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Sometimes life can get lackluster and feel like it's missing that magic ingredient. We feel like a dark cloud is hanging over us, and long to see the Sun appear from behind the clouds. If you feel like your life is being lived out in monochrome, then working with the seven chakras can restore your life to its full spectrum of rainbow colors.

The yoga sages of ancient times were said to have acquired magical powers (siddhis) that included invisibility, superhuman strength, knowledge of past and future lives, and exceptional states of consciousness. Nowadays, trainee yoga teachers are warned against the dangers of being seduced by these extraordinary powers, and are encouraged to view them as a worldly distraction on the path rather than a final destination.

The chakras were imagined into being by the ancient yogis as an aid to meditation. There are seven chakras along the midline of the body, which are spinning vortices of psychospiritual energy that form part of a network of subtle energy within the human body. The chakras are wheels that connect the world of spirit and matter and provide an interface between the heavenly and earthly realms. The chakras provide us with a treasure trove that we can explore to create a magical and awe-inspiring life.

How can we tap in to this powerhouse of energy and magic today? Below is a simple guide to the seven chakras and their potential to magically transform your life.

The Root Chakra
Working with this chakra teaches us the magical ability of how to create order from chaos. The root chakra is located at the base of the spine. Its element is earth; its color is red. Its main concerns are ensuring our basic human needs for food, shelter, and protection are met. By working with this chakra, we learn to bring heaven down to earth. Our aim is to be fully present in our body and to wholeheartedly embrace our life on this beautiful planet. We learn to imbue routine maintenance chores such as doing the laundry, paying our bills, and preparing food, with a quality of spiritual presence that transforms these mundane tasks into sacred acts of caring for ourselves and our loved ones. This is everyday magic!

The Sacral Chakra
This chakra is the door to intuition and the flow of creation. Its Sanskrit name is svadhisthana, which means one's own abode, or sweetness. It is located at the lower abdomen and within the parts of the body associated with sexual pleasure and procreation. Its color is orange, and its element is water. Its main concerns are relationships, establishing healthy boundaries, seeking pleasure, finding enjoyment in life, sexuality, procreation, biorhythms, and creativity. Working with this juicy, orange chakra allows you to explore the attraction of opposites, which in turn casts a spell of enchantment over your relationships! Life is a wild and beautiful mix of pleasure and pain. However, we cut ourselves off from the umbilical cord of life when we continually deny ourselves life's pleasures. One way of working with the sacral chakra is to regularly check in with yourself by asking the question, "What would bring me pleasure here?" A receptivity to pleasure is the magic ingredient that will bring your life back to life again!

The Solar Plexus Chakra
The Sanskrit name for the chakra is manipura, which means "lustrous gem." The chakra is located between the navel and the base of the sternum. Its element is fire, and its color is yellow. You become an alchemist when you work with this chakra, and you miraculously transform anger into the change that you wish to see in the world. Working with this fiery chakra empowers you to say "No!" and mean it, which in turn frees you up to say, "Yes!" to the magical life that you are creating.

Anytime you need to build confidence and courage, work with this chakra—which is all about expansion and taking up space in the world. Imagine that there is a sun at your solar plexus. Picture that sun radiating rays of healing light around your body. Now radiate that light out into the world. You are a lustrous gem. Go shine!

The Heart Chakra
Love is the magic ingredient in the recipe for a life well lived. The heart chakra is the point of equilibrium balancing the material and spiritual worlds. Its colors are pink and green, and its element is air.

One of the ancient yoga texts, the Chandogya Upanishad, states that, "The little space within the heart is as great as this vast universe. The heavens and the earth are there, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars…the whole universe…dwells within our heart." Now, try sitting quietly for a few breaths. Be aware of your body and have compassion for your body. Be aware of your thoughts and feelings and have compassion for yourself and how you struggle sometimes. Give yourself a hug. Wish yourself well. Forgive yourself. Then send out a virtual hug to all of those people who bring love and light into your life. When we work with the heart chakra, we gain access to the miraculously potent force of love.

The Communication Chakra
Words are powerful. Words can be spellbinding—they cast a spell that can create both magic and chaos in our lives. The communication chakra at the throat teaches us to speak our truth, and to listen to and learn from what others have to say. The chakra's color is the blue of an open sky. Its element is ether.

We can free up this chakra by working with mantra, or sacred sound. Try chanting the mantra Ma, which is nourishing and nurturing. In a seated position, rest your hands on your belly. Inhale and take your arms out to the side. Exhale and bring your hands back to the belly, chanting the mantra Ma (mm-ah). Repeat 6 times. Please note, we divide the mantra Ma into two syllables, mm and ah. Making a prolonged mm, sound, direct your awareness to the third eye chakra, between the brows, and making a prolonged ah sound, direct awareness to the sacral chakra at the belly.

When you find the courage to speak your truth, a miracle happens! When we speak from the heart, others will hear what we have to say. When we learn to listen, we open ourselves to hearing angelic whispers from heavenly realms.

The Third Eye Chakra
Working with this chakra develops your intuition, clairvoyance, and imagination. However, we must remember that it's important to have developed the stability and support of the lower chakras in order to work with this chakra safely. The chakra is located between the brows. Its Sanskrit name is Ajna, which means "command wheel." Its color is indigo, and its "element" is light.

Keeping a dream diary is a powerful way to work with this chakra. I find during my early morning yoga practice that fragments of my dreams often float up into my mind. Dreams are magic in action, and working with this chakra will unlock the dreamy wisdom of your subconscious mind.

When you see with the inner eye, you see, and you know. What was once hidden is brought out into the light. This chakra enables you to peep behind the veil that separates the spiritual and material realms.

The Crown Chakra
Working on the crown chakra is transformative and relaxes you into a state of pure bliss. The chakra is located at the space just above the crown of the head. Its colors are violet, gold, and white. It is depicted as a thousand-petalled lotus.

You can work with this chakra by doing activities that help you to cultivate a sense of wonder and awe. Swim in the ocean. Gaze at the river of stars stretching out across the night sky. Meditatively watch a cornfield gently swaying in the breeze. Look at a snowflake under a microscope. Lose yourself in an inspiring painting. Make love. Listen to an uplifting piece of music. Yoga, Tai Chi, meditation, relaxation—all these things help us to relax into a contemplative state of simply being. And grace happens!

This chakra is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. As if by magic, everyday concerns disappear and you dissolve onto an ecstatic state of feeling a part of it all. At one with the celestial realms, a miniscule but important part of a loving universe.

Astronauts in space looking down upon the Earth and out across the vastness of the cosmos report experiencing the universe as a loving presence of which they are a part. Similarly, the ancient yoga sages, during periods of meditation, looked within themselves and found the whole cosmos residing there. The yogis mapped out an internal solar system, which is the body's subtle energy system and that includes the chakras. Modern science confirms what the ancient yogis intuited: that we are literally made of stardust - And that is truly magic!

Jilly Shipway  - https://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/3067

My latest book, Chakras for Creativity, shares with you the many enchanting ways that you can work with the chakras to create a sparkling and magical life. May the light of love guide you home.

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