Getting back to my Chakra Series (to catch up on the first four chakras, click here!) today we are addressing the Throat Chakra.
Ahhh, the beloved throat chakra. Communication Central.
This chakra one has given me some grief recently!
If you have followed my blog for a while, you might remember that I developed a throat abscess and had to have surgery to remove my tonsil last winter.
That was no fun… but it also was no co-incidence. Here’s why:
I’ve always struggled with public speaking… I had one particularly horrible experience in medical school where I was trying to present a review of the medical literature to a group of senior physicians and I was so nervous my voice quivered to the point that it was hard to understand what I was saying. I choked out the presentation and stood there shaking like a leaf. No fun at all.
Even though I don’t like speaking in front of groups, to be honest I’ve always been very expressive and loud, so volume is not the problem. One time in high school biology lab I was laughing with a friend and the principal of the school ran into the room in a panic — he had heard my laugh from across the entire building (a huge school with about 2,000 students!) and thought it was someone screaming for help!!!!
It’s not that I can’t speak up… it’s that public speaking is so… so damn public!
I wanted to use myself as an example today to show that throat chakra imbalances don’t have to mean you are quiet or scared to speak… I’m neither.
Yet, right on the eve of my movie filming, I developed a throat abscess that needed surgical attention.
Yuck! It’s like all my fears of public speaking balled themselves up into a nasty ball of inflammation and infection and set up camp to boycott this next phase in my growth.
Although it took courage, I had the abscess removed and moved forward into the unknown — movie filming, interviews, public speaking in my community, writing a health column for a magazine, more upcoming movie filming — I’ve been expressing myself publically more and more and although it always brings up the butterflies, I feel like I am moving into the person I was meant to be.
It’s a good feeling, full of newness, excitement, and growth.
This is one simple example of how physical illness can represent healing.
It is an energetic dynamic expressing itself in your physical body (for me, it was resistance and fear surrounding public speaking that created an abscess in my throat) and when you treat the body AS WELL AS TREAT THE SOUL (for me this was surgery combined with moving forward into the public speaking world despite my fears) you can re-establish health and move to new heights that were inconceivable before the illness occurred.
So do any of these physical symptoms sound like you?
- Thyroid issues (hyper- or hypo- thyroid)
- neck pain or tension headaches
- TMJ/jaw pain or grinding teeth at night
- Dental issues such as cavities, root canals, abscesses, Gingivitis, denture issues
- Over-use of mouth for addictions such as: Overeating, Smoking, Alcohol
- Sore Throat, Tonsilitis
- Laryngitis
- Deafness
- Inner Ear Infections
- Shyness
- Fear of Public Speaking
- Gossiping
- Fear of speaking your inner truth
- Trouble expressing self
- Shame
If so, you may have an energetic imbalance in your throat chakra that leaves you scrambling to find your inner voice and perhaps feeling like other peeps are just not respecting your boundaries or *getting* the real you, because you are not being clear or authentic with your voice.
No problem, peeps.
On top of treating the body with modern medicine, there are plenty of things you can do to realign your throat chakra and keep your beautiful voice strong.
8 easy things you can do to realign your throat chakra right now!
1. Use your voice.
Yes of course ultimately, we want to get you feeling completely comfortable expressing your innermost truths.
But to get you there, start small. ANY way that you can use your voice will help draw fresh new creative and healthy energy through your throat chakra.
Sing. Chant. Hum. Whistle. Pick your favorite way to make sound and take it a step further.
Love to sing? Join a choir or take voice lessons (voice lessons are on my to-do list for sure!)
Chant in yoga practice, whistle as you do chores, hum to yourself as you cook. Use your pipes!
2. Use your mouth in other ways.
Using your mouth for more than just verbal expression is healthy too! And after you get your mind OUT OF THE GUTTER then you can add all these ways to keep the energy flowing through your throat chakra:
Scream (it’s fun!!! Have a screaming contest when you are driving with the kids!)
Laugh (it’s fun!! Have a laughing contest when you are driving with the kids! 😉 )
Yawn — big huge obnoxious yawns… all throughout the day!
Kiss. Groan. Sigh. Stick your tongue out super far in the Lion Pose yoga exercise.
3. Pick up a musical instrument.
There are lots of ways to express yourself through sound but not using your voice.
Learning a new musical instrument or making time to spend playing one you already love is amazingly cathartic and freeing and FUN!
4. Play music that makes you move!
If playing a musical instrument is not your thing, there is no reason you can’t enjoy the sounds of other people’s music!
Crank some tunes next time you are cooking, gardening, running, driving… and better yet, sing along!
Or listen to chanting or instrumental music, opera… whatever you enjoy that lifts your energy and mood.
5. Journal
Expressing yourself on paper is one of the most cathartic things you can do to release your inner truth.
Many people subscribe to the routine of journalling every day, either through a dream journal, a personal journal, the Artist’s Way technique… and even if you are not a routine journaller, writing notes or letters to people that express your inner feelings is a wonderful way to get them out — it’s up to you whether you want to send them or not!
One of my families favorite things to do is to write dreams, wishes, desires, or even negative emotions or things we wish to release down on a sheet of paper and then burn them in a bonfire, allowing the energy to release.
Journalling is one of the best ways to invite spontaneous insight, understanding and growth into your life. Journalling is one constant all throughout my Health Flow Unleash course for good reason, because you can dig deep when it’s just you and your pen and deeply heal.
6. Stop the chatter.
Sometimes is it is the absence of noise that allows the space for transformation.
Try taking a sabbatical from talking and have a private retreat for a few hours or even a day where you do not talk.
Unplug the phone. Take a break from the near incessant background noise of life by retreating into nature. Spend a day hiking, sleeping on a blanket outside, gardening, walking.
Drop the need to be heard and go within.
7. Fasting
Along the same lines as a silence retreat, you may find fasting to be a nice way to realign with a fresh start.
Take a weekend to drink plenty of water and perhaps limit yourself to fresh juices or smoothies and let your body take a break from the heavy meals.
Sometimes our mouths do so much processing — between expressing out our words and taking in our food — that giving it a break just feels right.
8. Deep breathing.
Belly breathing provides instant energy flow into your body.
Take one deep breath all the way to the bottom of your stomach right now, and let it out slowly. Don’t you instantly notice a feeling of calm, fresh energy flowing through you?
Cultivating a mindfulness breathing practice can help rebalance and restore the flow of your throat chakra in just minutes a day.
Enjoy these 8 simple things you can do right now to engage and heal your throat chakra.
Bonus Video:
Give me 6 minutes and I’ll help you assess your throat chakra energy flow
and re-align you right now…
Let’s do this!
As always, there is only so far I can go with providing general advice on healing.
If you want to join me in a private consultation and go so much further… I’d be thrilled to develop specific strategies that work perfectly with your health weaknesses and strengths to get you feeling better… faster. Sign up for one of my private consultation plans and let’s connect, today!
xoxo, Laura
P.S — Want to balance that Throat Chakra and align all of your chakras completely?
Join me in my Chakra Healing Live Class…
where we will connect with each of the 7 chakras:
- assessing their flow
- releasing any blocks
- aligning with their highest potential!
I look forward to working personally with you, activating and opening each chakra and supporting your best health yet!!!