Chakras are the seven energy centres that connect from the base of the spine all the way up to the top of the head. More information on their psychological and physical connections is covered in moo energy.

Colour is used to represent each chakra and therefore balancing our chakra system using colour therapy, colour meditation or associated crystals at the chakra centres can help us restore the natural functions of the body at each level.

base chakra: the colour associated with the base chakra is red, and the crystals often used to help balance this chakra are garnet, jasper or ruby.

sacral chakra: the colour associated with the sacral chakra is orange, and the crystals often used to help balance this chakra are carnelian, orange calcite, dark citrine and topaz.

solar plexus chakra: yellow is the associated colour with the solar plexus chakra, and the best crystals to use for balancing are amber, rutilated quartz, tigers eye, citrine quartz and iron pyrites.

heart chakra: the colour associated with this chakra is green and the best crystals to use when balancing are green adventurine, malachite, bloodstone, moss agate, peridot and emerald.

throat chakra: blue is the colour associated with the throat chakra and the best crystals to use are turquoise, aquamarine, blue lace agate, celestine and sapphire.

brow chakra: the colour associated with this chakra is indigo, and the crystals that can aid balancing are lapis lazuli, sapphire, sodalite, kyanite and azurite.

crown chakra: the colour associated with the crown chakra is violet and the best crystals to use when balancing this chakra are amethyst, fluorite, sugilite, iolite and kunzite.

Chakra meditation uses the visualisation of colours and the image of a turning wheel to help re balance the chakras. Firstly before you start have the notion of cogs in your mind, as one turns one way the other turns another. One theory is that the chakras motion work like cogs and in order to balance them they all need to work in unison.

Sit in a comfortable position, or lie down and close your eyes. Notice your breathing, and allow yourself to relax. Now bring your attention to the base chakra at the base of the spine and think of a red vortex of energy channelling through turning the energy wheel in one direction (it does not matter which direction you choose). As it continues to turn bring your attention up the sacral chakra and focus an energy stream of orange to turn this chakra in the opposite way (like cogs), continue bringing your attention to each chakra in turn: solar plexus with yellow energy, heart chakra with green, throat chakra with blue energy, brow chakra with indigo energy and crown chakra finally with violet energy. Allow then the universal white light to stream through the chakra system from crown down to root connecting them all. When you feel that all centres are turning sufficiently, bring your attention back to your environment and open your eyes. In addition to this meditation you can use the crystals at the same time to intensify the affect.

Using colour in this way to help heal ourselves is one step to finding your innermoo. If you feel unable to do this on your own then look through the links section for more information on colour therapists and healers.