I had heard that if you feel sluggish, have low energy, or sometimes feel like you are "adrift" in some area of your life, you may have a blocked chakra, and singing or (chanting) can unblock you. The chakra system originated in India between 1500 and 500 BC in the oldest text called the Vedas.
I had always sung in the school choir as a child, and grew up singing hymns in church, and I played guitar and sang along, but as an adult, I never sang at the same volume as in a gymnasium or a church. I missed it! There is something fun and relaxing about putting your voice out there with a group at full volume that feels good!
Yoga and Chanting Are a Great Pairing
Yoga brings you out of your obsessive thoughts and into your body, and chanting releases the stale or blocked energy in your body and clears it, so they are a natural pairing.
In the summer, I went to a chanting workshop with The Vancouver Kirtan Chanting Group, who also brought drums and a keyboard/accoridan while we danced and sang, and it was like a workout for the soul and body.
Last month, I went to another workshop called "Chanting Through The Chakras" and had some fun and learned some more about releasing your inner voice and expressing yourself to clear anything that's blocking you in your mind, your heart, or your body so you can be free to input and output your gifts to the world.
Chanting with a group or singing alone is a way to relieve stress. You can even do it in your car during your commute.
The ideal state for your body mind and soul is to be in is a balanced state. The chakras are the spiritual energy centres in your body, that unite body mind and spirit. Blocked chakras disrupt the harmony in your system.
Chanting gets you out of your mind and into your body, as you sit cross legged on the floor and feel each part of your body, as it represents a different sound and color and energy centrer.
There are 7 Chakras
Each chakra has a corresponding sound to chant. You start at the bottom of your spine and put your hand in the front of the spot that marks the chakra as in the diagram and say the sound out loud.
You combine the first three as Lam, Vam, Ram and then the next 4 as Yam, Ham, Sham, Ohm.
- Ohm - crown chakra - purple - mental (spirituality)
- Sham - third eye chakra - indigo - mental (awareness)
- Ham - throat chakra - light blue - mental (communication)
- Yam - heart chakra -green - mental (love, healing)
- Ram - solar plexus chakra -yellow - instinctual - (wisdom, power)
- Vam - navel chakra -orange -instinctual - (sexuality, creativity)
- Lam - root chakra -red - instinctual - (basic trust)
As I made the sounds of the seven chakras I noticed my third eye and throat chakras felt clear and strong, my solar plexus was fine, my root was great, by my heart chakra felt blocked.
I was surprised to learn I had blocked energy from a previous relationship that needed clearing, and I needed to lose the fear of being hurt again. We can block ourselves to protect us from the pain, and chanting loudly through it can give you the energy you need. All blockages are temporary, and can be opened. Singing does your heart good!
Photos - my own, chart from the power of happy