Communication, truth, and self-expression are all highly prized values on and off your mat. In addition,these qualities are uniquely represented by the throat chakra. If you’ve ever felt fearful or anxious about sharing your inner thoughts, or dealt with chronic sore throats and laryngitis you might benefit from throat chakra healing. A blocked throat chakra can manifest with physical, emotional, or mental symptoms.
Wondering just what is a chakra? Chakra is a Sanskrit word that translates to ‘wheel.’ Essentially, chakras are spinning centers (or disks) of energy within our body. Seven main chakras run from the top of our heads to the base of our spine. If any of these chakras become blocked or locked, we can suffer from imbalances in our health. Our yoga practice is an amazing tool that can help us create equilibrium within our chakras. From throat chakra yoga poses to specific healing foods that can soothe this energy center of communication, our guide will dive into the many ways to unlock a throat chakra.
Where is the Throat Chakra?
The throat chakra is the fifth chakra of the body and is sometimes referred to as Vishuddha. This chakra is responsible for our communication, creativity, and self-expression. Fittingly, this chakra can be located in the throat and is associated with the tongue, lips, jaws, ears, upper back, and shoulders. Your throat chakra is also related to self-confidence as it is considered a bridge between ourselves and the greater universe. Symbolically, the throat chakra is represented as a beautiful lotus flower containing sixteen petals. The meaning here is two-fold as a lotus represents a spiritual awakening and the sixteen petals are a manifestation of the sixteen vowel sounds of the Sanskrit language, which are produced when the throat chakra is activated. Deep shades of blue, such as lapis, turquoise, and aquamarine are all linked to the throat chakra, as these hues represent universal truths.
What Blocks the Throat Chakra?
Curious about what could be blocking your throat chakra? As with so many things in yoga, a blocked throat chakra could mean both a physical or emotional ailment. Just as our yoga practice brings harmony to our bodies and minds, an unclear throat chakra could be caused by:
- Anxiety about speaking or communicating your truth
- Unwillingness to share your opinions
- Repressed emotions
- Food toxins
- Lack of self-confidence
- Sore throat
- Headaches
- Sleep problems
- Voice and breathing problems
- Swallowing problems
How to Know if Chakras are Blocked?
So how do you know if your chakras are blocked, or you are just suffering from a run-of-the-mill sore throat or cold? While throat chakra healing symptoms are varied, it can be helpful to look at where your emotional and physical symptoms overlap. After all, nothing in our bodies exists in isolation, and many throat chakra imbalances can be traced back to incidents of poor communication in our past. For example, many people who suffer from a blocked throat chakra may have dealt with childhood trauma such as being verbally abused by a parent or caregiver, or suffering other sorts of mental or physical abuse.
Physical symptoms of a blocked throat chakra can include:
- A raspy or inflamed throat
- Mouth ulcers
- Gum disease
- Laryngitis
- Thyroid issues
- Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders
- Ear infections
- And tight shoulders
How Do You Release Trauma from the Throat Chakra?
Ready to raise your voice? No matter if you are suffering from a nasty case of laryngitis or stressed about sharing your opinions during times of verbal conflict, there are a multitude of ways to release trauma from a shut down throat chakra. You can experiment with verbal affirmations, and yoga poses, or even treat yourself to a soothing cup of peppermint tea with honey:
- Throat Chakra Meditations - mindful breathing and meditation can be a powerful tool to correct a throat blockage. Try focusing your energy on your throat area and envisioning a beautiful blue light enveloping your throat and cleansing your chakra.
- Throat Chakra Affirmations - since our throat chakra is so closely associated with communication verbal affirmations, and even singing can be useful healing devices. Try focusing on positive affirmations that reaffirm your ability to speak your truth. For example, “I communicate confidently” or “I speak my mind with ease.”
- Mantra Chanting - the throat chakra has its own ‘ham’ mantra and repeating this chant can create vibrational energy that soothes and unblocks an unhealed Vishuddha chakra. For ultimate relaxation, you can chant along to soothing ‘ham’ music.
- Throat Chakra Crystals - crystals, stones, and gems in shades of blue can also be implemented to heal your chakra. Try keeping these crystals close to your body or wearing them as jewelry for optimal benefits.
- Throat Chakra Yoga - releasing tension in areas of your body that are aligned with your throat chakra can also aid in your relief. Break out your Yoga Design Lab mat to ensure you have quality support when attempting inversions such as Shoulder Stand, Upward Lotus, and Plough Pose. Inversions are especially effective at healing the throat chakra as these poses release tension in the throat and thyroid.
- Throat Chakra Healing Foods - a mug of piping hot tea with lemon and honey will always soothe a sore throat, but did you know specific foods are also believed to unblock the throat? Fruits like oranges and apples are tied to this Chakra as well as spices such as salt, lemongrass, and ginger.
- Lion’s Breath - let out your inner big cat with some rousing rounds of Lion’s Breath. This type of breathing can clear your throat and chest while stimulating the release of toxins. Simply inhale through your nose, open your eyes and mouth wide, stick out your tongue, and let out your breath with a mighty ‘roar.’
Yoga teaches us introspection and allows us to channel our energy into movement. Nonetheless, without clear focus and communication, we can never reveal the great truths that yoga has awakened inside us. Taking time to pause, reflect, and heal our blocked chakras can prepare us for a lifetime of clarity and deeper connection.
A New York native, Isis-Maya spent most of her professional life working in TV production until a vacation whisked her away to Central America and her love of travel and yoga was born. Three months of sun salutations and surfing through Nicaragua and Costa Rica quickly turned into over two years. She fell in love, both with yoga and the beach lifestyle. Today she works as a wellness and lifestyle writer for various publications and resides in Mexico City. When she isn't working on yoga or fitness based blog posts you can find her at her local yoga studio or planning her next retreat.