Now that you have a basic understanding of what the chakras represent, how do they get implemented in day to day life?

Chakras in Yoga

I adore yoga. I've written several free books on yoga and I strive for a daily practice. How do chakras relate to yoga?

Yoga is about becoming aware of your body and understanding its rhythms. Over time one begins to sense even small shifts in when they are low on energy or when their digestive system isn't working properly.

By understanding the chakras, one can then alter yoga routines to help out. If it seems that one's stomach is always having issues, remedying that would involve the third chakra. One can think about the third chakra while doing a yoga routine and make sure to integrate poses that relate to core stability.

If one is having emotional issues, one can focus on the fourth chakra and integrate gratitude poses in the yoga routine.

It is by building this awareness that a healthy daily lifestyle can be nurtured.

I listed a few sample poses with each chakra but I want to make clear that these are only recommendations. We are each very different. What one person finds to be ideal, another could hate with a passion.

Always trust in yourself. Trust in your feelings. If you quiet and listen, you will know which pose best helps you with a situation. You will know what is right for you.

Chakras in Meditation

Meditation is a practice which helps a person build daily focus and energy. Certainly, the act of meditating is very soothing. It is something many people look forward to every day as a "virtual vacation" of sorts. But, beyond that, meditation is a practice which builds mental strength which then serves the mind well during all other moments of the long day.

It's like working out in a gym. As fun as that workout might be, the end aim isn't just the workout time period. It's to build a healthy body that serves the person well throughout the day.

In meditation, if there is an issue which concerns the person, that can be the object of focus. If the person is having issues with third-eye concerns, with contemplation and self-reflection, then this becomes the perfect thought on which to meditate.

With the help of a crystal or color, the person can delve more deeply into this topic area and make progress in it.

I list some suggestions for each chakra but, like yoga, it's important to note that meditation is incredibly individual. One person might adore walking meditation and another might despise it. That's all right! Learn what works best for you and embrace it. Learn where you open up the most.

There is no race in life. There is only the journey, and every day is an exploration of what is best for you as a unique, special human being.

Chakras in Stress Relief

Humans tend to be quite symbol-related creatures. Just look at how well placebos work! In study after study, merely hearing that we are being watched or helped can make an impact on how we are doing. We are ruled by our minds.

This is true in stressful situations as well. If we feel out of control, our stress levels rise. If we feel in control, even if it's a placebo type of help, we relax. We have something to "cling to."

This isn't necessarily a bad thing. If a person learns to equate the scent of lavender with calm, and they then bring a lavender-scented pillow to a doctor's office, they feel calmer there. It doesn't matter that the lavender doesn't have "mystical powers." All that matters is it helps. Bring a lavender pillow, lower your heart rate and blood pressure, and everything is better.

So, in the same way, the more you study chakras, the more you can control your own environment.

Does the color red have any mystical powers? Not exactly, since different people react to red in wildly different ways. But studies do show that most people react to red in a certain way because we've been trained by our culture to do so. It's not mystical. It's the logical result of training over time.

We learn that pink hearts are a sign of warmth and love. So if we carry a pink rose quartz heart it reminds of love. This is a normal and natural association for us.

Use that to your advantage. Find symbols which have meaning for you. And then use them. The tangible result in your emotional state is what matters.

One reader complained that relying on any external object can be troublesome. If someone uses a lavender pillow to become calm, and they forget their lavender pillow, then they are not as calm as they could be.

But the point is that nearly all human beings need help to make progress. Sure, in an ideal world we would all be incredibly calm in all situations. We would all feel perfectly loved, perfectly at ease, and perfectly full of energy. But the world generally isn't like that. We are all walking a path.

So if you need to make progress in an area, by all means use chakras as a stepping stone to that progress. Because part of the benefit of any practice like this is you learn that calm (or whatever your goal is) is possible. And after practice even just the thought of that lavender pillow will calm you down. It's a tool to help you reach where you want to go.

Healing your Chakras

It's important to note that our emotions relating to aspects of ourselves are very real. Stress caused by those emotions is real and measureable. If I am upset about the way my boss speaks to me, then that creates measureable results in a variety of my health factors. If I can then think about and work on this issue by relating it to my communication chakra, that is helpful. It gives me an area of focus.

Healing a chakra is healing an aspect of ourselves. Yoga and meditation are two key ways to assist with healing. Yoga has a wealth of poses associated with each chakra. Meditation can allow us to focus on any chakra we want and to bring gentle healing to it.

Relating to meditation is the idea of hands-on healing. Body parts have electrical energy in them. We can feel the heat of a loved one's hand as it hovers over our skin. We are trained by evolution to find this generally comforting. So a person (or ourselves, if need be) gently hovering a hand over a place we are concerned about helps us focus on that body part. It's a form of meditation. It lets us narrow our attention in on that area.

So let's say you are having stomach and digestive issues. Definitely make sure you are eating healthy, natural foods and have talked with a doctor. But in addition you can also have a friend or yourself hover a hand over that area and imagine a warm healing light emanating from that hand. The simple act of mental focus and calm will reduce stress levels and raise positive hormones. All of these create noticeable healthier environments within your body.

After all, studies find if you are stressed at work that you can develop ulcers in your stomach. Yes, the ulcer is usually specifically caused by the H. pylori bacterium, but it's the stress that gives it a gateway to act. Reduce the stress, and the ulcers can often go away. The body is able to heal itself.

Stress isn't an imaginary force. It involves real, harmful chemicals coursing in your blood. The more you can reduce stress, the more you reduce that bodily harm and bring your world into balance.

Focusing on chakras is a way to work toward that balance.