What is the 8th Chakra and How Can We Tap Into It?

If you’ve spent much time in the yoga world, you’ve probably heard of the chakras. Those seven energy wheels that are always spinning inside you.

BUT!

Did you know there are more than just those seven major chakras connected to your body? There are! In fact, one traditional chakra system says there are 12.

Today, we’re exploring the 8th Chakra. We’ll go over what it is, what it means, where it is, how you can unlock it, and how it connects to your other chakras.

8th Chakra Meaning 

Each chakra has a traditional Sanskrit name, color, and energetic association. In Sanskrit, the name for the 8th chakra is Viyapini, which translates to “that which is present everywhere.” 

The icon for the 8th chakra often takes the form of the reverent lotus flower with one thousand petals. 

As it sits above your crown chakra, the Star Chakra is unique in that it’s the first of the chakras that isn’t solely attached to the physical body. In this sense it is a more spiritual chakra, it is our gateway to divine love and spiritual wisdom.

Understanding the 8th Chakra

While the lower seven chakras are innately rooted to your physical body with their energies, the upper chakras begin to strengthen our bond with the spiritual side. When the energies of the first seven chakras are aligned, then we step into a space of new spiritual awareness. The eighth chakra is the first of these spiritual chakras and exists beyond the physical.

Unlike the crown chakra, our 8th chakra is not tied to the physical world. Though our spiritual awareness begins through the crown chakra, it’s still innately tied to our own energy and our physical body. 

When we connect to the 8th chakra, we’re connecting to energies that are outside our own physical awareness. We’re tapping into something much bigger and more powerful than we can imagine on our own.

The attributes of the chakras are fun and inspiring ways to begin working with the inherent powers of the chakras. Like the red of the root chakra, or the green of the heart chakra.

The soul star chakra is traditionally shown as either golden or white in color. Though others argue that since the 8th chakra is not a body-bound consciousness, then its color is actually iridescent or it doesn’t have a color that we can perceive.

The eighth chakra is the element of the immortal soul. It is the space where our physical body connects to the unconditional love of the divine. Because the 8th chakra is connected to this divine love energy, many believe this spiritual soul chakra cannot be “blocked.” While the lower chakras offer us a challenge of unblocking them, our goal with the eighth chakra is to tap into this universal energy & make the most of it.

Energetically, Viyapini is all about connecting to your higher self, coming into your personal power, heightening your spiritual compassion, and prioritizing energy healing.

Try this FREE kundalini yoga class for inner alignment to help you get that connection to your highest self:

How Many Chakras Are There, Really? 

As a yogi, you may feel pretty well-versed in the chakra system. But as with every level of our yoga practice, there’s a deeper history of chakras that many don’t know about. While you may be familiar with the traditional and popularized seven chakra system, there are chakras beyond that.

On a basic level, chakras are spiritual energy centers found throughout the body. The 7 chakra system teaches us about the main spiritual energies within the body (root chakra, sacral chakra, solar plexus, heart chakra, throat chakra, third eye chakra, and crown chakra). While these help us find connection and balance within our 10 bodies, there’s more to us than just our earth bound personality.

The 10 and 12 chakra systems begin to move us towards spiritual connection. Through these cosmic energies, we discover that everything is connected, and our spiritual perception begins to grow. While the lower chakras prioritize energy healing within your own body, these higher chakras connect you to your higher self and remind you that you are connected to the divine energy of the universe as well.

This helps to move us out of the ego, and into a space of spiritual selflessness. When we’re connected to our higher self, we can nurture our natural abilities and connect even deeper to our soul’s contract or divine purpose. 

If you want to start working with the chakras check out my free chakra challenge!

Connecting to Your Higher Chakras

If these higher chakras are spiritual centers of connection and transcendental being, then we can imagine our 8th chakra as a gateway to the universal divine. As you move through these energy centers, the goal is to have energy flow freely, so that we may find balance and personal growth.

As you move through these spiritual chakras, you move deeper into spiritual energy. Each chakra is a continuation and an expansion of the previous one. These intense energies are often linked to psychic abilities, spiritual abilities, and the clearing of karmic residue.

As each chakra spins, it carries the energy upwards and downwards. This means all energies are present, and all the chakras impact one another. In order to prepare for activating the 8th chakra, we need to prepare ourselves by honoring the seven chakras within us first. You can do this on a deeper level with the many chakra courses provided in the Uplifted membership.

Unlock the Soul Star Chakra: Your Gateway to Spiritual Transcendence

The power within this soul star chakra energy center is linked deeply to spirituality, the universal consciousness, healing, and evolution. Through this profound power, we have the ability to take our yoga practice to the next level.

Releasing Karmic Residue

Much like your home, our spirit tends to collect dust after a while. This “karmic waste” can come from past lives or a repetition of patterns that do not serve us. 

When we tap into our innately divine energy through the 8th chakra, we’re able to see past the illusions of day-to-day life and actively clear our karmic residue. This practice could help you clear energy of past life trauma, or simply develop habits that benefit ourselves and others. Volunteering, anyone?

Activating a Deeper Sense of Wellbeing

When we feel connected to something bigger, we feel a deep compassion for ourselves and for others. And as we begin to clear our limiting beliefs and lower vibrational patterns, we open ourselves up to feel our absolute best on a regular basis. 

This is a natural process to help you feel your absolute best every day. What could be better than that?

Finding your Soul’s Purpose

When we are connected to the infinitely divine, we see our potential much more clearly. When we are able to see past our cyclical, inhibiting energy patterns, we’re able to make better decisions that bring us closer to our higher self or spiritual mastery. In this sense, connecting with your 8th chakra can help you uncover your dharma, or soul’s purpose.

Feeling a Deeper Spiritual Practice

One of the most crucial steps of healing is finding a deeper connection to something outside of ourselves. This is our ability to transcend the human body and integrate ourselves with the universal life force. 

It might sound heavy, but it is true that our chakras possess this power. Energy work of this kind helps us to discover the latent abilities within ourselves, and connect us to something greater.

How to Open the 8th Chakra

To open any energy center, you have to be intentional about it. After maintaining a proper self care routine that works for you, you can begin to move your awareness from caring for the human body to caring for the spiritual body. 

If you’re interested, you can go to an energy healer for further guidance on starting to care for your spiritual body.

However, this isn’t absolutely necessary — there are practices you can do on your own to awaken your 8th chakra.

Crystals & Healing Stones

Yogis will often use crystals and healing stones to help tap into subtle energy. In this Uplifted interview, Samantha Fey talks all about using stones and crystals in your yoga practice.

When working with crystals, you’re creating a sacred space that elevates your consciousness. Creating a crystal altar or placing healing stones around your space can aid in clearing spiritual negativity and keep energy flowing through your living space.

Crystals for the eighth chakra include Amethyst, Clear Quartz, Selenite or Indigo Kyanite

Go Deeper With Your Personal Practice

Take a yoga teacher training or work with a meditation instructor to deepen your personal practice.

Many people come to my 200-hr training to deepen their practice and my 300-hr training goes even further on the chakra system and mindset. I kid you not, even if you don’t want to teach you will be grateful you took these courses.

Transcendental Meditation

Use this meditation for opening the 8th chakra and accessing the gateway to your higher spiritual being. 

• Begin by finding a comfortable position, either seated or lying on your back. You want to be sure there’s minimal tension in your body so you can fully relax.
• Close your eyes and begin by taking a few deep breaths. Start by inhaling through your nose and out through your mouth. After you sense the tension in your being start to release, close your mouth and breathe normally.
• Starting from the base of your spine, visualize a set of tree roots reaching down into the natural ground. See these roots driving down deep into the Earth and connecting you with the heart of Mother Earth.
• As you inhale, visualize yourself drawing energy into your body through these roots. As you exhale, send the energy all the way up your spine, cleansing every chakra up to the crown of your head. Continue this pattern, inhaling energy up from the Earth, and exhaling it throughout your body, for a few minutes.
• Bring your focus to the crown of your head. Visualize a beam of light pooling right above your head, swirling and spinning slowly. This is your 8th chakra.
• Taking a deep breath in, see the light coursing through your body merge with the light floating above your head. Release any tension in the body, continue to breathe deep and feel yourself fully immersed by this light. This is your connection to your higher self.
• Visualize the white light shimmering, turned into a beautiful, glowing golden color. The swirling ball of energy begins to melt, and begins to cascade down over your head, across the face, down your shoulders and down your entire body. As this shimmering, divine liquid washes over you, imagine it cleansing you of any negative thought patterns, low-vibrational ways of being, or illusions.
• Take a few moments allowing yourself to feel any and all reactions. Take a few deep breaths to release your visualization, letting the golden liquid drip down the body, travel down the roots at the base of your spine, and dissolve back into the heart of the Earth.
• When you’re ready to come out of your meditation, take three final clearing breaths – in through the nose and out through the mouth. Allow yourself to come back to your physical body, and open your eyes when you’re ready.

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