The Chakra System ~ A Basic Overview of Your Energy Center

Last Updated on June 5, 2025 by Linda Dieffenbach

By Linda Dieffenbach, BSW, RMT

Your chakra system plays a vital role in your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being. From your mood to your immune response, your energy system influences every part of your experience. Gaining a deeper understanding of your chakras is a powerful step toward healing, balance, and self-awareness.

Understanding Chakras and the Energy System

Chakras are energy centers located throughout the body. They manage the flow of subtle energy—also known as life force, prana, or chi—in and out of the body. Each chakra is cone-shaped and extends from the front and back of the body. The seven primary chakras are located along the spinal column, starting at the base of the spine and ending at the top of the skull.

When functioning properly, chakras open and close in a spiral or circular motion, emitting and receiving energy. If there are energies—such as circumstances, emotions, or interactions—you are not open to receiving, your chakra(s) may close to filter that energy out. Similarly, if you do not wish to connect with another person, situation, or environment, the same may occur. When you feel safe and open to give or receive energy, your chakras naturally open.

For example, when you are feeling love or compassion and are open to connection, the heart chakra opens to allow that energy to flow between you and another person. In a healthy energetic system, the chakras are free to open and close as needed and act as filters to support your well-being in response to the world around you. It’s important to note that this process often occurs below conscious awareness, guided by deeper levels of your consciousness—including subconscious trauma responses and energetic imprints—not just your thoughts, actions, or intentions.

Chakras as Gateways to Consciousness

Each chakra is connected to specific life themes, patterns, and developmental stages. They reflect how we process, express, and respond to different areas of life.

When we experience unresolved conflict or trauma, the affected chakras may become overactive, depleted, congested, or shut down. These imbalances can impact your emotional state, mental clarity, physical health, and spiritual connection. Because the chakras are interconnected, dysfunction in one area can disrupt the flow of energy in others.

In the body, this disruption may contribute to stress, imbalance, or even illness in the areas associated with those chakras. Energetic imprints stored in the chakras can also influence the way you think, act, and relate to others and the world around you.

The Importance of Maintaining Chakra Health

The health and function of each chakra is closely tied to your overall state of consciousness. A clear, vibrant chakra reflects harmony, growth, and the ability to navigate life’s themes in that area. A congested, depleted, or closed chakra can signal conflict, suppression, or unresolved trauma connected to the life experiences it governs.

Any acute or chronic chakra imbalance represents an incomplete, conflicted, suppressed, or unintegrated life experience. When left unaddressed, these imbalances can deplete your energy and impact your overall vitality.

Caring for your chakra system is an essential part of holistic well-being. Practices such as grounding, energy clearing, chakra healing, breathwork, and intuitive self-care support the health and flow of your chakras. Regular attention to your energetic health—whether through personal practice or working with a trained practitioner—can support healing, resilience, and empowered self-expression.

Tending to your energy system is an act of self-care that deepens your relationship with yourself and others.

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To explore each chakra in more detail and learn how they influence your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being, visit How the 7 Chakras Affect Your Health.

 

About Linda Dieffenbach, BSW, RMT

Linda Dieffenbach is a trauma-informed energy healing practitioner, intuitive coach, and founder of Wellness in Harmony, LLC. With nearly 20 years of experience, she guides clients through deep transformation, helping them break free from limiting patterns and reclaim their personal power. Her expertise includes chakra healing, trauma awareness, relationship dynamics, intuitive development, and somatic and energetic healing.

To learn more about Linda, click here. 

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