Chakra means spinning wheel of energy or energy centre in Sanskrit. Each of these centres is associated with specific organs, endocrines, issues, emotions, colors and elements. Balancing these centres can have a physical, emotional and spiritual effect on an individual.

It is not only important that each individual chakra be balanced, but that they also be balanced in relationship to each other.

The lower three chakras are considered masculine in nature and call us to action. They help to ground us and are usually concerned with the material world. The higher three chakras are feminine in nature and are associated with self-reflection and the spiritual aspects of life. The heart chakra is balanced in masculine and feminine energy and can help to balance other chakras.

Chakra	Location, associated organs and endocrine glands, emotion	Imbalanced expression	Balanced expression
Crown	Close to top of brain, pineal gland, bliss	Limited connection with Divine or Source, limited access to body’s inner wisdom, mental imbalances.	Experiencing Source and Source within self, wisdom, awareness, self-realization.
Third-eye	Between eyebrows (within head), Pituitary gland, fear and imagination	Focused on physical plane, poor vision, close minded, headaches, sleep issues, mental and hormonal issues.	Healthy intuition, creative, ability to manifest, strong memory and balanced hormones.
Throat	Throat area near larynx, thyroid, vocal chords, expression	Speaking from programmed conditioning, overly talkative or non-communicative, thyroid issues, metabolic and hormonal conditions, coughing.	Strong communicator, expresses personal truth, maintenance of healthy weight.
Heart	Heart center (behind physical heart), heart, lungs, thymus gland, love and joy	Not accepting love, problems in relationships, holding grudges, heart issues, lung issues and immune system imbalances.	Ability to love and receive love, healthy immune system, balance in relationships and other chakras, compassion, feelings of harmony and peace.
Solar plexus	Along spine in upper abdomen, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, spleen, stomach, anger, sense of purpose	Unsure of role on earth, feelings of rejection, extreme extroversion or introversion, ulcers and issues with organs associated.	Healthy digestion of food and life. Feeling a sense of personal power, confident
Sacral	Behind and a little below the navel, feminine aspects of kidneys, reproductive organs, joy and desire	Imbalances around sexuality and creativity. Possessiveness and jealousy, immune system issues, low self-esteem	High self-esteem, healthy expressions of creativity and and sexuality, joy and pleasure.
Root	Base of spine, kidneys, adrenal glands, fear and passion	Insecure, resistant to physical world, spaced out, fatigue, fear around survival	Feeling grounded, motivated and comfortable in this material plane.

As you can see, an individual with physical imbalances in a specific area may also reflect the imbalanced qualities associated with the connecting chakra.

In a Reiki session you will not only be balancing physical aspects of the recipient’s body, but also their energetic centers. By balancing these centers, the physical body will also be addressed.

In a session with another practitioner, you may have been told that specific chakras were blocked. Keep in mind that you are the best judge of your body and when a practitioner diagnoses, they are doing so through their own filters.

When you work with clients you will likely get a sense over time of how the energy is flowing through the body. Keep in mind that in some cases, underactive or over active chakras may be doing their work to assist with an imbalance in another area. By assuming that the chakras are the issue, you would be trying to “fix” a coping strategy the body is using until the root cause is healed. This is why we keep an open mind and allow the body to choose what is healed and in what order.

At certain times we will all display symptoms of one or more chakras being out of balance. This usually means there are beliefs, energy or emotions tied to the concepts associated with that chakra that are not serving you. Reiki self-treatments, meditation and essential oils as well as being open to seeing things in a new light can help you start to release that storage that may be impacting the chakra.