We are making amazing progress through the seven energy centers of the body! We have already explored the root, the sacral, the solar plexus, and the heart chakras, and today we venture up into the fifth chakra. If you have been following along with us and doing the unwinding exercise, now it’s time to review what you learned and experienced. The fifth chakra, the throat chakra, is the first of the higher chakras, which are concerned with the spiritual realms. Known as Vishuddha in Sanskrit, the throat chakra is the powerhouse of communication, self-expression, and how we put our truth out into the world. It’s located right in the center of your neck, between your collarbones and the lower half of your face, in the area known as the “energetic bottleneck”. Because of this, it’s common for energy to get stuck here. This energy center is responsible for how we interact with others, making ourselves known, and advocating for our own needs and desires.

When the throat chakra is blocked or underactive, you may have trouble speaking up for yourself, feel timid in social situations, become manipulative or deceitful, or otherwise end up in situations that aren’t good for you. If your throat chakra is overactive, you may find yourself becoming bullish, overbearing, loud, controlling, or unreceptive to criticism. Balance in the fifth chakra is incredibly important, because it can have far-reaching effects in our social realm, and miscommunications can derail everything from work opportunities to romantic relationships.

To sum up the throat chakra in a few facts:

Color: light blue
Physical associations: thyroid, parathyroid, throat, vocal cords, mouth, teeth, gums, tongue, jaw, esophagus, hypothalamus
Emotional associations: choices and free will, advocating for oneself, following your dreams/passions, judgment, criticism, ability to manifest, faith, knowledge, decision making abilities
Sense: hearing
Mantra: HAM
Element: sound

Remember that each of our chakras contains a divine truth, according to Caroline Myss. For the fifth chakra, the associated sacred truth is “surrender personal will to divine will.” This means that each of our thoughts, actions, and choices has tremendous influence, and when we can bring those into alignment with the Divine truth, we can amplify their power. The throat chakra invites us to step into a place of surrender, and understand our place as co-creators of our reality.

In this aspect, the throat chakra is often thought of as linked to the solar plexus chakra, the seat of our willpower and self-identity. In the fires of the solar plexus, we forge and identify who we are, what we want, and what gets us up every day. This energy then moves outwards into the world through our throat chakra, which puts breath and sound behind it. The throat is also inextricably linked to the sacral chakra, our creative energy center, and helps us to manifest our creative thoughts into reality.

Because there is so much energy that wants to travel through such a small space that is the throat, we often experience overwhelm or a feeling of stuck-ness there. It’s like a traffic jam- there are too many cars trying to pass over the throat bridge, so we end up in gridlock. We misspeak, we fail to advocate for ourselves, we come off as too aggressive or judgmental, and we find that our communication in general starts to break down. Working to heal and open the throat chakra is important to keeping things moving, as well as balancing the energy output of the other chakras too!

I keep my thoughts positive and always express myself clearly and truthfully

In the shamanic tradition of the Munay-Ki, there are seven different archetypes that are associated with the chakras of the body. For the throat chakra, we see Huascar, who is known as the Lord of Life and Lord of Death. He was the ancient keeper of the medicine teachings, and serves to harmonize the Upper and Lower worlds. Huascar invites us to come into harmony with our shadow, as well as our light, and speak that Divine truth into the world.

Many of you participated in the throat chakra clearing exercise, and here’s a sampling of what you had to say!

“I felt a click almost when I got to my tenth unwind. I sat in the space for a bit and felt like I was seeing some colors. The chakra felt like it was an open hole. I really hope it helps with my headaches! I've had noticeable relief from them since our last session.”

“I saw the color blue green, and the word that came to mind was ‘satisfied.’ I wanted a snack in the midst of the stillness! I feel a lot in my throat normally, and likely use that area to fill the void I feel in life. Staying with the spaciousness of this chakra was a little anxiety provoking. I had trouble letting go, but tried to gently stay with it.”

“I felt relaxed doing the throat one but didn't notice a big change in my week.”

“I saw grey/silverish light, felt innocent, light-hearted, saw images of children playing.”

“As I unwound the throat chakra, I felt an ache in my gut. I kept unwinding my throat, but couldn't quite get to that sense of openness that I've felt when clearing the other chakras. So, I unwound my sacral chakra, too. It felt as if the 2nd and 5th chakras were linked and holding an old pattern in my body. I just purchased a new deck of oracle cards (Chakra Wisdom by Tori Hartman), so I pulled a card while asking for insight into this pattern. The card that came up is called "Self Worth" and relates to the 2nd chakra. As I wound both chakras back up, I felt free in a new way, no longer feeling the need to prove my worth to others through my words or voice.”

“When I first made contact with the chakra, I was surprised to feel so much tingling energy in my hand. As I unwound, I noticed that I suddenly had a tickle in my throat, but I continued unwinding until that sensation went away. In the stillness, I actually felt kind of agitated, and kept involuntarily swallowing. It was kind of like my inner child had decided to visit this chakra and have a temper tantrum. Then I yawned deeply, and had a sense of something releasing, so I wound it back up. When I felt I was finished, the agitation had gone away and I had a vision of being outside, hearing the wind blow through the trees.”

If you want to take part in our chakra clearing journey, I recommend that you start with my blog on the clearing exercise technique, and then make your way through my previous blogs on chakras 1-4. And of course, you can join my email list for reminders and updates!

Join us next time when we delve into the mysterious wisdom of the third eye chakra!