It's a new year, with new ideas, so how about a new approach to your wellbeing?
Sounds appealing, right? Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary, a neuroscientist and the former director Wellspring Health in Scripps Memorial Hospital, knows her way around integrative medicine. Which means she says she can help us manage chronic disorders by mixing in fundamental changes in diet, behavior, and stress.
And as we spend our days rushing from school drop-offs, to morning meetings, to rushed lunches, to harried commutes home, who wouldn’t welcome something — anything — to make things go more smoother on your mind and body.
And that’s where your chakras come in. Chaudhary says there are 7 major chakras in the human body, and the chakra system is based on energy, with each one correlating to different organs as well as our mental and emotional state. The chakras work as an integrated team. So that means when one is out of whack, it can throw other chakras out of balance. Chakras are important in traditional Eastern medicine.
So how do you know when something is awry?
"If you have any type of chronic symptom, than you know a chakra is out of balance. The trick is figuring out which one is causing the main problem because when one chakra goes out of balance, it usually causes another one to also go out of balance," Chaudhary tells Megyn Kelly TODAY. "A good example is when the crown chakra goes out of balance, causing sleep disturbances, but also throws off the root chakra, causing constipation."
The possible solutions: "Herbs, specific foods, yoga, acupuncture, color therapy, and massage, but one of my favorite modalities is the use of sound to balance the chakras. Mantras are my favorite form of sound medicine because you can do them yourself and it doesn't cost you anything," says Chaudhary.
So without further ado, a look at the 7 chakras, how they work and why they matter.
Root Chakra (1st chakra)
- Color: red
- Location: tip of the tailbone.
- Medical problems: issues with the colon (constipation) or lower back pain Mental/Emotional: helps you feel grounded and safe
Sacral Chakra (2nd chakra)
- Color: orange
- Location: below the naval
- Medical problems: issues with the reproductive system
- Mental/Emotional: creativity and sexuality
Solar Plexus (3rd chakra)
- Color: yellow
- Location: navel
- Medical problems: digestive issues
- Mental/Emotional: self-esteem and willpower
Heart Chakra (4th chakra)
- Color: green
- Location: chest
- Medical problems: cardiovascular disease
- Mental/Emotional: fear of intimacy
Throat Chakra (5th chakra)
- Color: Blue
- Location: throat
- Medical problems: thyroid disease
- Mental/Emotional: difficulty expressing thoughts and feelings
Third Eye Chakra (6th chakra)
- Color: Violet
- Location: center of the forehead
- Medical problems: eye problems, hormonal imbalances (connection to the pituitary gland)
- Mental/Emotional: depression
Crown Chakra (7th chakra)
- Color: Purple
- Location: top of the head
- Medical problems: sleep disorders
- Mental/Emotional: feeling disconnected from others
To help your chakras stay in sync, you might want to do a mantra. It is a specific sound that vibrates through the nervous system to have a direct impact on the chakras. By saying a mantra, you further enhance the connection between the brain and the specific chakra by stimulating these reflex points on the roof of the mouth. It’s easy. It’s quick. And it gets your day started the best way possible, with total physical and emotional alignment.
Ancient Sanskrit Mantra for balancing all seven chakras (should only be done for 20 minutes a day):
- Hari Om
- Nam Lam
- Mam Vam
- Sim Ram
- Vam Yam
- Yam Ham
- Shiva Om
- Swaha