Part 1 of Chakras 101 on Energy can be found here.
Balance
When there is blockage or an imbalance of the chakras, the flow of energy is erratic - sluggish in some areas, too quick and forceful in some, completely stopped in others. We can suffer various mental, emotional, physical or spiritual ailments.
When there is too much energy within a chakra, it is said to be excessive. Energy is trapped and cannot flow out to reach other chakras. This can cause conditions like anxiety, hoarding, obsession, aggression, paranoia and delusion. When there is too little energy, the chakra is considered deficient. Energy is blocked from flowing within the chakra, and the chakra is cut off from the rest of the system. This can cause ailments like disorder, rigidity, numbness, lethargy, apathy and denial.
When the chakras are open, energy flows freely throughout the body, and we can experience true balance with ourselves, our lives overall and our relationships outside of ourselves. In regards to the chakras, this is what it means to do "inner work". It is about self study - assessing our patterns of thought, emotion, action and reaction toward ourselves, toward what happens to us and toward others around us. Each chakra has its own challenges that cause it to have excessive or deficient energy. Balancing the chakras requires working through and overcoming these challenges so that energy flows with both strength and fluidity through both the manifesting and liberating currents.
The first step is figuring out what our challenges are and where our chakras are excessive and/or deficient. We cannot form a solution if we do not understand the problem. Once we establish what we need to work on, we can take what we learn and make the necessary changes to balance each of our chakras. It is about improving ourselves and by extension our relationships. When we find balance, we find peace.
Credits and Resources:
Eastern Body Western Mind by Anodea Judith
7wisdoms.org by Shai Tubali
Chakras.info by Lizzy Martin
My Other Chakra Guides: