Chapter
19

Chakra Visualizations

Some people come into this world automatically able to see chakras—not just their own, but everybody else’s, too. Even as kids, they go through life wondering what those colored lights on everybody’s bodies are, or they just accept that everyone has them and don’t think to question it.

For most of us, however, seeing one’s own chakras seems a little bit like seeing one’s own soul. We might not really believe we can see our chakras because they don’t have a physical form. Seeing mysterious energy centers in our bodies seems a little incredible—more like something we could imagine happening than something we believe could really happen.

But it can happen. Regular seeing—the sight from our eyes—is one of our physical senses, which is the realm of the three lower chakras. Seeing chakras is a more advanced skill than regular seeing because it is based on finely tuned intuition. This intuition requires more mature development in our three upper chakras, and that takes a little more work.

Seeing Is Believing

You could read this book from the beginning all the way to this point and still not totally believe chakras are a real thing. Maybe the closest you come to believing is considering that the chakras are nifty metaphors for the human spine and nervous system or that the concept of chakras and their symbolism are such useful tools for explaining and understanding the human psyche.

Even if we only see the chakra system as one giant physiological or psychological metaphor, chakras make sense and are rewarding to explore. You might be thinking, “Yes, I have trouble opening up to love, so my Heart chakra is ‘blocked.’” Perhaps you think, “The idea of a blocked Heart chakra symbolizes my problems opening up to love. That makes sense to me, so now maybe I can do something about it.”

That’s all fine and good. It’s a little like doing yoga for exercise rather than for spiritual enlightenment. It works, it’s certainly not harmful, and it’s fun. It makes you feel good, so you do it, even if it doesn’t mean the same thing to you as it does to someone who follows the yoga path—all of it, not just the poses—to become enlightened.

However, once you start to see your chakras, you might be ready to take this whole chakra thing (and this whole yoga thing, for that matter) to the next level. Seeing your chakras—although certainly not infallible proof of their existence (our senses can play tricks on us)—can certainly make them more real to you, especially when what you see makes perfect sense with how you feel and how your life works.

A quick way to visualize your chakras opened and aligned is by practicing yoga’s Prana Arch pose. You can practice this pose anywhere, anytime. In the illustration, you can see how the Heart and Throat chakras are energized as your posture improves and your palms open, fingertips stretching toward the floor.

Imagination vs. Perception

When working on chakra visualization, a lot of people ask (and many more probably wonder silently) something along the lines of, “How do I know I’m not just imagining this?” Imagination can be vivid, so it’s perfectly natural to wonder whether your chakra perceptions are valid or not.

Because the chakras are not physical structures, the line can get blurry, especially because the imagination is a tool for developing visualization skill. However, imagination can get in the way of intuition, like the person who is always sure she shouldn’t get on that plane because she just has a bad feeling, when in reality, her imagination is just being fueled by anxiety about the flight, the trip itself, or anything else.

But intuition is the key to telling the difference between imagination and perception. Intuition’s messages come through when you can calm the mind’s chatter through the practice of medita-tion (via learning how to withdraw the senses and concentrate on a single point, eventually training the mind to quiet).

The only way to do that is to practice, practice, practice. Meditate on a regular basis and train your mind to see beyond the part of it that thinks to the vast being beyond thought. Esoteric? You bet, but it works, and it’s a practice worth doing if you want to really tell the difference between what your mind thinks and what your mind knows. Now, letting go of the rational mind to accept intuitive sight can become a lifetime pursuit.

However, we aren’t going to require you to meditate an hour each day for the next decade before you’ll be able to know how to intuit your own chakras. Just know that the more you meditate and the more you learn to still your mind, the more you will be able to do the exercises in this chapter with the confidence that you are authentically sensing and seeing your chakras.

There is an old Zen saying about seeing the Moon’s 4 reflection in a pond. If the surface of the pond is agitated and full of ripples, the Moon’s reflection won’t look anything like the Moon. That agitation—those ripples—are your constant thoughts and feelings, which disturb your ability to perceive truth. When the pond is perfectly still, however—when your thoughts and feelings withdraw and stay quiet—then you can see the Moon’s reflection. You can perceive the truth. And you can see your chakras. However, you can still see a scattered, fragmented reflection in an agitated pond. You can continue to look even as you work on calming the waters. This kind of work might even inspire you to meditate more.

If you are fascinated by creative visualization and how to see intuitively, you are probably open to learning about the concept of psychic intuition. For more insights on honing intuitive sight, you’ll want to read The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Psychic Intuition, Third Edition by Lynn A. Robinson and LaVonne Carlson-Finnerty (Alpha Books, 2012).

Chakra Survey

You could go to a mirror and look long and hard at your body, and if you are like a few gifted people, you might be able to begin to perceive your chakras. But again, most of us need more help than that. Although chakra seeing is different from imagining, it can start with imagining via visualization.

Visualization uses the imagination as a structure to help the mind perceive what is really going on. It can be a highly effective tool to plumb the depths of the subconscious where much of our knowing and the source of our intuition lives. This is also the source of our knowing whether our chakra visualization is accurate.

When you get more experienced, you can look at all your chakras in one session, but to get started, it’s a good idea to work on them one at a time. This will allow you time to perceive more instead of being tempted to rush through. Do one a day, or do them one after the other for as long as you can pay attention. Let’s start with your first chakra, or Root chakra. Are you ready to take a look?

As with other visualizations in this book, you can record yourself or someone else reading these exercises. Or you can read them over a few times before you do them, and if you think you remember well enough, just follow the steps as you recall them. For each exercise, prepare by arranging a yoga mat or blanket on the floor or on a firm surface. Put a pen and notebook (or your tablet or laptop computer) nearby. After you finish each exercise, record your thoughts. These recollections might be useful later as you progress and improve in your visualization skills.

Root Chakra: The Red Door

1. Lie down on your back in a comfortable place in yoga’s Corpse pose (see Chapter 7), with your arms slightly away from your body, palms facing up, legs relaxed, tailbone tucked under, shoulder blades tucked down and under, and your head and neck completely at rest. Let your feet fall open. Close your eyes.
2. Inhale deeply, filling your lungs fully from the bottom, into the middle, and into the chest, to a slow count of 10. Hold your breath for three seconds at the top of the inhale. Then, exhale slowly and deeply over the count of 10. At the bottom of the exhale, hold your breath for one second.
3. Repeat this long, slow breath seven times, continuing with short retentions after the inhalation and exhalation.
4. After the seventh breath, begin breathing normally, but imagine that all your breath flows in and out of your first chakra, or Root chakra. Focus all your attention on how that chakra feels.
5. Imagine you are standing in front of a white house with a red door. This might be a house you dream about sometimes, a house you used to live in, or a house that you make up entirely; however, it should feel comforting.
6. Walk up to the front door. Notice what it looks like, how it is designed, and what shape it is. Notice what kind of doorknob it has. Put your hand on the doorknob. Feel its weight, temperature, and texture. Open the door and notice that it is a heavy, sturdy, and secure door. Step into the house.
7. Inside, you see the room you have entered. Look around the room and notice what it looks like. Don’t try to impose any qualities on the room; just look at what you see in your mind’s eye. As you look around, you notice another red door on the far side of the room. Walk over to it and open it. You see a staircase with dim lights along the banister. Step onto the landing and close the door behind you. There are seven stairs going down. Descend the stairs until you reach the bottom.
8. At the bottom of the stairs, you find yourself in a dark room lit by a red glow. In the middle of the floor, you see a large circular pane of glass, about six feet in diameter and like a window in the floor. You walk over to it and look down. Behind the glass, you see a deep, glittering, ruby-red wheel spinning, and you know this is your Root chakra. Sit down on the floor and watch it for a while.
9. As you observe your chakra spinning, don’t try to impose any thoughts or feelings on what you see. Just look and note the impressions that come to your mind. In particular, pay attention to the shade and brightness, size and shape, quality of the edges, speed and direction of the spin, and anything unusual in the details you notice.
10. When you feel like you have looked long enough, imagine standing up, bowing to your Root chakra, turning away, climbing the stairs, opening the door, walking through the main room, opening the front door, stepping out of the house, closing the door, turning to look at the red door, and then walking away.
11. Slowly move your fingers and toes, bend your knees and hug them to your chest, roll over to your right side, and when you are ready, sit up and open your eyes. Breathe.

Sacral Chakra: Fire and Water

1. Sit comfortably on a folded blanket with your legs crossed. Breathe deeply in and out seven times, just as you did for the first exercise. When you have completed those seven breaths, begin breathing normally, but focus all your breath on your second chakra, or Sacral chakra, as if you were breathing in and out from your abdomen.
2. Imagine walking through the woods at sunrise. The Sun 3 is just barely visible through the tree branches, which are losing their leaves. It is autumn and orange and yellow leaves flutter down from the trees and carpet the path, so each step is cushioned and soft.
3. You come to a clearing next to a small stream. In the center of the clearing is a fire pit with a campfire burning brightly inside a circle of stones, as if it is waiting for you. You sit on a small log next to the fire with the stream behind you.
4. Warm your hands at the fire, and throw sticks and leaves on it to keep it fueled. The fire makes you feel happy and content, and you stare into it, fascinated by the movement of the flames. You can hear the sound of the water running over its rocky streambed behind you. Watch the fire and listen to the stream.
5. As you continue to observe, the sound of the stream begins to combine with the sound of the fire. The flames begin to change, melting down into each other and swirling into a bright orange eddy and into what looks like a whirlpool of fire, right there on the forest floor. The spinning watery fire stays within the circle of rocks of the fire pit. You lean forward to watch it, and you know it is your second chakra.
6. As with your Root chakra, watch and notice the Sacral chakra’s specific qualities. Make a note to remember any unusual details.
7. When you think you have seen deeply enough, stand, turn away, and walk back through the woods. When you are ready, gradually open your eyes. Breathe.

Solar Plexus Chakra: Here Comes the Sun

Let your third chakra, or Solar Plexus chakra help you visualize more intensely.

1. Sit comfortably on a folded blanket with your legs crossed. Breathe deeply in and out seven times, just as you did for the previous exercises. Imagine your sitting bones grounding down onto the Earth and safely anchoring you.
2. When you have completed those seven breaths, begin breathing normally, but focus all your breath on your Solar Plexus chakra, as if you were breathing in and out from the base of your rib cage.
3. Imagine you are standing in a wide-open, rolling field of green grass on a sunny day. The sky is perfectly blue with no clouds, and the Sun 3 has risen to about a 45-degree angle from the ground. Look all around you and take in everything you see.
4. Now look at the Sun. It doesn’t hurt your eyes, and you can see its bright, glowing golden shape. As you stare, you notice the Sun is spinning like a spiral galaxy, and you can see all the movements of fire and light on its surface as it spins. You know this is your Solar Plexus chakra, right out here in the open, beaming down on the world, unafraid.
5. As with your other chakras, observe this chakra’s shade and brightness; size and shape; speed and direction of spin; watch and notice anything new or unusual. Spend as much time as you need to observe, allowing thoughts and impressions to be received without judgment.
6. When you think you have seen enough, imagine lying down in the soft grass of the field and closing your eyes. Feel that Sun on your skin, and see its filtered light through your eyelids. What else do you see? What impressions, shapes, and forms swirl inside your inner vision?
7. When you are ready, gradually open your eyes. Breathe.

Heart Chakra: Heart-Felt

Your beating heart and prana-filled lungs can tell you a lot about your internal balance and how it reveals your compassionate growth, so look closely!

1. Lie down on a yoga mat or a folded blanket in Corpse pose (see Chapter 7). Breathe deeply in and out seven times, just as you did for the previous exercises. When you have completed those seven breaths, begin breathing normally, but focus all your breath on your fourth chakra, or Heart chakra, as if you were breathing in and out in harmony from the heart of your compassion.
2. Now imagine you are walking through a city. The streets are busy with people walking and riding bicycles. Some people run and some stroll, but everybody is smiling or looking contented. You walk down a wide sidewalk, passing people who smile at you. The sidewalk isn’t crowded but has a lively energy. Look around at the people, buildings, lampposts, squares of the sidewalk, and the occasional trees and flowerbeds. Notice all the granular details you can about this friendly city as you walk.
3. Now you see a glass building on your right, but the glass is fogged, so you can’t see what is inside. The building has an arched door painted bright green with a brass handle. Open the door and step inside.
4. You are inside a vast greenhouse. The vaulted ceiling is glass, and all the walls are glass. The air is humid and fragrant with the smell of greenery and flowers. All around you are trees, vines, ferns, flowering bushes, and trays of seedlings. The city outside and the greenhouse within exist in perfect harmonic balance. Look around the greenhouse.
5. You walk through the greenhouse to the other side, where you see there is another, smaller room, also made of glass. You step inside and see that the room is filled with orchids. In the middle of the room is a small fountain issuing steam. You walk between the tables with the trembling orchid flowers and step up to the fountain.
6. The fountain is set inside a wide silver bowl about four feet in diameter. The jets quiet, and as the spray falls back down into the water, the water in the base of the fountain begins to swirl like a whirlpool. You gaze into the fountain and see the base is green with soft moss. The water swirls softly over the moss, and then it begins to take on the color of the moss until the swirling water becomes a swirling green light, and you realize that this swirling fountain is your Heart chakra.
7. As with your other chakras, watch and notice this chakra’s shade and brightness, size and shape, speed and direction of spin, and anything new or unusual. Spend as much time as you need to observe, allowing thoughts and impressions to be received without judgment.
8. When you have seen deeply enough, step back from the fountain, turn, walk back out of the room full of orchids, back through the greenhouse, and back out the green door, and onto the friendly street. When you are ready, gradually open your eyes. Breathe.

Yoga’s Downward-Facing Dog pose moves energy in the form of heat from the Heart chakra to your hands and feet. Visualizing this energy transfer while you hold the pose can help you to feel the release and flow of prana energy throughout your whole self.

Throat Chakra: To Tell the Truth

What happens when you examine your ability to use intuitive perception as a means to nurture insightful communication and creativity? What truth will you find yourself able to tell? What do you see now—unseen only a moment before—that you know to be true? Healing potential lives in that discovered truth, resounding within you. Once creatively expressed, it could be a truth that will change you forever, and maybe even change the world.

1. Sit comfortably on a folded blanket with your legs crossed. Breathe deeply in and out seven times, just as you did for the previous exercises. Imagine your sitting bones grounding down onto the Earth, anchoring you safely. When you have completed those seven breaths, begin breathing normally.
2. Imagine you are sitting in a tent. The wind blows the tent flaps open and shut, and you can see the Sun 3 outside; inside the tent it is cool, dark, and calm. You sit on the ground and in front of you is a big blue crystal ball, about two feet in diameter, sitting on a solid granite pedestal. You gaze into the crystal ball and marvel at the swirling blue designs inside it.
3. You ask the crystal ball a question—anything you want to know. You stare into the crystal ball and watch shapes and images begin to form. They speak to you and show you the answer to your question. The answer might not be direct or make sense right now, but just take it in.
4. After you’ve received an answer, look deep inside the crystal ball. The blue swirls begin to take form and organize, and they begin to rotate inside the crystal ball such that the entire inside of the crystal becomes a swirling wheel of blue energy. The blue becomes an expanse of blue upon which to express your creativity. You realize that this is your fifth chakra, or Throat chakra.
5. As with your other chakras, watch and notice this chakra’s qualities. Remember anything that appears new or unusual. When you think you have seen enough, stand up, turn away, and walk to the opening in the tent. Step out into the Sun 3. When you are ready, gradually open your eyes. Breathe.

Third Eye Chakra: A Mirror to Nature

Tap into your intuition by examining the view from your mind’s eye.

1. Sit comfortably on a folded blanket with your legs crossed. Breathe deeply in and out seven times, just as you did for the previous exercises. Imagine your sitting bones grounding you onto the Earth, anchoring you safely.
2. When you have completed those seven breaths, begin breathing normally, but focus all your breath on your sixth chakra, or Third Eye chakra, as if you are breathing in and out from your forehead.
3. Imagine you are standing in a dark room lit only by candles, in front of a huge mirror. The mirror has no frame. It is just a big piece of glass about the size of a large door and is secured firmly against a wall. Step up to the mirror and look at yourself. Notice what you look like in this mirror.
4. Now you notice in the mirror that there is a blue spot on your forehead. Step closer and look at your forehead in your mirror reflection. Look very closely. As you move closer, you see a dark, violet-blue spinning circle right in the middle of your forehead. It begins to grow until it comes to its full size, and you know this is your Third Eye chakra. Examine it. See how it moves as you move and expands when you stay still and breathe into it.
5. As with your other chakras, watch and notice your Third Eye chakra’s shade and brightness, size and shape, speed and direction of spin, and anything new or unusual. You know you are observing the nature of your own mind—your mind’s eye. Spend as much time as you need to observe, allowing thoughts and impressions to be received without judgment.
6. When you think you have seen deeply enough, imagine placing your hand gently over your forehead. When you take your hand away, the chakra mark on your forehead is gone. You know it has moved within you. Turn away from the mirror and leave the room.
7. When you are ready, gradually open your eyes. Breathe.

Crown Chakra: Higher Power

1. Sit comfortably on a folded blanket with your legs crossed. Breathe deeply in and out seven times, just as you did for the previous exercises. Imagine your sitting bones grounding you onto the Earth, anchoring you safely.
2. When you have completed those seven breaths, begin breathing normally, but focus all your breath on your seventh chakra, or Crown chakra, as if you were breathing in and out from the crown of your head.
3. Close your eyes and continue to breathe, but as you do, imagine that you are not breathing out of your own power. Imagine the Universe as breath moving in and out of you, inhaling through the crown of your head as you exhale, and exhaling into the crown of your head as you inhale.
4. Now breathe normally. Imagine yourself walking in a procession of finely dressed people down a deep-purple carpet through a magnificent hall. As you walk, you realize the procession is centered around you. The people in front and behind are your Spirit Guardians, and people on either side cheer for you. You look down and see you are wearing a long robe covered in gold and silver embroidery and studded with beads and jewels that shine with every color. You continue to walk until you are led into a great room and up seven steps, and you are guided to sit on a beautiful throne.
5. You sit on the throne cushions, which are luxuriously comfortable and soft. You put your arms on the golden armrests, which are inlaid with pearls and diamonds. You run your hands over the jewels in the throne, and then you look up and see that everyone is watching you and smiling with reverence and joy. What does the room look like? What do the people look like? Who are they?
6. Now, a young girl and boy walk toward you. They have pure-white hair, pale skin, and eyes of a bright, royal purple that are unlike any eyes you’ve ever seen. They are twins. Together, they carry a purple cushion, and on it is a beautiful crown fashioned as a Thousand-Petaled Lotus and completely encrusted with diamonds. The diamonds sparkle with inner fire. The twins ascend the seven stairs and kneel before you, holding out the Thousand-Petaled Lotus crown.
7. You lean over to look, and you see that inside the lotus blossom crown is a swirling white light. It grows and overtakes the crown, the cushion, and the twins, so all you see is this beautiful light. It rises up in front of you and turns so you can see it, spinning at your eye level about one foot in front of you. Look at it. Watch how it moves and what it looks like. You realize this is your Crown chakra.
8. As with your other chakras, watch and notice this chakra’s shade and brightness, size and shape, speed and direction of spin, and anything new or unusual. Marvel at its pure beauty. Spend as much time as you need to observe, allowing thoughts and impressions to be received without judgment. Let the chakra live in front of you for as long as it likes.
9. When you think you have seen deeply enough, reach your hands out and take the chakra. It solidifies again, becoming the diamond-encrusted Thousand-Petaled Lotus blossom crown. The twins are back, kneeling before you, holding the cushion, and with heads bowed in respect. You place the Thousand-Petaled Lotus crown on top of your head. Everyone in the great room begins to applaud, but the applause grows fainter and fainter, and then the whole magnificent hall disappears. All that is left is you, the crown, the breath, and light. Feel this and let it hold you for as long as you like.
10. When you are ready, gradually open your eyes and stretch. Feel the prana life force move within and around you. Breathe.

Understanding What You See

If you’ve done all seven exercises, you’ve made it to an important place. You’ve seen all your chakras. This is just the beginning if you choose to continue working on this skill. Eventually, you will be able to see your chakras clearly and directly, without the aid of visualization exercises. You will be able to go further, see more deeply, and evaluate your chakras’ health more easily. Now, however, it’s time to interpret what you have seen.

Remember that chakras can change from moment to moment and from day to day. What you saw during your exercises are snapshots. Your chakras might appear and behave completely differently the next time you look. As with measuring chakras, seeing chakras is most effective if you practice on a regular basis. If one of your chakras is always smaller, always spins counter-clockwise, always has a dark spot in the lower left corner, or always has a dent on the top, you will understand that you have a chronic issue to deal with.

Look over your notes and notice which chakras seemed to be the brightest, the biggest, and the fastest moving. These are likely to be your strongest, most-open chakras. Notice which chakras seemed to be darker, smaller, slower moving, or even not moving at all. These chakras are more likely to be your blocked chakras.

When chakras have holes or rips in them, you are having a problem in that chakra. You are missing something or have been hurt, or you might have a health issue related to that part of your body. The same holds true for dark spots, although these are more likely to be things in that part of your body or life that you don’t want to see, so you hide them—whether consciously, or unconsciously.

Chakras with wavering or blurry edges—especially if they are very large—might be overloaded. Overloaded chakras also tend to move more slowly because they are having trouble processing all that energy.

When a chakra rotates counterclockwise, it might be regrouping, reenergizing, or purging negative energy, which signifies healing. A counterclockwise-rotating chakra might be blocked.

For quick reference, use this guide to interpret what you see, but also remember that a counterclockwise, dark, or particularly slow or large chakra in you might not mean the same thing as it means in someone else. As you consider, even meditate, on what you see in your own chakras, keep asking yourself, “Does this feel true?” When it does feel true or when your interpretation resonates with your experience and you get that aha feeling, that’s a thumbs-up sign from the Universe that you’re onto something.

CHAKRA CHARACTERISTICS

Developing Your Chakra Vision

The more you work on seeing your chakras, the easier it gets. As you develop your skills, you can adapt the exercises in this chapter to see all your chakras. For example, when you visualize a red door in the first exercise, you could make the door white this time. Visualize the house with seven floors. As you go from one floor to another, you see different lights illuminating the floor, which represent each respective chakra. Climb from floor to floor until you reach the house’s seventh floor, where all the colors merge into bright white light.

With regular practice, you can move beyond visualizations. During meditation, just focus on each chakra and see it in your mind’s eye. Eventually, you might even be able to look at yourself in a real full-length mirror and see your chakras. Keep practicing. With time, you might even be able to see other people’s chakras, too. Everybody has different ways of seeing, so when you find yours, there is no limit to what you will be able to see.