The throat chakra can be found at your throat (surprise!) and it’s all about communication and self expression.
I love that the fifth chakra is located between the heart chakra where we feel and the third eye chakra where we can see the bigger picture. When we feel grounded, creative, self confident, and loving, having wellness in the throat chakra allows us to share our integrated selves with anyone who crosses our paths.
When the throat chakra is out of alignment, it’s easy to miscommunicate with loved ones and strangers alike. Coughing, sore throats, jaw grinding, and chronic snoring can be physical manifestations of issues with the fifth chakra.
Circle back to the previous chakras in order to address the following throat chakra issues:
Root Chakra – Start here if you don’t even know where to begin. You know you have something to express but it’s inaccessible right now. Also, the root chakra corresponds to family, belonging, and feeling physically safe. If you have concerns about repercussions around any of those topics if you were to start communicating in a new way, revisit your relationship with your first chakra.
Sacral Chakra – Are you having a problem communicating about sex or money? Go do some work with your second chakra. Are you having setbacks with your expression in creative matters including all kinds of art, writing, and new business ideas? The sacral chakra deals with creativity and personal power.
Solar Plexus Chakra – Who am I to have an opinion on this? Who am I to share what I’ve made? No one wants to hear what I have to say. I’m embarrassed. It’s not worth speaking up. They won’t care what I have to say anyhow. It’s all been done before. It’s like talking to a brick wall. Any of that resonate? If your answer is yes, go check in with your third chakra.
Heart Chakra – If what you want to share has anything to do with love, forgiveness, compassion, romance, service, or grief, it’s good to have a healthy relationship with your fourth chakra. In the land of communication, it’s relevant to have clarity around your motives in sharing with other people. Remember: wide open heart, big freaking fence. It’s very important for the right people to know what’s going on with you. And, not everyone gets to know your personal business. As such, it’s useful to have good boundaries in place before you take out a press release on every feeling as it arrises.
Get in alignment with your throat chakra with the following practices:
GET SOME ACTUAL, PRACTICAL COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN THE MIX – Once I realized I was a disaster in communication land, I felt pretty demoralized. Good thing I kept going forward, asked for help, and was introduced to the practice of non-violent communication, often referred to as NVC. I decided to do a series of one on one sessions with master teacher Terrie Lewine, though weekend intensives, books, and videos on YouTube are also options.
At the beginning of my NVC journey I felt like my brain was completely broken apart and then put back together. I learned about the differences between observations, feelings, needs, and requests. I shifted away from blaming other people for my experiences and have learned how to take responsibility for what’s coming up in my life.
When people cross my path — strangers, clients, family members, intimate friends — I want to feel present, empathetic, clear in my boundaries, and generous with my gifts. Practicing NVC delivers those answered prayers to me over and over again.
MAYBE MEANS NO – Learn how to say yes when you mean yes. Learn how to say no when you mean no. Learn that when you’re feeling maybe, that means no for now. Trust your gut. Articulate your yeses and nos. Release yourself from the maybes, your energy could be spent on so many things that are actual yeses.
Read more about yes, no, and maybe.
LEARN HOW TO MAKE REQUESTS – When I started my journey with Reiki and other bodywork modalities in 2013, issues with my throat came up fiercely. Someone would hover her hands over that part of my body and it felt like an elephant was pressing its foot into my neck. That was uncomfortable and confusing. At first I didn’t say anything, and that was excruciating, to lay there miserable but disconnected from the courage to ask for something different.
Once I did say that I wanted a different touch, so much came up: shame, worry that I would upset the practitioner, confusion if there was something wrong with me, and also relief, courage, excitement, and a rush of pride around earning back trust with myself for speaking up.
Then this totally rich and wild series of events happened where I got to work through the neck and throat physical discomfort with a handful of master practitioners. I’ve gotten to go on many adventures down the rabbit hole stemming from my willingness to speak up about something that felt not good to me at first.
The moral of this medicine story is, if you don’t like what’s going on, odds are that if you speak up, things will change and you’ll get some relief. If you say nothing, you’ll just continue to feel bad, which is a betrayal to yourself and a betrayal to whomever is interacting with you at the moment of discomfort.
HOW TO SAY WHAT YOU’RE AFRAID TO SAY – As Danielle LaPorte says, the truth creates an opening. Sophia taught me these prompts for intimate sharing and honest relationship building. Sit with a loved one and go back and forth filling in the blanks on the following sentences. Practice listening with love, not giving feedback in the moment, and witnessing the healing waters of intimacy rush over you when evidence is collected that it’s okay to say and hear what’s most vulnerable.
– The thing I’m afraid to say out loud is .
– I am willing to admit that .
“More than anything, most of the time what we want is just to be seen and known and understood and then loved.” – Sophia Wise One
SING OUT – When working with my throat chakra, I think it’s delightful to sing. Really loudly. I put on music that I know all the words to and belt it out. If you’re nervous about other people hearing you sing, do it in the car while driving. You can get as loud as you want and you won’t bother anyone else. Early Alanis Morrisette, Fleetwood Mac, and basically any song on one of my playlists work for me.
GET HANDS ON – I like touching my throat chakra. I focus on this part of my body primarily when:
– My throat physically hurts.
– I’ve been asked a question and I really care about answering clearly.
– I’m feeling blocked while journaling.
– It’s time to be an active listener. Often when I’m on the phone with someone and they’re sharing, I’ll gently put my hand on my throat chakra to remind myself that this is not the time to jump in and interrupt with my opinions or feedback.
A PICTURE’S WORTH A 1,000 WORDS – Make a vision board for the throat chakra. What’s your message to the world? What are your communication outlets? How do you want to show up in your relationships with your words and actions? Are you an active listener when people come to you with requests, feedback, compliments, and stories? Weave your questions and answers into a collection of images to get more focussed on where you’re going on your own communication journey.
TASTES, TEMPERATURES, TREATS & THANKS – Since we ate oranges for the second chakra and green drinks for the fourth chakra, what should we have for the fifth chakra? All drinking and eating begins in the throat chakra, so practicing mindfulness during mealtime is a great place to start. Instead of watching TV, talking, or rushing through your meal, see if you can chew intentionally, really taste what you’re eating, and stay present through the experience. Practice giving thanks to the land, animals, and people that contributed to your meal. Listen to what your body wants, notice what would feel good going down your throat — hot tea? Cold ice cream? Soothing honey? Slow down, experiment, enjoy.
FIND THE RIGHT WORDS FOR YOU – I love working with affirmations. You can write these words on a scrap of paper in your wallet, create alarms on your phone with these phrases, and practice saying them to yourself daily while looking in the mirror. Following are some throat chakra affirmations I’ve played around with as suggested by Barbara Carrellas in Urban Tantra:
– I express my creativity.
– I make decisions easily and I follow through with love.
Leah Moon
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