I remember seeing this first on Avatar the last Airbender and wondering how well it worked. The first time I did it, it was amazing and I feel it helped a lot. Over time, however, it seems to lose its affect. Or perhaps its more of a "the more you do it, the less affected you are by it." I figured I would post this because I've been dealing with some heavy emotional stress lately, and I believe this helps.
So if you are having some issues with balancing your emotions, whether you are dealing with depression or anxiety, this may be helpful.
First you want to find a place sitting or laying down, where you feel most comfortable. I have always done it laying down in bed, but may will say you need to be sitting in the lotus position for better affect.
Focus on your breath. Breath in deeply into your stomach. Sometimes you will breath into your upper chest; sometimes you will breath into your mid chest. Upper chest is associated with anxiety. Mid chest is associated with confidence. Stomach is associated with calm and relaxed.
Take a couple of deep breaths into your stomach. Relax yourself and let go of the streaming thought in your head (this takes practice). Once you have gotten your breath into a relaxed, natural rhythm, focus on the base of your spine: the Root chakra/red chakra.
The red chakra deals with trust and survival. It is blocked by fear. Meditate on what your greatest fears are, and realize that these things are not real. And even if they are, you must realize that you are strong enough to deal with them if they come.
In reality these fears are usually a product of overthinking. They are only real in your mind. So let them go and know that you can handle what is coming next.
Picture a swirling pool of red energy. As you let go of your fears, picture the pool going from dark red to a lighter red. When you feel that you have conquered your fears, move on to the next chakra.
The Sacral chakra is located near the belly button. It is the Orange chakra and deals with pleasure, sexuality, and creativity. It is blocked by guilt. Meditate on any guilt you may be holding on to. What do you blame yourself for? Focus on the orange pool of energy in your belly button and watch it turn from dark orange to light as you surrender the guilt.
Understand that we all have done things we are ashamed of. These things are reality, but they are past. You do not have to hold onto it any longer. Accept that it happened and forgive yourself.
The third chakra is the Solar Plexus chakra and it is located at the base of the sternum. It is yellow and deals with power, confidence, and wisdom. It is blocked by shame.
Same as before, meditate on your biggest disappointments; picture the swirling yellow pool go from dark yellow to light yellow as you surrender your mistakes and let them flow out of you.
You will not find the balance within without accepting these parts of you. Like before, these things happened. They are a part of who you are today. Learn from them and move on. You do not need to hold onto them any longer. Love yourself!
The next is the green chakra, also known as the Heart chakra, located at your heart. This chakra deals with love and healing and is blocked by grief. What is your biggest loss? Surrender all of your sadness and imagine your green pool of energy going from dark to light.
Love is energy like other emotions, but it is the most powerful. It is all around us and as old love is lost, it recycles and renews. Let go of the old pain and allow room for new love to flow through you again.
Fifth is the blue, Throat chakra, located at the throat. It deals with truth and communication and is blocked by lies, but more specifically the lies we tell about ourselves.
Meditate on the lies you tell about yourself and imagine the blue pool of energy go from dark to light. You can not lie about your own nature. It conflicts with who you are. You are good enough. Do not let the judgements of others influence how you feel about yourself. Accept yourself for who are and stop being who you are not. Release these lies and move on.
The indigo chakra (sometimes purple) is located in the between the eyes and is called the Third Eye chakra. It deals with awareness and is blocked by illusion.
Illusions can be created by ourselves with we overthink. We see things how we believe they are without further investigation. We assume, but we do not know. Imagine your indigo color go from dark to light and surrender the illusions you have created and others have created in you.
We are all one people. Interconnected, whether we ever meet or not. You have enough energy to exercise and you have enough time. Release these misconceptions and feel alive.
Last is the Crown chakra (purple or white in color) and is is located at the top of your head. It deals with spirituality and is blocked by earthly attachments. Meditate on what attaches you to this world and let it go.
This is the hardest chakra to open. Opening it is said to give complete control of your thoughts and actions.
We are deeply afraid of letting things go in this world whether they be material things or relationships. What you must remember though is that one day you will die and so will all your friends and family. Not only that, but you may die tomorrow...
Opening this chakra does not mean freezing your heart, it simply means that life is precious and short. Accept that loved ones will leave you and material things will rust. It is not the end, just another beginning.
I hope this was helpful. I've found that it helps me sometimes, though I'm a firm believer in meditating with God. Simply put I see this exercise as a way to let go of unhelpful emotions, that stop you from doing what you need to do, through imagery and focus.