How To Open a Chakra #7 – The Crown Chakra
need: Desire for spiritual and physical balance and well-being
The Crown Chakra, located at the top of the head, is the culmination of the 7 main energy centers in the body. It is considered to be the passageway for spirit to enter the body, a link between the self and The Self.
Chakra means “wheel” in Sanskrit. This wheel is a circular movement of energy, connecting body and spirit. The energy centers of your physical and spiritual body center in the chakras. According to ancient knowledge, there are seven (7) main chakras located in the human body. They are numbered from bottom to top, relating to the increase in consciousness at each new center. Chakras were first discussed in the Upanishads, and have been widely accepted in most eastern religions as centers of spiritual and physical energy.
The seven main chakras are: Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus, Heart, Throat, Third-Eye, Crown. Each one is associated with a part of the body, a color and a sound. I recommend meditating in your chakras (not just in your head) by moving your consciousness. Each chakra will give a different feeling to your meditation.
Opening each chakra is actually very beneficial physically as well as spiritually. If you’re not sure whether your chakras are open or not, there is a test you can take at Eclectic Energies’ site, which I’ve included in the resources.
Understanding the Crown Chakra, aka the “Sahasrara”:
Location: The seventh chakra is located at the center of the top of the head, just above the eyebrows and governs the brain, the pituitary gland, the hypothalamus and the central nervous system. Spiritually the Crown chakra governs consciousness.
Color: The color of the Crown chakra is VIOLET. As in a rainbow, it is final color after the indigo of the Third-Eye chakra. It is pictured as a violet thousand-petaled lotus.
Sometimes you may see the Crown chakra associated with the color White.
Element: “Inner Light”
Sense: Empathy and Unity
Attitude: The Crown chakra deals with Consciousness, unity with all of creation, and pure awareness. An open seventh chakra leads to the understanding of the Self as the embodiment of Spirit in human form. Its location at the very top of our human body is significant in being the edge between separateness and allness.
A closed Crown chakra is the reason for a person’s feeling of separateness from the rest of the universe, of being alone and feeling able only to rely on oneself.
Sound: NG
Open the Crown chakra by touching the tips of your fingers together, pointed upwards, then bend all but the Ring fingers down so that they cross over the tops of the hands. (It should look a bit like a steeple, with the “people” on the roof). [If it’s easier for you, start with all the fingers interlaced, then straighten and raise the ring fingers so they touch above.] Cross your left thumb under the right thumb. This hand position should be at about the level of your solar plexus, or just above. Focus your attention on the center of the top of your head. Chant the sound NG.
Do not attempt to open the Crown chakra until you have a solid foundation with most of your other chakras. Your root chakra must be balanced, and I would suggest having a well-balanced heart chakra as well. If the third-eye is not fully open, the crown can still be opened successfully.
Meditation: Sit on the floor (if you can, otherwise a chair is fine). Place your right hand over your head and begin a circular motion (counter-clockwise if you are pointing your hand towards your head, clock-wise if you point it outwards). Allow the color Violet to fill your mind as you clean the wheel in front of your chakra with this circular motion. Become very present to your body. Imagine a beam of violet light making a tube through your body from high above you, and lasering down through you to the earth. As you breathe in, imagine the tube expanding to encompass your shoulders and entire body. As you breathe out, imagine that you are creating a suction that draws Good into the tube and through you. Allow the violet light to turn to a bright white light.
The Crown Chakra is the seventh (and last) of the seven main chakras, which are numbered from bottom to top. This is the energy center that connects your consciousness with Universal Consciousness.
Once you begin opening your chakras, be sure to open all of them (in order if you can). Having only one or two open can lead to imbalance in health and spirit. That said, it can take a while to open the top three chakras. Keep practicing.
Do not attempt to open the Crown chakra until you have a solid foundation with most of your other chakras. Your root chakra must be balanced, and I would suggest having a well-balanced heart chakra as well. If the third-eye is not fully open, the crown can still be opened successfully.
Resources:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4885222_open-chakra-root-chakra.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_4887858_open-chakra-sacral-chakra.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_4888914_open-chakra-solar-plexus-chakra.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_4889709_open-chakra-heart-chakra.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_4890757_open-chakra-throat-chakra.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_4892048_open-chakra-brow-thirdeye-chakra.html
Chakra Test: http://www.eclecticenergies.com/chakras/chakratest.php
Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakra
Brofman Foundation: http://www.healer.ch/browchakra.html
Sacred Centers: http://www.sacredcenters.com/chakras
