Chakra Series Part 6: Ajna

Hello, beauties!

Welcome to the 6th installment of our 7-part chakra series. As the penultimate chakra, Ajna represents our ‘Third-Eye’. Found in the space between the eyebrows, this chakra includes the pituitary gland, eyes, head, and lower areas of the brain. This invisible energy source is potent, and makes up the foundation of your intuition.

Translated as “beyond wisdom,” Ajna opens up the pathways to deeper inner knowledge, and will often guide you whether you’re aware it’s happening or not! An open third-eye chakra may enable clairvoyance, telepathy, lucid dreaming, limitless imagination, and more meaningful visualization.

Identifying a Blocked Chakra

When your third eye chakra is misaligned, it may negatively impact your ability to concentrate, process information, or otherwise utilize the powers of intuition. Once again, spiritual chakras may be more difficult to assess when trying to iron out imbalances, due to their more fluid and ephemeral nature. 

Thus, the third-eye chakra may present a whole host of interconnected imbalances such as:

• Difficulty  Concentrating or Excessive Daydreaming
• Fear of the Unknown
• Lacking  Intuition or “Mental Fogginess”
• Becoming Judgemental
• Becoming Overly Analytical
• Increased Anxiety or Feelings of being Overwhelmed
• Inability to Self-Reflect
• Focus on  Illusions
• Disconnection from Universe

Opening Your Third-Eye Chakra

As with the other spiritual chakras, Ajna is best balanced through meditation. Often, those who are new to meditation will express a tingling feeling in the area of the third eye, and may even liken this to the experience of a headache. However, this tingling feeling is simply a byproduct of their attempt to open the third-eye. If you’re experiencing this feeling, don’t stop: the sensation means your meditation technique is working!

Breathing techniques such as Brahmari, or 'bee breath', may also help to open the third-eye chakra. To practice this, simply bring both hands to your face while placing two middle fingers over your eyes. Your index fingers should come to rest on your eyebrows, while the pinky fingers should be placed under your cheekbones. Place your thumbs over your ears while taking a  deep breath, then exhale the word “aum”  while emphasizing the “M” sound. If done correctly, this should produce a gentle buzzing sound, similar to a bee.

Repeat this breathing technique for at least two minutes - feel free to practice more if you need/want to. Not only will this technique work to release tension throughout your head, but it will also help to open the third eye. 

Next Steps

In tomorrow’s article, I’ll cover the final chakra you’ll want to familiarize yourself with: the crown chakra. This will complete the seven-part chakra series we've created over the past several weeks! Remember to check out our Instagram series which incorporates yoga into a greater understanding of our bodies, chakras, and overall balance.

Love,

Natalie