Thought-for-Food: Mindfulness Snacks

This section is designed for those of us who love the idea of meditation and recognize its benefits, but don’t always do it with consistency. Made up of mostly thought-provoking essays and creative visualizations/exercises, the following self-care snacks will nourish your chakras and calm your psyche.

Just say NO!

I implore you to just say no to toxic positivity, that oppressive, positive outlook paradigm that can keeps our chakras clogged and our spirits dimmer than they can be. I’m all for positive thinking and manifesting a better tomorrow, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. Life is messy. We’re not supposed to be happy all the time. Toxic positivity is a default position that we’re taught (mostly women), which detours emotional energy toward unfounded positivity, often derailing our chances to recognize, reflect, and resolve our most challenging emotions and experiences. Since we carry our feelings and our traumas in our bodies, they unresolved issues often clog up our energy fields and tarnish our inner shininess. These thought-for-food mindfulness snacks are meant to help you uncover, embrace, and release the stuff that’s blocking your chakras so you can bask in your own radiance.

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The Power of the Chakras:

  1. Root Chakra (Red - Muladhara) - Be Here Now. When you return to the present moment, you ground yourself in the here and now, ramp up your survival instincts, and power-up your presence.

  2. Sacral Chakra (Orange - Svadisthana) - Create Your Flow. Creative energy is as essential to life as the blood flowing through our bodies. Everyone needs a creative flow. Even if you’re not artistic, creative flow helps with problem-solving and enhances adventures.

  3. Solar Plexus Chakra (Yellow - Manipura) - Empower Positive Change. Gaining access to your personal power will help you jumpstart the changes you want to make in your life and will deepen your relationships.

  4. Heart Chakra (Green - Anahata) - Open Your Heart. This chakra is especially important because it’d the center of your body and the midpoint between your lower chakras and your upper chakras. Love is the engine for everything. An open heart lets in love from others and lets out the love from yourself.

  5. Throat Chakra (Light Blue/Aqua - Vishuddha) - Express Your Truth. You can speak your truth, dance your truth, sing, sculpt, or act your truth. This freedom of expression is often blocked in many cultures, especially for women. Celebrating your ability to express yourself is essential for your health and helps those without the freedom to safely speak up.

  6. Third Eye Chakra (Dark Blue/Indigo - Ajna) - Seek Wisdom. Embrace Awe. There is so much inner wisdom inside of each of us. We just need to quiet the unnecessary noise and tune into our intuition. Just the impulse to seek wisdom can invite wisdom to reveal answers to your most important questions.

  7. Crown Chakra (Purple/White - Sahasrara) - Connect with Compassion. When you want to experience compassion for yourself and for others, then connect to your highest chakra, which is the gateway to a higher Source of love and divinity. You don’t need to be a religious person to benefit from the opening to a more divine energy.