Chakras are consciousness centers located along the central column of our body. They interact with life, sending and receiving energy, and responding to life events and experiences.
Throughout our lives, we continuously dance with the world around us, and our experiences influence our health and well-being on all levels. Our chakras play a key role in how we interpret, process, digest, and integrate these experiences.
Each chakra oversees a specific area of consciousness. When we experience an event, it is experienced and interpreted through the chakras most closely related to that area of conscious expression, and our response/reaction to the event plays out there. The health and balance of that chakra are impacted by the event, but they also influence how we respond. If we have the resources to cope with and process the experience, the chakra(s) remain healthy and balanced. When we lack the necessary resources to process and heal the experience, the chakra(s) are affected and become imbalanced.
Each individual’s capacity to fully process and integrate their experiences differs greatly based on a complex number of factors, and the energy system’s response also varies significantly. Two individuals can experience the same event and have very different reactions. Children can grow up in the same household and each develops very different responses to the environment and events occurring within the family. It is important to recognize that none of this reflects personal weakness or failure.
There are a number of things that impact the health of the chakras and cause imbalance if they are not processed and healed.
Conditioning
We receive billions of messages throughout our lives that influence our thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and behaviors. Our family, schools, peers, community, religious institutions, the media, and society as a whole tell us about who we should be, how we should act, what is acceptable or not, what we should think, what to believe, and our values. A portion of these messages are positive and supportive, but the majority are damaging on many levels. Some of these messages are overt, but often, they are subtle, covert messages that we take in and interpret through our chakra system. These have a strong influence on our development, behaviors, sense of self, self-worth, how we behave, what we value, and the choices that we make.
- Consider how certain messages might be interpreted and integrated by a child:
“Children should be seen and not heard”
“You should be ashamed of yourself”
“Boys don’t cry”
“Get over it”
“Why can’t you be more like your brother”
“Don’t cry or I’ll give you something to cry about” - It is important to note that many messages are visual or behavioral, as well, and also have a profound effect on the health of the chakras
Cultural patterns and expectations
within our families and larger communities play a huge role in our interpretation of the world and ourselves. The roles, expectations, rituals, habits, and beliefs all carry strong messages – not all of which are healthy or supportive. They communicate our values, our role in the community, what within us is acceptable, what is not, and what our life should and should not be. These expectations often carry shame and guilt to the individuals. The same is true for religious and other organizations that have a strong influence on people.
Family/household roles
tell us about our place in the world. Not just our place as a child, but also who we should be as an adult. The roles of the parents tell us our gender roles. So, for example, children living in a strongly patriarchal family, the children learn unhealthy use of power. The role expectations placed on the child also influence their identity and chakra health. Think about your upbringing. How did the roles within your household influence you?
Chronic stress and traumatic events
also have a significant influence on the health of the chakra system. These include a broad scope of experiences that include:
- Parental conflict
- Losses – through death, moving, divorce, or other circumstances
- Substance abuse in the home
- Poverty
- Parenting younger siblings
- Extreme expectations
- Bullying
- Emotional, mental, physical, or sexual abuse
- Domestic violence
- Medical trauma
- Experiencing a tragic event or accident such as a car accident, fire, or natural disaster
- Community violence
In addition to things that happen to and around us, our chakras are also impacted by things that should have happened but did not, especially when these absences occur during our development. Some examples include:
- Lack of nurturing
- Absence of love and support
- Lack of reassurance
- Not being seen, heard, or validated
- Lack of boundaries
- Not being taught healthy boundaries
- Lack of trust
- Basic needs not being met
- Lack of responsibility/accountability
These events and experiences have a profound impact on chakra health at any stage in life, however, when they occur during our development, the effect is often more profound and more challenging, as it creates chronic problems throughout life if not addressed and healed.
If you recognize that you are carrying an imbalance in your chakras, seek the appropriate support to help you address the underlying causes so that you can heal. Inner work is a key element of chakra health.
Interested in going deeper? Join Linda Dieffenbach in the Wellness for All course, Your Transformational Healing Journey – Heal Your Chakras. Heal Your Life beginning April 2023.
Learn more about Linda and her work at https://wellnessinharmony.com/
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