Ajna Chakra, Chakras contd...

Ajna, meaning "command") or third-eye Chakra is the sixth primary chakra according to Hindu tradition. The Ajna chakra is located in the pituitary gland, directly behind the center of the forehead. Its kshetram, or superficial activation site, is between the eyebrows at the position of the "third eye.”^] The deity Ardhanarishvara/Hakini. Ajna translates as "command", and is considered the eye of intuition and intellect. When something is seen in the mind's eye, or in a dream, it is being seen by Ajna. It is a bridge that links gurus with disciples, allowing mind communication to occur between two people. The sense organ and action organ associated with Ajna is the mind. As Hindus believe that spiritual energy from the environment enters their body through this gateway, they take great care to protect it with spiritually positive protecting forces. The various religious marks on the foreheads of men and women belonging to the Hindu faith (like holy ash, namam, vermilion etc.) are the blessed spiritual prasadam of their respective forms of the Hindu gods. Meditation upon Ajna supposedly grants siddhis, or occult powers, to quickly enter another body at will and to become omniscient. He realizes unity with Brahman; and he has the ability to create, preserve, and destroy the three worlds. Ajna is associated with the third eye on the forehead. It is also sometimes associated with the pineal gland, which regulates the circadian rhythm, and is related to an actual light-sensitive 'third eye' (Parietal eye) found in some lizards, amphibians, and fish. It is also sometimes associated with the pituitary gland, which is major endocrine glands. The ajna chakra is associated with light. The seed syllable is “OM”, or "Pranava Om," the supreme sound. The colour of this chakra is Indigo/Purple.

As you work with ajna, you may want to see the third eye as access to a cosmic vision, illuminating everything as it is without the filter of your past, your expectations, or your judgment. You can use your inner sense to ask for guidance to make the right decisions. Taking into account your mind, intellect, and ego, you are now including your soul in the decision making process. Just as you turned to the third chakra in the area of the solar plexus to guide you with comfort or discomfort, you will pay attention to a hunch or a subtle feeling of moving forward or holding back. If you are conflicted, ask for your sense of intuition to be opened to you in order to help you make the right choice.

When your Ajna is in balance with your other chakras, you will begin opening up to Universal Knowledge and truly understand that you are the Creator in your Reality! You will experience higher states of consciousness, allowing you to astral travel, have out of body experiences, and receive messages from your Spirit Guides, Angels and other Enlightened Beings. You will be very intuitive, have a great memory, and will be able to learn without a problem. If you have an over active third eye you may experience stress accompanied by frequent headaches that happen in the forehead or temples. You may become delusional and create circumstances in your mind that are not really happening (a mental disease). An individual with over-activity in this chakra may also tend to be judgmental, unsympathetic or over-intellectual in their thinking. If your third eye is under active you will probably have difficulty in understanding the spiritual side of the world and the connection between your inner and outer reality. You may lack empathy for the people in your life, lack common sense, or intuition. Memory and learning can be affected if the third eye is not balanced. Brain cysts, tumors, strokes, blindness, deafness, seizures, insomnia, learning disabilities, spinal dysfunction, panic, depression, addiction, migraines, headaches, dizziness, nausea, sinus problems, ear aches, hormonal imbalance and equilibrium dysfunction. There are many ways one can begin to balance their Chakras, below you will find several useful methods, and a video that includes sound, colour and positive affirmations that pertain to the Ajna!

Energy healing like Reki and IET can clear this chakra and balance it and by regular practice of meditations on the seed chant/beeja mantra or on colour Indigo/Purple or on light which is the element of this chakra the balance can be maintained. Following yogasanas and pranayamas can help in maintain the balance third eye chakra.Balasana, Garudasana, Trataka, wide-leg Balasana, Upavista Konasana (wide leg forward fold), Yoga Mudra or Maha Mudra, as well as Halasana (plow), and poses that create more focus and balance, such as Vrikshasana (tree pose), Virabhadrasana 3 (warrior 3), and Natarajasana (king dancer pose).Pranayama that is beneficial for the ajna chakra include bhastrika, nadi sodhana and simhasana (lion’s breath). Kapalabhati is a helpful kriya and bandhas that aid the 6th chakra include jalandhara bandha and mala bandha. Do not start any yoga practice without your doctor’s consent if you have any medical condition and do not go about activating any chakras without the guidance of a guru who has done this already. Activating any chakra without supervision of a proper guru may lead to serious hospitalization. The practices of clearing and balancing this chakra can be enhanced by the use of a one or more following crystals: Purple fluorite, sugilite, lapis luzuli, amethyst, aquamarine, clear quartz, lolite, azurite, angelite, sodalite, aqua aura crystal, blue aventurine, dumortierite, axinite, chiastolite, blue argonite, cacoxenite, lazulite, merlinite, Ulexite, blue tourmaline, phenacite, stilbite.

Try this meditation and see how you feel:

Sources: Wikipedia, chopra.com, .oneworldhealing.net, whitecrowyoga.com, Image: iloveulove.com, video: Youtube.com