There was a time in my life when I had a lot on my plate. I didn’t have the emotional or the mental bandwidth to fully process and understand them. I had a lot of things that took me to that state – I was overworked at a job that I loved (and because I loved my job I could never say no to things), things weren’t right at home, and my partner was moving to a new city and I wasn’t sure on how to navigate through a long-distance relationship. I was working on an auto-pilot mode. Simply surviving. Not thriving.
I knew something was wrong but I could never place a finger on it. My muscles were stiff. I was constantly worried about something. I didn’t know what I was worried about. I felt helpless almost every day even though I have the most loving of friends and the most patient of a boyfriend. I would get wild dreams almost every other day. My mind wasn’t a quiet place. It felt like I had multiple tabs open in my brain and the laptop was slowing down. My mind also felt like a suitcase which was filled to the brim and it could break open at any time. I was keeping myself occupied and took up a lot of personal projects to keep myself busy because I did not want to sit down with my thoughts.
I knew I had to do something about it. I looked up at online resources and the results only confused me even more. There were therapists, counsellors, and psychologists and because I wasn’t well-informed I did not understand how they differed from each other. One evening when I was sitting with a friend and was ranting about how stressed I was and nothing made sense, he talked to me about negative energies and I was captivated. He suggested I get my chakras balanced and I thought why not? Ye bhi try kar lete hain! But here’s the catch. I lived in a tier 2 city and finding someone who does chakra balancing was like finding a needle in a haystack.
I rolled up my sleeves and got to the job. I scrolled through Google, Instagram, and even Just Dial. After almost two days of endless searching, I found a life coach from my city on LinkedIn (out of all places!) I found her on Instagram and stalked her website and that is when I found out that she also conducts chakra balancing sessions. Putting my social awkwardness aside, I immediately called her to understand the process and know more about it. She asked me to tell her what I was looking for and how I was feeling. I shared everything with her. She clarified that chakra healing is an alternative therapy where energies are balanced. She added that a session would remove blockages from my chakras and promote overall well-being.
The life coach told me that there are seven chakras in our body. When these chakras are imbalanced, people notice discomfort in their lives.
- Root Chakra – located at the base of the spine and is associated with survival, grounding, and stability
- Sacral Chakra – located in the lower abdomen and is associated with creativity, sexuality, and emotional balance
- Solar Plexus Chakra – located in the upper abdomen and is associated with personal power, will, and self-esteem
- Heart Chakra – located in the centre of the chest and is associated with all things love
- Throat Chakra – located in the throat and is associated with communication and self-expression
- Third Eye Chakra – located between the eyebrows and is associated with intuition and insight
- Crown Chakra – located at the crown of the head and is associated with consciousness and divinity
I showed up at her office the next day without an open mind because I mean nothing could go wrong. Even if it didn’t work, I would look at it as a fruitful meditation session. Practically, I had nothing to lose. Her office was spacious with her desk and chairs, huge shelves that were stocked to the brim with books, chakra charts, yoga charts, crystals, incense sticks, and a comfortable diwan with cushions in a quiet spot. She told me feeling light-headed and sleepy after the session was absolutely normal.
My therapist asked me to take off my shoes and lie down on the diwan. She asked me to make myself comfortable on it and lie on my back. She told me, “Keep an open heart because if you are sceptical, you will block the energies even further.” I took what she said like a diligent student and lied down. She had lit incense sticks to clear the air. I asked her why she lit them and she said, “I am cleansing the energy and the aura.” She asked me to start letting go of things and focus on my breathing. She took seven crystals and placed them on my chakras. While she started to scan her hands over me to look for blockages and imbalances, she was also taking me along on a guided breathing journey. I had eased into the process.
She never touched me but moved her hands above me and kept chanting om, ha, oh. I started seeing colours. She focused on each of my chakras and took me on a guided visualization journey as well. I was asked to visualize movement and flow and I started to feel something moving throughout my body – from my head to the toes. There was a moment where I felt intense heaviness in my chest and it stayed that way for a while. The weight felt so much that I do remember feeling tears while my eyes were closed. My breathing got heavy but my therapist guided me to breathe in and breathe out. I could feel her chants moving through my body.
After an hour, the session came to an end and I felt that a weight had been lifted off my chest. I felt the tiredness you feel after an intense workout – you are tired but you feel rejuvenated enough to take on the world. She told me, “You needed a good cleansing of the front and back heart, and also of the solar plexus which is the seat of emotions.” She added that I do need more sessions and I should consult her whenever I am ready. None of this made sense so I asked her to explain it to me like she was talking to a teenager.
She told me that the front heart chakra controls the heart while the back heart chakra controls the lungs, heart, thymus gland and circulatory system. A blockage in this means a problem in developing relationships along with physical problems. On the other hand, a blockage in the solar plexus can show indigestion, IBS, heartburn, etc and it deals with self-esteem and how you perceive yourself.
Whatever she said made sense because I was dealing with these issues. The entire chakra healing session left me feeling light and better about myself. I felt great and I felt more in control of what was happening to me. Maybe I needed to calm myself down and this session helped me with that. I never got to get a second cleansing done but the way it left me calm made me take a wise decision. It helped me recognize that maybe I should stop being afraid and seek professional help for my anxiety. And I did exactly that. My life did not take a 180-degree turn after the session but it helped me start my healing journey for which I am thankful.
While this chakra balancing session did work for me and helped me put things in perspective, this is not a piece of medical advice for anyone. It might not work for some and everyone should do their own due diligence before getting into any alternative forms of healing or therapy.