Chakras

1. Root Chakra (Muladhara)

• Color: Red
• Element: Earth
• Location: Base of the spine
• Theme: Survival, security, stability
• Balanced: Confidence, groundedness
• Blocked: Fear, insecurity, lack of purpose
• Mantra: Lam

The foundation of your body, the root chakra is sturdy, stabilizing, and supportive, keeping everything safely connected as long as it’s functioning properly. It’s associated with the base of the spine, the pelvic floor, and the first three vertebrae, and it’s responsible for an individual’s sense of security and survival.

Because of that, it’s also connected to whatever you use to ground yourself, including basic needs, such as food, water, shelter, and safety, as well as your more emotional needs, such as letting go of fear and feeling safe. As you well know, when these needs are met, you tend to worry less.

2. Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana)

• Color: Orange
• Element: Water
• Location: Lower abdomen
• Theme: Creativity, sexuality, emotions
• Balanced: Joy, passion, intuition
• Blocked: Guilt, emotional instability, low creativity
• Mantra: Vam

Located above the pubic bone and below the navel, this chakra is responsible for our sexual and creative energies, and it’s associated with the color orange and the element of water.

When your sacral chakra is aligned, you will likely feel great. You’ll be friendly, passionate, and successfully fulfilled, and you’ll elicit feelings of wellness, abundance, pleasure, and joy. When it’s blocked, however, you’ll feel uninspired creatively or have some emotional instability.

This chakra can also be associated with physical sexual dysfunction, and you could experience a fear of change, depression, or addiction-like behaviors.

3. Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura)

• Color: Yellow
• Element: Fire
• Location: Above the navel
• Theme: Willpower, confidence, intellect
• Balanced: Motivation, focus, self-esteem
• Blocked: Anger, digestive issues, low energy
• Mantra: Ram

The third chakra is said to be your source of individual power, ruling over self-esteem. It is the action and balance chakra that focuses on individual willpower, personal power, and commitment.

It is located from the navel to about the ribcage.

When it is blocked, you can suffer from low self-esteem, have difficulty making decisions, and may have anger or control issues.

4. Heart Chakra (Anahata)

• Color: Green
• Element: Air
• Location: Center of the chest
• Theme: Love, compassion, trust
• Balanced: Forgiveness, empathy, optimism
• Blocked: Jealousy, grief, anger
• Mantra: Yam

As the central chakra, the fourth chakra, found at the center of your chest, represents where the physical and the spiritual meet. It is all about love.

Associated with the colors green and pink, it’s believed that when your heart chakra is aligned and balanced, love and compassion are flowing freely—both in terms of giving it out and getting it back.

When it’s blocked, a closed heart chakra can give way to grief, anger, jealousy, fear of betrayal, and hatred toward yourself and others—especially in the form of holding a grudge against something or someone.

5. Throat Chakra (Vishuddha)

• Color: Blue
• Element: Space
• Location: Throat
• Theme: Communication, self-expression, truth
• Balanced: Clear communication, creativity
• Blocked: Fear of speaking, timidity, dishonesty
• Mantra: Ham

Your fifth chakra is all about speaking your inner truth—or, more specifically, ensuring that your inner truths are properly communicated.

The throat chakra rules all communication. When this chakra is in check, you’re able to fully listen, speak, and express yourself clearly.

When it’s blocked, in addition to having trouble speaking your truth, you will find it hard to pay attention and stay focused, and you might fear judgment from others.

6. Third Eye Chakra (Ajna)

• Color: Indigo
• Element: Light
• Location: Between the eyebrows
• Theme: Intuition, perception, wisdom
• Balanced: Insight, clarity, imagination
• Blocked: Confusion, headaches, lack of direction
• Mantra: Om

The third-eye chakra is your sixth chakra and is physically located between your eyebrows. It governs your intuition plus the ability to recognize and tap into it.

The third eye is also said to be responsible for all things between you and the outside world, serving as a bridge between the two, and allowing you to cut through illusions and drama to see the clear picture.

When it’s blocked, you may have trouble accessing your intuition, trusting your inner voice, recalling important facts, or learning new skills.

7. Crown Chakra (Sahasrara)

• Color: Violet/White
• Element: Consciousness
• Location: Top of the head
• Theme: Spirituality, enlightenment, higher awareness
• Balanced: Inner peace, connection to Source
• Blocked: Disconnection, despair, lack of purpose
• Mantra: Aum

This is the center of enlightenment and our direct connection to our higher selves, others, and ultimately, the divine. As the name suggests, the seventh chakra is located at the crown of your head.

When aligned, the realizations that occur within you are said to be along the lines of pure awareness, consciousness, and all-expansive, bigger than yourself and yet part of one giant universe.

A crown chakra blockage may create feelings of isolation or emotional distress and a feeling of being disconnected from everyone and everything. You might feel like your normal self, just not in a state of connection and enlightenment.