Chakra 5 The Throat Chakra

The energy of life flows through our chakras. A chakra is simply defined as an energy center in our body

Chakras act as a balancing system to maintain the physical, mental, and spiritual functions of a person. Chakras are an integral aspect of the intersection between mind and body functions.

Chakras are divided into 7 main areas that are located along the central aspect of the body. These run from the base of the spine up to the top of the head.

The chakras are listed below:

• Chakra 1 The Root Chakra – refers to survival and overall life
• Chakra 2 The Sacral Chakra – refers to emotion and sexuality
• Chakra 3 The Solar Plexus Chakra – refers to self-esteem, self-worth, and personal will
• Chakra 4 The Heart Chakra – refers to love
• Chakra 5 The Throat Chakra – refers to communication
• Chakra 6 The Third Eye Chakra – refers to creativity, intuition, and imagination
• Chakra 7 The Crown Chakra – refers to knowledge, understanding, and consciousness

Chakras are constantly vibrating as they absorb and transmit energy throughout our bodies. When a chakra is blocked, it creates a disruption to energy flow and will impact us in our daily lives, specifically in the area of the blocked chakra. Consequently, as one chakra is blocked, it will affect the flow of energy through the other chakras.

Many experiences and events can block chakras. These experiences include childhood trauma, physical injury, emotional distress, high stress, chronic illness, unhealthy habits, and limited thinking.

As we experience negative events in our life, we undertake coping mechanisms to help us cope physically, mentally, and spiritually. These coping mechanisms can develop bad habits and thinking patterns that ultimately impact the flow of energy through our chakras.

Balancing our chakras is an important part of our healing and recovering process, along with developing an understanding of the source of our experiences and the maladaptive coping mechanisms that we develop in order to protect ourselves.

The throat chakra physically relates to the thyroid, throat, neck, shoulders, arms, and hands.

The throat chakra is associated with the color blue and the element of sound. The throat chakra is connected with all things related to communication which includes both expression and listening.

Verbal communication provides us with an incredible amount of access to understanding the dynamics of how our relationships function. We can communicate our personal needs to family and friends. We are also able to empathize and support loved ones through our communication.

When the throat chakra is balanced, we can express ourselves freely and communicate our needs to others.

When the throat chakra is out of balance, we may become paralyzed in our ability to express ourselves. We may also retreat and avoid situations if we feel we cannot easily verbalize our needs.

When out of balance, the throat chakra can affect our physical experiences with a sore throat, sore or stiff neck, and difficulty with hearing.

For the throat chakra to be balanced, communication should freely flow and not be stifled by feeling intimidated or repressed.

A number of activities can help restore our chakras. Engaging in positive life activities is beneficial to encourage positive energy flow throughout our body. This is relevant for the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of our lives.

Some positive activities that we can engage in to promote positive energy flow are listed below:

• Reiki
• Yoga
• Meditation
• Visualization
• Color therapy
• Conscious breathing
• Gentle physical exercises such as stretching
• Positive thinking
• Affirmations
• Aromatherapy
• Art therapy/art journaling
• Formal therapy for mental wellbeing

As the element of sound is connected to the throat chakra, you can engage in activities that gently support your throat. If you feel your throat chakra is out of balance due to silencing or repressive experiences, you can engage in voice warming activities such as singing or meditation chanting. These activities can be soothing to the throat and help you to engage in activating your external communication.

Physically you can engage in activities such as neck rolls and elongating your neck to stretch your neck muscles. A shoulder and neck massage is also helpful to balance your throat chakra.

Balancing the throat chakra gives you the voice to express the positive flow of energy to the following chakras as well as receive the foundational power from the previous chakras.

In addition to the above activities to rebalance the throat chakra, conducting Reiki over the throat chakra area can also clear any blockage and help restore a positive energy flow.

Reiki techniques involve holding your hands for at least 5 minutes over your throat. Hand positions can also extend to moving around the shoulder as well as the front and back of your neck.