How To Open Your Chakras With Essential Oils

Twelve years ago, while I was getting a body treatment in Kauai, the angelic woman performing the treatment told me that my chakras seemed "shut down."

At the time, I was struggling to simply make it through the day and had many health issues, including autoimmune illnesses and mild depression. Though I didn't realize it in the moment, that sweet woman unlocked a door in my mind about the power of chakras.

Now, years later, I'm aware of the spinning, energetic flow coming from these areas of the body and the massive impact they can have on health and well-being.

The Sanskrit word for chakra means "wheel" or "disc." Our seven chakras are located in the "subtle body," those parts of us that we don't see physically but that control the physical body and our actions and create our unique auric field.

After years of kundalini practice, I am keen on the subtle body and how it interacts with our health and well-being. And now that I know what it feels like when my chakras are spinning and alive, I can tell the difference when they're dull and stagnant.

So, how do you energize your chakras and keep them spinning? The first thing to do is become aware of the seven chakras and how they correspond to your physical body.

There are seven major energy circles from the top of the head to the bottom of the spine that move clockwise or counterclockwise. Each chakra has a frontal version and a back version. The fronts of the chakras are related to a person's feelings, and the back version is connected to will. Each chakra also corresponds with an organ, such as the throat chakra, which is connected to the thyroid.

When a chakra is shut down due to trauma, the corresponding area or organ will eventually be affected. For example, if someone's solar plexus (third chakra) is troubled, he or she may experience digestive issues because this chakra is located in the stomach and corresponds to the stomach and liver. If someone experiences heartbreak, his or her fourth chakra (the heart chakra) may feel dim and depressed.

To keep your chakras active and healthy, there are a number of ways to take care of them. Practicing yoga and certain meditations can bring awareness to the areas; hand mudras can activate chakras; grounding to the earth can help open the lower chakras; seeing a healer who works in this area of expertise can also help, as can using essential oils.

This last one is a favorite of mine, and a practice I find to be most effective. When used in specific, targeted areas, essential oils can help to open up and activate the chakras: I sit in a quiet space, meditate for a few minutes, and then gently massage an essential oil onto a specific part of my body as I imagine that chakra begin to open and spin.