Chakra Series Part 5: Vishuddha

Hello, beauties!

We’re already on the 5th installment of our 7-part chakra series. For today, I’ll cover the Vishuddha Chakra, commonly known as the Throat Chakra. The first of the three spiritual chakras, Vishuddha is located  - you guessed it! - in the throat region.

This chakra controls the anatomical regions of the thyroid, parathyroid, jaw, neck, mouth, tongue, and larynx. In the metaphysical sense, this chakra governs our ability to communicate universal truths to ourselves, as well as others. When communicating from a place of authenticity comes easily, this chakra presents itself as fully open. 

Identifying a Blocked Chakra

As a spiritual chakra, it may be more difficult to determine the misalignment of the throat chakra. Physical symptoms of a blocked throat chakra may manifest as a sore throat, thyroid issues, neck and shoulder pain, difficulty hearing, jaw tension/pain, or TMJ. Mental blockages may come in the form of difficulty understanding and expressing your wants, needs, and desires.

If you’re feeling as though the dreams you’ve created for yourself are visualized but constantly eluding your reality, it is likely that your throat chakra is out of balance. There are many ways in which this lack of energetic balance may cause our dreams to remain just out of reach.

A common issue in this area is the desire to ‘people please’, or to compromise your internal truth to suit external desires. If you constantly feel as though you need to alter your path to suit others, it is a sure sign that you need to reflect once again on what your deeper truths are, and how you might achieve their expression. 

Opening Your Throat Chakra

Affirmations may be a useful first step in opening the vishuddha chakra. Whether you’re seeking a promotion at work, establishing healthier boundaries, or simply feeling the need to be a stronger self-advocate, the use of simple affirmations can help to unblock this chakra. Write down clear, concise phrases you might use in these situations and simply repeat them to yourself until you have the confidence to project these thoughts/ideas/feelings to the appropriate party. 

While it may be obvious that speaking your truth is an essential part of the fifth chakra, listening is just as important. An open vishuddha chakra will present itself through empathetic listening, defined by the Educational Psychology Interactive as: "paying attention to another person with empathy [emotional identification, compassion, feeling, insight]".

As best-selling author Stephen Covey puts it,  “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Though it may be difficult to change this habit overnight, by practicing empathic listening you will be taking a practical approach to opening your throat chakra, and ushering in greater balance. 

Next Steps

In tomorrow’s article, I’ll cover the next chakra you’ll want to familiarize yourself with: the third-eye chakra. Expect to see all seven of the chakras covered in the coming days - and remember to check out our Instagram series which incorporates yoga into a greater understanding of our bodies, chakras, and overall balance.

Love,

Natalie