I'm a Yogini, that means I am a female who practices Yoga with some amount of devotion. I love Yoga with all my heart, and I love meditation with as much gusto. Chakras, in my experience, are an amazing way to meditate.Chakra meditation has been responsible for helping me through the hardest pain and the hardest heartache. Of course family had more to do with both, but on a smaller scale, Chakra meditation has been a big help.
So what does one do whilst Chakra meditation?
Well you focus on one or a combination of 7 "energy centers" in the body. I take it metaphorically and with imagination, but some believe that these are funnels of energy placed in specific locations on the body - and are responsible for bodily functions, balance, emotional balance, spiritual function, etc. For me, I keep an open mind, but don't label. I focus on the images and properties of each or a combination of Chakras, in order to help my mind focus on something complex, archetypal, and above all - it is a regular and familiar object or set of objects to meditate on. Meditating on something new each day is ok, but it doesn't offer the same depth as meditating on something over and over again - and seeing, feeling, experiencing different levels each time you meditate.
This kind of meditation, in my opinion, helps the brain build firm and lasting synaptic pathways - pathways to calm, to centered thinking, to clearer thought processes; on the flip side, meditating on something that creates a frazzled feeling (like when people master violent video games or martial training without proper discipline), creates negative connections.
In Buddhism and Yoga, making more positive, calming, and centering pathways is called "right thinking" and "right action" etc. The core tenets of both philosophical religions is to create as many positive and harmless pathways as possible, in order to minimize superfluous and harmful negative thinking and actions. This positivity training directly effects neurotransmitter levels, immune system functions, sleep, emotional states, weight loss, memory, bodily balance, and more. Even before modern neuroscience, these philosophical religions knew that better health came from better positivity.
Positivity isn't possible in all situations, but the aim of the game is to get as many positive pathways as possible.
Back to Chakras. How can they help again? Well, focusing on them has a kind of subliminal effect - as if you truly and deeply focus on the properties of each, you'll find a quick and
simple route to hypnotic self improvement.Let's take the Root Chakra, pictured right (click on pic for source). When I meditate on this, I focus on its primary property - it is the Chakra of being grounded, centered, down to Earth. When I am feeling too unfocused and head-stuck-in-the-clouds, I focus on this Chakra. I focus on the Earth and the force of gravity, the stable geometry of squares and cubes, I focus on stability. Thinking of all these concepts creates the feeling of stability and groundedness, and unlike the other Chakras, this particular one will put you into Alpha brainwaves much faster.. as you tend to think of calming things more potently. If you don't like the thought of meditating on Chakras, then all you need do to replicate a Root Chakra meditation is think of the properties of stability. You can do a geometric meditation if you like.
This is another introduction, I hope to continue this series as time passes. Now I must get dressed and go out for a stroll in the social world. Namasté!
