I cannot talk about Avatar the Last Airbender and not talk about Charkas. I was introduced to the Chakra system through ATLA when I was in 8th grade. I am not sure how my high school experience would have looked without my Chakra meditation practices following the steps laid out in this show.
Chakras are very important in keeping a balanced life. There are 7 of them, and each one is paired with a color of the rainbow. While reading the history of Charkas, I learned that the color association is kind of a new thing to the Chakra lore. However, similar to crystals, I believe that over time giving them a color allows the mind to focus easier on how to balance each Chakra. Now it is a widespread agreement that these colors are associated with a specific chakra.
I’ll let Avatar the Last Airbender explain the basics of each Chakra as well as how to balance them. Fun fact that I just realized, as I rewatched the video, is that each little vision Aang has is the associated color for each of the Chakra:
While ATLA does not use the real names, it does explain each Chakra with how it is balanced. The Chakras in order from bottom to top are Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus, Heart, Throat, Third Eye, and Crown. Chakras are broken down into two categories, the physical and the spiritual Chakras. The Heart Chakra is the bridge between these two groupings, and it is why it can be both.
There are plenty of other sources online to explain what each Charka is and how it impacts our lives when it is not balanced so I will not do that here. However, I will explain how it helped my life. During high school, any time that I felt unbalanced or depressed, I used the ATLA description of balancing each Chakra to help me reclaim my balance.
I would sit and in my mind play the part of both Aang and Guru Pathik. For example, to balance the root Chakra, I’d ask myself as Guru Pathik, ‘what are you afraid of?’. If I would respond as Aang ‘being alone.’, then I’d respond back to myself as Guru Pathik, ‘You are not seeing the clear picture. You are not alone, you have a loving family, and people that care about you.’ By doing this practice, I’d be able to talk myself out of my fears.
Nowadays, I recognize my internal Guru Pathik as my higher self. I think we are all able to unlock this internal connection to help guide us to rationally think through our perceived issues. There is no better teacher than the one that is deep inside of us. Ultimately, it does not matter what is said or taught externally. If we do not internally accept other’s ideas or practices to better ourselves, we will never truly learn it. I think Chakras are a great way to look at ourselves critically and truly question how we can feel more at one with ourselves.
