The Chakras – Opened or Closed

by Lyn E. Ayre, Ph.D.

There is always a great debate in metaphysical circles about whether or not to 'close' the chakras after doing healing work. My personal experience tells me that being open is the way to go. Learning how to keep your Chakras in balance is the key to a long and healthy life. Here's a bit about the Chakras and what would happen were you to keep them closed...

Root

Red; C; What is my basis in life? Deals with our tribal instincts, our ability to deal with our family, our fears related to our existence and death, our feelings of safety and security in our world. First chakra is survival, vitality, and grounding to this physical life, and rules the skeleton, legs, knees and feet. Closed / Low - not enough energy, issues of safety and mortality of self. No feelings of personal accountability or responsibility. Psychic sense is Clairalience or clear smelling - smelling something that is not there ie: your dead Grandma's perfume.

Let's take a look at what would happen if the Muladhara, our root centre, were closed. The Root Chakra is all about survival and our feelings of safety and security in the world. When I am doing a Chakra Balancing session and find this centre low in energy, I can deduce there may be some problems with feeling grounded and connected to the Earth. Often the client feels like a helpless victim of life's circumstances.

When this Chakra is closed, there is a severe lack of personal energy, as one would be cut off from Earth Star - our connection to the planet, and to nature. The characteristics of such an individual would be dull, lack luster, no vigor, no enthusiasm, and no feelings of personal responsibility or accountability. Family issues and work issues would not impact the person in a way that would get them moving towards a solution.

Sacral

Orange; D; What is my creative side all about? Deals with our experience of that which is different from us, our creativity, our sexuality, partnerships, modes of behaviors that destroy opportunities for successful relationships. Second chakra is emotions, nurturing, and shelter, and rules the genitals, abdomen and lower back. Closed / Low - affects physical and sexual health, fertility, prosperity, vitality, self-esteem, creativity, desire, and sensuality. Psychic sense is Clairgustus or clear tasting - experiencing sweet or sour tastes in the mouth that are not associated with eating, having a bad taste in your mouth about something ie: you taste prawns but you've never had them in your mouth before.

Svadhistana, our Sacral Chakra supports our creativity. If it were very low or closed, we would experience blockages in the areas of physical and sexual health, fertility, prosperity, vitality, self-esteem, relationships, desire, and sensuality. Second Chakra tells us about our relationships with that which is different from us. It speaks about how we approach life and our surrounding world. If we are experiencing hardened attitudes, rigid thought patterns, frozen self-concepts, and modes of behavior that destroy opportunities for successful relationships, we are likely having a challenge of the second sacred centre. If there is insufficient functioning here, the person will be lacking in passion and may show signs of immaturity.

Solar Plexus

Yellow; E; Who am I in this life? Deals with our own personal dynamics, our feelings of authority and self-confidence, turning our shadow self into gifts through our own wisdom. Third chakra is thoughts, and power systems, and rules the liver, gall bladder, stomach, spleen and pancreas. Closed / Low - we will suffer life as 'a leaf buffeted about by the four winds'. Our courage and initiative to overcome hurdles and blocks will be limited by our own feelings of inferiority. Psychic sense is Claircognizance or clear knowing - when you just know that something is the right thing to do ie: to go down this road or that.

If this chakra is closed our courage and initiative to overcome hurdles and blocks will be limited by our own feelings of inferiority. In a healthy, open individual, you will notice the spirit of the joy of being; someone who is liberated from their own unconscious and who has worked through the clearing of their emotional and mental energetic bodies. In a person who is shut-off, you will see a controlling, perfectionist dominator, or an angry, fearful, unlucky, downtrodden soul.

Heart

Green and Pink (for the Etheric Heart); F; Where and to whom does my love go? Deals with our ability to love and to accept love, our availability to a loving relationship, feelings of gratitude, devotions, our feelings of self-worth. Fourth chakra is love, health and relationships, and rules the heart, lungs, immune system, arms and hands. Closed / Low - unloving, unsympathetic, and harsh, inability to give love, and our unavailability to receive love after being hurt. Psychic sense Clairscentience or clear feeling - when you can feel what is going on with another person or you may feel their pain in your body, only to a lesser degree.

Anahata is the Heart Centre. Here our lives are enriched by feelings of love, service to others, and devotion to our Higher Power. A person with a closed Heart Chakra is a very unhappy individual, indeed. Our hearts' first duty is to love and serve us. The heart is the seat of our un-cried tears. However, this needs to be balanced with the peace of mind that comes from a willingness to merge with the Divine. The Heart is also the balance-point between the physical and spiritual Chakras.

Throat

Sky blue; G; What do I communicate and how does that come back to me? Deals with our verbal expression and inhibitions, our communications on every level - writing, speaking, singing, exchange of ideas through language. Fifth chakra is communication and higher creativity, and rules the throat, mouth, ears, speech and hearing. Closed / Low - verbal expression would be inhibited, stuttering or other speech impediment, exchange of ideas through language would be impaired, one who gossips, lies, 'tells stories', creates disharmony, and is sullen. One who is forever in a state of want with no way of willing it to be done. Psychic sense Clairaudience or clear hearing - when you receive messages through your psychic ears not your physical ears and when you receive channeled information.

Our ability to communicate, to write, to speak, and to sing, comes from Vishuddha, our Throat Chakra. If it were closed, our verbal expression would be inhibited. Our exchange of ideas through language would be impaired. Whatever we 'want' to do must pass through this vital centre to become our 'will' to do. We would be forever in a state of want with no way of willing it to be done. As we move through the Throat centre, we are also moved to a Higher Plane of Be-ing and level of communication and manifestation.

Third Eye

Indigo; A; What can I do so I can see myself continuing to learn and grow? Deals with our imagination, conceptions, higher goals and ideals, control issues, perceptions, narrow-mindedness, insight, inner guidance. Sixth chakra is inspiration, imagination and spiritual power, and rules the vision, face, head, eyes, sleep and dreams. Closed / Low - one who is lacking in imagination, conceptions, higher goals and ideals, insight, and inner guidance. A person who and has control issues, is narrow-minded, judgmental, self-destructive, and egocentric. Continuous upheaval and lack of vision for self. Psychic sense Clairvoyance - the ability to see, in your minds' eye, that which you have never seen before - to receive pictures, whether colour or black and white, and video, and visions running whether your eyes are open or closed.

Ajna, our Third Eye Chakra deals with our imagination, conceptions, higher goals and ideals, insight, and inner guidance. Where would we be without this toolkit? The mark of a closed Third Eye is a person who is narrow-minded, judgmental, self-destructive, egocentric, and has control issues. Continuous upheaval and lack of vision is their lot in life.

Crown

Violet; B; In what ways do I serve the common good? Deals with our connections to Higher Self, wisdom, spiritual awakening, meditation, contemplation, illumination, mystical experiences, oneness with All and with All That Is. Seventh chakra is unity with multidimensional consciousness, and rules the brain and nervous system. Closed / Low - confining and limiting expectations. Not learning from our mistakes, no sense of spiritual awakening, no willingness to change and grow, no real light or life, lack of connection to the whole, and a real reluctance to give of him or herself anything worthwhile to the world. Psychic sense is Clairgnosis, when a lump of information falls into your brain at exactly the right time and you've no 'right' to know it as you didn't read it, hear it, or study it, it's just there for you from the Creative Source in the Universe.

The Crown Chakra, located on the top of the head where the hair whorls are, is our connection to the Divine Source. Our wisdom, spiritual awakening, meditation, contemplation, illumination, and mystical experiences come from this centre. Sahasrara deals with our oneness with All and with All That Is. When you are enjoying 'light-bulb moments' or 'bells going off' inside your head, you are in direct connection to Spirit. This is a centre of rejuvenation and our longing for unification with the Divine. If we have confining and limiting expectations, it could be that our seventh Chakra is closed.

So, as you can see, it is much preferable to hold the intention that your Chakras are clear and open.