The crown chakra is the seventh chakra. It is located at the top of the head. This chakra’s element is light and the color gold, white, or deep purple. The Sanskrit name “Sahaswara,” which can be translated as “Thousand petal lotus flower”. It gives us access to the devine through higher states of consciousness as we open to what is beyond our personal preoccupations and visions. This divine energy creates everything in the universe. A true opening of the crown chakra means the realization that you are pure awareness. You are part of an ocean the contains and encompasses every aspect of the ocean itself. Imbalance may result in a lack of or excessive interest in spiritual beliefs, closed mindedness, or with living in your head while being disconnected to physical reality.

The lotus flower emerges in muddy waters. It blooms where there is no clarity. As with the lotus flower, when you unblock your seventh chakra, it unfurls and emerges through the confines of the physical body, the ego, mind, and intellect. It is a pure state of consciousness, even beyond the confines of the soul. While a constant state of this awareness may be out of reach, we can strive for moments of this level of awareness through the practice of meditation, prayer, and daily silence. As with any learning practice, you will experience and expansion of spiritual awareness in your outer world. This may be seen as unconditional love, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and humility. Life will no longer be about you and your desires; it will be more about serving others. Through serving others, you will serve yourself.

Physiological: The crown chakra is associated with the pituitary gland, and secondarily to the pineal gland and hypothalamus. The pituitary gland and hypothalamus work together to regulate the endocrine system. The crown chakra is associated with the brain and nervous systems as a whole.

Imbalance: When there is imbalance in the crown chakra, you may experience limitations in spiritual growth. You may also feel or seek isolation. You may experience emotional distress.

Physical symptoms may manifest as neurological disorders, nerve pain, thyroid or pineal gland disorders, Alzheimer’s, and chronic headaches or migraines. You may experience sleep disorders and mental illness. You may also experience a sensitivity to light and sound.

Non-physical disorders may include feelings of isolation and loneliness, lack of direction and inability to set goals, feeling disconnected spiritually, depression, chronic fatigue, and boredom and frustration. An overactive crown chakra may lead to greed and materialism, a sense of elitism, or unearned accomplishment.

Restoring Balance: The following practices may be helpful in restoring balance to the crown chakra.

Meditate (search for Chakra Meditation on your favorite music app). Focus on a white, gold, or violet light pouring into the top of your head washing away the blockage. Visualize the thousand petal lotus opening from your crown chakra.

Implement sound therapy (search for Chakra Meditation on your favorite music app). Chanting or toning sounds can help bring you back to balance. Sounds create vibrations in the body, and these vibrations help the cells work together in synchronistic harmony. The mantra sound that corresponds to the crown chakra is “OM.”

There are two Pranayama breathing techniques associated with opening the crown chakra – Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) and Kapalabhati (skull shining breath).

Practice yoga. To open and balance your crown chakra, practice inverted poses such as headstands and down dog. Any postures that bring your head to the floor will be helpful.

Spend time in the sunlight working through brain puzzles since the crown chakra’s elements are thought and light.

Use stones to help you focus on your crown chakra. Stones associated with this chakra include amethyst, selenite, clear quartz, and diamond. Moonstone is also associated with this chakra.

Use essential oils to connect with your throat chakra. Essential oils associated with this chakra include frankincense, benzoin, jasmine, myrrh, sandalwood, spruce, lavender, rose, ravensara, basil, and rosemary.

The more in tune you become with your emotions and physical body, the easier it will be for you to sense when your chakra is out of balance. Becoming aware when you are experiencing imbalance will make it easier for you to intentionally apply tools to help you regain your balance.

When the crown chakra is balanced, you are able to move beyond the self and connect with the universe as a whole. If you can open your crown chakra, you will experience spiritual insight, mindfulness, and the ability to live in harmony with all aspects of life.