We have run out of elements! That's right, there are only ffive elements, Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Space, and they are installed in the previous chakras. This is the way models get mixed up and superimposed onto each with time. So if you've wondered about that - this is why.

Chakra Six, Ajna, governs our intuitive ability and the way we learn and improve intellectually.  It is not necessarily associated with the number and types of diplomas or IQ, but rather our intuitive ability to see what is illusory, and what is not.  And hence comes the first sign of blockage in this chakra – illusions distort our perceptions.  We cannot see clearly, and eye disorders can be a physical manifestation of this energetic state.  Chakra Six must connect with the Fourth, our heart center - we must see clearly what is in our heart, only then we can make appropriate choices that help us evolve into the spiritual beings we are meant to be.  If the neck alignment at Chakra Five is not optimal, then we literally walk around with our heads not plugged in properly into the energetic and physical systems.  We live in a fantasy world, unable to hear the subtle stirrings  of awareness inside.

Health issues:

  • eye disorders
  • hormone imbalances (there is a knot of glands at the base of the scull: pineal, pituitary and hypothalamus)
  • brain issues
  • nervous system issues
  • mental health (along with 3rd chakra)
  • schizophrenia, bipolar, autism

In your Yoga practice:

  • eye exercises, gazing, Drishti
  • Viparita Karani, or legs up the wall, or headstand (better yet: simply applying pressure on the crown of the head) - poses that improve circulation to the brain and the head
  • intuition (wait and listen)
  • reading spiritual texts
  • in asana practice, do extra on the less strong/flexible side
  • cultivate pauses between breaths, between Asanas, drop into meditative stillness and appreciate the experience as it unfolds, wait and listen for the effect your practice is having on you - a practice that doesn't offer intermittent rests, that pushes us relentlessly towards the next experience without giving us time to appreciate the one we are having right now will deplete Chakra Six

Pranayama: Nadi Shodhana, or Alternate Nostril

Chakra Seven, Sahasrara links our small individual self with the larger picture of life.  Here we must figure out how we fit into this world and into the cosmos.  It is our spirituality, not necessarily our religion.  Yoga is not a religion, but Ishvara Pranidhana, or surrender to divine intelligence is one of the tools to help us achieve deep inner peace.  If we question ourselves and god/divine intelligence, this chakra becomes out of balance.

Ailments:

  • spiritual depression: inability to understand god
  • guru issues: blindly following a guru or believing someone is a guru, when they are not
  • non-intact philosophy of life
  •  reliance on something outside of self for spiritual guidance

What to do?

  • Seek Joy, Ananda - let that be your guiding light in your practice.  Seek out delight in every breath and movement, appreciate what you can do, instead of focusing on what you can't do
  • Mantra - the most powerful tool for breaking up energetic blockages is sound, whether sound projected outward with audible recitation, or projected inward with mental recitation.  Sound is the second most subtle tool we have.  Which is the most subtle?  The mind.  So...
  • ...Meditate - the benefits of regular meditation are numerous and well-researched by now. Asana is the most crude tool we have, to chip away at large chunks of marble as we liberate our spirit, trapped in the confines of our limited human existence, so to speak.  But at some point the sculptor must pick up the smallest chisel, and then, eventually, after polishing, the breath will remove whatever dust remains.  Then your creation takes your breath away.

Pranayama: Kumbaka (breath retention)

At the end of the journey, this is the place where the duality ends, the male and female principles (Ida and Pingala) come together into One, the Shushumna, our connection to the divine, which is neither male, nor female, beyond form.  There is no longer judgment of things being black and white, good or bad, mine and yours.  A place of ultimate joy beyond the fear of death, where you realize the eternity of life, that life lives through you, experiences form through you, only to give your form a chance to realize its connection with the divine.

Watch and follow my seated meditation on the Chakras