The Brow Chakra

Ajna

“I SEE”

The brow chakra, or ajna in Sanskrit, is the sixth primary chakra. Located between your eyebrows, it is also referred to as the third eye chakra. The brow chakra is associated with intuition, intellect, imagination and visualisation. It is linked to the pituitary gland – also known as the “master gland” because it controls most of the other glands. It vibrates at a frequency akin to the colour indigo.
Brow Chakra Balance

The brow chakra is the centre for intuition, thought and clairvoyance. Seeing the big picture can be attributed to the third eye, so opening this chakra is essential to improve your worldview. You’ve probably heard of “the sixth sense” – another term for the third eye chakra. This chakra allows you to see more than just what is in front of you.

Balanced – If you have a well-balanced brow chakra you will concentrate, think and see clearly. You will have a heightened ability to visualise, imagine and intellectualise. You will trust your intuition and understand that it comes from a real and important source. Others view you as wise and perceptive.

Under-active – If you lack energy in ajna you may experience difficulty understanding spirituality; poor memory; decreased imagination; a lack of empathy; fatigue; mood disorders; an ability to express yourself; physical symptoms like migraines, headaches, dizziness, hormone imbalance and brain problems.

Over-active – A overabundance of energy in the brow manifests as high stress levels; delusions; over-intellectualising; obsessive thoughts; inability to concentrate; nightmares; addiction; mood disorders; physical symptoms like migraines, headaches, dizziness, hormone imbalance and brain problems.

Energy imbalances in the third eye chakra can be repaired

by utilising foods, crystals, scents, meditation and yoga poses specifically for ajna.

Foods for Brow Chakra

Eat intuitively. Oftentimes you know instinctively what foods your body needs. That said, there are also some foods that specifically activate the third eye chakra:

•  Dark chocolate – not that you need a reason!
• Spices help wake up your senses
• Berries – blueberries, blackberries, raspberries etc.

Crystals for Brow Chakra

Amethyst photo by Ben Sutherland

Crystals can be used in meditation, placed around the room for ambience, worn as jewellery or carried in your pocket. Even if you don’t believe in the healing powers of crystals, they can still act as helpful reminders to cultivate the certain feelings and behaviours.

Purple and dark blue stones open and balance the brow chakra. Excellent choices are amethyst, sodalite, lapis lazuli, purple fluorite and indigo kyanite.

High frequency crystals like clear quartz, celestite, moldavite and azeztulite are also great.

Scents for Brow Chakra

Burning incense or essential oils is a lovely, subtle way to balance and heal your body’s energies. Ajna responds well to jasmine, lavender, rosemary, clary sage, patchouli and juniper.

Meditation for Brow Chakra

Meditation is the best thing you can do to clear and activate your third eye chakra.

The visualisation meditation begins like the meditation for the root chakra, sacral chakra, solar plexus chakra, heart chakra and throat chakra, as it is essential to ground yourself in the lower chakras before moving up to higher chakras. As the visualisation becomes lengthier, you might like to meditate along to a recording of yourself reading the meditation aloud.

Enhance your meditation by playing some relaxing music like this anja track by aaditya.

Visualise a ball of bright white light illuminating your whole body.
See that ball of white light move down to the base of your spine (root chakra) and turn red.
Imagine roots growing from the root chakra deep into the earth.
Bathe in the red glow and feel yourself connecting with the earth, grounding yourself.

Bring the ball of light up slightly to sit in your lower abdomen (your sacral chakra) as it changes from red to orange.
Visualise your whole body becoming imbued with this soft orange glow.
Feel the orange ball open up your hips, thereby releasing emotional trauma.
See the sacral chakra as already balanced – see it how you would like it to be.
Rest in the orange energy for a little while.

Visualise the ball of light moving further up your spine, coming to rest between your navel and solar plexus (solar plexus chakra) as it changes from orange to yellow.
Surround yourself with activating, fiery yellow light.
Imagine the person you want to be in life standing in front of you – think about your deep personal ambitions, dreams and goals.
Step into your desired self.
This is you on a fundamental level, you can be this person.
Rest in the yellow energy for a while.

Visualise the ball of light moving up into your chest (heart chakra), slowly changing from yellow to green.
Imagine the green light encapsulating your entire body.
The light feels soft and warm, like a loving embrace.
Let the colour green infiltrate all your senses. How does green smell? Maybe like the forest or freshly baked apples… How does green taste?
Feel the ball of green light fill your heart with unconditional love.
Feel your heart become so full that it overflows and love spills out all around you.
Rest in the green light for a moment.

Now see that ball of light rise up into your throat (throat chakra) as it changes colour from green to blue.
Smell the fresh sea air and surround yourself with azure hues.
Feel the calming presence of the colour blue.
Notice how freely your breath flows through your throat.
Your breathing requires neither too much or too little control.
Now imagine your words doing the same, flowing naturally from you like an exhalation.
Sit serenely, enjoying the gentle, calm blue all around you.

Visualise the ball of light moving up to the space between your eyebrows (third eye chakra) as it gradually changes from blue to indigo.
Indigo is made up of red, green and blue – so take a moment to recall how those colours feel.
Feel the indigo light fill your skull, as it clears out negative thought patterns everywhere it goes.
Imagine all your stressful thoughts dissolving.
Be patient with yourself as this might take a while. [Pause]
Your mind feels clear and light now.
Let your thoughts come to you naturally. Don’t look for them; they will find you.
Bathe in the indigo light and listen to your intuition.

Image courtesy of Priya Saihgal

Mantra chanting of the third eye chakra’s word “Aum” (pronounced ohm) resonates with ajna.

Affirm the desired qualities of ajna. Try saying out loud:
“I am in tune with my vision and seek to create it in the world.”
“I open myself to know my deep inner wisdom and guidance.”
“I see the best in all people and things – including myself.”

… or creative another positive affirmation of some brow chakra aspect you feel you need to balance. Only you can know which affirmations are suitable for you.

Do you find formal meditation difficult?

Put on some relaxing music without lyrics. Simply sit or lie down (on a couch or bed if that is more comfortable) and close your eyes. Thoughts will come and go, but try not to latch onto them. Simply let your thoughts drift by and try to focus on the third eye chakra.

That is essentially all there is to meditation! It’s not so hard…

Image courtesy of arztsamui / freedigitalphotos.net

Yoga Poses for Brow Chakra

To heal the third eye chakra, utilise yoga poses with forward bends. Try out child’s pose, half forward bend and forward bend.

For detailed instructions on how to do these poses check out this Yoga Paws post.

See For Yourself

With some effort on your part – like daily meditation – you can bring yourself in line with your intuition, guidance and inner-knowing. You know a lot more than you think you do. You may be surprised to find that, when you stop thinking so hard about things – the answer will appear to you. Trust your inner-knowledge and find your personal wisdom.