The Throat (or Fifth) Chakra is the energy center focused on communication and creative self-expression. The purpose of this chakra is to discover and express the truth of your experience – beyond fact and fiction, this includes your deeper spiritual values and emotional truths. The Throat Chakra encourages you to use any means available to express your true self, including all forms of communication and artistic expression. As we listen – not just to others, but to the deepest parts of ourselves – we come to know ourselves more fully and we can share more of who we are in the world.
Sanskrit Name: Visuddha, meaning ‘Purification’
Color: Sky Blue
Element: Sound/Ether (the field of subtle vibrations)
Gender Qualities: Male – Active
Location: At the base of the throat – also covers the jaw and lower half of the brain
Main Themes: your personal truth, self-expression, art, communication and learning.
Visuddha - the Throat Chakra by Mirzolot2 via WikiMedia Commons
In Balance
When your Throat Chakra is clear and balanced, you have great listening and communication skills. You express yourself well and with ease. You are relaxed, open, honest, clear and diplomatic in your communication style. You may be a good writer or teacher. You may also be very good at expressing yourself in other creative pursuits, such as art, music, film, acting or public speaking. You have the ability to transmute negative or difficult experiences by using them as catalysts for personal learning and spiritual growth. You enjoy learning new things and developing your body of knowledge and wisdom about life.
Out of Balance
The Throat Chakra can be easily blocked or constricted any time you suppress your feelings or your personal truth. Sometimes, this is a temporary situation – as when you feel a “lump in your throat,” struggling to find the right words to tell someone something that may upset them. Or when you swallow your anger and soon find yourself with a sore throat, nagging cough or laryngitis.
Longer term blocks can easily stem from childhood experiences. Sometimes this is due to a lack of support shown to children by the adults in their lives for expressing themselves creatively and speaking freely. (Recognize the “children should be seen and not heard” school of parenting?) It can also be due to abusive situations which must be kept secret. These kinds of experiences teach children to habitually close down the Throat Chakra and suppress their own emotional truth – a pattern which can go on long into adulthood. It can also mean that when you do express your feelings, they are extremely intense from being held in for so long and may overwhelm the person(s) with whom you are sharing. It is important to be patient and keep in mind that this may be the first time that wounded inner child has found his/her voice.
If the Throat Chakra is overactive, it may result in reckless or excessive talking, hearing problems or an inability to listen, stuttering, and/or an overactive thyroid – often associated with Graves disease, difficulty learning or concentrating, goiter and a number of other conditions. These behaviors can help you avoid intimacy, creating distance between you and the people in your life just as effectively as the pattern of secrets and lies that indicate a blocked Throat Chakra.
When the Throat Chakra energies are deficient, you probably find it difficult to express yourself and you may have a habit of suppressing what you are really feeling. You may be fearful of speaking – whether to one person or 200. You may build walls around yourself and protect them with secrets, lies and deflections. Your creative energies are likely to be stifled and the idea of expressing yourself freely may frighten you. You may feel a sense of guilt or a fear of offending others that prevents you from saying what you really think and feel.
Some of the ways your Throat Chakra might show up in the different areas of your life:
The Throat Chakra governs the neck and throat, vocal cords, esophagus, trachea, mouth, teeth, gums, jaws and ears. It is said to also include the lower region of the brain or cortex, the thyroid and the parathyroid. If the Throat Chakra is not functioning properly, it can result in a sore throat, mouth ulcers, swollen glands, neck stiffness, shoulder tension, thyroid disorders, problems with the teeth, gums, or voice, laryngitis, TMJ, hearing problems, speech impediments or chronic colds. Also reduced sensory awareness, such as an inability to hear, smell or taste things. You may have a diminished interest in or enjoyment of food and other sensual pleasures, like music. If the Throat Chakra is imbalanced, you may have difficulty expressing your feelings and your creative ideas. You might feel that your true feelings are socially unacceptable or that you are not free to express them because those around you would not understand. You may be holding secrets that you feel you cannot tell anyone, possibly tending to withdraw from social contact and/or escape through alcohol, drugs or other addictions. If your Throat Chakra is clear and healthy, you probably have a quick, creative mind, intellectual curiosity, and you enjoy reading, learning and experiencing new things. You are a good listener and clear communicator. You tell the truth – emotionally and intellectually – and you excel at the art of conversation. You may be a great teacher. The Throat Chakra is responsible for self-knowledge. If it is blocked or deficient, you may be secretive and have a tendency to lie. You keep your emotions bottled up and decline or deflect any invitation to express yourself. You may have difficulty thinking clearly, listening, speaking and learning new things. Speech impediments, hearing loss and learning disabilities are all related to this chakra. You may have other sensory impairments related to the sense of taste or smell. The Throat Chakra is not only responsible for the expression of personal truth, but for listening and discovering it for yourself. In this capacity it is responsible for receiving guidance, listening to your own inner voice, and expressing the soul’s desires. It is associated with truthfulness, confession, clairaudience (hearing or channeling spiritual voices) and with the sensory faculties of taste, smell and hearing sounds, words, and music. A well developed Throat Chakra can also give us a rich inner sensory life as we experience our vibrational connection with everything around us.
Physical
Emotional
Mental
Spiritual
Exercises
If you feel you have an overactive Throat Chakra, it is overcompensating for another chakra that is not as active as it needs to be. The best course of action is to determine which chakras need strengthening, and try some of the exercises listed for those.
If you need to strengthen (or open) the Throat Chakra, try the following:
- Make sounds: Sound is cleansing. Sing, rap, chant, hum, cough, read aloud, scream, tone, pray, whisper or just make random sounds. Listen to the sounds you make. Try and vary them. Find the different tones in your voice. Feel the vibrations in your throat. Try to hold or sustain a sound for a few moments longer each time you make it. You are clearing, strengthening and recovering your voice.
- Create!:
- Speak up: If you have secrets, lies or unresolved pain lodged in the Throat Chakra you can heal it by speaking or writing about your experience. You may have tried everything else. If it hasn’t worked, you need to find a way to let this information out in order to clear your Throat Chakra and get it working again. If you cannot share your stories with another person, write them down in a safe place or practice talking about them by yourself. If you cannot bear to write it, then sing, act or draw it out. In this case, the truth really is what it takes to set you free.
- Detox: Visuddha means “pure” or “purification.” Purification of the body through drinking more water, diet, meditation, and exercise can help us to rid ourselves of the toxic energies blocking the Throat Chakra. This is especially true if you have any habits designed to help you suppress the information you’re holding in your throat center – for example, smoking, drinking, using drugs, and regular consumption of sweets and dairy products. Taking a break from these activities can help restore the flow in your Throat Chakra and help you to recover your voice.
Whether it’s singing, acting, dancing, writing, playing an instrument, writing music, drawing, sketching, painting, taking photographs, making films, videos or doing crafts – expressing yourself creatively will heal this energy center most effectively. Don’t critique your work. And don’t let preconceived notions about what you can and can’t do stop you from trying something new. Just let your imagination come out and play… Who knows? You may discover something new about yourself.
**Important: All of the information on this web site is for general and educational purposes only. It is not intended as medical advice and should not be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. Energy healing and clearing promotes balance and a sense of general wellbeing, relieves stress and supports the body’s natural ability to heal. It is widely recognized as a valuable and effective complement to conventional medical care. Please contact a professional healthcare provider if you believe you may have a medical or psychological condition that requires treatment.
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