Align and connect to your energy centers with this healing practice to get grounded and open up to possibilities.
1. Root Chakra
The first chakra is about trust and learning to trust the world when your initial reaction is fear. Feeling safe and grounded in your surroundings, community, family is key to healing yourself.
Warrior II Pose
Warrior II makes you connect your two feet to the earth, providing you with stability and safety.
2. Sacral Chakra
The life lesson in the second chakra involves replacing guilt with forgiveness and acceptance, especially in the areas of sexual relationships.
Low Squat
This low squat focuses on the pelvis and allows you to be open and receptive physically, emotionally, and energetically in order to accept yourself fully.
3. Solar Plexus/Navel Chakra
The lesson of the third chakra involves replacing insecurities with confidence.
Boat Pose
Practicing Boat Pose and allowing yourself to shake and feel the burn in your core offers the opportunity to summon the inner strength to keep going.
4. Heart Chakra
The fourth chakra’s lesson deals with healing anger and frustration by developing compassion and love in your heart for yourself and others.
Full Wheel
Wheel Pose requires going beyond your comfort level of opening up the heart. Reaching that edge and breathing into it will connect you to the bliss of love, which resides beyond the resentment of anger.
5. Throat Chakra
The lesson of the fifth chakra involves developing the ability to clearly communicate with yourself and others. Often we don’t say what we mean or mean what we say because we’re distracted by unnecessary layers that don’t allow us to embrace our authentic self.
Fish Pose
Fish Pose deals with opening the throat and spine in a way that can feel oddly vulnerable until you find your own expression. The same applies to communicating honestly with yourself and others. In the beginning it can be uncomfortable until you find your own genuine voice. Then, it is liberating.
6. Third Eye Chakra
The life lesson for the sixth chakra is developing the ability to trust your intuition. You replace ignorance of oneself with surrender to divine guidance. You understand that you are one drop in the ocean; you are part of the whole. Your intuition is guided by your spiritual eye—the third eye, located between the eyebrows.
Child’s Pose
While in Child’s Pose, feel your third eye touching the floor and breathe into it, feeling centered and clear. Be brave. Connect with and listen to your intuition while in the pose.
7. Crown Chakra
The life lesson of the seventh chakra is about developing the ability to surrender to pure consciousness, as you finally learn your true nature or at least become aware of it. You understand that you are the ocean as well. You are the micro and the macro.
Headstand
In Headstand, the crown of your head is on the floor, which means it is grounded and connected to the earth. Let this pose remind you that while your intention is connected to the Divine, you are still rooted on this Earth in order to continue to serve and fulfill your purpose.
Learn more about these poses at YogaJournal.com.
