An Introduction To The Crown Chakra: What It Is + How To Balance It, From Experts

Chakras are the primary energy centers of our body, and when they're flowing freely, we tend to feel light and well. When one is blocked, however, we can feel off in a range ways, depending on which chakra isn't flowing.

The Sahasrara, or crown chakra, is the highest chakra, sitting at the crown of the head. According to yoga and meditation guru Yogi Cameron, the crown chakra represents our ability to be fully connected spiritually.

"It's the point at which the energy traveling up the spine from all the other chakras meet. It's the last domino in the chakra set, and you must open all the other chakras before you can tackle this one," Cameron explains, adding that few people will ever experience a fully opened crown chakra.

And as naturopathic doctor and reiki master Erica Matluck, N.D., previously wrote for mindbodygreen, you can think of the crown chakra as our personal gateway to the celestial world. "The crown chakra is associated with the pineal gland, which is well known for producing melatonin, the serotonin-derived hormone that affects our sleep-wake cycles," Matluck explains, adding, "The pineal gland of the brain is affected by the sun (a large celestial body) and directly connects the rhythms of the (microcosmic) human body to the rhythms of the (macrocosmic) universe."

The crown chakra, then, is our connection to the divine, and to all that is. While not all of us will fully open it in our lifetimes, many of us will catch glimpses of the bliss that comes with an open crown chakra. However, that openness isn't always easy to sustain, so even if you have a fleeting moment of blissful spiritual connection, you may find life has a way of stamping it out.

According to Matluck, when the crown chakra is open, it provides us with the spiritual awareness that we're connected to something bigger than ourselves. "Once it is understood that we are all pieces of the same whole, that connection can never be lost," she adds.

When balanced, renowned spiritual guru Deepak Chopra previously wrote for mindbodygreen, the crown chakra is like an open lotus flower. "When the lotus unfolds its petals, the memory of wholeness is restored," he explains, adding to remember that your essential nature is unbounded. "This is the full expression of yoga—the unification of being with action, of universality with individuality."

And given that open crown chakra understands that everything is connected, Matluck says, "it allows us to put our shortsighted self-interests aside in service of the whole, transcending victimhood and isolation with trust and purpose."

If an open crown chakra makes you feel blissfully connected to the universe, an imbalanced or blocked one will make you feel isolated, disconnected, and out of touch with anything beyond yourself.

As Matluck notes, the more we believe we are separate from one another, the environment, and the cosmos, the more disconnected and isolated we feel. "While mental health is affected by a variety of biological, social, and environmental factors, spiritual well-being is integral—the crown chakra contains the spiritual insights needed to heal this crisis of disconnection," she adds.

While the crown chakra doesn't fully develop until ages 42 to 49, even then, not everyone will fully open their crown chakra in their lifetime. All of the six lower chakras will need to be open and balanced, as well, for the crown to open.

Still, though, enlightened or not, we can all do practices to open and heal the crown chakra and cultivate more connection in our lives.

As Matluck says, the wound of the crown is disconnection, so in order to heal it, we have to reconnect. "We have to awaken our individual and collective relationships with the earth and the cosmos—we already have everything we need to heal this wound, but we have to choose to heal. We have to consciously rise into the gift of unity," she says.

Pranayama, or breath control, is a way of breathing in a specific pattern for a specific purpose, and some of them are more suited to particular chakras than others.

One pranayama, called Nadī shodhana (or alternate-nostril breathing) has been backed by research1 to help people get into a more relaxed state. After a four-week alternate-nostril breathing routine, participants showed reductions in their pulse rate, respiratory rate, and diastolic blood pressure—all great things if you're looking to bring your crown chakra into a more balanced state.

If you're privy to the world of crystal healing, it's believed that certain gemstones have energetic vibrational properties that make them suited for bringing balance to the body. Namely, certain crystals are used for chakras depending on their color or properties.

Another way to work with the crown chakra is to take a healing ritual bath, according to crystal expert Deborah Haugen. She recommends this ritual bath specifically for the crown.

Each of the seven chakras is associated with a one-syllable mantra, with the mantra for the crown chakra being "OM" or "AUM," according to therapist and certified ashtanga yoga teacher Vasavi Kumar, LMSW.

Mudras (the Sanskrit word for "gesture") are used in yoga to cultivate awareness toward certain energetic fields within the subtle body—and some of them can be useful for the throat chakra, according to certified yoga instructor Andrea Rice.