The throat chakra

I want to talk about the throat chakra. I want to talk about this particular chakra because I think it may be the one that I struggle with the most and have for a long time, so I have been exploring it. There is this idea that I am quite fond of, that if you endure an injury, infliction or any pain that brings attention to a part or an area of the body – that this is indicative of something. I have had a few falls off my bike, each time injuring some part of me that seemed relevant at the time. The worst one was when I fell on my ribs, injuring the lower ribs on the left side of my body. Firstly, the left side of the body according to Annette Noontil (see the book The Body is the Barometer of the Soul) is the spiritual, and the right side is the physical. According to Evette Rose (see the book Metaphysical Anatomy), the left side is feminine and the right, masculine. At that point in my life I wasn't trusting my growth regarding an experience with a female that really affected me. My ribs brought my attention to this. In relevance to the throat chakra, I again fell off my bike scraping my neck on someone's car causing a gash on my throat. Up until this I had been receiving hints to pay attention to my throat chakra. This was a big fat hint. The throat chakra is about voice (amongst other things). It pushed me to think about why do I feel like I don't have a voice, when do I feel like this and what does it feel like when I don't use my voice. The throat chakra is about communication and expression of self, of the soul and of creativity. Expression has been something that has been some what suppressed over the years. Pursuing and focusing on science in my studies over creativity (my strength) has been a huge contributor to that lack of expression. Playing down and doubting my creativity has also been a factor. 'I'm not as good as that person so why bother' is the dialogue I has often had with myself with regards to expressing myself creatively. In addition, I have always had this idea that I am a shocking communicator because verbally I struggle with words, expressing exactly what I want and my tone can often come across offensive, as too much, too passionate and angry (indicative of a blocked throat chakra but I also attribute this to my dual tendencies being a Gemini [not to justify my behaviour however]). Verbal communication isn't often my forte. Sometimes because I don't even know what I think or what I want. According to Evette Rose, not voicing opinions and failing to voice boundaries is related to motion sickness - something I have experienced all my life. But I have realised that I communicate myself and my ideas fantastically by writing. I often write my lover love letters. I express myself through dance and movement of my body, through music and creating in the kitchen. I'm great at communicating non-verbally. This still counts. The throat chakra is also about speaking your truth. This I am not so great at as I hold shame about my truth which has come up a lot in the questions I asked myself about my voice. Speaking my truth as a child was often met by 'ssshhhh!', 'this isn't the right time', 'speak up', 'speak properly', 'take your hand off your mouth, sit up straight' or answers to my questions that never explained why things were so, because why would a child possibly need to know 'why?'. As a youth and adult it was met by 'that's wrong', 'you're weird', 'I don't get you', 'you're annoying', 'why do you speak like that?'. 'why aren't you saying anything?' or no response at all. I'm not saying this for the sake of painting myself as a victim. To stand up for myself was never taught to me. My role models bowed down to others' requests, especially those of an aggressive nature. And so I learnt from this. The amount of times I have heard how 'weird' I am sings to me, because according to Noontil this chakra also plays a lot on relating to others and compassion and this of course comes down to my love for myself. Further, jealousy and judgement can arise from an imbalance in this chakra. If I am judging you it is because I see that in myself and I don't like that in me. If I am jealous of you, it is because I see that in me but I won't do anything about it. Noontil's advice throughout her book and in relation to the 'thyroid' chakra is to 'live and let live'. Amen. Now that I am aware of my expression and lack of, I have become aware of when I am holding back and how much that affects me in the moment. I had glandular fever (related to a lack of self worth - do you see how this is all tying in?) a few years ago and I was riddled with a sore throat (another indication of a blocked throat chakra) for months. Now when I hold back my voice, that exact stabbing pain comes back to me. The stab is full of emotion and truth. And it says to me that I need to say whatever it is in that very moment. When I do this there is no way that that emotion and pain can block and stagnate my throat as it had been before I realised. Your body knows when It needs to speak, and it tells you. When you get that feeling in your gut, those sweaty palms - the scariest and most nervous time to speak is the most necessary time to speak. It has also been integral in asking for what I want and need during sex which has made a world of difference beyond those moments, in everyday life. This chakra is further associated with colour and body parts. According to most of the information I have accessed, the colour of this chakra is blue. According to East it is a 'brilliant sky blue or silver'. However, Noontil lists the colour of the throat chakra (she refers to it as the thyroid chakra) as purple. I'm into this because she has intuitively decided upon this and challenged an established idea. And as a side note, Noontil also mentions that if you have an aversion to a particular colour one should meditate on that colour and ask why they dislike it. For me, I should probably do this regarding orange which interestingly in the art world is complementary to blue. Interesting because orange is the colour of the sacral chakra – another energy centre of creativity. The body parts associated with the energy centre of course reside around the area and can become inflicted with a blocked throat chakra. Noontil as mentioned, refers to the throat chakra as the thyroid chakra. It also referred to this by texts about Chinese Medicine, therefore the thyroid can suffer. Other body parts include the throat, neck, salivary glands, tonsils, the ears, the chin and especially for me, the jaw. When I was 4 years old I lived in a high stress environment where I could not express myself or my needs, and ever since then I have clicked my jaw in especially stressful times, when concentrating and when distressed.

It hasn't been as simple as just working on my throat chakra. My kinesiologist suggested that when working on chakras in relation to meditation - to focus on balancing all of them. I think this is important because the chakras are linked to one another. For me personally, I think it is also very much tied to my solar plexus, another energy centre I seem to struggle with. Being in my power is something I have to always work on and being in my power requires my voice a lot of the time. I think this could apply to a lot of other individuals too, and possibly a lot of women. I don't want to elaborate on feminism, equality and the patriarchy but if anything the control over women really impedes the throat chakra (think about voting rights and how that equates to having a voice). In addition and in relation to the thyroid area being the 'creative centre' according to Chinese Medicine, I also feel and have read about it's connection to the creative centre of the womb in women. The womb and pelvic bowl (see the book 'Wild Feminine') are in the area of the sacral chakra, as mentioned above - a point of creation. I can know all of this and think all of this but it doesn't mean anything unless I implement some sort of action. The best advice I have come across is to sing! Forget if you can sing or not. We all have the right to express ourselves how we like. Talent is independent of expression. Anything I find uncomfortable and challenging seems to reap results for me and singing is certainly one of them. Making sounds with the throat provides an instant feeling in that area. I recommend a video on YouTube by Robin Lee of the Babe Collective. She talks about screaming. In addition, humming 'ham' and feeling that vibrate in your throat and throughout the body is also advised. I like to experiment with the tone until I can feel it the most possible in the area I am focussing on. Another one is saying 'eye' in a high pitch and feeling that in your throat area too, or 'ey' – like an 'Italian exclamation' according to East. East also recommends chanting the mantra 'I am and I will' whenever doing some sort of focussed activity on the energy centre. I personally also try to breathe into my throat whenever I think of it. If anything, identify and then try and speak your truth everyday or when you can, embrace the discomfort in that (and then the resultant learning and empowerment) and live and let live! Resources – The Body is the Barometet of the Soul by Annette Noontil Chakras for the 21st Centurt by Claire East Metaphysical Anatomy by Evette Rose