Crash Course in Chakras with Joan Varini

Ella Dufrene, the artist behind our Chakra Collection

Joan Varini is an absolutely amazing yoga teacher, healer, and overall holistic badass that I was fortunate enough to study under during one of my 200-hr yoga teacher trainings. I consider her to be one of the leading authorities in the energetic yoga world so I was thrilled when she agreed to share some of her knowledge about the chakras (this is pure gold folks)! Absolutely my new go-to resource for all things Chakras.

Tell us a little about yourself and your qualifications.

I have been meditating and practicing yoga for over 25 years. I study many different disciplines, healing modalities and spiritual philosophies. I lead workshops and one-on-one sessions centered around the practice of releasing physiological and emotional blockages by witnessing the inner recesses of the mind through the guidance of the heart. Having taught yoga full time for 11 years I am a 500 hr. E-RYT and I continue my studies with my current teacher Will Duprey.

My skill set is based on a long-standing study of yoga and many other techniques in healing arts including: energetic healing, Thai massage, channeling and Akashic reading, Chakra balancing, Body Talk, guided visualization and regression therapy and spiritual counseling.

As the founder of Sun Warrior Yoga, I am an inspirational speaker, teacher, healer and offer a wide array of group and private classes and workshops and I lead Yoga Teacher Trainings. Through my company, Sun Warrior Yoga Retreats, I also guide yoga and meditation retreats abroad.

My main goal in teaching and therapy is to help people see and love their authentic selves. I believe that from a space of honest introspection and self-acceptance we can experience the loving creative connection that unites and brings us to the source of everything.

What are Chakras?

The body is just oscillating fields of light and sound. Within these fields, the Chakras are vehicles of consciousness that process the vibrations as they flow in and out.

We are unique beings composed of the visible and invisible: the material self and the energy body or spirit self. In our society, we tend to ignore the invisible in favor of the visible. This is one of the reasons for the delusion that there is a chasm between our inner and outer selves. Diseases, such as low self-esteem, childhood trauma, sexual dysfunction, addictions, relationship and money problems, come from the disconnection between the material and spiritual selves.

The Chakras are dimensional portals within the subtle bodies that regulate the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of our being. They act as a nexus for our body, mind and soul. Through physical, psychic (relating to the soul or mind) and intuitive communication, the Chakras take in and process energy (vibration) which is used to transform the physical body. All of our energy centers contain clues to everything that affects us.

We are beings of light and we see this through the Chakras. The Chakras vibrate according to the spectrum of color. Each color has its own vibration. Red has the longest wavelength and the slowest frequency. Violet is the highest and fastest energy color.

Understanding the Chakras is perceiving the cosmic universal flow. Through discerning the language of your Chakras, you gain an effective tool for holistic healing in mind, body and spirit.

How many do we have?

There are 7 major Chakras that we mostly focus on but we also have minor Chakras that help to regulate and connect the 72,000 Nadis or energy channels that run through the body.

Where are they located and what are they associated with?

The 7 main Chakras are located along the spine starting with the root Chakra at the base of the spine and extending to the crown Chakra which resides above the head.

Chakra comes from the Sanskrit word, wheel. Like a wheel, a chakra is a vortex that spins in a circular motion within the body and extending, cone-like, far beyond the body. Each Chakra also radiates an energy or vibration which governs a major organ or gland and is connected to other body parts that resonate at the same frequency.

How can we tell if we have an energy block?

When you have balanced Chakras you have health, vitality, clarity and motivation. A Chakra may come out of balance when it is overactive, underactive, congested or blocked. This is almost always felt on a mental, emotional and/or physical level.

The Chakras are like electrical transformers. They interpret the subtle energies into physical and vice versa. This is why a thought pattern can eventually express itself in a physical form. This also explains gut impressions. Through the receiving mechanism of the Chakras via our auric field, we are constantly sending and receiving energetic information about our surroundings. Now if we are relatively balanced, our auric field is strong and we are not deeply affected but if we are out of balance, spiritually sensitive or emphatic we are more susceptible to the influences of our external world.

Through understanding the language of our chakras we can detect blockages. The Chakras speak through our emotions, physical symptoms and our thoughts. For example if you have a sore throat, you can ask yourself,

what are you refusing to communicate or are you being overly communicative in a way that is not welcome. Are you refusing to express your truth or are you being a bully?

The communication of the Chakras is multilayered and takes time to unravel but it is one of the most immediately accessible methods of understanding the cues of the subtle energy body.

What can we do to unblock and balance our chakras?

Once you learn how to listen to your Chakras you can heal through the Chakras energy system. Because the Chakras influence our entire being there are virtually unlimited ways to balance them. If you detect an imbalance, illness, injury or the Chakra that is being affected, the key is to find a way to heal that resonates with you. If I suggest chanting mantra or doing yoga to someone who doesn’t resonate with these healing modalities it won’t be as effective as choosing a method that the individual is willing to wholeheartedly engage in.

The Chakra energy system is a well known and thoroughly researched aspects of the subtle body. I encourage you to do your own research by exploring your subtle awareness through the guidance of a teacher, meditation and your own basic written and personal experiential experimentation.

Our mind body spirit complex has many methods of communication and perhaps the Chakras resonates with you and maybe they don’t, and that’s ok. Personally I intuitively feel and comprehend the Chakras and use them regularly as one of my primary methods of assessment and healing.

7. How can we schedule a session with you?

You can contact me through email at joanvarini@gmail.com. Feel free to learn more about me and what I offer by visiting my website: sunwarrioryoga.com and please follow me on I.G. @sunwarrioryoga and FB Sun Warrior Yoga.

Is there anything else you think is important and would like to share.

We are fascinating multi-dimensional beings. Become your own best friend. Rely on your most powerful teacher and ally, your higher self. And stop looking outside of yourself for answers on who you are supposed to be and how you are supposed to perceive. All the answers are within you. Take the leap into the limitless uniquely powerful landscape that is your authentic inner you. It’s the only journey truly worth taking and it is the bridge to understanding and unifying with all of creation.

Joan Varini, Holistic Badass