How To Tell If Your Chakras Are Blocked (& What To Do About It)
Your body wants you to listen to it.
Alexa_Space / Shutterstock If you struggle with physical illness or emotional unrest, you may have a block in your chakras that's preventing you from being at your best and healthiest.
Everyone has seven chakra points in their bodies, and these areas conduct spiritual energies throughout your physical and metaphysical being. When the seven points become blocked, you need to learn how to unblock your chakras to get physically and emotionally well again.
Chakra balancing is an important part of your health, too. If you're tired of feeling sick or unwell, opening your chakras may be just the revitalization you need.
What are chakras?
A chakra (pronounced as "chok-ras" or "shok-ras") is one of seven different focal points in the human body that's used in a variety of practices like meditation and yoga.
The seven chakras include the root chakra, sacral chakra, solar plexus chakra, heart chakra, throat chakra, third eye chakra, and crown chakra, which all have powerful energy centers.
Photo: Sudowoodo / Shutterstock
How do you know if your chakras are blocked?
There are many different symptoms you could be experiencing for each chakra that tell you if it's blocked.
To function properly and be balanced, it's important to make sure all your chakras are open. Because when your chakras are blocked, you can experience physical and emotional pain, or even symptoms related to whatever chakra is blocked.
Additional signs your chakras may be blocked is if you continue to make small mistakes, something just doesn't feel right, or you are in a constant state of sickness.
An easy way to unblock your chakras at home is trying different yoga poses or trying chakra meditation. But sometimes, there may be a specific chakra that needs to be opened.
Here are the signs your chakras are blocked, and how to unblock and open each one.
How To Unblock Your Chakras
1. Root Chakra
Where it's located: The root chakra is located at the base of your spine. It focuses on foot, knee, leg, joint pain, bladder/intestinal conditions, sciatica, and low-back pain. Stability, security, and trust fortify this chakra.
How to tell if it's blocked: In general, you can tell if your root chakra is blocked if you're feeling stuck in life, stressed, ungrounded, unsettled, inflexible, and sluggish.
Fear and/or repressed anger can block your chi (life force energy) to and throughout your legs, constrict movement, and eliminate toxins from your bodies. Fear runs continually within your mind. Perhaps a looping program you've inherited from your parents.
How to unblock your root chakra: The best way to unblock your root chakra is to release yourself from fear and be present.
As you become aware of spinning out into some dreaded future scenario, bring yourself back to this moment. As you become more mindful of where your head is, you can see more choices to be at peace. Thoughts and emotions help shape your future, so why focus on what you don't want to happen?
Anger is a toxin the body cannot eliminate without your cooperation. If you overreact to situations and people, you may be holding long-term anger. Take the time to look at yourself.
2. Sacral Chakra
Where it's located: The sacral chakra is located just below the navel. This chakra is associated with power, money and sex, and its location includes the area between the naval and genitals.
How to tell if it's blocked: If this chakra is blocked, you may have reproductive organ pain, endometriosis, infertility, and sexual disorders. Your sacral chakra can also be blocked if you're not feeling good about yourself, or if you often get overwhelmed emotionally, have no imagination or creativity, and feel out of touch.
Guilt and shame block the energy of this chakra from flowing freely, which drives your creativity and sensuality. Yet, you may have been led to believe that your sexual nature or sensuality is bad. Perhaps you were even told that you were dirty "down there."
How to unblock your sacral chakra: The best way to unblock this chakra is to embrace and love your body unconditionally.
Become child-like. Think of the toddler who moves forth discovering the world and his body with wonder and glee. See how your energy is not in alignment with this self-expression and exploration.
Release the guilt and shame. Because when they're present in adulthood, they only sabotage your wellness and joy. What if the guilt is tied to something you did that you see as unforgivable?
If you want to heal your body, you need to heal this judgment. Look at this younger self and realize the present you has more information. Have compassion. Ask that younger version of yourself to forgive you for the judgment and forgive them, too.
Move forward knowing mistakes shape us but they need not define us unless that's what you own.
3. Solar Plexus Chakra
Where it's located: The solar plexus chakra is located mid-torso and is the center of your personal power. This focuses on stomach and digestive issues, or eating disorders.
How to tell if it's blocked: A blocked solar plexus chakra occurs if you're feeling powerless, have low self-esteem, an inability to commit and follow your goals, and are not committed to your relationships.
Many people with stomach concerns feel disempowered, yet are powerful co-creators of their life (as explained earlier with the thoughts, emotions, and focus that guide your physical body). You just have to be more aware of what you're creating!
The relationship between feeling powerless and stomach upsets is obvious with travel, butterflies prior to flying or, for some, getting sick if not driving the car or riding in the front seat.
How to unblock your solar plexus chakra: To open your blocked solar plexus chakra, you have to empower yourself to heal by filling yourself with a growing awareness that you're powerful, yet may have been creating what you didn't want. Emotional and energy clearing assistance may be necessary.
If you see that you have given your power to another (parent, former lover), you can move forward by releasing all blame and visualizing the energy you surrendered to this other person coming back to your solar plexus through unconditional love and forgiveness.
Take a non-judgmental view of yourself. Look for ways you have claimed the victim role. You won't heal well when you're in that energy.
Give yourself permission to change your role and your story. You may be focusing on the things that are going wrong in your life rather than what is going right, so see that as self-sabotage.
4. Heart Chakra
Where it's located: The heart chakra is located in the center of the upper chest, to the right of your physical heart. This has to do with disorders like asthma, COPD, heart and circulation issues, or even breast cancer. The emotion and denser energy that can cause physical ailments here are grief and heartbreak.
How to tell if it's blocked: The heart chakra can be blocked if you have a fear of commitment, hold grudges, lack self-compassion, and aren't able to connect with others.
You may have a heart chakra blockage due to trauma from a long-standing belief that you're not worthy of love. But if you weren't special, you wouldn't be here. Your light and spark and zest are important for this world.
How to unblock your heart chakra: To unblock your heart chakra, you have to focus on understanding that you're more than the body you occupy. Open yourself to your internal self, and be open to more passions and pleasures in life.
Step more fully into who you are, here, to be on your own. Honor the transition and live fully! Use your heart, arteries, and veins as a pathway for love to heal your body. Love runs to you and through you if you let it. Be open to loving yourself.
5. Throat Chakra
Where it's located: The throat chakra is located in the throat and is associated with speaking your truth, from your heart, and is considered one of the higher chakras (along with the third eye chakra and crown chakra). It's the chakra responsible for communication and self-expression.
How to tell if it's blocked: This chakra can get blocked by unspoken truths. Blocks here can cause thyroid problems, laryngitis, shoulder pain, and scoliosis. Your throat chakra can also be blocked if you have a fear of speaking up, nervous-talk too much, and feel inclined to go with what others do.
Were you raised with the concept “Children are meant to be seen and not heard"? Perhaps you were told to hide abuse, and keep your mouth shut because your opinions didn't matter.
There can also be a feeling here that you have to be something you're not. Perhaps you carried a lot of responsibility from a very young age.
How to unblock your throat chakra: To unblock your throat chakra, you have to learn that eventually using your voice will become more natural.
Never hesitate to speak when you're coming from a space of love, compassion, and respect. Embrace your voice as part of your way to express joy.
6. Third Eye Chakra
Where it's located: The third eye chakra is located between the eyebrows. This chakra is the center of imagination, clarity and intuition, teaching you to trust your gut and inner self, and connect to a higher state of awareness.
How to tell if it's blocked: Migraine headaches, vision problems, and ear problems (including tinnitus) will be a constant issue if your third eye chakra is blocked. Third eye chakras can also be blocked from difficulty in making decisions, lack of inspiration or drive, overactive imagination, and if you're struggling to find your meaning in life.
Belief in illusions can shut down this chakra, yet these “illusions” may be the opposite of what you’re thinking. Illusions are societal constructs and conditions placed upon you that cause you to live a "smaller" version of your true self.
You may even have expressed "knowing" as a child, but were told, "That's not real." This is the illusion that closes the third eye chakra.
How to unblock your third eye chakra: Powerful tools for opening and unblocking this chakra are awareness, intuition, imagination, and intention. This means letting go of your ego, and clearing your energy by showing compassion and gratitude. Also consider yoga, meditation, or seeing a reiki healer or energy healer.
7. Crown Chakra
Where it's located: The crown chakra is the seventh chakra and is located above the crown of the head. This chakra represents a connection to the mystical forces, energies of the universe, and pure understanding of the consciousness. It's a connection to the spirit world.
How to tell if it's blocked: When your crown chakra is blocked, this can cause depression, anxiety, brain fog, autoimmune disorders, or even chronic exhaustion. Your crown chakra can also be blocked from loneliness, inability to see others' viewpoints and ideas, and if you're overly attached to material items.
This is your connection to your source or "creator." Separation and the belief that you're alone, rather than part of a whole, unified consciousness can block this chakra.
Yes, your natural state is to have individual consciousness, but through meditation, yoga, and mindfulness, you can connect with something greater. If you believe you cannot do something, you will not.
How to unblock your crown chakra: To unblock this chakra, you have to open yourself to your unlimited potential, and you'll be amazed at what you accomplish. Take the time to look within.
This knowledge can help you get to a more empowered state, and get your wellness and joy back on track. You can change anything about yourself by making different choices.
Kristi Borst is an integrative quantum healer and spiritual counselor. Her Perspective Reboot® messages and mind-body-spirit-emotions energy healing have been featured on Transformation Talk Radio and The Wellness Universe. Learn more about Kristi at Healing Resonance online.