- The fourth Chakra located at the heart centre is the HEART Chakra and is connected with love, compassion and forgiveness. An open Heart Chakra is critical to feel loved, supported and to trust in people. The energy also gives us the courage to sacrifice for another person. When the Heart Chakra is blocked it leads to heartlessness in thought and action, difficulty in dealing with grief, arrogance, selfishness and incapacity to forgive.
- The fifth Chakra located at the throat is called the THROAT Chakra. It's Sanskrit name is Vishuddha, which is made-up of two words "Vish" meaning poison and Shuddha meaning pure. It is about getting rid of the negative thoughts and only communicating pure and positive thoughts. The key aspects of this energy centre are communication and purity. An open Throat Chakra means a pure inner self that allows us to express our values and to do good to others. People with a strong Throat Chakra have a personal magnetism that allows them to communicate and inspire people. The Throat Chakra gets choked by lying. Negative energy in this Chakra leads to loss of vocal power, a need for secrecy and increased tendency to gossip.
- The sixth Chakra is located at the centre of the forehead and is called the "THIRD EYE" Chakra. The energy in this Chakra gives us the ability to see beyond the obvious and physical reality. This Chakra is where we find our Intuition, Self Reflection and Self Knowledge. Intuition is the inner voice of our subconscious and in Indian mythology it is known as Gods voice. It is the centre of focus, concentration and wisdom. The flow of energy aids the development of wisdom so that clear decision making becomes natural. A closed Third Eye Chakra will result in narrow mindedness, a closed mindset, clinging to old conventions and lack of vision.
- The seventh Chakra located at the top of the head and facing upwards is called the CROWN Chakra. When in bloom this Chakra is like a satellite dish that receives life energy. This Chakra is the bridge to experiencing spiritual connectedness with the universe. When the seven Chakras mentioned above are able to fully charge, it leads to life experiences that are varied and fulfilling. All the seven Chakras are interconnected and interdependent i.e. a block in the third Chakra can result in low self-esteem, which can impact the energy flow to the higher Chakras, especially the Third Eye Chakra and limit intuition and ability to see things with Clarity. The "Chakra" Science therefore is very useful to understand and resolve limiting blocks, energy flows that can help clients reach their full potential.
3. Application of “Chakras” to Coaching.
Your thoughts control the energy flow within and around you
Louis F Tetu in the Seven dimensions of prosperity.
If your thoughts are positive and empowering, the Chakras will be open and effective. Negative thoughts such as fear, worry, and doubt create dense energy and slow down or block the Chakras. Knowledge of the Chakra science gives the coach deeper understanding of the blocks and insights into how reopening the energy flows will help the client move forward. Awareness of which is the dominant Chakra and the energy block that is perpetuating this behaviour? Is this behaviour being caused by a block in the lower Chakras that is preventing energy to circulate from below in the Chakra system? In case there is restricted energy flow in the lower Chakras i.e. Sacral Chakra, can the energy flow in from the higher Chakras to create balance in the Chakra system? The negative energy blocks will manifest themselves in the physical parts linked to the specific Chakras. Awareness of this also gives the coach tremendous insight into the source of the block and the path that could lead to the client fulfilling their potential.
An example as observed in a live coaching class will help illustrate this better. (The issue that the client was facing was the emotional pull of giving up her job so that she can spend more time with her daughter. Her job was extremely fulfilling but involved travel and therefore days away from her child. Her husband was a pilot and this meant that he could not provide any support in terms of being there with the child. Her family and husbands questions around not being physically present with the child all the time resulted in the client beginning to doubt that she was a good mother. This emotional turmoil started to impact all her relationships. The coach could sense that there is a block in her lower chakras. The coach asks the client to feel where she experiences the emotion and pain and she talked about feeling the stress in the lower abdomen area. The coach could then get the insight that it is not an issue of capacity to love but more to do with guilt and emotions which are not allowing the client to get clarity i.e. restricted energy flow to the Sacral Chakra.
Understanding the need for balancing the energy flow, the coach decided to get the client to use her Third Eye Chakra to get clarity and balance the energy flow to the Sacral Chakra. To activate the Third Eye Chakra the coach asked the client to do some meditation and focus on her breathing. The focus and concentration allows for increased energy flow to the Third Eye Chakra. The coach then asked the client to close her eyes and describe the issue only using her head/ mind. This encouraged her to use the Third Eye Chakra and resulted in new perspective and clarity.
Instead of being overwhelmed by the negative emotions and guilt the client talked about how her job allowed her to be a complete person and therefore allowed her to be a good mother. It gave her the insight that she was being a great role model for her daughter. The use of the Third Eye Chakra prevented the client to take a reactionary step of giving up her job. It allowed for energy to flow from the third eye Chakra to the balance the energy flow to the lower Chakra creating greater balance in the Chakra system.)
The example above illustrates how activating the Third Eye Chakra helps the client grow and evolve without getting caught in negative emotions. The use of intuition and wisdom helps bring clarity, positive and empowering thoughts that encourage the flow of energy. The use of the Third Eye Chakra will be the primary focus of managing energy flow within the Chakra System in the coaching environment and moving the client to a path of learning and success.
The section below highlights negative beliefs, behaviours that clients could experience and how the awareness of the Chakras Science gives tremendous insight to understanding the limiting blocks and helping the client to fulfill their potential.
For change to happen it is important that the Base Chakra, the Root Chakra is open and allowing energy flow. If there is no balance in this Chakra then the growth will be without roots i.e. short lived. If a coach senses and observes fear, suspicion and panic towards a situation or change then it is likely that there is restricted energy flow to the Base Chakra. Extreme Stress is also common in such cases. This happens when the client believes that their Survival or Stability is in question. This could happen in the case of a job change or a new role. In this case the coach will need to help the client activate the Third Eye Chakra to rethink if their survival is really under question? “How much is needed for Survival? “What is the likelihood of a person with your qualifications to get another job?” It does sound strange but growth comes from anchoring roots and feeling grounded. Getting the client to understand and accept limitations and boundaries. Encouraging them to invest in creating an environment where there is some safety, where they feel calm and secure (i.e. favourite resting chair). This can help them feel more grounded and ensures energy flow through the base Chakra.