat chakra) with those around us becoming even clearer on developing a picture in our mind (third eye) of where exactly we want to be.  The 7^th chakra is what brings it all together.  It’s almost like hindsight.  We now know exactly why things happened the way they did and why we had to go through certain experiences on our journey. 

The 7^th chakra is also referred to as the crown chakra or Sahasrara (one thousand).  The number one thousand signifies the vast and unlimited nature of this energy centre – it is nowhere, yet it is everywhere!  The physical “location” for this chakra is above the head outside the body.  It is our connection to our own divinity.  Ironically, though it is located on the outside, it is reminding us that all of our answers come from within.  There is no one else or no other thing outside of ourselves that knows exactly who we are or who we came here to be. 

Awareness is the element for this chakra.  It’s about knowing the true essence of our being – we are ALL magnificent and truly powerful.  This can be seen in the symbol, or yantra, for sahasrara which is the thousand petal lotus.  The lotus grows in dirty, mucky water, yet develops into a beautiful flower which is unaffected by the unsightliness of its environment.  It has one main goal . . . . to go towards the light.  Such a simple concept, yet something our intellect is very good at making complicated.

I am light.  I am complete.
I am connected.  I am divine!

When this chakra is out of balance, we can be living at two different extremes.  We can become too attached to this physical reality and the material world.  This can sometimes cause us to be overly skeptical with rigid beliefs and little acceptance of things or people that are different or have different ideas/values than we do.  On the other hand, we can become out of touch with ourselves or this physical world and develop a spiritual addiction where we blindly follow a guru or a system that we believe is going to free us.  A yoga posture that we can work with to help bring this chakra into a bit more balance is headstand (sirsasana) which is also referred to as the king of all asanas (postures).  Headstand requires that we turn our world upside down and see another way of being, overcome our fears and trust that we are capable of standing on our heads.  Most inversions are going to be good to do when we are working with our crown chakra.  We do not develop a strong inversion practice overnight.  It requires patience, persistence and working with our fears, but that first time we get up (even if just for a few seconds) can be really exhilarating.  Working with inversions can show us how powerful and amazing we are and can illustrate how something we thought wasn’t possible can actually come into our existence and experience.

Other healing practices for the crown chakra include meditation or fasting (clearing out our mind and body) and star gazing (seeing the magnificence of the universe and feeling our connection to it).  How about some music?  Check out the playlist below and enjoy!