Stress Reduction using the Chakras and the Breath

In the article ‘Meditation, Chakras and Energy Psychology’ I introduced you to the Chakras, energy centres going down the body from the top of the head to the bottom of the spine. These energy centres play an important role in many Eastern traditions such as Yoga and Ayurveda, but they are also increasingly used in more Western approaches to healing and therapy. Energy Psychologists claim that we can release the residue of past trauma from those centres through touching, tapping them or breathing into them while we think of the past traumatic events. In my experience of using this method with clients and myself it works very well and it introduces a new dimension of treatment into psychological therapies that are usually dominated by the exchange of words.

Obviously, it is not the intention this article to suggest you treat any traumatic issues for yourself. This requires skilled and professional assistance. You can contact me if you are interested in finding out more about this kind of therapy. But what we can do here is to give you more of a sense of how you can use your breath and the Chakras for relaxation and maybe centering and grounding.

Here is the list of the Chakras again. For more details about their location please have a look at Meditation, Chakras and Energy Psychology:

• Crown Chakra
• Forehead Chakra
• Throat Chakra
• Heart Chakra
• Solar Plexus Chakra
• Sacral Chakra
• Root Chakra

Now remember a recent slightly stressful situation (not a too distressing one, as initially the distress might be too powerful to counteract). Don’t recall it in great detail, but rather remember it with one word or phrase, such as “the stress at work yesterday”, or “money worries”, or “I was really tired”. Then touch each Chakra from the Crown downwards to the Root, and with one hand on the Chakra, take a deep breath in and imagine that you are breathing into the Chakra point from the inside. Having your hand on the Chakra will help you with this imaginary breathing (and it is obviously easier to imagine this with the Chakras in the torso). Imagine also that you are breathing vitality and strength into each Chakra. Let the out-breath be really long and slow and imagine that with the out-breath you are letting go of stress energy from the Chakra. Imagine it flowing out with the out-breath. Do between 3 and 5 breaths for each Chakra. Also, for 5 to 10 seconds, remain in a state of breathlessness at the end of each out-breath, while imagining the stress energy still flowing out. If this feels in any way uncomfortable, don’t do it.

In order to help you remain focused during this exercise you may like to say “in” to yourself with the in-breath and “out” with the out-breath. You can also imagine that you are breathing in white light. And with the out-breath you are letting go of dark and heavy stuff.

At the end of this exercise take a few deep breaths into all the Chakras at once (or imagine breathing into your body as a whole) and breathe out very slowly.

Have fun with this stress reduction method which you may be able to use whenever you feel stressed. After a few practice runs you will not need to put your hands on the Chakras any longer (this is only to help you locate them initially).