We live in a hectic world.  Pressures on the job, lawn needs mowing, money’s tight at the end of the month and your spouse seems more distant than usual. Familiar story? Well, for most of us, this is just part of living in the modern world – the loud, frantic, non-stop world.

Free Radicals Versus Anti-Oxidents

Numerous studies have shown that the stress of modern life can cause a variety of physical ailments.  Stress is known to cause the creation of free radicals, corrosive molecules that are associated with everything from nerve deafness to the aging process itself.  That’s one reason mainstream science recommends the consumption of anti-oxidants –nutrients found in foods like blueberries, leafy green vegetables, and other “health” foods” that fight the damage caused by free radicals.

But the dangers of stress, overwork, not enough sleep, fear and other negative emotions and activities have long been known to cause health problems. In fact, for thousands of years medical practitioners have known that physical health and emotional health are intricately related. In fact, think about your own life’s experiences.

It seems that you always come down with a cold when the stress in your life is at its highest. And who doesn’t have a story about a pimple appearing two days before the prom or that life-altering job interview. Coincidence?

Hardly. When the mind is under stress, anticipation anxiety or other negative outside and inside forces, the body’s immune system takes the brunt of the blow to physical health. And with a weakened immune system, non-beneficial bacteria seize the opening and invade the body in any number of ways. Stomach and GI tract pain, skin eruptions, heart disease, stroke and other life-threatening diseases are more likely to occur when the body’s immune system is at its weakest.

Thus, the importance of a balanced, healthy diet.  But what about emotional good health.  Chances are a leafy green salad isn’t going to improve your negative emotions, leaving you more vulnerable to everything from acne to a heart attack.

Emotional Health In a Hectic World

Today, stress is treated with a variety of medications – Prozac, Xanax, Pristique and other prescription drugs that are, at least in theory, intended to relieve stress which, in turn, strengthens the immune system and improves life’s quality.

However, these modern medical wonders come with a load of side effects – drowsiness, loss of short-term memory, constipation, blackouts – just read the warning labels. In many cases, the cure is more harmful than the condition. Yet, we can’t simply hide away from the things happening around us. We can’t exist in society without some level of stress caused by outside forces, and your interpretation of these forces.

For example, stress triggers. We all have them – the little things that set us off. For some it’s something as simple as missing a green light on the way to work. For others it’s a noisy neighbor, an annoying co-worker or a lack of purpose and direction. For some, each of these triggers stress, which creates free radicals that actually corrode the body inside and out.

On the other hand, stress also serves to motivate to do more, to achieve more lofty goals and to take chances. Stress, itself,  is neutral. How your mind interprets this stress determines whether the emotion is a positive or negative force. Athletes, for example, often find themselves performing under extremely stressful conditions.

The successful athletes employ stress and turn it to their advantage. They seek out stress to motivate them in critical times. Others of us avoid stress at all costs. You won’t see these people driving across state to try the new thrill ride. You won’t see these timid people bungee jumping off a bridge. Though you might see them peeking through the curtains or working quietly in their cubicles at work.

Still Skeptical?

You aren’t alone. Many of us who grew up in the world of traditional medicine find it difficult to believe that the mind – and your emotions – can improve the health of the physical self – the body.

Studies have shown that the people who experience serious disease – cancer, for instance – have longer survival rates when they simply decide NOT to accept the diagnosis. They don’t give in to the disease. They don’t even recognize it.

And in your own experience, consider the last time you were feeling depressed, had the blues or were down in the dumps. You’re achy and feeling fatigued. The telephone rings. It’s an old friend checking in to see how you’re doing. And after a positive, emotion charged hour on the telephone, the aches are gone, the fatigue has been converted to energy and you’re ready to go. Or…

…the day starts out gray and gloomy. Showers. But then the clouds break and the sun comes out and suddenly, you’re mood changes along with your surroundings. There’s a little more zip in your step, a bigger smile on your face and the depression you felt that morning? Gone.

Here’s the point: we’re taught that traditional medicine is the source of answers to all of our medical questions – from headaches to heartaches. Take a pill.

In other parts of the world, different techniques of treatment are used – everything from a shaman shaking a sacred rattle to acupuncture to therapeutic massage. And, because patients and their associates see improvement in health, both emotional and physical, they assume these practices work to cure whatever ails them.

You’ve experienced the mind-body health relationship many times. Sometimes many times in a single day. The evidence comes from your own experience.

Now it’s time to learn to harness that mind energy to improve physical health. You know it works.

Now make it work better.

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The base chakra can be found at the very base of your spine, directly between your genitals and anus. This center of power is best visualized as a deep red orb that pulsates stability and steadfastness.

An open, balanced, and strong base chakra will allow you to feel centered in the moment, sure of yourself, grounded in your thoughts and emotions, physically healthy, and easily in touch with bodily bliss. Also this chakra must be healthy in order for the other main chakra points along your spine to experience optimal flow of life force; so the base is like the foundation of your chakra system in many ways.

If your base chakra is weak you may feel unhappy with your body size, often tired, indecisive, helpless, and out of control. On the other hand an overactive base can cause you to be irrationally stubborn and inflexible, and/or you may become enraged at the slightest provocation.

Balance is paramount when working with your chakras. You always the right amount of activity/energy flowing through each center; either too little or too much intensity in any chakra center will cause problems.

When thinking about or visualizing the base chakra, feel into the element of earth. In fact it may help to think of the stability of our planet beneath you. To ground yourself and keep the base chakra optimally open and balanced, use the following simple exercise.

Relax as completely as possible. Sit or stand with your spine completely straight and centered, and allow your body weight to rest perfectly at the base of your spine.

If standing you should feel your upper thighs begin to absorb your weight. If seated you’ll feel the pressure directly on your base chakra as you rest into it.

Once you are relaxed and straight, see your base chakra as a deep red, glowing orb. Breathe in deeply and slowly, imagining the deep red light filing your entire body.

Make no effort to force or rush your breath. Just allow it to enter your body and flow deep into your lungs. When your body is finished pulling air in allow the air to float softly out, making no effort to push it forth.

As you breathe imagine the deep red glow to cover your entire body and mind from the inside out. See the red fill the inside of your eyelids and feel it pulsating through your whole being; rest into the earth-like stability of this red energy.

Continue to breathe deeply and slowly. Think of a circular pattern.

Gently guide your breath in and down the front of your lungs. Then allow it to drift up and out the back of your lungs; so the air will enter and leave your lungs in a long, deep circular motion.

Don’t get hung up on either the color or the shape of your breathing. These visual aids are meant to help and support you, not frustrate or challenge you.

Enjoy this exercise for a few minutes. Then when you feel it is time to stop, do so.

This practice is great for any time you feel off center, angry with your body, out of control, or weak from the inside out. Understand also that you can and should perform this exercise spontaneously, and not just when something needs “fixing”.

But doing this meditation too often is just as bad as never doing it. Always remember to have a relaxed balance when working with your base chakra or any other part of your chakra system.

The chakra system seeks balance. People often look for remedies to blocked chakra centers or weak energy flow, but the truth is problems also arise when too much energy is passing through a chakra center.

For instance if your base chakra is overactive you might become extremely angry and explode over the smallest provocation. Or, if your third eye chakra is working too hard you may experience nightmares and unpleasant waking visions.

Balance is the key to bliss and happiness. I know it’s sometimes easier to talk about this than to embody it, but we must seek a balance if we are to grow to our full potential.

Pay attention to your thoughts and feelings. If you find yourself obsessing over one or two subjects much of the time, you are unbalanced. If you experience sadness or anger for long periods on a daily basis , you may be noticing an imbalance in your subtle energy. Ideally your thoughts and emotions engage a full spectrum of topics and feelings.

The subject of balance is HUGE and can range from physical health to psychological and emotional wellbeing. Clearly it is beyond the scope of this blog post.

But what I want to emphasize here is the importance if finding an intuitive balance. Without even meditating on individual chakra systems you can stop at any moment and get a feel for how balanced or unbalanced you, as a person, are right now.

Deep breathing exercises, meditation, regular exercise, and actively voicing your opinions and feelings to avoid bottling them up are all healthy balancing routines. You deserve to feel calm, centered, and neither under stimulated or overactive in any one area of life.

You can include each of your main seven chakras in a simple visualization and breathing meditation to help keep each center in a balanced state. After lowering your heart rate and relaxing deeply with a few minutes of breathing, simply pass over each chakra with the palm of your hand. Visualize the correct color and find the subtle, warm sensation of each individual point. Feel/see the chakra pulsing with colored light, freely receiving energy from the previous charka and releasing energy into the next chakra. This exercise will only take a few minutes and will help to bring your subtle energy body into balance.

There is no such thing as a real lack of energy. All the energy in existence is available to us here and now; what matters is that we accept and embrace it.

And there is no need for an excess of energy. Overcharging our chakras and our mental/emotional processes is not the solution to problems in our lives; we must learn to trust the flow of life and avoid excess strain.

A balanced chakra system reflects a balanced life and vice versa. Anything you can do within or without to promote healthy balance will serve your greatest good.