Chakras. You might have heard of them.

You might also have wondered just what the flip they are.

Well, girlfriend, I'm here - as usual - to help a sista OUT.

Essentially, a chakra is an organ sensitive to the reception, transformation and transfer of energies.

There are seven major, or primary, chakras, all located along the midline of the body, and each one plays an important role in the health of body, mind and soul.

1.   B A S E  /  R O O T 
The Base or Root Chakra connects to our coccyx, and is represented by a four-petaled lotus flower. It shines a fiery red, and is associated with stability, structure, transformation, renewal, and sexual power. 

2.   S A C R A L 
Represented by the colour orange, and a six-petaled lotus, the Sacral chakra connects to the sacrum. It is associated with creativity, reproduction + fertility, sensual desire, partnerships + relationships (including that with our self), and receptiveness.

3.   S O L A R   P L E X U S
A ten-petaled lotus, and the colours gold + yellow, represent the third chakra. Sitting approximately two fingerbreadths above the navel, the Solar Plexus chakra is connected to the liver, pancreas, spleen and stomach. It is associated with warmth, strength, abundance, power, growth, wisdom, devotion, and activity. 

4.   H E A R T
This chakra connects to the heart - physically and emotionally - but also to the thymus (and so tied into skin health by the lymphatic system). It is represented by the colours green, pink + gold and by a twelve-petaled lotus, and associated with emotional warmth, love, harmony, selfless love, sincerity and generosity.  

5.   T H R O A T
The Throat chakra is the communication centre. It is represented by a sixteen-petaled lotus, and by pale, silver or greenish shades of blue. It sits between the dip in the neck and the larynx, connecting neck, throat + jaw. It is associated with communication, self-expression, the conveyance of knowledge and wisdom, independence, and divine inspiration. 

6.   T H I R D   E Y E
The Third Eye chakra sits in the middle of the forehead, above the bridge of the nose, connecting the face, eyes, cerebellum, pituitary, and central nervous system. It is represented by a 96-petaled lotus, and indigo or violet colour. It is associated with rational, inspired + holistic thought, intellectual cognition, inner realisation, higher knowledge, intuition and imagination.

7.   C R O W N
This chakra sits at the highest point of the head, representing the purest being. It is symbolised by a one-thousand-petaled lotus, and the colours violet, white and gold. It is associated with divine light, inner knowing, concentration, meditation, devotion, oneness, and the home from where we once came + where we will one day return to.

It is considered that each chakra exists mainly in the ethereal body: the body resembling the physical body in shape and dimension, and responsible for shaping all physical sensation and vital life force or energy.

And each chakra also represents a blossoming flower (most famously a lotus flower), with each of the petals representing the nadis, or energy channels.

From time to time, blockages can develop within our chakras. As the nadis contract, the flow of life energy is blocked from flowing freely throughout our bodies (both physically and not - ethereally, emotionally, mentally and spiritually). Which ain't ideal.

So how do we unblock our chakras?

Firstly, relaxation - as with everything - is key. Relaxation, calm and peace are the antidotes to anxieties, contractions and blockages. Traditionally, kundalini yoga is a particularly potent way to unblock the chakras, but any form of relaxation - yoga, meditation, breathing, treating yo'self to a massage, journaling, napping, reading a book, or enjoying time with friends - will help to begin to relieve that contraction blocking your energy flow. 

Secondly, we want to expose our blocked chakras to vibrational energies that mirror those that the natural, unblocked chakra itself emanates. These energies can be found in colours, sounds, oils, and crystals. Crystals like those in our Chakra Crystal Sets, for example. Nudge nudge, wink wink.