by Ruth Stender

This month, New Spirit Journal is pleased to introduce a new column written by Ruth Stender. This column, called Chakra Talk, will explain what the chakras are and how we can work with them to enhance our lives.

Ruth is the owner of Seattle Energy Medicine, is a reiki master, certified meditation instructor, and is currently completing the 200-level yoga instructor program with the Ananda Institute of Living Yoga. Ruth currently teaches meditation classes at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle as well as giving classes and sessions to clients at several locations in the area.

After leaving a 20-year career in the aerospace industry where she worked in technical, management, and executive positions, Ruth was introduced to the chakras when she turned to energy medicine as part of her own healing. She was immediately drawn to this work and has been giving classes on the chakras for a number of years.

We welcome Ruth and look forward to learning more about the chakras from her through this column. – Editor

There's a magnificent structure of energy centers throughout and around our bodies called chakras, which govern every facet of our lives. The word chakra comes from Sanskrit, one of the ancient languages of India, and is commonly referred to in the practices of yoga and meditation.

There are seven major chakras and each receives and transmits life force energy. When understood, they can also act as guideposts on our journey through life. It is believed that our bodies have thousands of chakras, but if we learn to work with the seven primary ones, the others – through the act of entrainment – vibrate to the healthier frequency of those primary seven.

The first six chakras align with and run the length of the spine, starting at the base, at the coccyx, and ending at the medulla, at the lower back of the skull in the area of the occipital ridge. The medulla region is considered to be the negative pole of the sixth chakra; its positive counterpoint is located at the point between the eyebrows, also known as the third eye. The seventh, and final, major chakra is located at the top of the head and is called the crown chakra.

Paramhansa Yogananda, the great yogi who brought yoga to the west in the 1920s, teaches us that there are eight aspects of God: peace, wisdom, power, love, calmness, sound, light, and joy (or bliss). When we marry these eight aspects with the major chakras, we are given an easy roadmap to help balance our energy body.

Starting with the first chakra and going all the way up to the seventh, the aspects align like this:

Chakra 1, the root chakra: peace.

Chakra 2, the sacral chakra: wisdom.

Chakra 3, the navel chakra: power.

Chakra 4, the heart chakra: love.

Chakra 5, the throat chakra: calmness.

Chakra 6, the third eye chakra: light (as in to see the light) and sound.

Chakra 7, the crown chakra: bliss.

The fact is, whether or not you know anything about the chakras, if you work to bring these eight aspects into your life, you will experience greater health and happiness. This is not so dissimilar from taking care of your car. You don't need to know the ins-and-outs of what makes your car run, but you do need to know what to do to ensure that your car operates over the long-term. You know it needs gas, necessary fluids, and the occasional tune-up. The same holds true for the body's energy centers. Integrating these eight aspects into your life makes you idle better, helps you to navigate through life's obstacles with ease, and assists you in finding a new route when you're confronted with a detour on your journey.

I like to say this approach induces healing "auto-magically" because when we embrace these positive qualities we experience improved health and wellness on all levels.

• Peace is the key aspect of the first chakra. We lose our sense of peace for many reasons, but the biggest reason is because we lose our footing, or feel abandoned or neglected; we don't trust life to take care of us. The root chakra thrives when we have feelings of safety, belonging, security, and peace within our environment.

• Wisdom is the key aspect of the second chakra which is located a few inches above the pubic bone. To create healthy relationships and unleash hidden talents, naturally and intuitively, we must draw on our deepest knowing, our soul's wisdom. By drawing on ancient wisdom, found deep within every part of your being, your future unfolds in perfect alignment with your purpose. Magically, colorful people, things, and experiences manifest in your life and the lives of those around you.

• Power is the key aspect of the third chakra, more specifically, personal power. When we lose our power, we are vulnerable to falling into the role of victim. Of all the chakras, this third energy center takes the biggest hit if we feel personally violated because of its location right in our gut at the navel and near the solar plexus. Because this is the power center, if we can learn to harness and control our personal power we are far less likely to be affected by what other people do.

• Love is the key aspect of the fourth chakra, located at our heart center, and can be defined as devotion. When we devote time in meditation, for example, we are in the critical mode of reciprocity. We are honoring our relationship with God by giving ourselves over, in devotion, while in our sacred place of stillness. And there is no greater love to be received than that which we are given during states of expansion.

• Calmness is the key aspect of the fifth chakra, the throat chakra. Speaking our truth sometimes makes us feel self-conscious. If we can learn to speak it joyfully, and from the heart, we realize that the authentic joy we hear is the voice of God. Therefore, one cannot fake joy. A calm heart induces joy. A calm voice allows the joy to sparkle.

• Light and sound are the two aspects of the sixth chakra, the third eye chakra. Specifically, light, as seen in your mind's eye during higher states of consciousness, and sound, as in the cosmic vibration of aum (om). When we sit in stillness and listen (sound) for guidance from a higher source, we gain clarity (light) in our purpose, our vision. We see the light.

• Bliss is the ultimate state of joy and the key aspect of the seventh chakra, the crown chakra. Having a spiritual practice is the cornerstone of keeping the other chakras united. When we devote time to commune with Spirit on a regular basis, we find joy – bliss – in all areas of life.

Yoga and meditation are two powerful ways to invite the eight aspects into your life and to integrate the chakras as a whole system. Yoga is not about how flexible you are but about finding union with a higher source, a higher awareness. These God aspects are the path to finding balance and wellness on all levels: mind, body, and spirit.

Future Chakra Talk articles will focus on one specific chakra to help you learn more about both the positive and negative aspects of particular energy centers while gaining some in-depth tools for balancing each one.

Ruth Stender assists people in creating peace and wellness through easy-to-use meditation techniques and the practice of hands-on healing. Upon receiving her yoga teaching certification (March) services will include group and private yoga classes. Drawing on 23 years in the business world – and understanding that a company's success is achieved through happy and healthy employees – Ruth also offers classes for the workplace.

Ruth currently offers sessions at Pujari Center and East West Bookshop in Seattle and teaches meditation classes at Swedish Medical Center. www.seattleenergymedicine.com, (206) 708-3277.