The Best Yoga Poses to Balance Chakras

Originally an ancient energy system founded in India, Chakras have recently grown in popularity, particularly in the Yoga and Meditation realm. Chakra translates to ‘wheel’, indicating fundamental energy points located throughout your physical body. It is valuable for your bodily, spiritual and mental health to keep these energy points open and aligned. The flow-on effect of these points can alter your physical energy levels, emotions, nerves and organs. Mindfulness practices such as yoga and meditation can help to align your Chakras and find a healthy balance. 

Energy imbalances can prevent us from reaching our full potential, both happiness and productivity-wise. We encourage you to educate yourself on how your Chakras can be harnessed to boost personal liveliness and vibrancy.  

It is widely accepted that there are seven main energy points associated with chakra energy. Each location connects the physical to streams of energy and spirituality. In this article, we will take you through how each energy point affects the rest of your being, and how you can open yourself up in these areas.

1. Root Chakra

Introducing the first energy point, the Root Chakra. This is located at the base of the spine (tailbone region). The colour associated with the Root Chakra is red, which signifies physical identity, grounding, and feeling safe and stable. 

In the instance of the blocked root chakra, certain physical and emotional complications can arise. In bodily terms, you may experience issues such as constipation, bladder challenges or arthritis. When we consider how this Chakra can overlap with our emotions, it is usually associated with feeling unstable. Problems such as financial instability or lacking a sense of home can indicate that your Root Chakra is in a state of imbalance. On the other side, a balanced Root Chakra can assist you in feeling grounded and emotionally secure. 

Yoga Poses for the Root Chakra

To open up your Root Chakra, Kevala Health recommends practising the following yoga poses to activate the Root Chakra. The Root Chakra is about support and stability. Start with standing poses that strengthen the legs, such as the Warrior poses, Chair pose, Tree pose, Mountain Pose and Squats. Seated yoga poses also relate to grounding. The Garland pose, Goddess pose and Extended side angle pose we also recommend.

2. Sacral Chakra

The second energy point is known as the Sacral Chakra, located just below the belly button and extends to right above the pubic region. Orange is the colour associated with this point, indicating pleasure, creativity and emotions.

An imbalanced sacral chakra can result in challenges with lower back pain, impotency or urinary problems. This centre is linked to emotions such as self-worth, power in sexuality and creativity. Aligning and harnessing this chakra can be invaluable to elevating our creative ventures and sensual experiences. 

Yoga Poses for the Sacral Chakra

The best yoga poses for Sacral Chakra are all deep hip opening postures. Some beginner poses for this energy centre are; Cat/cows and Cat circles with hips, Wide knee child pose, Happy baby pose, Bound angle pose, and forward bends. My favourite deep hip opener is the modified one-leg pigeon pose. If you have tight hips/buttocks, place some blankets or cushions under the hip of the bent leg side. The downward-face dog, bridge pose, Goddess pose, and Warrior poses I, II, and III are great for Sacral Chakra.

3. Solar Plexus

The third point, the solar plexus chakra, can be found in the upper stomach area, just below the ribcage. Associations are with the colour yellow, reflecting our levels of self-esteem, and confidence.

You may find that blocked third energy centres can manifest themselves through digestive issues, disordered eating, indigestion or heartburn. Suffering from feelings of low self-esteem and value can result in troubles with decision-making or controlling emotional outbursts. Stomach aches can arise from both physical and emotional imbalances. An aligned solar plexus chakra can empower us to utilise personal power and boost our self-confidence.

Yoga Poses for the Solar Plexus Chakra

To open the Solar Plexus chakra do more yoga twists and core poses. The cat and cow pose is a great warmup and beginner pose for this energy centre. Sun salutations, Boat Pose, warrior Poses, and Plank Pose. The “HA” breath is another yoga breathing exercise you can do in a standing pose to warm up and bring more fire to the belly.

4. Heart Chakra

Your heart chakra can be found, you guessed it, in the area where your heart is located. It is associated with our experiences of love, peace, forgiveness and compassion, connected to the colour green.

Barriers to accessing your fourth energy centre can lead to physical troubles like heart problems, weight issues and lung performance. More prominent than the physical symptoms are the emotional manifestations that may arise. This central energy centre represents our capacity for love and human connection. When your heart chakra is aligned, you give and attract compassion and love freely. However, misalignment can be detrimental to your mental health. It can result in loneliness, insecurity, jealousy, anger and holding grudges. This may block you from possibilities of future romantic or intimate connections. 

Yoga Poses for Heart Chakra

It is vital to open the Heart Chakra as this gives us the ability to heal. We recommend you practice backbends, like cobra or bridge if you are a beginner yoga student. Other backbends like an upward-facing dog, camel pose, reverse plank, and wheel pose are more challenging. Seated twists and deep chest opening stretches are also good for the Heart chakra. Sternum tapping with the “HU” sound is also a powerful healing sound exercise.

5. Throat Chakra

The throat chakra is located in your throat, linking to your capacity for communication and verbal expression. Blue is correlated to the fifth energy centre and it can also be extended to our teeth, mouth, gums and voice.

Blockages in this energy point can significantly impact our communication skills, which can arise from speaking ill of others, and failure to actively participate in a conversation or selfishly conversing. Opening up your fifth chakra can allow you to speak with confidence and compassion. Physically, misalignment can lead you to suffer from sore throats, neck tension or thyroid problems.

Yoga poses for Throat Chakra

You can open up the Throat chakra by practising gentle neck stretches. Some yoga poses like; fish pose, camel, lion, cat/cows, Triangle pose, and twisting yoga poses.

6. Third Eye Chakra

Your sixth chakra can be found between the eyes in the forehead area, known as your ‘Third Eye’. The colour most associated with your Third Eye is indigo, indicating visualisation, intuition and learning.

Barriers to accessing your Third Eye may cause headaches, anxiety, dizziness, barriers to hearing and experiencing issues with concentration. You may struggle to see the bigger picture of a situation or event, ignoring your intuition and level-mindedness. By opening yourself up to your sixth chakra, you can access your powers of instinct and follow your gut feelings. 

Yoga Poses for the Third-Eye Chakra

For the Third eye Chakra, we recommend the child’s pose, the Rabbit pose, the Eagle pose, the dolphin, the Downward-face dog, Palming the eyes, eye movements, and the Leg up the wall pose.

7. Crown Chakra

The final energy point is our crown chakra, found at the very top of our heads. This energy centre can be linked to all other energy points, affecting imbalances throughout the rest of our being. The colour most associated with our seventh chakra is either white or violet to signify intellect and insight. 

Imbalances in the crown centre can negatively impact our cognitive functioning and nervous system. However, when your seventh chakra is open, you have the power to tap into the other 6 energy points with ease. By doing so, you can access enlightenment and a deeper personal connection. 

Yoga Poses for Crown Chakra

Meditation is most impactful in opening up the crown chakra. You can try a modified headstand (avoid it if you are a beginner, have neck issues, or have high BP). The Corpse pose, Tree pose, and Legs up the wall, to unlock the powers of your seventh chakra.

Now that you understand how each energy point correlates to physical and emotional experiences, you have the ability to shift blockages and open up imbalanced regions. 

Take the time to reflect on the areas where you could improve and tailor your yoga and meditation practice to meet these challenges.

Try Kevala Health's live online yoga classes you can do at home for a 14-day free trial. You can make requests before a live yoga class begins in realtime, to provide you with the best experience. Every month Kevala Health has live Chakra yoga classes.

Have you tried a Kevala Health-guided Chakra meditation? Listen to our healing Chakra meditation.

More information on balancing chakras and your Yin and Yang energy.

Shop for Kevala essential oil perfume blends for your Chakra yoga and meditation.

Healthy eating plays a huge role in improving Chakra's health. You can read more information on healthy eating on this link.

Namaste, Jodie