How an Overactive Chakra Can Negatively Interfere With Your Recovery: Part One

The chakras are a series of energetic hubs which align the body from the top of the head, through the spine, to the base of the tailbone. Each chakra has energetic meaning which can interact with how we live our recovery. Here we discuss the first three chakras and how, when they are overactive, they can negatively interfere with recovery.

OVERACTIVE ROOT CHAKRA

The root chakra is located by at the bottom of the tailbone at the very core of your being. Represented as red in color, the root chakra is associated with your sense of foundation. “Grounding” exercises commonly refer to activating and healing the root chakra to feel more connected to the chakra system, the earth beneath your feet, and the world around you. When the root chakra is overactive, it can interfere with your recovery by causing you to resist change and act with more greed. The world is constantly changing. There are changes happening every single second which are essential to our survival and would be catastrophic if they stopped changing; for example, the earth is constantly rotating on it’s axis. If the earth stopped rotating, we would lose our sense of gravity and everything would start floating around, colliding, and causing a disaster. When we become resistant to change in recovery, we become resistant to growth. Continual growth is essential for long term recovery. It is natural and acceptable to want to keep things as they are, especially when they feel so good. Holding onto to pleasure is a characteristic of addiction. The spiritual approach, however, is recognizing that this too shall pass and there is always more to come.

OVERACTIVE SACRAL CHAKRA

The sacral chakra is located within the abdomen, by the sacrum of the spine. Represented as orange in color, the sacral chakra is associated with acceptance. Acceptance is a widely discussed theme in all of recovery, especially twelve step philosophies. The popular “serenity prayer” asks a higher power of your understanding to grant you the serenity to accept the things you cannot change. Losing your ability to be in acceptance quickly leads to resentments toward people, places, and things which you want to control, feel you need to control, but ultimately cannot. You have to accept. Feeling out of control and detached from one area of life can lead to compensating by attaching to another area of life. Too often, that can result in reattaching to drugs and alcohol.

OVERACTIVE SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA

The solar plexus chakra is located in the upper abdomen, near the stomach. Represented as yellow in color, the solar plexus chakra supports your confidence and the second part of the “serenity prayer”. After asking for the serenity to accept what you cannot change, you ask for the courage to change the things you can. Primarily, you can change yourself and take control of yourself in your own life. An overactive solar plexus chakra can result in becoming aggressive, taking too much control, and trying to change everything. As a result, you lose sight of what you truly can change. Being overactive in the solar plexus means acting out of insecurity and fear through pride instead of confidence and humility.

Integrative healing is the primary principle of treatment at Enlightened Recovery Solutions. Our mind, body, spirit approach brings together the best of clinical therapy, holistic healing, and twelve step philosophy. For information on our partial care programs for addiction, alcoholism, and dual diagnosis issues, call us today at 833-801-5483.