Working with the Throat Chakra - Part 1

Wow, we've made it to the throat chakra. We're more than half-way through!

If you haven’t read the previous posts on the base, sacral, solar plexus and heart chakras, you can find
them here:
Base chakra articles: part 1 and part 2
Sacral chakra articles: part 1 and part 2
Solar plexus chakra articles: part 1 and part 2
Heart chakra articles: part 1 and part 2

If you've been working through all the chakras with me, well done! It's been a lot to think about. Now we're onto the final three. These are concerned with the more spiritual and subtle realms of our experience. The throat chakra is where we learn to find the voice of our higher self. It is also the area for communication, and creative expression, particularly with poetry, storytelling and creative writing. It is here that we learn to become a channel of sorts for the "divine". We can understand and experience "the divine" in many ways, such as "spirit", "pure consciousness", "the source", the "universe" or even "God" or "Goddess", but no matter which of these "speaks" to us, it is this that we are learning to give a voice.

If you are a writer, singer or have to do public speaking at all, you may have noticed that there are times when you really feel "in the zone". You might have a feeling of watching yourself, or allowing yourself to be taken over somehow as you speak or do what you do? Many people who feel this report that it is at these times that they have been the most eloquent in their speech, or have sung with a particular clarity etc. It has a spiritual quality about it that seems to have come from somewhere else, or is more pure than what they had done at other times. This is because the throat chakra has been opened to allow the energy of the source to flow through them, helping them to speak with the voice of the higher self, or to channel the energy of the divine through them into their art.

The throat chakra is our ability to communicate, express, and craft with words. It is to “SPEAK”.

Another area of interest of mine is Druidry which is particularly interested in poetry and storytelling and the channelling of divine energy, "flowing spirit" or "Awen" in order to bring this about. It is through chanting this word that the inspiration of the divine is allowed to flow through the Bard (or poet) to bring them eloquence and help them have insights in their poetry and stories. It seems to me that in this practice they were focusing on the energy of the throat chakra, helping it to open. Those interested in Wicca will also be familiar with the power of the spoken word as a magickal tool. We need to be careful with our every word as our words have great power. So we have a responsibility to be sure our words come from our highest sense of self.

Chants and mantras are also very powerful important for the yogic tradition, and exist for all kinds of purposes. It is through the throat chakra that we can bring energy and life to them. It is also through mantras that we can help to open the throat chakra, but more on that in part 2. For now, let's have a look at the effects of an underactive or overactive throat chakra and what we are looking to acheive by bringing our throat chakra into balance.

Overactive

If the throat chakra is overactive it can manifest as a need to talk too much, possibly at the expense of being able to listen to others. We may talk at length, moving from one idea to the next without recognising the need to let others speak also or listen to their side of the conversation. We might also interrupt and cut off others as a result of being too interested in having our own say. If channeling, poetry or other kinds of creative speech or writing are involved, we may seem "spaced out" and disconnected to others as we are obsessed with the stories and messages playing out in our minds that we are trying to express, or may be expressing. The mad writer who is both brilliant and impersonal is a good archetype for an overactive throat chakra.

Underactive

If the throat chakra is underactive we will feel shy and nervous about speaking out. We may feel a knot in the throat or constriction when we want to say something and feel it as a blockage that is stopping us from using our voice. When it comes to speaking in public or singing we can feel all sorts of negative emotions that many of us are familiar with, though some people can have these feelings in private conversations. When we feel under pressure it can cause shaking, stuttering, palpitations, sweating, crying, and/or hyperventilating. When our throat chakra is underactive we may also have trouble connecting with the voice of the higher self, and/or our creative ability with words in various ways.

Balanced

When the throat chakra is balanced our conversations are also balanced. We can talk as much as we listen, and when we talk we are eloquent, thoughtful and speak with the voice of the higher self (which doesn't mean we sound all "la dee dar" spiritual. It means we have perspective, presence and awareness. We see the big picture). When the throat chakra is open we will be able to direct that energy to creative word play, whether it is in our daily conversations, even our facebook status updates, writing poetry, singing, telling a good story, doing a presentation or giving a speech. It helps us to communicate well, with inspiration (spirit within). 

Questions to ask:

How do I feel in conversations?
What does the energy in my throat feel like when I am under pressure to speak?
Do I feel connected to the voice of my higher self?
What is the higher self?
Is there a form of creative word play I would like to get better at?

In the first base chakra blog there was an exercise for a meditation to assess the energy of your chakras. You might like to do this meditation again to check in with your progress.

My experience

So far I've been stacking my activities for each of the chakras, so now I've got a pretty hectic daily schedule! It is great and I feel really good, but I also feel a bit like I'm spinning plates and I'm about to add yet another one. It's quite a challenge, that's for sure. But no one said this would be easy, and once I get to the end? Well, then I get to start it all over again! :-) It's a constant process of refining and polishing from here.

So far I've added the following to my days:
Base chakra - eat healthily and cut out addictions
Sacral chakra - exercise or do yoga or dance
Solar plexus chakra - meditate on mindfulness and write in my journal
Heart chakra - daily gratitude photo to Instagram. A modern meditation!

For the throat chakra I've decided to alternate with two activities so I can do them as I have the opportunity. I'm either going to write a poem or I'm going to chant a mantra. There are so many! I may mix it up a bit, but to begin with the mantra for the throat chakra in the yogic tradition is "EYE" like the letter "i". OM or AUM is of course another good one which is the word for the source of all being - the divine Oneness. And Awen is always a Druid alternative. It's pronounced "AH-OO-EH-NN". 

In the next blog post I am going to talk about stones activities, and affirmations that relate to the throat chakra. In the meantime, you might like to have a look at the Pinterest board I have made for the throat chakra which has a lot of ideas.
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Amulets for the throat chakra will be available at www.forestspiritjewelry.com under the JEWELRY tab. I hope you find something you like!