Heart Chakra

Photo from: HowToOpenChakras

The fourth chakra - anahata in Sanskrit - hovers around the area of the heart and is represented by a lotus flower with 12 petals. These petals represent feelings of lust, indecision, repentance, hope, anxiety, longing, impartiality, arrogance, incompetence, discrimination and defiance. The heart chakra governs these feelings and keeps them balanced within our hearts. It governs the sense of touch and thus primarily rules the hands and the skin. The color green, also a very potent color for growth and healing, represents the heart chakra.

When this chakra is balanced, we feel unconditional love and compassion for those around us and for humanity. We strive for peace with all of our actions and we interact easily and naturally with other people. If your heart chakra is blocked, however, you will feel vengeful and unnecessarily mean or harsh towards others. You will feel overwhelming guilt and paranoia, and ultimately you will either drive others away or rely on others for happiness, rather than feeling it deep within yourself. This emotional turmoil may be physically manifested through heart problems, trouble breathing, and upper back pain.

To unblock your heart chakra, learn to give and share more generously and love others for their flaws as well as for their positive qualities. For some tangible exercises to open this energy center, try practices yoga poses such as the Locust, the Fish, and the Camel. Carry around emerald or rose quartz gems and fill your house with poppy and holly flowers. Donate to a charity or give some unused clothes to the Salvation Army. Next time you want to criticize someone, try to give them positive feedback instead and remind yourself to love them. If you feel jealous or paranoid, try deep breathing technique and press your palms together to stimulate energy flow between them, which links back to the heart chakra. Some mantras to practice daily:

• "I do not need others to be happy, but I am thankful for the love that others bring to my life." 
• "I will think about each action I take and make sure it leads to peace."
• "I love those around me." 
• "I am strong and I respect myself and others."
  
  

Sacral Chakra

Photo from: Purengery Vibrational Healing

The second chakra, called Svadisthana or Swadhisthana in Sanskrit, is also known as the "sacral chakra" because of it's location in the sacrum, the large triangle-shaped bone at the base of the spine and upper back part of the pelvis. It is symbolized by an orange lotus with six petals and governs the sexual organs, the kidneys, the liver, and adrenal glands. It helps inspire our creativity and gives us the strength to see our relationships clearly.

When the sacral chakra is balanced and open, we feel creative and mentally "awake." It gives us a drive to achieve what we want in live and helps us let go of objects, ideas, and relationships that are detrimental to our well-being. In those relationships we do keep, the sacral chakra helps us keep them balanced and equal. Given it's dominance over the reproductive organs, a balanced sacral chakra can also lead to more fulfilling sex. When the sacral chakra is blocked, however, we can suffer physically from stomach pains and sexual diseases. Emotionally, a blocked sacral chakra can lead to either breakdowns and frequent, overly dramatic outbursts or a sense of listlessness and apathy.

If you want to work to balance your sacral chakra,  try wearing orange or lighting candles that have lavender and sage scents. If you think your chakra needs to be opened further, try bolder scents like ylang-ylang, grapefruit, or patchouli (one of my favorites). Use carnelian gems to garner emotional health and balance. With this chakra, the key is to learn to love yourself in order to build your relationships with others and gain a sense of confidence that is neither inflated or malnourished. 


Some key mantras to repeat are: 

• "I am creative and bold."
• "I love and approve of myself and my actions."
• "I only need what is inside of me."
• "I trust that life will work out."

 

Color Healing with Candles

If you think you like candles, you haven't met my mom. She lights five candles in the kitchen at the same time, to the point where you can't distinguish one smell from another. Growing up with that, I've developed a fondness for candles. But, unlike my mom, I only light one at a time so that I can really bask in the scent that I've chosen. Sometimes, though, I don't choose by scent, but by color.

One of my favorite metaphysical books is How to Heal With Color by Ted Andrews. In it, he explains how to use candles as a method of healing. The color of the candle, he purports, is released into the air as the wick burns. Before using the candle, he suggests "dressing" by rubbing olive oil on it in one direction, but if you don't want to do that, you can merely send a wave of positive energy in the direction of the candle, affirming that you will be using it for a healing purpose.

Here's a brief list from his book of ailments and which colors you should use to relieve them. If you aren't a fan of candles, you can also practice directing colorful energy through your hands onto the problem area:

Abdominal cramps: Yellow
Aches (ear): Turquoise
Aches (head): Blue / Green
Aches (muscle): Light Orange
Arthritis: Violet or Blue Violet
Blisters: Ice Blue
Fevers: Blue
Indigestion: Yellow
Nausea: Ice Blue
Rash: Yellow and Turquoise
Swelling: Ice Blue
Ulcers: Green

I wish I had remembered this list two weeks ago, when I was suffering from a case of Shingles! I love color healing, but I have to confess that I do often forget to practice it. I'll start trying to do it more regularly and let you know if I have any results.

For now, though, since I don't have any candles that aren't brown or black, I'll just be satisfied with my Maple Pancakes-scented candle.