Chakra of the Week: Ajna

 

DISCLAIMER:

I am by no means an expert on each chakra, and I don't know everything. I have read extensively and taken an online course through a Jain instructor. This is just a general outline with a couple tips I've learned from experience. Please do your own research on top of this, because our practices are all different. 

Almost there! We are in the highest chakras now, the chakras of spiritual enlightenment.

What is the Ajna Chakra?

As always: A chakra is a sphere of energy in our astral body that is connected to a place in our physical body.

The Ajna Chakra is located in the center of your brain, between where your eyes would be.

The symbol is a 2 petaled lotus flower, representing the dualities we all poses (likes and dislikes for example). The lotus itself represents inner consciousness and the ability to balance those dualities.

 The name, though spelled Ah-j-na, it is pronounced Ag-ya.

Element

The Element surrounding the Third Eye Chakra is a mixture of all the elements.

When I meditate on this chakra, I try to see the whole scene I've surrounded myself in. Sometimes that's me on the beach with the sun on my face, sometimes it's climbing a mountain to a waterfall. Whatever it is, the whole environment I've envisioned is the representation of this element.

Color

The color associated with the Ajna is a deep blue purple, or indigo. It reflects the blue from below and the purple of the divine above. It's like the color you imagine space to be at the edge of the earth's atmosphere.

Diet

Light, healthy meals are useful for this chakra. You don't want to be weighted down by your food. You also want to keep a clear head, so alcohol shouldn't be consumed if you are working on this chakra.

Signs of imbalance

The Ajna chakra is associated perception of substance not just form. This chakra is very often imbalanced, so don't feel too worried if you notice you need to do work with it. If it is imbalanced you might not be able to perceive the root of something. You might be closed off to spiritual ideas or easily confused by them. Maybe you dabble in various types of spirituality, maybe you go the other way and deny your spiritual self.

A balanced chakra

A balanced Ajna chakra results in an understanding that what something looks like might not be what something is. My teacher gave a great example of a gold ring. You lend the ring to a friend for something, but the friend plays with the metal and makes it into a coin. When you get it back, you are frustrated that you don't have a ring. But the ring is not what you had. What you had was gold. Things can change shape but the substance is the same.

To balance the chakra, meditate chanting the seed sound: Om (pronounced ongm). This is the most commonly known seed sound. When you chant it, imagine the O sound at the root, the soft N about a quarter up, the soft G between heart and throat, and the M between the eyes. Pull the sound energy up through your chakras. When you do it right the vibrations are very noticeable.

Inverted yoga poses are best for this, to bring blood flow to the brain. Things like shoulder or head stands.