The Awakened Soul Closing down the Chkras
The previous columns in this series have discussed how to open and balanced the chakras, or wheels light in the energetic body. An important but often neglected part of working with the chakras is learning how to close them down. If you are too open, you will feel vulnerable, emotional, and exposed. Those who are wide open feel hypersensitive, and knocked around by other people's moods. To prevent this, intuitive healers and energy workers practice techniques that ground and run energy. They understand the importance of protecting themselves in order to stay centered. This is particularly helpful when around people who are addictive personalities that carry a lot of anger, especially if they dump it on other people. We can clear any old stagnant energy in our aura before we leave home to start our day. A simple exercise to clear the vibration in your home is to thoroughly cleaning your house, particularly mopping your floors. The energy becomes sparkling and clear.
To start grounding and running energy in the body, (you can do this exercise laying down,) imagine cords of golden energy extending from the soles of your feet into the Earth. A third cord runs down from the perineum into the Earth. Visualize this connection. Once you feel it established , you can move on to exhaling any feelings that you want to release. As you breathe out, expel any negative emotions: rage, fear, frustration, anger, resentment, self-doubt, etc...release it all. Continue this until you feel complete. The Earth energy has transformative powers, and these negative feelings will be recycled. Next you move up through the chakras and imagine them as glowing lights or open flowers. Red at the base of the spine, orange at the low abdomen, and sacral area, yellow at the solar plexus, green at the heart, blue at the throat, indigo at the third eye, and white or gold at the crown. From there you can visualize golden light streaming in through the top of the head, moving down the body to the feet. You can circle it up the left side of the body and down the right side. From there let it travel up the back of the body from the feet to the top of the head, then down the front of the body from the head to the feet. This is a good time to repeat some affirmations to yourself. Most of our painful experiences in life are caused by our subconscious mind. When we repeat positive statements of truth, we are able to release negative patterns, and manifest our highest good.
Finally, we come to the most important step, which is sealing off the chakras. Leaving them open is like going to work with the doors to your house unlocked and the windows wide open. Often people who have suffered devastating loss, (such as the death of a close loved one, or a traumatic break up,) are in this wide open state, emotionally and energetically. To close the chakras down for protection, we work from top to bottom. Visualize a gold flower at the top of your head becoming a very tight bud. Do the same thing with each energy center, working downward. I imagine each one as a rose in bloom, completely closing. This sounds simplistic, but it is actually remarkably powerful and effective. We move downward: indigo at the center of the forehead, blue at the throat, green at the heart, yellow at the solar plexus, orange at the pelvis. We leave the first chakra open to stay grounded, imagining a chink of red light flowing down into the Earth.
The final step is to visualize yourself wearing a violet cloak. It covers your head and body. Just as a winter coat protects you from the cold and snow...this imaginary cloak encases your energy centers.
Another way to cleanse the crown chakra is to wash your hair. If you are around someone who is toxic for you, that residue collects in your hair. Remember that old song, "I'm going to wash that man right out of my hair?" This is about cleansing the crown chakra. Kings and queens wore crowns for the same reason, to protect the seventh chakra.
Children are very responsive to meditations such as these. Because they are so open, they pick up on all the subtle energy around them. Young students can immediately enter a state of flow and receptivity to healing energy. I am often surprised with how well the nine year olds that I teach can practice breathing techniques and how quickly it relaxes them, lowering their blood pressure, and calming their nervous system. In turn they are able to concentrate better, pick up combinations more quickly, and any residual anxiety evaporates. I cannot emphasize to parents enough the importance of a hot meal, plenty of sleep, good attendance, and being prepared and on time for class. This way a child feels stable and secure. They have a solid foundation and can enjoy their time at the studio.