The ancient science of Ayurveda describes the human body as both physical and energetic. Every human being has seven chakras which act as interfaces that relay information between the body of flesh and bone and the subtle, energy body that operates our sensory and emotional response systems.
In this article, we give a detailed overview of the fifth chakra.
What are the Chakras?
Thinking of the human being’s nervous system as a powerful radio station provides a helpful analogy for visualizing how it works.
First, imagine the spine as a radio tower. Sensory information is transmitted to the spinal column via the five senses, which act as satellite receivers. Then, this information is sent up the vertebrae to the central control room, the brain, where it is displayed on the screen of the mind.
The chakras are energetic filters that direct the in-out flow of feeling and perception, based on your personal genetic program. When your chakras operate at peak performance, you feel amazing. However, when they are overworked, obstructed, or repressed, you experience various physical and mental ailments.
By adopting healthy habits and cutting out harmful lifestyle choices, you can bring your chakras into balance and experience a huge boost in happiness and well-being.
The Fifth Chakra at a Glance
Each of the seven chakras has defining features that make it unique. Below is the profile of the throat chakra, known in Sanskrit as विशुद्ध (visuddha), or “the purified.”
Physical location: The neck. By bringing your awareness to the pharyngeal plexus, or the bundle of nerves near your throat, you can feel the energy of your fifth chakra.
Developmental stage: Seven to twelve years. In the major monotheistic religions — Christianity, Judaism, and Islam — seven is believed to be the age of reason. This is when a child begins their religious education and embraces their family’s faith as their own. This period of life is when one’s moral understanding emerges.
Chief domains: Truth, communication, and self-expression. The throat chakra shapes how we use our voice and determines our ability to listen and to learn.
Emotional challenge: Mistrust. Disappointment with authority figures — whether parents, teachers, or other leaders or role models — damages the fifth chakra. This often results from hypocrisy, unkept promises, or verbal abuse.
Element: Ether. Ether is the material substrate for sound-waves and all other forms of information. Our relationship with sound, both heard and spoken, is regulated by this fifth chakra. It governs language, communication, and how we process facts and data.
What a Balanced Throat Chakra Feels Like
A person with a healthy throat chakra communicates in an honest and direct way. They have a strong grasp of language and can persuade others with sound logic and reasoning. They are powerful speakers, and their voice is clear and pleasant to hear.
When your fifth chakra is vibrant, you can hear others concerns and opinions in a way that makes them feel validated. You are an active listener. You are confident in your self-expression, and you easily understand other people’s point of view.
A balanced throat chakra produces skilled teachers, leaders, and prophets. They are attuned to the underlying rhythm of the world, and their voices rise above the noise of their generation. They fearlessly stand up for Truth.
Throat Chakra Rights & Identities
In her book Eastern Body, Western Mind, Dr. Anodea Judith explains that each chakra has a right and an identity.
The throat chakra deals with the right to speak and be heard.
It governs our creative identity and our need for self-expression.
Symptoms of Imbalance
Chakras display two distinct types of imbalance: they’re either too open or too closed. This causes the chakra to be either over-stimulated or suppressed. In some cases, a person’s energetic body may oscillate between the two types of imbalance.
An Over-stimulated Throat Chakra
A person with an overactive fifth chakra uses speech to dominate others. They are vocally assertive, overbearing, and manipulative. They are poor listeners. They use high-level or impressive-sounding language to compensate for a lack of substance in their ideas, actions, or character.
Excess energy in the throat chakra causes you to overcommit, fail to follow through, or speak outright lies in order to further your own agenda. It contributes to a talkative, gossiping, and disrespectful personality type.
A Suppressed Throat Chakra
Persons with a deficient fifth chakra have a difficult time putting their thoughts and feelings into words. Their voice lacks clarity and confidence. It may sound shaky, raspy, or inaudible. Or they may avoid communication altogether, preferring to keep to themselves unless absolutely necessary. They will rarely be the one to initiate conversation, especially concerning touchy subjects.
A suppressed throat chakra makes forming friendships and other relationships very challenging. It leads to a passive communication style. Silent tolerance seems easier than voicing discomfort or disagreement. Isolation seems easier than the effort of maintaining and nourishing loving relationships.
Fifth Chakra Health Issues
The chakra system reveals that all illnesses are at least in part psychosomatic. In other words, the condition of your mental well-being and subtle life will always impact your physical health.
These are some of the health issues that can arise in a person whose throat chakra is out of balance:
- Hyper or hypothyroidism, as well as other throat disorders
- Ear infections
- Deafness or hearing loss
- Lockjaw or bruxism (grinding the teeth at night)
- Elevated stress levels
- Social phobia
- A lack of intelligence / common sense
How to Activate & Repair Your Throat Chakra
If you recognize in yourself some of the symptoms of an imbalanced fifth chakra, there are many things you can do to help restore it to balance.
Here are some steps you can take to heal your throat chakra:
- Try mantra meditation. Mantra meditation involves quiet repetition of a short phrase, known as a mantra. This is an effective technique for improving your mental power, self-discipline, and ability to empathize with others.
- Take singing lessons. Learning to sing can strengthen your voice and provide a powerful outlet for pent-up feelings and pain that are stuck in the region of the fifth chakra.
- Practice active listening. Active listening involves paying close attention to what others say in a conversation and responding in a way that shows you understand them.
- Join a public speaking group. Learning to give a toast or a speech is a great way to boost your self-confidence and communication skills. This can have a significant impact on other areas of your life as well.
- Do a silent retreat. If you find it difficult to reduce your talking, gossiping, or mental chatter, a silent retreat can help you develop restraint. It can also give you a glimpse of the joys of silence.
Below, we list affirmations which help to strengthen and nourish the fifth chakra. In addition, chanting and meditating on the Sanskrit syllable, HUM (pronounced like “hum-ble” with a nasal intonation on the “m”) will balance this chakra. You can also try out chakra meditation.
Affirmations to Restore the Throat Chakra
“I own my words and my power to speak.”
“I will not deceive others.”
“God / the Universe is the Supreme Truth.”
Learn More About Your Other Chakras
Root | Sacral | Solar Plexus | Heart | Third Eye | Crown
Sources
Eastern Body, Western Mind — Anodea Judith VEDA Online Encyclopedia
