Do you feel excessive anxiety? Do you feel low on energy or self-confidence? Do you feel weighed down by negativity? If so, it’s time to check in with your chakras. Chakra healing is a great way to find balance within your mind and body.
We recently invited Gayatri Panjabi to host an Ask Me Anything session on Malini’s Girl Tribe on Facebook. Gayatri is a Reiki and Magnified Healing Master and Teacher, certified coach, a Bach Foundation Registered Practitioner and a Trans-Personal Therapist.
She helped us understand the mind-body connection through the chakras, and ways we can heal physical ailments like pains and aches, psycho-somatic diseases like diabetes and heart conditions, mental ailments like feeling stuck, lacking self-confidence, feeling confused or unmotivated, and more! Read on to know all her secrets of self-healing!
**Disclaimer: This is only a suggestive, alternative healing way to work with your energy body. This does not aim to diagnose or treat medically. For any medical conditions, please consult a licensed medical practitioner or mental health professional.
Q. How can I stop myself from overthinking or having negative thoughts?
Overthinking happens when we are not living in the present moment. Work on grounding and mindfulness. One way to stop yourself from overthinking is to do breathwork. Deep diaphragmatic breaths from the abdomen immediately start to slow the mind down. Soak your feet in saltwater. Massage your legs and feet with deep strokes. Work with your hands—do things that require your complete attention. Chanting a mantra loudly every day, like ‘Om’ or the Gayatri mantra, will teach you to bring your mind into single-minded focus. You can use a calming crystal such as amethyst or apply/ diffuse a pure-grade organic medicinal oil like lavender to help you with the overthinking. Bach Flower has a lovely remedy called White Chestnut that can help with this as well.
Q. How can I let go of all the bad memories I’m holding on to? What can I do to forget and move on?
When we live in memories from the past, we are unable to be present in the now. This affects what is known as grounding. Grounding is the ability to be present fully, connected to the earth; being in the body and not in the mind. It is governed by the Root or the Muladhara Chakra. You can work on trying to be more present by bringing your mind to your breath and practising mindfulness. Also, a meditative grounding practice, where you imagine yourself to be a tree with deep roots connected to the centre of the Earth will help. Spending time in nature, walking in a park, gardening, hugging trees—all help bring us back into the body and stay in the present moment. Lastly, I would also recommend to emotionally work on past memories and heal them, so that you can move forward. Cutting cords with the memories and the people will help. Understanding and not simply accepting the reasons for the situation in your life at an emotional and spiritual level will keep you not attached to them anymore. There is also a Bach Flower remedy called Honeysuckle that helps us move forward.
Q. I used to practice Reiki but due to unavoidable and extreme situations I had to stop. My main concern right now is finance. I have tried all possible ways of earning money but in vain. What can I do to improve my finances?
Finances are the manifestation of the Muladhara or Root chakra. It governs our ability to create material wealth and is directly connected to the aspects of survival and security. Work on this chakra to release its blocks and strengthen it. Heal insecurity. You can use the beej mantra LAM and imagine this chakra becoming a beautiful red ball. Also, practice grounding exercises.
Q. Does distance attunement work? I feel tired very often and want to heal myself.
In the traditional Usui Reiki, attunements have to be done in person. Reiki is passed on from teacher to student and is attuned directly into the physical body first and then the subtle bodies. At level one, you should receive four attunements.
We get tired when the energy body is depleted. Many factors contribute to this. At the physical level, it includes nutrition (food and water) and exercise. At the emotional level, emotions like fear, sadness and worry tend to make us feel not just low, they also deplete the pranic force in the body. Work on your energy levels with yoga and breathing exercises. Over-thinking, over-controlling and over-managing also tend to create a great loss of energy. Add joy to your life by doing the things you love. Make time to relax and let the body come into a state of peace.
Q. How can I build my self-confidence? And improve my energy levels?
Self-confidence is governed by the health of the solar plexus or Manipura Chakra. The solar plexus is our seat of power, control, will, self-esteem and confidence. This chakra is governed by the energy of the Sun. Practising self – love which is actually the energy of the heart, makes one accept themselves completely. We start to look at “errors” and “mistakes” as a stepping stone to growth instead of as failures or incompetencies. Core-building exercises help to build the strength of this chakra. You can also use a crystal such as citrine, amber, jasper, etc. to help you bring it into balance. Repeat the mantra RAM with the focus on the stomach area imagining it to be a beautiful golden yellow. Spend some in the sun. Make small changes to your life by practising discipline in a small way every day to build it. Discipline is a muscle, it builds as we practice it more and more. Try something new for fun where you will not be graded or judged on performance. Learn to recognise that the critical or the fear-based voice in your mind is not the ‘truth’. Speak up and honour yourself from a place of love, when needed. Whenever you start to do something, start with a prayer—”I will do the best I can today, and leave the rest to God/the Universe”.
Q. Is detachment or ignoring a healthy process, if we are living with someone we don’t get along with?
I’m going to use the word non-attachment instead of detachment so that its clearer. Detachment tends to indicate a lack of interest or care. Non-attachment or vairagya, in the true sense, is the ability to be unaffected both internally and externally and to be in a state of peace no matter what is happening around us. Neither happiness nor sadness depends on people or circumstances around us, and one can be in a state of balance. This is obviously not easy to do but is something we all need to work towards to be truly at peace and in harmony. Ignoring on the other hand means that there is an internal emotional response (whether anger, irritation or sadness) and also that this response is being suppressed. Eventually, these will have to come to the surface if not dealt with. So no, ignoring is not a good idea in the long term though it may help you not react at that moment.
What would you like to know about when it comes to alternative healing therapies? Please share it with us in the comments below!
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