The chakra system is like an ancient bridge, one that connects our esoteric body with our physical and emotional bodies.

Imagine an old rickety bridge, one that has fallen into disrepair because it’s not used; it’s been forgotten. It’s overgrown, rotting away and quite unstable.

Now imagine a much used and cared for bridge. One that is honored and loved for its necessity in daily life. When a part gets wobbly, it’s fixed. The growth is cleared from around it often so it may remain clear and accessible.

Which bridge would you like to cross?

Now take a moment and ask yourself, which state is your chakra system in? It will tell you if you listen. If you often find yourself stuck, frustrated, powerless or unhappy, the root may lie in your blocked chakra system.

These benefits are waiting for anyone who has the motivation to step up and work for it, and it’s my goal to present a beginner’s practice, chakra by chakra, to help anyone who is seeking change. There are seven major chakras, or energy centers within the body, and each governs its own area of our behaviors, emotions and physical functions.

Here, we will explore and discuss the seventh major chakra—the Sahasrāra, or Crown Chakra. This is the doorway to the Higher Self—the portal through which our clarity, guidance, and wisdom from beyond the self flows in. This is the center for consciousness and nirvana.

Previously, we worked with Muladhara, Swadhisthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishuddha, and Ajna.

As a beginner, I encourage you to balance and work with each chakra starting from the root and working up to crown.

“By focusing on the light emanating from the crown of your head, you become able to see enlightened masters.” ~Patanjali, Yoga Sutras

When to work with Sahasrāra: you struggle with selfishness or self-centeredness; you struggle with spiritual connection; you feel uninspired and disconnected; you struggle with seeing reality as it is; you would like to enhance psychic and spiritual potential, or you suffer from feeling incomplete and/or empty.

Sahasrāra is the center of completeness and divine joy, love, and light.

This chakra is located at the crown of the head, the area of the head that is still soft just after we are born into the world. It is the meeting point of the finite (mind, ego) and infinite (soul, pure essence, Divinity). It is from here that we can see reality as it is, instead of through the fogged filters of our intellect, emotions, and ego. If you find yourself feeling ungrounded often, and if you have big dreams but are unable to make them happen, you may benefit from working with this chakra.

This is your center for enlightenment, interconnectedness, and purity. Sahasrāra gives us direction and meaning in life. This is where the guidance, wisdom, insight and clarity from the Higher Self comes through, to be incorporated into the mind. As people work to open Sahasrāra and get the energy flowing, they often find their clarity, consciousness, and inherent sense of well-being sharpens drastically. I found that no matter what arises, there is nothing that is able to shake my inner belief that everything is occurring as it is meant to, and that I am exactly where I am meant to be no matter what occurs. I no longer try to force my will in all things, but instead I am comfortable trusting the process.

Do you feel blocked in your spiritual realizations?

Positive aspects of Sahasrāra manifest in your ability to feel gratitude, unity, oneness, and connection with all beings. It is Divine love, harmony, and humility. It is here that we begin to realize that the idea of self is an illusion created by the ego-mind. The need for possessions and attachments fades away as we work with this energy.

Negative aspects include attachment to material possessions, detachment from the soul and spiritual path, and emptiness. Do you find yourself living in ignorance of all things spiritual? Do you find yourself cynical and doubtful of all higher meaning? Do you feel as though you have no direction or purpose?

Sahasrāra strongly relates to integration and balance. It holds the realization that while we are living in our human form we are limited, but at the same time we possess unlimited spiritual power to make anything happen in our lives. Sahasrāra is the doorway to samadhi, and to the state of enlightenment and freedom from all suffering and bondage. When this energy is flowing, we stop causing our own suffering, and we begin to accept and embrace impermanence.

This chakra’s element is beyond logical time and space—it is not thought, nor emptiness—which symbolizes rising above all physical elements. Its color is described as purple, violet, or white, but truly it is that which contains all colors. Its basic activity is meditation and the experience of joy.

It directs all aspects of consciousness in all things. Imbalances may manifest as skepticism, inability to enjoy life, overindulgence in sensual pleasures, extreme materialism, obsession with the physical self, and feelings of being lost and scattered. Excessive energetic imbalances may manifest as partaking in extreme religious and spiritual practices such as fasting, repetitive practice with no real understanding of the what it means, or extreme openness to any person or teaching considered to be “spiritual” with no discernment for its origins. It governs the pineal gland, thought by many to be our spiritual center.

The mudra (I use the mudra for receiving energy) calls for placing your hands palms face up in your lap in front of you, with your right on top of left. This mudra focuses on opening you up to receive energy. 

To begin a chakra meditation practice, start simple:

• Sit down cross-legged, or lie down.
• Start your breath work to become still and present. If you use stones, amethyst, Herkimer diamonds, and charoite are great for opening and healing Sahasrāra. Any purple stones will resonate here.
• Begin to focus and visualize your breath traveling to your Crown as you picture the color purple (almost white). Visualization is great for working with Sahasrāra. Picture purity and light flowing from above, into you and all around you.
• Take at least five deep, cleansing breaths that you send to your chakra. Breathe in slowly to 10, hold for 10, breathe out slowly for 10. (Start with five seconds if needed.) Visualize the breath flowing in, spreading throughout, and cleansing as you exhale. Let it take with it everything which no longer serves you. Let it create stillness. Let the thoughts come and go. Don’t judge and don’t control. Just come back to the breath.
• Use a mantra as you breathe in and out. “I am connected to the divine light around me.” “I am one with all.” “I am infinite, strong, and one with my higher self, God, and the divine.” “I am connected to the love of all that is.” “I know that all is right in the world.” 
• Flow through yoga and pranayama geared toward this chakra. Mountain pose to Ardha-Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose), to Standing Backbend, through your Vinyasa to Virabhadrasana I + Garudasana Arms (Warrior I with Eagle Arms), and Vrischikasana (Scorpion Pose).
• Vocal chanting resonates here because full expression of OM (A-U-M) begins vibrating deep at the root and travels up the body, clearing as it goes. Close your eyes, relax, and with your exhale sound out A-U-M. Try it a few times, you’re guaranteed to feel lighter.
• Don’t rush through, but rather practice to build your feelings of confidence and hold for longer periods. It’s all about finding the best expression of these exercises for you, at any given moment. Holding and breathing into the space created is where the magic happens.

So much of our inability to be content and joyous in life stems from blocks and imbalances here. The constant assault from life on our psyche—from advertising, electronics, and societal pressures that pull our attention every which way but the present—weakens Sahasrāra energy.

The lack of connection we find in today’s world is a direct manifestation of deficient Sahasrāra on a collective level. I believe the rise in narcissist and sociopathic behaviors is rooted in overactive Sahasrāra energy. I suffered from severe blocks and inabilities to live in a state of spiritual connection for many years. I was living in a state of complete disconnection that no one could shatter. I was closed off to anything outside of my own physical needs on a day to day basis. I didn’t give a sh*t about anything. I do not live in this state any longer, thanks to working with my chakra energy regularly. Now I feel part of an interconnectedness with all—the Collective Consciousness. I feel joy and wonder at life again, and I have for a few years now.

The goal of working with Sahasrāra is to establish a true connection, unity, and oneness with all beings—to realize we are all the same. There is no difference, and there is no divide. Duality fades away as we work with this energy. Our opinions become just that—opinions, rather than our identities. We see to understand rather than judge. We seek to love rather than divide.

Keep in mind, this is meant to be a beginner practice. Chakra work is something that goes deep within, tapping into an infinite source of ancient connectivity. If you quiet yourself, your chakra will tell you what it needs. Believe it or not, they will work to heal themselves once you start giving them the energy and attention to do so.

Many of our problems occur because, like a wheel, one spoke out of alignment results in a flat tire. When all chakras are open and running in a balanced state we find harmony within our mind, body and soul. Remember—have fun. That’s the most important part.

I would love to answer any questions or comments below! I look forward to hearing about your chakra work.

Sat Nam!

Author: Lindsay Carricarte

Image: Unsplash

Editor: Emily Bartran