Chakras are imaginary energy centers in the human body located along the spine. There are seven in total, each of which is responsible for a certain part of the body at the physical level and a separate area of human activity. In this article, we will examine how the sixth chakra - the center of spiritual vision and intuition - manifests itself.
Concept of chakras
Chakram serial numbers are usually given starting from the bottom. There are seven in total, and each of them corresponds to one of the colors of the rainbow:
- Red - Muladhara chakra located in the coccyx and perineum.
- Orange - Swadhistana, slightly below the navel.
- Yellow - Manipura, solar plexus.
- Green - Anahata, mid-chest.
- Blue - Vishuddha, the neck and throat.
- Blue is Ajna, middle of the forehead.
- Violet - Sahasrara, point above the crown.
For harmonious personalities, vital energy flows freely through the chakras. In this case, it is customary to say that they are open. If problems are present in some sphere, then the flow of energy is blocked - in this case the chakra is called closed.
Ajna Chakra
The sixth chakra is called Ajna, which means "power", "leadership", "authority". She is credited with dark blue or indigo as a transition from blue to purple. The sixth chakra is located where it is customary to depict the "third eye" - in the middle of the forehead, just above the eyebrows. This immediately indicates the properties for which Ajna is responsible - developed vision, intuitive understanding and extrasensory abilities. A person with a developed sixth chakra has a sharpened perception of the world - he very subtly and sensitively senses energies in the space surrounding him.
Most often, Ajna is symbolically depicted as a circle of dark blue color, on the sides of which there are two lotus petals. There is also a lotus image with 96 petals - the number of petals in this version refers to the increased vibration frequency of 6 chakras. Blue objects (stones, mandalas) are suitable for working with it. Of the aromas, the “cold” smells - mint, eucalyptus, create the right mood.
Correspondences in the physical body
Usually, chakras directly affect nearby organs in the area of the body where they are located. Therefore, on the physical level, the sixth chakra is responsible for the organs of perception - this, of course, is the eyes, as well as the ears and nose. Accordingly, vision, smell and hearing are also dependent on Ajna. In addition, the pineal gland (pineal gland) located in the center of the brain is under its control.
An interesting observation is connected with this gland: it is the pineal gland that produces hormones that contain a small amount of dimethyltryptamine - a psychedelic substance, in a large concentration that can cause hallucinations and waking dreams. Usually, dimethyltryptamine is produced by the pineal gland in the active sleep phase, but some studies believe that in an altered state of consciousness and experiences of exceptional shock (clinical death, agony, etc.), a record amount of this substance is released from the pineal gland, which contributes to the formation of images. The connection of the 6th chakra with the pineal gland and, accordingly, with dimethyltryptamine explains why people with well-pumped Ajna can see vivid visual images and experience visions: this increases the development of psychedelics.
Open Ajna
The balanced sixth chakra of Ajna is quite rare - such a person is probably reputed to be an incredibly wise and authoritative person among those around him. Highly spiritual religious figures, prophets, philosophers, or elders in the family come out of such people. People with open Ajna are always calm and peaceful - their emotions never come into conflict with reason and logic. The mind of such a person is perceptive, and actions are far-sighted. He understands, “sees,” with his inner vision, how the Universe works, where the energies around him move.
A subtle perception of the world gives the owners of the “pumped” Ajna the opportunity to live in harmony with themselves and with the world around them. At one time, work on how to open the sixth chakra led them to long reflections on the problem of the meaning of human life. What is the meaning of our stay in the human world? The answer for such people is service: the point is to be useful to other people.
Among other things, Ajna is well developed among highly intellectual people involved in complex mental activities. All the wonderful stories about scientists who were suddenly overwhelmed by an insight are an example of how Ajna acts by simply connecting to a source of information from above. In approximately the same way creative outbursts take place among artists.
Blocked Ajna
The imbalance of the sixth chakra of Ajna can manifest itself in different ways. One option is a complete lack of intuition, or rather, distrust of one's own intuitive abilities. Such people deny the possible development of events, which comes only from the opinion "I intuitively feel that this will be better." They always need clear evidence and arguments.
The situation can be curved in the other direction: a person is greatly flirting with esotericism and highly spiritual worlds, forgetting that before you fly away with your mind to heaven, you need to stand firmly on the ground with your feet. In this case, you need to pay attention to the study of the lower chakras.
Maya Fiennes Ajna Exercises
Maya Fiennes is one of the famous gurus in the yoga world who has developed her own program for opening the chakra, consisting of light physical exertion, meditation, singing and reciting mantras. To work with the 6th chakra, Fiennes offers some classic yoga exercises.
The lesson begins with the dynamic exercise “cat - cow”. We know him from the lessons of school physical education: on exhalation we bend our back and stretch a point between the shoulder blades up. On inspiration, we bend down. Perform the exercise dynamically. After a few repetitions, you can connect your legs: on the exhale, we pull one knee to the forehead, still bending our backs upward, on inspiration - we stretch our leg back. Repeat several times on one leg, then do the same number of repetitions on the other.
The next exercise from the yoga cycle with Maya Fiennes for the 6th chakra is the incline sitting on the knees. Take a sitting position on your knees, but place your knees a little apart. Bend your arms and grab both parts of your hands with both palms directly above your elbows. In turn, we bend to each of the knees, exhaling at the final point. Inhale occurs in the middle in an upright position. Repeat for 5-6 minutes.
For the next exercise - dynamic twisting - return your knees to their original position. Straighten the body, bend your arms at the elbows and place them along the body with the palms up (as if giving up). Thumbs touch the index fingers, the rest pointing up. Slowly but actively turn from side to side for several minutes.
The following exercise is performed from Bandhakonasana, the posture of the bound knot. Sit on your buttocks, fold your feet together in front of you and pull it towards you with your hands. Continuing to keep your feet in front of you, perform dynamic tilts down to your feet. In the end, you can linger at the final point and hold your breath for five seconds.
Starting position - sitting in a comfortable position: lotus, half-lotus or cross-legged in Turkish. Palms clenched into fists. Inhale actively and pull your elbows back, the chest is open. As you exhale, cross your arms in front of you and again take your elbows back while inhaling. On the next exhale, move your arms up and throw them behind your head, still holding them bent at the elbows. Alternate the two exhalation positions described above.
After a series of such dynamic exercises, Maya Fiennes recommends a comfortable sitting position and meditation. It does not hurt to focus on changes in the body after exercise. Just track and observe how you are feeling your body right now. Allow yourself to breathe naturally, letting go of all the tension.
Sequence of Asanas for Ajna
After a dynamic warm-up and short meditation to tune in, Maya recommends performing a sequence of static asanas associated with the 6th chakra. Yoga in any case will be a good addition to your daily work for your spiritual development.
The first asana is a deep lunge. Place your right foot in front of you, and take your left foot far back, leaning on your shin. Let the pelvis just sag down. Palms can rest on the floor. Stretch your crown upward into the diagonal. After some time in static, Maya recommends connecting a quick "fiery" breath, inhaling sharply and exhaling through her nose. For working with the 6th chakra, this is really important, since such breathing activates the facial zones. However, if before that you did not work much with pranayama (breathing exercises), it is best to first visit the classroom under the guidance of an experienced instructor. Then, literally after a minute or two of such breaths-exhalations, Maya switches to a slower breathing mode “inhale-hold-exhale”.
From the previous position, the knee drops to the floor, and the body - on top of it, so that the forehead touches the floor. The left leg and arms are stretched back, the crown - forward. Relax and let your weight just “drain” to the floor.
The next Maya recommends tilting. From a standing position, lower the case down and allow it to smoothly "drain" over the legs. Maya herself performs a lean with straight legs, but if you feel discomfort in your back, you can bend your knees a little. With palms you can grasp the calves, placing the forearms behind on the calves.
When rising from an incline, straighten your arms above your head at an angle of 30 degrees. Lift your thumbs up and just stand there for a few minutes, feeling the extension of the thumbs down the spine.
Take a dog pose with its face down. The body is at an angle of 90 degrees to the legs, palms and feet on the floor. Well push your hands off the floor, stretching your tailbone up. You should feel the unity of your spine, neck and neck, stretching from the tailbone to the crown. If you feel discomfort in your back, bend your knees and tear your heels off the floor slightly. Armpits try to turn on each other, elbows turn down.
After the dog’s position, relax, lie on your stomach. The forehead rests on the floor: you continue to stretch from the top of the head to the socks. Then put your hands on the floor and lift the body - go to the cobra pose. Tilt your head and neck back, starting to breathe slowly and deeply. Please note: if you have problems with the back, especially with the lower back, treat this asana with extreme caution. Its implementation is fraught with aggravation of problems for you. If you feel comfortable in a snake pose, add twists to it. From the neutral position, turn the body left and right, starting from the abdomen.
The next exercise is again dynamic: from a sitting position on your knees, rise to a standing position on your knees, throwing your hands up. Then go down and touch your forehead to the floor (as if you are bowing). After a series of such repetitions, stay in this position - the forehead touches the floor, put your hands behind your back and weave into the lock. Lift this lock as far as possible, pulling it from the back.
Repeat the sequence on the other leg and do the short-lived Shavasana. Lying on your back, completely relax and allow your body and mind to relax after exercise.
Meditation for the sixth chakra
Most of all meditations are built on tools for visualizing images and concentrating on them. The images associated with Ajna are usually blue and often associated with the function of vision (all the more so for this chakra you need to use visualization). First you need to take a comfortable position, preferably sitting. The back should be straight - this will allow you to breathe deeper. Breathing itself is even and smooth.
Imagine that a small blue light arises in your brow. Feel its pulsation - on expiration it expands, on inspiration it contracts. Through this point you seem to connect with the whole Universe - feel how a stream of energy moves through it. You can imagine the sixth chakra as a small blue vortex or a blossoming flower. Be in this state of oneness with the Universe through Ajna as much as you see fit. Then smoothly turn the image into a point and tune in to a smooth exit from the state.
Meditation to activate and open the sixth chakra can also consist in focusing on a suitable external image. It can be a beautiful picture with a symbolic image of Ajna or an indigo mandala. The main thing is that, looking at this image, you feel a surge of inspiration and energy.
Mantra of the Sixth Chakra
Not only visual images, but also sounds can affect the state of the chakras. Sound combinations for meditation are called mantras. The most famous and universal of them, also suitable for setting the sixth chakra, is called "Ohm" or "Aum." This sound originates in the very inside, awakens the lower centers, activates the stomach and chest and gradually becomes higher, last of all activating the throat and head. In the context of working with the 6th chakra, the Om mantra interests us precisely at its end, when the low sound “ay” already passes into the high vibrations “mmm”. Imagine how these vibrations activate the Third Eye zone, pass them through the interbrow. Track the sound from its inception to chakra zone 6. Sing the Om mantra for as long as your body wants it - feel how naturally this happens.
Third Eye Massage
When working with chakras, even such simple techniques as massage are important. Tactile sensations provide a very large resource, but in Western culture for a long time it was not accepted to devote so much attention to relations with one's own body. We are just beginning to learn our essence. Massage is one of the bodily practices available to everyone.
To work with the sixth chakra, we will use the self-massage of the point between the eyebrows. Touch this point with your fingers - index or index along with the middle - and rotate this area of the skin clockwise. Pay attention to your feelings - how does your mind feel at the same time? Does unexpected clarity of thought appear? You can visualize tactile sensations as energy in blue or silver. Fill the point between the eyebrows with shades and imagine that the energy from it flows throughout your body. Feel what kind of energy it is, think about its qualities, how it differs from the energies of other chakras. You can be in this state for several minutes, focusing on the pulsation and expansion of Ajna. Then catch the sense of contraction of the Third Eye back to the point and gradually exit meditation, using deep breathing as a return to your normal state.