unhealthy root chakra may distort the message and construe it as “The boss has been watching me” or further to “My job is in jeopardy,” especially when the foundation of the root chakra has fear as one of its layers. Alternately, a child could receive a message from his parents at a very young age that children are to be seen and not heard. Such a message could create a block or a shutting down of the throat chakra, responsible for personal expression and truth speaking. Therefore, external input can make our chakras unhealthy, and it can also add to the dysfunction of the chakra. Sometimes, we have messages passed down to us from our DNA. These can be more challenging, since they are more hardwired than our immediate environmental input. However, with the proper healing tools and techniques, we can heal ourselves. Part of the journey to do so requires that we believe we can.
Malfunctioning chakras can become deficient or excessive in energy.
Malfunctioning chakras can become deficient or excessive in energy. When a chakra is clogged, it means that the upward energy flow to that center has become congested or stopped. Since the chakras act as spinning wheels, dispersing energy throughout the body, blocked chakras can restrict the entire energy flow to that area. Blockages often correspond to emotional, mental, and/or spiritual issues. For example, grief or anger could lodge in the heart chakra, giving rise to heart disease. Low esteem and anger could impact the solar plexus chakra, causing digestive complaints.
Chakras are energy deficient due to either a blockage or depletion of energy into that center—that is, the chakra is not being nourished by chi or prana to the extent that is required for adequate functioning. One simple, basic approach to restoring energy is to work on the center directly, using a variety of methods, including specific foods, dietary supplements, and lifestyle changes. The idea is to restore the vibration of the chakra with an external source that carries that same vibration or higher. Sometimes, stimulation of the chakra with physical touch (for example, acupressure, hands-on healing) is effective for releasing blocked energy. Chakras can also be restored by altering thought and emotional patterns.
Chakras can hold and process excessive energy, usually due to a blockage in the chakras above or below them or from external circumstances. Therefore, the chakras work in a domino-like fashion. They are interconnected to each other, and as a result a change in one chakra commonly influences the others in varying degrees. One way to balance energy into an overactive site is to work on spreading the energy to the chakras above or below it through foods, meditation, visualization, and so on. If there is overactivity in the sacral chakra, for example, it could be balanced if the chakra below (root chakra) and above it (solar plexus chakra) were worked on as well. Often, the higher chakra is stimulated in order to reduce the activity of the lower one, since energy tends to travel upward. In the case of the overactive sacral chakra, it may be best to work primarily on the solar plexus chakra.
All the chakras relate to each other in a weblike manner. However, they form particular groupings. The typical connection between the chakras is that the root chakra (first) is supported by the solar plexus (third) chakra. The solar plexus chakra, in turn, is supported by the throat (fifth) chakra, which is ultimately supported by the crown (seventh) chakra. In a similar fashion, the sacral (second) chakra has an intimate relationship with the heart (fourth) chakra, which then connects with the third eye (sixth) chakra. Therefore, an issue of an overactive heart chakra would best be addressed by working on the third eye chakra and supporting the sacral chakra. The odd-numbered and even-numbered chakras are special individual circuits: the odd-numbered chakras represent the masculine part of us, encompassing the dynamics of tribe, power, and expression; and the even-numbered chakras reflect the feminine aspects of our being, including emotions, sensuality, giving and receiving, and intuition.
The chakras work in a domino-like fashion. They are interconnected to each other, and as a result a change in one chakra commonly influences the others.
The energy field that surrounds our physical being is created by the collective vibration of all the chakras. It looks something similar to an egg shape around our entire body. This energy can be drained through leaks, tears, or energetic impurities in the fabric of our energy field. When this happens, there is a flaw in the functioning of the energetic field, leaving the individual with little energy to adequately support life. This effect cascades, negatively influencing the functioning of the chakras and ultimately the body. The flow of energy can also be irregular and disrupted from its normal paths locally or overall.
WORKING WITH THE CHAKRAS
The chakra system provides a convenient way for us to make our way to the internal, finer workings of our delicate, intricate beings. Through an understanding of the chakras, we can develop inner unity, balance, and peace, which will ultimately help us to grasp our surroundings and the larger universe. According to East Indian texts and newer Western methods, typical approaches to accessing these centers include crystals, meditations, visualizations, and yoga. In this book, we use a questionnaire (in chapter 3) to help you identify areas of your chakra system that may require healing. There is much information stored within these centers, so as one begins to work on the issues related to chakras through foods, it is likely that emotional issues will begin to surface to facilitate the healing of those centers.
THE FOOD-CHAKRA CONNECTION
So how do we make the leap from chakras, our vital energy centers, containing the essence of everything we are and will be, to something physical like food? How do we use foods to heal every aspect of ourselves? Embedded within the food are many kinds of information that feed us. When we eat, we take in and assimilate what the food has to offer. If you want to assess how a particular food will affect your energetic self, first identify its obvious characteristics: where it is grown, how it grows, its external and internal colors, whether it is solid or liquid or both. From there you can go deeper into pinpointing its nutrient composition: Is it primarily carbohydrate, fat, or protein? The culmination of all these aspects will ripple through our physical body to impact the vibration of our chakras and the flow of energy running through the chakras.
Think about it in simplistic, familiar terms: We are energy. Food is energy On a certain occasion, perhaps we literally feel “low on energy” because we have been working extra hours and taking on additional responsibilities. Certain foods may embody optimal physical qualities that give us the physical nourishment to feel revived. On another level, this food may capture within it the vibration that is needed to repair and correct spiritual patterns in our solar plexus chakra (responsible for our energy input and output), so that we will choose not to let ourselves get into situations where we know that our energy will be drained. One such example of a food that would perform both of these functions would be whole grains. On a physical level, whole grains contain a blend of mostly carbohydrate (mainly starches and fibers), some protein, and a small amount of fat. Complex carbohydrates like starches provide our bodies with a gradual release of energy in the form of sugar so that we could sustain our energy over time.
If we look at the physical qualities of the food, they reveal to us aspects of its spiritual messages. In the case of the whole grain, note that the essence of the plant, the germ, is tightly encased by the endosperm (or middle, starchy) layer and then protected further by the bran (outer) coating. In energetic terms, this plant speaks to us of protecting our essence from depletion.
Now if we ate processed grains repeatedly, we might experience the opposite of this
