Spiritual practice is supposed to bring you closer to yourself. But sometimes, without meaning to, it becomes a very sophisticated way to leave.

If you can spot other people's needs from a mile away but draw a total blank when someone asks what you want, you might be living in a fawn response.

Myth Busting: Chakras

If you have ever felt completely stuck in your own life, not sad exactly, not anxious exactly, just stuck, foggy, and strangely far away from everything, you have met the freeze response. And nine times out of ten, it is showing up right alongside a blocked root chakra.

You already know your chakras. You have probably spent years learning what each one governs, what it feels like when one is blocked, and how to clear it with meditation, affirmations, or a good Reiki session.

While the Soul Star connects you to your individual soul's purpose and history, the Stellar Gateway connects you to something far larger: cosmic consciousness, galactic energies, universal wisdom, and what many traditions describe as the Source itself.

The Soul Star Chakra: Your Direct Line to the Divine About six inches above the top of your head, hovering in the space above your crown, is the Soul Star Chakra. Also known as the 8th Chakra or Sutara, this is often described as the 'seat of the soul,' which is either the most beautiful phrase in spiritual vocabulary or the kind of thing that sounds impossibly woo until you actually feel it. Where the crown chakra opens you to divine connection in a general, receptive way,

The Zeal Point Chakra: The Hidden Gateway. Also known as the Mouth of God, the Well of Dreams, or the Alta Major Chakra

Behind your head, floating about three to four inches behind the back of your skull, is a chakra that most energy healing traditions barely mention: the Causal Chakra.

The regular heart chakra governs love, connection, and compassion in the interpersonal sense. But the Higher Heart takes all of that and elevates it into divine love.

Chakra Check-In: A Full-Body Tune-Up

Most people know the root chakra as the grounding chakra, and it absolutely is. But here is something the mainstream chakra world does not always mention: there is another chakra below the root. Way below it. About twelve to eighteen inches below your feet, hovering in the earth beneath you, is the Earth Star Chakra

At the very top of your head lives the crown chakra, known as Sahasrara in Sanskrit, which translates beautifully to 'thousand-petaled lotus.' This is your highest chakra, your connection to universal consciousness, divine wisdom, and the awareness that you are part of something infinitely greater than your individual self.

The third eye chakra, or Ajna in Sanskrit, sits in the center of your forehead just between and slightly above your eyebrows. This is the chakra of intuition, inner wisdom, vision, clarity, and your connection to the deeper knowing that lives beneath logic and analysis.

The throat chakra, or Vishuddha in Sanskrit, is located at the center of your throat and is all about authentic expression, clear communication, and the courage to actually say what is true for you. It governs how you speak your truth, set boundaries, ask for what you need, and share yourself with the world in your most genuine form.

The heart chakra, known as Anahata in Sanskrit, sits right at the center of your chest and is the bridge between the lower chakras of the physical world and the upper chakras of the spiritual realm.

Meet your solar plexus chakra, or Manipura, which lives just above your navel and is essentially your inner powerhouse. This is the chakra of personal power, confidence, will, self-worth, and that unmistakable feeling of knowing who you are and what you stand for.

Let's talk about the sacral chakra, also known as Svadhisthana, which sits just below your belly button and is basically the life of the party in your energy body.

If life has been feeling like you are running on empty, constantly anxious about money, safety, or just your basic survival needs, your root chakra might be calling for some attention.

There are many different ways to practice a chakra balancing meditation.