Understanding Your Chakras: The Energy Centers That Run Your Life
You've probably heard the word "chakra" thrown around in yoga classes, wellness circles, or spiritual conversations. But what are chakras, really? And why should you care about them?
Here's the simple truth: Your chakras are spinning energy centers that affect every aspect of your physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. When they're balanced and flowing, you feel vibrant, grounded, and at peace. When they're blocked or out of balance, you feel stuck, depleted, or unwell.
Understanding your chakra system is like getting the owner's manual for your energetic body. And once you understand it, you can work with it to create better health, clearer emotions, and a more fulfilling life.
Let me break it down for you.
What Are Chakras?
The purpose of chakra energy healing is to align and balance the chakra system, which is one of our body's primary electromagnetic energy systems.
The chakra system is comprised of seven main spinning vortices of energy running from the root chakra at the base of your spine all the way up the midline of your body to the crown chakra on the top of your head.
"Chakra" is a Sanskrit word from the Hindu tradition, literally translated as "circular motion" but most often translated as "wheel" or "vortex." That's exactly what they are—spinning wheels of energy.
Each chakra represents a different level of consciousness:
Survival
Creativity
Identity
Love
Expression
Comprehension
Transcendence
Each of these energy centers has a special task, and they all carry specific information. They're not just abstract concepts—they're real energetic structures that directly affect how you think, feel, and function.
When Chakras Get Out of Balance
Chakra energy healing becomes necessary when one or more of the chakras get "out of whack" due to low vibrations from worry, fear, anger, trauma, or other issues.
When a chakra is blocked or depleted, it can drain your energy overall. You might feel:
Physically tired for no clear reason
Emotionally stuck in certain patterns
Disconnected from yourself or others
Unable to express yourself
Anxious or ungrounded
But when your chakras are aligned and free from negative emotions, they spin vibrantly and communicate with each other. When that happens, you experience peace, contentment, vitality, and flow.
Think of your chakras like a team. When everyone's doing their job and communicating well, the whole system runs smoothly. When one or more team members is struggling or checked out, the whole system suffers.
Learning how to unblock chakras is essential to restoring this natural flow and balance.
The Seven Main Chakras
Below is a description of each chakra, including where it's located on your body, what emotions and issues are stored there, and its associated color.
(A quick note about colors: When I see chakras in my mind's eye during healing sessions, each one contains a variety of hues—not just one solid color. What I've listed below is the most predominant color for each chakra.)
Chakra 1: Root Chakra (Red)
Location: Base of the spine
Color: Red
What it governs: Survival instincts, connection to earth, groundedness
The root chakra is your foundation. It's tied to your most basic survival needs—safety, security, shelter, food, physical health.
When your first chakra is working optimally, you feel grounded, stable, secure in your body and in the world. You feel like you belong here on Earth. You trust that your basic needs will be met.
When it's blocked, you might experience:
Chronic anxiety or fear
Financial insecurity (even if you objectively have enough)
Feeling ungrounded or spacey
Physical issues with legs, feet, or lower back
Difficulty being present
Chakra 2: Sacral Chakra (Orange)
Location: Below the navel, in the lower abdomen
Color: Orange
What it governs: Creativity, sexuality, emotions, relationships, pleasure
The sacral chakra carries a LOT of emotions. Located in the reproductive region, it holds the energy of creation—not just of new life, but any creative expression. This is where your art lives, your passion, your ability to create anything new.
It's also tied to relationships, sexuality, sensuality, power, and money. This chakra is about how you relate to others and how you experience pleasure and desire.
When it's balanced, you feel:
Creative and inspired
Emotionally fluid and expressive
Comfortable with pleasure and intimacy
Connected to your passions
When it's blocked:
Creative blocks or lack of inspiration
Guilt around pleasure or sexuality
Emotional numbness or overwhelming emotions
Reproductive or sexual health issues
Difficulty in intimate relationships
Chakra 3: Solar Plexus Chakra (Yellow)
Location: Between the navel and chest
Color: Yellow
What it governs: Personal power, confidence, self-worth, identity
The solar plexus chakra is located right in the "core" of your being—literally and figuratively. This is your power center.
It's where we carry our feelings of self-worth and confidence (or lack thereof). It's also where we experience gut feelings—those "butterflies" when you're nervous or that deep knowing when you're "listening to your gut."
When this chakra is strong:
You feel confident and capable
You trust yourself and your decisions
You have healthy boundaries
You take action toward your goals
You feel worthy
When it's weak or blocked:
Low self-esteem
Difficulty making decisions
People-pleasing or lack of boundaries
Digestive issues
Feeling powerless or victimized
Inability to take action
Chakra 4: Heart Chakra (Green)
Location: Center of the chest
Color: Green (sometimes pink)
What it governs: Love, compassion, forgiveness, connection
This is your heart chakra—the bridge between the lower three chakras (which are more about physical existence and personal power) and the upper three chakras (which are more about spiritual connection and consciousness).
When it's open and flowing, it radiates:
Unconditional love
Compassion for yourself and others
Forgiveness
Connection and empathy
Warmth and openness
When it's blocked—often because we've stuffed feelings of heartache, betrayal, grief, or unforgiveness—we experience:
Difficulty giving or receiving love
Feelings of loneliness or isolation
Inability to forgive
Heart or lung issues
Coldness or emotional shutdown
The heart chakra is the center of your energetic body. When it's clear, everything flows. When it's blocked, everything struggles.
Chakra 5: Throat Chakra (Blue)
Location: Throat and neck area
Color: Blue
What it governs: Communication, self-expression, truth, being heard
The throat chakra has everything to do with speaking up for yourself and expressing your truth.
It's related to your voice—both literally (how you speak) and figuratively (how you express who you are). It also holds concerns about:
Not being heard
Fear of speaking up
Worry about how you're perceived publicly
Authenticity versus people-pleasing
When this chakra is clear:
You speak your truth with confidence
You express yourself authentically
You feel heard and understood
You communicate clearly
When it's blocked:
Difficulty speaking up
Fear of judgment or rejection
Feeling like no one listens to you
Throat issues, thyroid problems
Lying or withholding truth (even from yourself)
Chakra 6: Third Eye Chakra (Indigo)
Location: Middle of the forehead, between the eyebrows
Color: Indigo (deep blue-purple)
What it governs: Intuition, insight, vision, spiritual sight
Also called the "third eye" because it represents our spiritual sight—the ability to see beyond the physical, to perceive energy, to access intuition and inner knowing.
This chakra helps us see the big picture of situations in our lives. Through this, we see much more than our five physical senses can pick up.
When it's open:
Strong intuition
Clear insight
Ability to see patterns
Spiritual awareness
Trust in inner guidance
When it's blocked:
Difficulty trusting intuition
Feeling disconnected from spiritual guidance
Confusion or lack of clarity
Headaches or vision problems
Overthinking without insight
Chakra 7: Crown Chakra (Violet/White/Gold)
Location: Top of the head
Color: Violet, white, or gold
What it governs: Spiritual connection, divine consciousness, transcendence
The crown chakra is your connection to "the Divine"—which may mean different things for different people. God, Source, Universe, Higher Self, Collective Consciousness—whatever you call it, this is your spiritual connection point.
Both the third eye (Chakra 6) and the crown (Chakra 7), when clear and functioning ideally, contribute to intuition, inspiration, spiritual awareness, and a sense of connection to something greater than yourself.
When it's open:
Sense of spiritual connection
Access to divine guidance
Feelings of oneness
Inner peace
Wisdom and clarity
When it's blocked:
Spiritual disconnection
Feeling isolated or alone in the universe
Rigid thinking
Depression
Lack of purpose or meaning
Your Chakras Work as a System
Remember, your chakras don't function in isolation. They're a system, constantly communicating with each other.
When one is blocked, it affects the others. When all seven are clear and balanced, you experience optimal health, emotional wellbeing, creative flow, clear communication, spiritual connection, and overall vitality.
That's the goal of chakra energy healing—to identify where you're blocked or out of balance, clear the stuck energy, and restore harmony to the entire system. Understanding how to activate chakras in human body helps you work with your natural energy system rather than against it.
What's Next?
Have you ever felt like one of these chakras might be blocked for you? Which one resonates most with what you're experiencing right now? Share in the comments—understanding where you're blocked is the first step to healing.
