Vishuddha - Throat Chakra

So we’ve arrived at Chakra No 5, the Throat – with its obvious location at the base of the neck, and the colour Blue.
 
This Sanskrit name Vishuddha means “pure”, “clear”, “virtuous", and is sometimes translated as meaning purification/cleansing.
 
The element is Ether or Space, so it hosts the elements of the lower 4 Chakras – earth, water, fire and air.
 
It is linked to communication and the use of the voice and the theory is that once the lower Chakras have been balanced, this leads to clear verbal expression of:
 
Stability – Manipura (Earth)
Creativity – Swadhistana (Water)
Wilfulness – Manipura (Fire)
Love – Anahata (Air)
 
Prana – our life force - can flow freely through the throat and the expression of the inner self can find balance.

This all sounds great but is an ideal case scenario, and as we know from our exploration of the previous 4 Chakras, they are not always open, or open in sequential order. 

If your Throat Chakra is underactive this can manifest as a fear of speaking, difficulty in expressing your thoughts, shyness and being timid, social anxiety, inhibited creativity and inconsistency in your speech and actions.
 
If it is overactive it can make a person critical and judgmental, shrill, loud and domineering - individuals who talk over, yell and shout at others and just don’t listen. They just talk too much and I’m sure we’ve all met someone like this before right?! They may also have a tendency to spit out hurtful words and just don’t know when to stop in an argument.
 
A balanced Throat Chakra finds a person able to express themselves clearly, honestly and with confidence. You will have a clear speaking voice and aren’t afraid to talk. You have balanced and calm thoughts which you express as appropriate. As well as being able to speak up, you are also able to listen to others and their unique voice.
 
Blockages in the energy flow through the Throat Chakra can present themselves physically as problems with the Thyroid gland, throat, jaw and mouth. Think of a time perhaps when you have had to “swallow” your feelings – you can feel a huge lump in your throat and it can physically hurt. Continual suppression of your voice, and thereby your emotions, can lead to tension that mutates into a physical issue.
 
We can bring openness to our throats and activate this Chakra through singing, chanting and humming – so thereby releasing any tension that may be there due to an imbalance, whatever the original cause may be.
 
We can also bring openness to this Chakra through using yoga asana (poses) that open the area such as this Fish Pose – where we take the head back and free the Throat.

Next post we move up to the more “Spiritual” Chakras and arrive at the Third Eye  – Ajna – linked to intuition and super consciousness.

Namaste, 

Shelley