“So honey, dearest love, do you think you ate it?”
Scoffs: “Nooooo.”
Sigh, relief
“I just put it in my mouth.”
Possible ingested battery, emergency room visit, little people hacking away ALL around us. Rayme refusing to wear a mask once the thrill is gone. HOPING none of my co-workers will see us (my hospital); him running up and down the halls, refusing to stay put on the stretcher that is meant for actual sick children.
He is touching everything. EVERYTHING. All the things.
Is fine.
Courtesy of emergency room visit: sick as dogs, all, for two weeks.
Sleepless nights, impaired breathing (refusal to blow nose), tears shed (by all). Is fine!
Fine!
He has to work on his immune system?
Dang it!
Ahh, life, you so-and-so. It’s happening. I lie there at night, thinking: was I emotionally available with them? (kids – spouse on own). Did I wash the soccer stuff? (no). Is there milk? (no). Are the bathrooms still disgusting? (yes). And why were Rayme’s underwear on the kitchen counter – were they dirty? (unknown).
I’m always asking myself: did I check all the boxes today; did I human, as Glennon Doyle would say, well enough?
We have minor (and major) emergencies. Schedule snafus. Nasty bathrooms. Partnering, un-partnering, moving; planned and unplanned things. There are the mental health issues, the career crises, and sometimes, the losing of so, so much.
Come on, man!
It can be HARD to keep on track – body, mind, and spirit, while navigating the ups, downs and all-rounds of life. Sometimes I want to get fetal and never come back out.
Are chakras another life hack for the taking?
I’m always looking for hacks to make life better/easier, despite truly despising the word “hacks” (cringing). One way to try to stay on top of the things MIGHT be to think in terms of our chakras, or our energetic body (more on that in a sec). Knowledge of the chakras COULD lead to more self-awareness such that we can correct course before things completely tank.
So, I guess: should we try it? Thousands of years with these whirling dervishes, it can’t be total bunk. It came from the same people who made up (channeled?) yoga and ayurveda, so it must be kinda good, right?
What are the chakras?
Chakras are everywhere, yes. They are the bread and butter of New Age self-healing. Talked about in yoga. Cross-legged figures with rainbows up their spinal columns. Open, closed, and blocked chakras.
And everyone seems to pronounce it differently (thank heavens this isn’t a podcast).
But what ARE they, anyway?
Chakras are a complex and ancient energy system in (around?) the body. The concept originated in India. They were first mentioned in the Vedas, those ancient sacred texts of spiritual knowledge. The Sanskrit term for chakra means a disc, wheel, or wheel of light if you wanna get rill fancy. These wheels are spinning energy centers that correspond to specific nerves and organs in the body.
Each chakra is linked to an element (kinda like the doshas). The root chakra, for example, is connected with the Earth element (very mama-cita). The root chakra is at the base of the spine and connects us, literally, (when our butts are seated on it) to mother earth. Metaphorically, too, the root chakra is the Earthy one. Mummy.
There are seven major chakras (with a total of 114, but we won’t go there). The seven centers are depicted going up the spine, and they all have different functions and roles. They correspond to different colors because they vibrate at different frequencies. The glorious rainbow starts with red at the root chakra.
The chakra system is a model for the flow of energy that runs through us all. It’s like a ladder that takes us from the physical realm up to the spiritual realm.
The three lower chakras are thought to be a “magnetic” type of energy, and feminine. These chakras are known for qualities that link us to family and community. They help us master life through our instincts (very sexy). These chakras also carry patterns for disease and health, as well as the: “courage, cunning, and stealth required to stay alive” (The Book of Chakras, by Ambika Wauters, 2002).
The upper four chakras are thought to carry “electric” energy, and are known as the masculine chakras (please keep in mind that we ALL carry both masculine and feminine qualities). These uppity, I mean, “upper” chakras, are concerned with giving out the energies of love, communication, and inner reflection. They supposedly link us with Source (God, etc.) and become more active as we become spiritual and capable of love (as we grow).
“The chakras are where we receive, assimilate, and distribute our life energies,” says Diane Malaspina, PhD, an applied psychologist and yoga teacher. “The chakras are concentrated hubs or centers that align along the center of the body, from the base of the pelvic floor up to the crown of the head.”
Goal: keep these powerful energy centers balanced
The chakras are always moving, and at varying speeds. This is in an effort to maintain homeostasis in the body. Each chakra governs different physical and mental components of our being. I picture these little gnomes in different colored hats rushing about: wobbling, scurrying, puttering around our periphery trying to keep the dang-a-lang ship afloat.
When our chakras go out of balance — or become “blocked” – it purportedly “causes” crappy stuff to happen. For example, an imbalanced sacral chakra is associated with fertility issues and a blocked throat chakra means you have trouble expressing yourself.
“The chakras regulate functions that effect us on all levels: physical, mental, emotional, intuitive, spiritual and sensory,” says Karla Helbert, a licensed counselor, yoga therapist and author of The Chakras in Grief and Trauma.
Is there any science behind these so-called “wheels of light”?
Well, in a word: no.
No one has successfully measured the chakras scientifically. But supposedly, it hasn’t really even been attempted since 1978 (? no money in it ?). The most robust work in trying to measure the chakras was under Valerie Hunt at UCLA in the 1970s. Hunt, bless her soul, used electrodes at various points along the chakra system — for example, an electrocardiogram at the heart — to measure changes energetically in the body. But they were not able to detect chakra energy. Researchers came up with this: it is because the chakras don’t work in isolation, they work in coordination, so it would be difficult to isolate one of them to study.
Sooo…no evidence that the chakras exist, BUT modalities used to help with the opening of the chakras, such as yoga, breath work, and meditation, have most certainly been proven to boost happiness and health. And there are yoga poses, affirmations, breath-work, and meditations that are specific to each chakra. And as we will see, it has been identified what each chakra does, so we can isolate which chakras we, personally, need to work on, and therefore what yoga, etc., to do.
So lets take a chance, dive in, and see if anything resonates.
Forthcoming: an in-depth(ish) exploration of each of the seven major chakras and how to keep those suckers open and running smoothly. First one will be the root chakra.
Talk soon!
Yeeessss…love this post! Nice refresher on Chakras, written with humor and soul as always . Can’t wait for the deep dives!
Oh thank you my friend. Humor and soul…that’s what I am going for. You just GET me.