Sensing Chakras:

A How-To for New Energy Healers

If you're interested in energy healing, you may want to learn about sensing chakras so as to have more information about them during a healing.

Chakras are energy centers, or portals, in a person's energy field. Located along the central channel of the body from the base of the spine to the top of the head, they are conceived of as whirling, wheel-like vortexes through which universal/cosmic energy flows into and out of a person.

There are seven major energy centers, plus many minor ones. (My own form of energy work, Restorative Touch, posits an eighth.) Each corresponds to specific glands, organs, and facets of your being.

Disturbances in a chakra's flow of the energy can result in disturbances in a person’s health, emotions, mind, spirit, or life, so many energy healers work with the chakras.

So how do you go about sensing chakras?

Sensing chakras is probably easier on another person, rather than starting on yourself.

Where the Seven Chakras Are Located

Knowing where to look helps! Here's an overview:

• The 1st, or root chakra, is at the base of the spine. It is usually associated with the color red.

• The 2nd, or sacral chakra, is located in the lower abdomen. It is usually associated with the color orange.

• The 3rd, or solar plexus chakra, is located in the upper abdomen, between the naval and the base of the sternum. It is usually associated with the color yellow.

• The 4th, or heart chakra, is located in the chest, between the nipples, at heart level. It is usually associated with the color green.

• The 5th, or throat chakra, is located in the throat. It is usually associated with the color light blue.

• The 6th, or brow chakra (also called the Third Eye), is located between and slightly above the eyebrows. It is usually associated with the color indigo.

• The 7th, or crown chakra, is located on the top of the head. It is usually associated with the color white or violet.

Sensing Chakras with Your Hands

Have the person lie comfortably on a massage table or bed. Hold your hands a few inches above your friend's body, and move them slowly up his or her central channel, from a few inches below the groin to a few inches above the top of the head. See if you can feel any difference over where the chakras are.

Some people may see colors or images related to the chakras, but (to my knowledge) it's more common to feel sensations with the hands.

What people feel when they are sensing subtle energy is highly individual. When I first started learning energy healing, mostly I could only feel a buzzing in my hands, or warmth. But as time went on and I gained more experience, my hands became more sensitive.

I can't always describe in words what it is I'm feeling when I'm sensing chakras, but the feelings are usually very definite. I want to stress that everyone interprets through different "filters," so everyone probably has different experiences. But for me, the best way I can describe it is that generally I have a sense of more "activity" over the chakras than in other areas of the body.

Sometimes I feel imbalances in the chakras, with some chakras giving me lots of "information," and others little at all. Sometimes I feel "releases" from the chakras, like little puffs or even bumps against my palms. Sometimes as I work with the chakras, I feel the quality of the energy change in intensity or quality, often increasing in what I might call richness, dimension, or integration.

But these are my sensations and my words. What you feel and how you describe it could be very different!

If you don't feel or sense anything, don't worry. Allow yourself to imagine that you are feeling something! This is a good way to unblock your perceptive abilities.

Also, know that if you think you feel something, you almost certainly are. Just trust that it's real, and know that with practice your sensitivity will grow.

Using a Pendulum to Perceive the Chakras

Another common method of getting information about the chakras is to use a pendulum.

A pendulum is any small weight attached to a short string, cord, chain, or something similar. Many people like to use something beautiful or meaningful as the weight.

To use it, hold the pendulum a few inches above one of the chakras. Let it become perfectly still. Within a few moments, the pendulum will usually start to move.

Pendulum motion in a clock-wise direction is normal. Counter-clockwise shows that the chakra is spinning in reverse.

No motion or a very small circle indicates that the chakra is under-active.

A very exaggerated circle indicates that the chakra is over-active.

A moderate, clockwise circle indicates good function in the chakra.

Are Your Chakras Healthy or Not? Down-To-Earth Ways To Tell

It can take a long time to develop the ability to sense chakras, your own or someone else's. Fortunately there are less esoteric ways to assess whether your chakras are healthy or not. You'll find lots of guidance on discerning the health of each chakra in my book, Chakra Care: Do-It-Yourself Energy Healing for a More Joyful, Loving, Fruitful Life, which I wrote to help people understand the chakras and learn ways to balance, align and nurture them, even if they're beginners.

The book is practical and readable and includes over 500 fresh, down-to-earth activities and exercises that you can use to nurture and heal your chakras. I encourage you to click here to see how it may benefit you and your life.

Is Sensing Chakras Necessary to Do a Healing?

While it is useful for a healer to be able to sense the chakras, it is not absolutely necessary. It is enough to hold the intention to heal.

You can go to this page for a discussion of whether or not it's necessary to know what a sensation means.

Links to Other Pages on Sensing Subtle Energies

You can learn two simple exercises for developing hand sensitivity to subtle energy here.

And you can learn about seeing auras here.

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