Chakra Opening Symptoms: Signs You’re Unblocking Your Chakras

chakra opening symptoms

You’ve been on your yoga journey for a while now and you’ve been hearing a lot about these colorful energy centers – the chakras! You probably see a lot of information on what it feels like when one of those energy centers gets blocked… or is sluggish and lacking energy. 

Perhaps you’ve read articles about how to counteract this and open your root chakra (or others) back up. 

But what does this FEEL like? How do you know it’s working? What are the chakra opening symptoms?? Let me tell you…

What is Chakra Opening?

chanting mantras to heal

First let’s do a little review of what the chakras are. A chakra (Sanskrit for wheel or disc) is like a swirling vortex of energy located in specific areas of the human body beginning at the base of the spine to the crown of the head. There are seven main chakras and they move from gross to subtle to fuel your sense of interconnectedness.

Think of the chakras like a framework for awareness. They help you explore your behaviors and programming. Knowing the details of the chakras and how your own personal chakras may be affecting your behavior, your physical body, even your spiritual practices is the ultimate life hack.

Want to know what your dominant chakra is? Find out now!

Take my chakra quiz to find your dominant chakra:

Now, what does it mean to open your chakra, you ask? Well, chakra opening means you want to bring MORE energy into that area. Your chakras can be both deficient in energy or excessive in energy. So when talking about chakra opening you are talking about bringing energy into a deficient chakra. 

For the purposes of this post I’m going to talk about opening to a point of balance, but it is possible to bring too much energy flow to the area and create a problem of excess. So you want to make sure you are doing practices(yoga, pranayama, meditation, etc.) to keep your chakras in balance in both directions. We don’t want extremes.

If you need a refresher on what deficient AND excessive chakras look like and how to bring them into balance, find that here. 

Why Do My Chakras Need To Be Open?

The chakras are often talked about individually. Which is great because each chakra has its own features and characteristics. But you don’t forget that they are an entire energetic SYSTEM. They are designed to work together to move kundalini (shakti) energy through the nadis from one to another.

If one chakra is blocked or closed and unable to move energy, the chakra on either side of it will not be able to receive the cosmic energy that runs up and down your spinal column either.

When this energy is not flowing freely, you’ll start to feel negative impacts to your physical and emotional wellbeing. Beyond physical symptoms or emotional well being, a chakra imbalance can affect your interpersonal relationships as well. A blocked sacral chakra may lead you to making poor choices and holding on to toxic relationships or leading to self destructive tendencies, for example.

This is why it’s so important to have a clear, balanced, open chakra system. So that your shakti energy can flow freely from the base of your body through the top of your head. At your crown chakra this energy is said to mingle with the Divine in order to restore balance and allow you to move through life in your highest expression. This leads to spiritual growth, healthy conscious relationships and a greater sense of spiritual health and well being. Who doesn’t want that?!

The Chakras and Their Opening

Let’s go through all seven chakras within the chakra system and talk a little about what having “pent up energy” in that area feels like… and what chakra opening symptoms might feel like.

chakras

Keep in mind that any time you are moving energy around you might feel it in your physical body as well. So, when your chakra is opening, some common symptoms might be a headache or tingling sensation within the body. Remember to stay hydrated and that these feelings should only be temporary.

Muladhara Chakra – Root Chakra

The root chakra relates to your basic needs, connects you with the ground beneath, and is the foundation of the entire chakra system. While all the chakras have importance, the root chakra is one of the most important main chakras to keep open and balanced to allow life force energy to flow through you. Think of it like this, you can’t build a house without laying a foundation first, right?

Some quick facts about the root chakra:

  • It is located at the base(or root) of your spine
  • The element is Earth, hence why it’s referred to as dense and tasked with being the pillar upon which all other chakras rest(you have to build from the ground up)
  • Centers around your basic survival needs – things like food, shelter, and money. It also deals with emotions like belonging, feeling grounded, safe and accepted, and your fight or flight instincts.
  • The related color is red. You can picture a glowing red ball at the base of your spine
  • Blocked root chakra symptoms can include: avoidance, poor hygiene, restlessness, knee pain, among other things.
Muladhara root chakra meaning

Some yoga poses that can bring energy into your root chakra:

Picture yourself rooting into the earth while you do these postures to bring more of that lovely grounding energy flowing in for root chakra healing.

Start Opening By:

Chakra Opening Symptoms

  • Feeling more grounded and safe
  • Greater body awareness
  • Healthier sleep patterns
  • Deeper connection to yourself and the world around you
  • Feeling like you have enough

If you want to go deeper on how to open your root chakra, check out this series in the Uplifted membership.

Svadhishthana Chakra – Sacral Chakra

Svadhisthana is all about fluidity, ease of movement, expression, creativity, sexuality and intimacy. The Svadhisthana Chakra holds a large part of who you are and how you interact both with yourself and others. It connects you to your emotions and your desires.

  • It is located in your womb area, between the navel and the groin
  • The element is water, hence the fluid nature of this energy center
  • It centers around your ability to welcome change, relate to others, creative expression, desires, healing, compassion and yes, both intimacy and sexuality
  • The related color is orange
  • Sacral chakra blockage can feel like stiffness or rigidity, a lack of desire/passion and fear of change.
An illustration of Svadisthana, the Sacral Chakra with descriptions

3 yoga poses to activate and balance the sacral chakra. –These are just a few of the many yoga postures you can do that work with that lower abdominal area that houses svadhisthana.

Start Opening By:

Chakra Opening Symptoms

  • Feeling your emotions fully – but also managing those emotions in a healthy manner
  • Your feel the desire to move your body fluidly (more dance parties in the kitchen anyone?)
  • Compassion, desire, optimism increase
  • Improvement in your relationships with yourself and others
  • Feeling more sensual, alive, pleasure-filled and turned on.

Another great resource is the sacral chakra minicourse.

    Manipura Chakra – Solar Plexus Chakra

    This chakra is your driving force. Your center for transformation, willpower, purpose, digestion, and energy. It allows you to pursue your purpose, challenge your movements, and transform your experience.

    • Located in your navel center, specifically from the sternum to the navel
    • The element is fire, which makes sense seeing as it is the center for transformation.
    • It centers on your ability to overcome passivity, to take the next best step, your self esteem, confidence and willpower.
    • The related color is yellow.
    • Deficiency looks like: lack of energy, poor digestion, eating disorders, and victim mentality.

    You can find a larger list of symptoms and solutions related to manipura chakra in this post.

    An illustration of ManiPura, the Solar Plexus Chakra with descriptions

    3 yoga poses to activate and balance the manipura chakra that focus on strength, confidence and power.

    Start Opening By:

    Chakra Opening Symptoms

    Solar plexus chakra opening symptoms include:

    • Differences in your digestive fire
    • Assertiveness/empowered to achieve
    • Feeling stronger and free
    • Greater trust in yourself/confidence/self-worth

    This solar plexus chakra course in Uplifted will give you even more information on this fiery chakra.

    Anahata Chakra – Heart Chakra

    Your heart center is the space where you experience love, compassion, connection, expansion, and integration. This energy center creates a bridge between the lower chakras (physical fixed states) and the upper chakras (spiritual, esoteric states). It is the emotional go-between, connecting your physical, earthbound attributes with your intuition.

    • It is located at your heart center
    • The element is air, representing freedom, openness, expansiveness, lightness, and simplicity
    • The related color is green.
    • Blockage could feel like: withdrawn, judgmental, lonely or depressed, or a fear of intimacy.
    An illustration of Anahata Heart Chakra with descriptions

    Here are 3 yoga poses for heart chakra opening.

    Matsyasana supported fish

    Start Opening By:

    Chakra Opening Symptoms

    • More joy
    • Greater capacity for forgiveness/acceptance
    • Feelings of interconnectedness and emotional balance
    • More open to receive/feelings of abundance

    This heart chakra Uplifted course will take you deeper. 

    yoga for self mastery

    Vishuddha Chakra – Throat Chakra

    This is the space where you speak your highest truth, practice vulnerability, express your needs and wants, and create conscious vibrations.

    • It is located at the center of your throat
    • The element is space, leading the desire to create open channels of communication and authenticity
    • It focuses on communication, self-expression, honesty, authenticity, and anything else related to your communicative actions (both verbal and non-verbal)
    • The related color is blue
    • Deficiency may look like: shyness, unable to voice feelings or desires, poor rhythm, being soft spoken, and fear of speaking
    Vishuddi, the Throat Chakra

    Here are 3 yoga poses to activate and balance the throat chakra.

    Start Opening By:

    Chakra Opening Symptoms

    Throat chakra opening symptoms include:

    • Stronger voice
    • Increased ability to make decisions/more sure of yourself
    • Better listening skills
    • Creative expression becomes easier

    Learn all you need to know with this amazing throat chakra course.

    Ajna Chakra – Third Eye Chakra

    The sixth chakra is your space of intuition and it’s centered around your perception of things. Your awareness, inner wisdom, and imagination.

    • Located between your eyebrows. And if you didn’t know, it actually corresponds to the pineal gland, giving you a direct connection to consciousness
    • The element is light
    • It revolves around the ability to see – both your inner world and your outer world. Which makes the Sanskrit translation of Ajna “to perceive” make a whole lot of sense.
    • The related color is indigo
    • You might have third eye blockage if you: have vision problems, poor imagination, are insensitive or have difficulty visualizing the future.
    Ajna, the Third Eye Chakra

    Yoga poses to activate and balance the third eye chakra.

    Start Opening By:

    Chakra Opening Symptoms

    • Better focus
    • Increased self awareness
    • Less anxiety (not sweating the small stuff)
    • Heightened intuition
    • More relaxed creativity

    Everything you need to know about the third eye chakra and how to balance it is in this Uplifted course.

    Sahasrara Chakra – Crown Chakra

    The seventh chakra is your spiritual connection. It is your source of enlightenment and connection to something greater, your relationship with your higher self, and consciousness.

    • It is located at the crown of the head.
    • The element is cosmic energy, thought, or space.
    • It centralizes around integration, infinite consciousness, enlightenment, transcendence, and spirituality.
    • The related color to the crown chakra is violet
    • An underactive crown chakra looks like: brain fog, difficulty learning, cynicism, or aloofness.

    Activate your crown with these 3 poses.

    • Saddle Pose
    • Savasana
    • Padmasana: Lotus
    Sahasrara, the Crown Chakra
    5 sutras of the Aquarian Age spiritual awakening

    Start Opening By:

    Chakra Opening Symptoms

    • Increased spirituality/spiritual awakening
    • Mindfulness
    • Joy and connection with all beings and the universe
    • Greater wisdom
    • Vivid dreams

    This crown chakra course will give you all the information you need about this amazing chakra.

    Closing Thoughts

    You can learn so much about yourself working with the subtle body and the seven main chakras. Your entire life affects these energy centers and then in turn these energy centers can affect your entire life, from mental health to physical symptoms. But when you start opening those blockages you feel connected to universal consciousness, cultivate meaningful relationships, connect to your higher self and feel at home in your own skin.

    Go deeper with the chakras with me and world renowned expert Anodea Judith PhD in my 300-hr yoga teacher training.

    Next Steps:

    • Explore my Chakras knowledge hub to learn more about the Chakras from the blog.
    • Check out my YouTube channel and find some yoga classes that you can try out for yourself!
    • Join Uplifted for exclusive chakra content that you can access right from the app. Take a deep dive into your practice with me this year!

    Join my free 7 day chakra challenge today

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