Feeling Discombobulated? What Your Chakras Might Be Telling You

By Penelope Silver | The Reiki One, Alderley Edge

You know those mornings when you wake up and something just feels a bit... off?

You're not necessarily unhappy. Nothing particularly dreadful has happened. But you're feeling out of sorts, slightly off kilter, and you can't quite put your finger on why.

Discombobulated.

It's one of my favourite words. And I think it describes that feeling perfectly.

Sometimes there's an obvious reason. You've had a rubbish night's sleep, you're worried about something, or you've simply got too much going on.

Other times, it's harder to explain.

In my Reiki practice, I often explore those feelings through the chakras, the energy centres recognised in various spiritual traditions.

I've been working with Reiki for around 20 years, and over that time I've developed my own way of sensing and interpreting energy.

So rather than give you another textbook explanation of the seven chakras, I thought I'd tell you what chakra balancing actually means to me, what I look for during a treatment, and why I find it so fascinating.

Because some of the things I've experienced over the years have been pretty extraordinary.

What does it mean when a chakra is blocked?

The word chakra comes from Sanskrit and means wheel.

In the energy traditions I work with, chakras are understood as centres through which our life-force energy flows.

There are seven main chakras, running from the base of the spine to the crown of the head.

Each has its own associations with different aspects of our lives, including security, creativity, confidence, love, communication and intuition.

When I describe a chakra as blocked or out of balance, I'm talking about what I perceive as a disruption in that energetic flow.

It's a spiritual understanding of the body, rather than a medical diagnosis.

But here's how I explain it to my clients.

Imagine waking up feeling completely unlike yourself.

Perhaps you feel disconnected from your usual enthusiasm. Maybe you've lost a bit of confidence, you're finding it difficult to make decisions, or something in your life just doesn't feel right.

You might not even know what it is.

For me, those are the sorts of experiences that invite us to explore where somebody might be feeling out of balance.

I'm not saying every difficult emotion means you've got a blocked chakra. We're human beings, after all. Life happens.

But I do think our emotions, thoughts, relationships and sense of wellbeing are deeply interconnected.

And that's what makes this work so interesting to me.

Why I always pay attention to the root chakra first

If you've read anything about chakras before, you'll probably have come across the root chakra.

It's located at the base of the spine in the traditional chakra system, and it's associated with stability, safety and feeling grounded.

I see it as the foundation.

Think of a house.

You can have beautiful furniture, lovely curtains and everything decorated exactly how you like it, but if the foundations are unstable, you're going to have problems further up.

That's how I think about the root chakra.

When somebody is worried about money, their home, their family or whether they feel secure in their life, those are themes I associate with the root.

If that foundation feels unsettled, I often find it more difficult to bring the other energy centres into balance.

That's why, during a chakra balancing treatment, I work from the root upwards.

And in my experience, when the root begins to feel more balanced, working with the chakras above it often becomes easier.

Of course, everybody is different. I'm not working through a rigid checklist and expecting every person to respond in exactly the same way.

Your chakras aren't seven separate little problems

One of the things I've learnt over the years is that I can't look at one chakra in isolation.

Let's say somebody tells me they're feeling stuck in their career.

They've lost their confidence. They can't see the wood for the trees. They've got ideas about what they'd like to do, but they can't quite bring themselves to take action.

Straightaway, there are several energetic themes I might explore.

The solar plexus is traditionally associated with confidence and personal power.

The third eye is associated with intuition and clarity.

The sacral chakra is linked with creativity.

And the throat chakra is connected with communication and expression.

Sometimes I describe the sacral chakra as the place where you birth your ideas and desires.

But the throat chakra is where you begin to give those ideas a voice and bring them into the world.

I love that relationship between the two.

Because how many times have you had a wonderful idea, felt excited about it, and then talked yourself out of ever doing anything with it?

Or perhaps you've known exactly what you wanted to say to somebody, but the words simply wouldn't come.

That brings me to an experience I've never forgotten.

When your throat chakra has something to say

Years ago, I treated a woman who was having considerable difficulty speaking.

She'd been struggling with her voice for quite some time and had already sought medical advice.

I knew she was having trouble speaking before I began. That wasn't something I needed to discover intuitively.

But as I worked with her chakras, I felt particularly drawn to her throat.

In chakra traditions, the throat is associated with communication, self-expression and speaking your truth.

When the treatment finished, I shared what had been coming through for me.

I asked whether there was something she'd been wanting to say but felt unable to express.

Something she'd been pushing down.

And I had a sense that it might relate to her family.

Well, that opened up quite a conversation.

She explained that there was a difficult situation within her family. She had strong feelings about what was happening but didn't feel able to make her voice heard.

And she'd been carrying that frustration for some time.

Then something happened that neither of us was expecting.

As she began talking, she suddenly stopped.

"Oh my God. I can speak!"

Her voice had returned.

She was astonished.

So was I, if I'm perfectly honest.

I remember her coming back about a week later, finding me in the shop beneath the room where I worked at the time, and giving me an enormous hug.

It was one of those moments that stays with you.

Now, I can tell you exactly what I remember witnessing, and I can tell you how I understood it energetically.

What I can't establish is why her voice returned at that particular moment, or whether the treatment caused the change.

But the experience reinforced something that has become central to the way I work.

Sometimes what you want to say to other people, and what you need to acknowledge to yourself, are two very different things.

And giving somebody space to explore that can be incredibly meaningful.

How do I actually sense a chakra imbalance?

This is probably where things get a little bit woo.

And if you've ever heard me say that I do the woo without the woo woo, you'll know I don't mind talking about the spiritual side of my work.

I just like to explain what I'm actually doing.

Over the years I've developed a sensitivity in my hands.

Sometimes, when I hover them above somebody's body, I notice tingling, warmth, changes in temperature or a feeling of resistance.

Interestingly, I sometimes find the backs of my hands more sensitive than my palms.

I also practise Byosen, a Japanese Reiki term associated with sensing areas that appear to need attention through the hands.

For me, it's not simply a matter of deciding where to place my hands and waiting a set number of minutes.

I pay attention to what I'm experiencing.

Sometimes a sensation becomes stronger. Sometimes it gradually fades as I continue working.

And sometimes I experience something entirely unexpected.

I've felt sensations in my own throat, stomach or hands while working with somebody.

When that happens, I don't automatically decide I know what it means.

I might describe what I've noticed afterwards and ask whether it has any relevance to the person.

They may recognise something in it.

They may not.

And that's absolutely fine.

I don't believe it's my place to impose an interpretation on somebody else's life.

Why I use a crystal pendulum

My chakra balancing treatments also involve a crystal pendulum.

I've got several, and I tend to choose whichever one I'm intuitively drawn to that day.

I hold it lightly between my thumb and forefinger, allowing it to hang freely a few inches above the chakra I'm working with.

Before beginning, I set my intention and establish what the different movements mean within my own practice.

For me, a clockwise movement generally represents yes, while anticlockwise represents no.

When I'm assessing the chakras, I'm looking at the quality of the movement.

Is it flowing in a smooth circle?

Is it very small or restricted?

Is it unusually fast?

Is it moving backwards and forwards rather than circling?

Within my dowsing practice, I interpret those movements as information about how balanced an energy centre may be.

The pendulum isn't a medical instrument, and its movement can be influenced by tiny involuntary movements of the hand.

But within my spiritual practice, it's one of several tools I use alongside what I sense intuitively.

I work upwards through the chakras, from root to crown, rather than treating each one as an isolated problem.

And I don't rely on the pendulum alone.

Crystals, colour and a little bit of intuition

Before beginning a chakra balancing treatment, I prepare the space and set my intention.

I might place a smoky quartz crystal near the client's feet to represent grounding, and another protective stone beyond the head.

I'll use incense as part of my energetic cleansing ritual.

And as I work through the chakras, I may intuitively choose additional crystals.

Colour is also important in the chakra traditions I practise.

The root is associated with red, the sacral with orange, the solar plexus with yellow, the heart with green, the throat with blue, the third eye with indigo and the crown with violet.

Sometimes I visualise those colours as I'm working.

I might also silently repeat a seed mantra associated with the chakra.

I say silently because, despite having done this for years, I still feel a bit embarrassed chanting out loud.

Yes, really.

There's a reason I work on my own rather than running a full-on chanting performance in the middle of Alderley Edge!

The important thing for me is the intention behind the work.

I'm bringing together what I've learnt, what I'm sensing and the individual person receiving the treatment.

How do I know when the chakras feel balanced?

It's not always one dramatic moment.

More often, I notice a gradual change.

If I've been feeling a strong tingling sensation through my hands, it may begin to diminish.

Sometimes there's a shift in warmth or temperature.

Occasionally there are physical responses during the treatment. Somebody's stomach might gurgle, they might yawn, twitch or burp.

I've been known to burp myself.

Very glamorous, this energy work.

I don't regard any single response as proof that a blockage has been removed. Bodies do all sorts of perfectly ordinary things when we relax.

But I notice them as part of the overall experience.

When I'm using the pendulum, I look for a movement that, within my practice, represents balance: smooth, open and circular.

I revisit the areas I've been working with and pay attention to whether the sensations have changed.

And eventually, I get to the point where I feel I've done what I can do during that appointment.

I finish by setting an intention and completing my closing ritual with incense and Reiki symbols.

Afterwards, I share what I noticed, then invite the client to tell me what they experienced.

I prefer to give my impressions first so that what they tell me doesn't influence what I report.

Then we can compare notes.

Sometimes our experiences seem remarkably similar.

Sometimes they're completely different.

There's no right or wrong response.

What's the difference between chakra balancing and Reiki?

This is a question worth answering, because I offer both at The Reiki One.

They're connected, but they aren't exactly the same treatment.

During Reiki, I work with the body's energy centres as part of the session. I use my hands, Reiki symbols, intuition and the techniques I've developed over the years.

My first-time 90-minute Reiki Experience includes a detailed Wholistic Wellbeing Questionnaire, a foot cleansing ritual, guided meditation and Reiki.

But it doesn't automatically include the full pendulum-based chakra balancing treatment.

My 30-minute Chakra Balancing is a standalone appointment.

It's focused specifically on the energy centres, incorporating the pendulum, crystals, colour and intuitive energy work I've described here.

And then there's my two-hour Stress Buster, which is a bit of everything.

We begin with Hopi ear candling, move into the Reiki Experience, and I incorporate the chakra balancing at the end.

I tend to mesh the techniques together quite naturally.

After all these years, a lot of it has become second nature.

Can chakra balancing be done remotely?

Yes, within my practice I also offer energy work at a distance.

I'll admit something, though.

Before lockdown, I hadn't done a great deal of remote Reiki.

Then suddenly everybody had to take their businesses online.

And I remember thinking, Is this really going to work?

What surprised me was how much I enjoyed it.

I found that when I wasn't physically in the same room, I sometimes felt I had fewer preconceived ideas about the person.

As I continued, I became more confident in the experiences I was having and the similarities people sometimes reported afterwards.

I've worked remotely with people on the other side of the world, including Australia.

Whether you're sceptical or spiritually curious, I understand why that sounds pretty far out.

I thought so myself at first.

My experience of distance work is a personal one, rather than scientific proof of energy travelling between people. But it remains a fascinating part of my practice.

And probably deserves a blog of its own.

What if you're feeling a bit discombobulated yourself?

You don't need to know your root chakra from your crown chakra to come and see me.

You don't need to arrive with a list of things you think are blocked.

And you certainly don't have to believe everything I believe.

Perhaps you're feeling a bit flat.

Maybe you've lost some confidence, you're struggling to find your direction, or you just don't feel quite like yourself.

Or perhaps you're simply curious about what chakra balancing involves.

We can start there.

If you're experiencing persistent physical symptoms, it's important to have those assessed medically rather than assuming they're caused by an energy blockage.

But if you'd like some time to relax, reflect and explore your wellbeing from a spiritual perspective, you're very welcome.

I offer Chakra Balancing at One Inner Beauty Studio in Alderley Edge, welcoming clients from Wilmslow, Bramhall, Cheadle and the surrounding Cheshire area.

You can explore the treatments and current availability on my appointments page.

And next time you wake up feeling a little bit off kilter?

Perhaps give yourself a moment to wonder what you might need.

Not everything has to be fixed immediately.

Sometimes it's enough to notice.

Put your soul in good hands.

Penelope x