Is "opening" really the best term to use for chakra work?

I see a lot of posts about "opening" chakras, and I sometimes wonder if this is really a very accurate term at all. Although I read about various systems of thought on energy anatomy, most of what I've studied, plus the system I tend to use the most says that chakras are never really "open" or "closed".

A chakra may be taking in more energy or less energy, but I have learned in my training that if a chakra is completely still(which I would take to mean closed), then basically you're dead. This doesn't mean you will die if one of your chakras close. It just means that anyone who is alive has all their major chakras managing energy at least to some extent.

I could see it being possible that maybe some of the more minor chakras could indeed be closed, and essentially not active at all, OR I could also see that if we're looking from a longer timeline, or between different cultures even, that maybe certain chakras that were not active or even existent in the past or in another culture might have evolved to become active or existent in current times or other cultures, etc.

Anyway, as I've said in another post recently, my ability to sense energy is not strong enough at this point to know for sure if this is true, but it always kind of tweaks my intuition the wrong way when I hear the phrase "opening chakras".

Any thoughts?

[Silver]

Maybe these terms/open and closed is what makes it harder for me to wrap my mind around what chakras really are. I've heard of it referred to as them spinning and to me, that makes sense even though I'm still struggling to understand what they are.

[Adrienne]

I am not really sure on the chakras, but am wondering if perhaps by talking about them being 'closed' they are talking more about some kind of energy blockage ? and when they are 'open' then the energy is more free flowing ?

Isn't it all about energy ?

Dream Angel xx

Silvergirl, I agree. When I first started learning about chakras, these terms really confused me which is why I'm bringing it up now. I think for anyone new to chakras, the terms open and closed make chakras seem very different than what they are. At least what I "think" they are.

Dream Angel, I think some people do mean what you are describing, and not that they are actually closed(as in shut down, no energy going through) or open(as if running as much energy as they can maybe?), but that's exactly why I think they are maybe misleading terms. I also think that there are some practitioners who do literally mean open or closed, in which case that is not at all what I understand about chakras.

I guess part, though not all, of my issue with these terms is it makes it seem that chakras only have two states, like they are either on or off, and that just doesn't make sense to me.

[Adrienne]

maybe the two states are all that most people are concerned with ? if they are not open or closed, then maybe all is going, running as it should be ?

I really find things chakra related confusing. I need a 101 class or something.

maybe the two states are all that most people are concerned with ? if they are not open or closed, then maybe all is going, running as it should be ?

I really find things chakra related confusing. I need a 101 class or something.

Well, that could be true. In my training, although sometimes we will directly work with a chakra, they are most often used to diagnose a problem rather than to fix the problem by working on the chakra. For instance, if the root chakra, which relates to instinctual safety and security is not working properly, then we help the client to deal directly with the issue of why they don't feel safe or secure and healing that emotion/thought, rather than directly fixing the root chakra. Not always the case and a simple hypothetical example, but hopefully you get the idea.

As to your comment about not understanding chakras - a simple explanation is that chakras are the major places in your aura where you both take in, and send out, energy from or into the environment, other people, etc. Different chakras take in/send out different types of energy, i.e. your heart chakra will take in or give out the energy of love, the throat chakra deals with communication energies, etc. It's much more complicated than this in some ways, but that is a general explanation.

Barbara Brennan's book "Hands of Light" is a very good, easy to read, down to earth book that might help you to understand chakras better.

'Opening' probably originates with the practice of opening and closing your chakras for meditation, healing or other spiritual practices. Many techniques use the imagery of a flower, thus 'opening' the flower petals and then 'closing' them when done. You can, however, use whatever terminology and visual cues that best suit you.

If you think about the chakras spinning, then you might think of 'quickening' and 'slowing' the chakras. Running colours and/or energy through them would work here also, using 'flowing' or 'showering' imagery. Then there's 'blending', 'sinking', 'absorbing', 'expanding'...

Zero, I'd certainly follow your intuition in this - it's a much better teacher than what you've read. I do think like you that chakras may be partially 'awake' (or perhaps 'activated' is more accurate) for various reasons, not all of which are bad... it all depends on the stage of development and understanding of the person, plus their health and other aspects. I know, for instance, that I had a tear in my brow chakra which resisted interferance until my spirit friends knew I was at the right stage in my life for it to be repaired. I was not actively part of this process and just as well - I'd no idea what to do!

[Adrienne]

Thank you ZeroPointField for explaining a little about the chakras to me and for recommending " Barbara Brennan's book "Hands of Light".

blessings,
Dream Angel xx

Hi IS any one can plz tell how to realize chakras and from how to begining

No prob, Dream Angel! Thanks for responding to my post. :)

shivvak, I'm not sure if I understood exactly what you meant, but I would say the same as I said to Dream Angel - But "Hands Of Light" by Barbara Brennan, or see if your local library has a copy. It's a great book that explain chakras in an understandable way.