Chakras were identified early in India between 1500 BC and 500 BC, breaking off from Hindu and Buddhist ideologies. Chakras, in simple terms, are energy points that stem from metaphysics, the idea that energy prominently affects psychological, and crucial physical components. In total, there are seven main individual chakras that largely affect and determine our extramundane auras, essentially the energies we feel and display. Practicing yoga and meditation has been known to correlate and better the energy of chakras, causing both physical and mental relief or relaxation. Knowing our energies and the energies we surround ourselves with is important because the repercussions can often present themselves in physical tightnesses and headaches. It also has an association with our mental health because if our general internal and external energy is off, so is our mental awareness and reception.

The seven main chakras each have a specific bodily point where the energy manifests itself; from head to toe, the chakra system order goes: the crown (above the head) the third eye (forehead), to the throat, heart, solar plexus (placement on body), sacral (placement on body), and the root chakra (placement on body). There are 114 minor chakras, but the seven mentioned are most prevalent, as they commonly have the largest effects on the body. There is also a correspondence to colors for each chakra, arranged in a rainbow pattern from bottom to top. For example, in the systemic chain at the top for the crown chakra is a violet color, where the bottom root chakra is a vibrant red.

In essence, each of the main chakras can be aligned, unaligned, or imbalanced. You may also hear the terms “open,” “closed,” and “impartial,” but these terms are synonyms. Aligned chakras indicate you are experiencing the beneficial sides of the energy. Thus, unaligned chakras mean you are enduring the non-beneficial connections. An imbalance means both aligned and unaligned components are prominent equally. The seven main chakras exhibit positivity when balanced, whereas, if your chakras are unaligned, each chakra may prompt negative consequences. For example, the violet crown chakra: if aligned, the open chakra signifies a sense of oneness, harmony, connection, and awareness. If unaligned, someone may feel a disconnection from themselves and their body, mental fogginess, or poor sleep habits. If in the middle, one gives off both negative and positive energies.

Alice Adeboi, an Eden Energy Medicine Advanced Practitioner (EEM-AP) advocates for learning and expanding energy education through books, research, and most importantly, knowing ourselves. Adeboi said, “[the] benefits of meditation are numerous and backed by science. It calms the brain, the hypothalamus, reduces stress, anxiety, and negative emotions, as become more aware and focused on the present. [We] have a different perspective on everything around us, promotes kindness and patience, tolerance – indeed, it has changed the lives of many people… it is even included in some elementary schools these days.” In these presently chaotic quarantine conditions, the struggle for good mental health is prominently affecting everyone. Meditation, as supported by Adeboi, has medically shown positive outcomes, and approximately two hundred to five hundred million people mediate worldwide. Moreover, mindful meditations have been shown to reduce post-traumatic stress disorder effects by 70%, lower blood pressure for 80% of people who take part, and most significantly, routine meditation increases telomerase. Also known as telomere terminal transferase, this enzyme is made of RNA and it lengthens chromosomal sequences, making sure cells divide correctly. This specific enzyme is responsible for delaying early-onset Alzheimer’s and other threatening diseases, as well as repairing overworked cells.

“We need to teach people, especially young people, that they can take responsibility [for] their health into their own hands by giving them simple tools [and] exercises,” Adeboi said. All in all, mindfulness of our chakra energy is super important; we can continuously better ourselves by regulating those energies correctly. Chakras utilize bodily autonomy energies on a cellular level, according to integrative medicine. Conclusively, all of these techniques can work together to relieve excess stress, promoting the most becoming versions of ourselves.