The Crown Chakra, or Sahasrara, is located at the very top of the head and it is through this chakra that we connect with not just higher realms, but with the greater universe and humanity. It is our mental and spiritual energy and is connected to our pineal gland, the fabled gland with which we ‘see’ with our inner eye. Our seventh and final chakra, is holds a special relationship with our first chakra, the root chakra.
‘As Above, So Below’
What affects us in Sahasrara will also affect us physically. This is the relationship between our Crown and Root Chakras. If we are not doing well mentally, spiritually or emotionally, we can see illnesses develop in our physical bodies. When we see someone with a physical illness and their mental strength, or their ‘spirit’ is down, this is the connection between the root and crown chakras. Conversely, when we observe someone who is high in spirit but ill, the odds are that they will get better because their ‘spirit’ is up. This is why is is important to work through all our chakras, ensuring that our energy is flowing and smooth across all our states – mental, physical, emotional, spiritual and physical.
Our Crown chakra connects us with the Divine Creator. When we experience this chakra, we understand that there is no separation between us and the Divine, or between us and anything else. We are all connected and we are all aspects of the a higher spiritual truth. We must take care that we do not experience this chakra on an intellectual level – it is not the chakra where we logically deduce and arrive at a conclusion. The experience of this chakra is simply a state of peace or of knowing without having to logically analyse it with our mind. This state of knowing that we are all one (i.e. non-duality) is called Nirvikalpa Samādhi.
Beyond this chakra is the Akasha – the ‘field’ where all things simply are.
We can give and receive energy via our Crown Chakra. It is (one of) the places where our physical body connects with and is part of the greater whole. A kind of meeting point between that which is mortal and finite (our body) and that which is immortal and infinite (our spirit, energy). It is said that all our other chakras derive from the Crown chakra.
In Sanskrit, the Crown Chakra is depicted as a thousand white petal flower ( Sahasrara ~ ‘thousand fold’) and the colours are usually white or violet. We ‘feel’ our Crown Chakra mostly in our eyes and cerebrum (the front part of the brain). The petals are arranged in layers of 20, 50 petals per layer. A circular mooon is located in the center surrounded by a triangle which can be depicted facing up or down.
When this chakra is over active, we become obsessed with spirituality or we neglect our other functions in life – like earning a paycheck! When Sahasrana is underactive or blocked, we fail to live spiritually and probably go through life with not much meaning to our actions – we just go through the routine. Physically, we can suffer from headaches, confusion, forgetfulness and mental illness.
When we go through the process of awakening our kundalini, it is the Crown chakra that can prove to be illusive and sublime. If our Crown chakra is clean and open, we experience divine love, union and understanding.
Yoga asanas related to the Crown chakra include Sitting Mountain, Dancers Pose and inverted poses.