I first learned about chakras when I dove headfirst into the world of Aromatherapy and became a registered Aromatherapist. Back then, ten or so years ago, information regarding what chakras were was not as mainstream as it is now. A quick check-in with Google as I type this offers over seventy-eight MILLION hits. Wow.

Science is finally beginning to catch up with (and admit to) what the mystics have been teaching for centuries. We are energy. While this may not appear to relate to chakras directly, it does relate to the energy our bodies radiate.  It is said that the energy from the spinning of each chakra produces the electromagnetic field energy workers feel and science is getting better at measuring. An individual's primary auric field is generated by the spin from the first, third and fifth chakras.  Books like The Energy Healing Experiments by Gary E Schwartz PhD, Vibrational Medicine by Richard Gerber MD and The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton, PhD are all amazing reads and point very strongly to the science behind the energy.

In her book, Anatomy of the Spirit, Carolyn Myss states that most illnesses in the body are brought on due to a loss of energy in the lower three chakras. These are the ones we tend to spend most of our energy focused on. If you're not aware of what these chakras relate to, here's a very brief outline

Chakra 1 (red): Physical: legs, bones, feet, immune system. Mental /emotional:  family and group safety, survival, being able to stand up for ourselves. Physical dysfunctions: Chronic lower back pain, depression, immune related disorders.

Chakra 2 (orange): Physical: Sexual organs, Large intestine, pelvis, bladder, lower vertebrae. Mental/emotional: Blame and guilt, money and sex, power and control, creativity, ethics and honour. Physical dysfunctions: Ob/gyn problems, pelvic/low back pain, sexual potency, urinary problems.

Chakra 3 (yellow): Physical: Abdomen, upper intestines, liver, gallbladder, adrenal glands, spleen, mid spine. Mental/emotional: Trust, fear and intimidation, self esteem/self confidence/self respect, decision making, sensitivity to criticism, personal honour.  Physical dysfunctions: Arthritis, gastric ulcers, colon/intestinal problems, indigestion, liver dysfunction, adrenal dysfunction.

By looking at this quick snapshot of the energetic anatomy of each chakra it is easier to see how Caroline comes to the conclusion that we spend most of our energy in or on these three lower chakras. Their energetic vibrations are lower and are fully relational to our day to day survival within ourselves (our mental/emotional health), within our 'tribe' (relationships) or in relation to how we relate to the external world.

Since time began our lives have been about survival. Eat or be eaten, survival of the fittest, etc. While times have changed and we are not usually so worried about being eaten, for many it is still a struggle to ensure that there is enough food on the table and, indeed, that there even IS a table or a home to surround it. We have been witness to an entire country taken to its knees in the grip of fear for its very survival. Living in that energetic frequency alone can lead us down many unhealthy paths. Do we wonder why, with all the money pumped into cancer research that the instances of some cancers are still on the rise? Yes, we will shake our heads sadly and blame the toxins 'they' pump into our environment and the poisons in our food supply. All most upsetting realities there is no doubt. But at the core there is the burning question..."Why do some people get cancer and others do not?" Why do those with seemingly healthy lifestyles get sick and die while couch potatoes who drink, smoke, overeat and generally live what is well known to be an 'unhealthy' lifestyle can escape unscathed? When do we start to acknowledge that perhaps there is a gaping hole in our perception of medical sophistication than we are willing to admit?

I am an energy practitioner; Reiki, Healing Touch as well as VibroAcoustic Therapy, and I have seen firsthand the effects of directly addressing the chakra system, working with it, calling attention to it and teaching others the importance of being open to the reality that perhaps, just perhaps, mind you, there is a piece of us that is beyond our ability to perceive directly but effects us deeply. Unresolved issued in any of these first three chakras can have sometimes devastating physical effects.

In his book When the Body Says No, Dr. Gabor Mate writes about how our bodies subconsciously know more than we are willing to consciously admit. In his practice in Vancouver, BC he began to wonder why some of his patients healed while others did not. It piqued his curiosity so deeply that he began interviewing his patients meticulously and what emerged in time was his observation that those who came to terms with their physiological connection between the stressors in their lives (past and present) and their physical health healed, while those who refused to  look at this possibility foundered and ultimately perished. While this book talks more of the mind/body connection, at its core it is addressing the basic chakra issues discussed above.

The seven main chakras are broken up into three distinct differences. Chakras one, two and three are related to the physical/survival issues. Chakras five, six and seven are related to the spiritual while the forth chakra, our heart centre, alone represents the merging of the two through love. For many, when day to day survival is all that matters, getting to spirit is more of a luxury or is just not even seen as of any importance.  And love...well, as Tina Turner put it, what's love got to do with it? More on that in a moment.

Back to our quick snapshot of chakras 5, 6 and 7.

Chakra 5 (blue): Physical: throat, thyroid, mouth, oesophagus, parathyroid. Mental/emotional: choice and strength of will, following your dream, addiction, judgement, faith and knowledge, decision making capacity. Physical dysfunctions: raspy /chronic sore throat, gum difficulties, swollen glands, thyroid problems.

Chakra 6 (indigo): Physical: Brain, nervous system, eyes/ears, nose, pineal gland, pituitary gland. Mental/emotional: self evaluation, truth, feelings of adequacy, emotional intelligence. Physical dysfunctions: brain tumour/haemorrhage/stroke, blindness/deafness, learning disabilities, seizures.

Chakra 7 (violet): Physical: muscular system, skeletal system, skin. Mental/emotional: ability to trust life, values, ethics, courage, humanitarianism, selflessness, faith and inspiration, spirituality and devotion.

Carolyn Myss identifies the fifth chakra as the chakra relating to the power of will, the surrendering of our own willpower and spirit to the will of a higher power. This means going from learning that everyone has power over you to learning that you alone have power over yourself to finally seeing that true authority comes from aligning yourself to the will of a higher power, learning to trust that ultimately we are not in control of our lives. Having faith. This can be tough when you are only experiencing what appears to be consistent negativity, challenges, trouble, strife. What is easy to miss when we are 'up to our necks in alligators' is that as humans, we only really learn lessons when we experience them in a manner that is challenging to us. A wonderful analogy I heard years ago continues to inspire me when I'm in the thick of things. It goes as follows...' We don't get up off a comfortable couch.' How very true. When things are ticking along well, why would we be motivated to change? But once it hits the fan and our very faith is challenged, that's when we are more likely to make changes, listen to the messages that are being sent to us from that Higher Power, and ascend upwards on our energetic quest to higher consciousness, to being better within ourselves.

The sixth chakra involves the power of our mind, our mental and reasoning abilities and our psychological skill at evaluating our beliefs and attitudes. Here we are challenged to open our minds, to retrieve our power back from false truths we may have accepted along our path and to learn to discriminate between thoughts brought forward from a place of strength or fear.  We learn the lesson of approaching our challenges with a sense of detachment. This does not mean that we don't care, it just means we don't get energetically attached to the outcome. Not an easy thing to do, but incredibly worthwhile when you consider how it saves your health from the stress of suffering. The sixth chakra is also about becoming conscious. This means we can no longer continue to believe the little lies we have been telling ourselves or that others have been passing off to us as the truth. For some it means waking up and realizing that the life they have built no longer resonates with who they feel they are. Becoming conscious means changing the rules by which we live and the beliefs we maintain. These shifts in consciousness usually always involve periods of isolation and loneliness as we get used to our new level of truth. Then new people and situations are directed towards us and we are off on our new direction, another step higher on our spiritual quest.

The seventh chakra is our connection to our spiritual nature and our ability to allow our spirituality to become a vital part of our lives. It is the chakra of prayer which enables us to gain an intensity of internal awareness through meditation and prayer. The seventh chakra is the entry point for our life force which enters us through our crown from the greater universe. This force nourishes the body, mind and spirit. The sacred truth of this chakra is live in the present moment.  As we find our way toward this connection to spirit, Carolyn Myss states that it is not unusual to encounter a spiritual crisis. She describes the symptoms as follows:  It usually begins with an awareness of an absence of meaning and purpose in our life, one that cannot be remedied by changing or rearranging the superficial things of our life.  Next strange new fears appear, like feeling as though we are losing touch with reality or with our personal identity. An example of this would be someone who suddenly wonders who they are and what they want out of life. And finally there appears a need to experience devotion to something greater than themselves. We feel we need to be in touch with a source of power that transcends human limitations and turmoil, a source of miracles and hope. The absence of life's meaning, a loss of self-identity and the need for devotion are the three strongest indications a person has entered their dark night of the soul. Caroline's final words on this chakra are as follows: "Our goal while on this earth is to transcend our illusions and discover the innate power of our spirit. We are responsible for what we create, and we must therefore learn to act and think with love and wisdom and to live in service to others and all of life."

So, we are back to love.

Chakra 4 (green): Physical: Heart and circulatory system, lungs, diaphragm, thymus gland. Mental/Emotional: Love/hatred, resentment and bitterness, grief and anger, loneliness and commitment, forgiveness and compassion, hope and trust. Physical dysfunction: heart failure, heart attack, asthma, lung cancer, breast cancer, upper chest/shoulder.

Your heart chakra is the centre of your emotional power, the powerhouse of your energy system. It mediates your energy between the solid energy of the body and the more etheric energy of the spirit. Some say our strong, grounding energy rises up from the earth through our root chakra to the heart whereas the lighter, spiritual energy from the Divine source fills us from above through our crown chakra. From there it travels downward to mix within the heart chakra and is then released throughout the body, traveling to where it is needed. It is through this chakra that we learn love, forgiveness, compassion, dedication, inspiration, hope, trust and the ability to heal oneself and others. The sacred truth of this chakra is Love is Divine power. Unconditional love is love in its purest form; this is the substance of the Divine, with its endless power to forgive us and respond to our prayers. Love's energy is pure power. It can control us, inspire us, heal us and even destroy us. One thing is for certain, we are never the same once we allow love to enter our lives, no matter who or what the messenger may be. Caroline states that the only path towards spiritual consciousness is through the heart. I guess maybe that's what love has got to do with it afterall. A life lived in love is a life fully lived.  It has been said that love is the only thing that follows you to the 'other side' when your journey on this plane is done. I would believe that to be true from a few of the personal experiences I've had.  At the end of the day, love is all there is, it's the one thing worth living for, and worth dying for.  Remember to live in love. Tell those you love that you do love them. You just never know if you'll get another chance. Seize the day.

To learn more about the chakras as mentioned above, please read Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss PhD.

About the Author

Roberta Lacroix is a Reiki Master-Teacher, VibroAcoustic therapist, Healing Touch practitioner and an Aromatherapist. She is the owner of The Oasis Integrated Health Therapies, located in the beautiful Comox Valley in BC Canada. To learn more visit her website at www.youroasis.ca.