Everything You Need to Know About Reiki

If you’re reading this blog post, you’ve probably heard of Reiki. Maybe you’ve received a Reiki session, or love Reiki and are thinking about starting a Reiki certification.

I’m a Reiki Master, and I often find that even people who have received Reiki before don’t really know much about it. In this blog post, I’ll be explaining what Reiki is, the history of Reiki, the benefits of Reiki, what you might experience with Reiki, and how to weave Reiki into your ritual and spellwork practice.

WHAT IS ENERGY?

I’d like to start with energy. Reiki is energy healing and energy is a huge buzzword these days — but what is energy?

Everything is energy. This is something science has proven time and time again. Your table, your body, an orange, a tree, sound — our senses don’t detect the energetic movements of things like oranges and tables because they vibrate slowly and at a low frequency, but they’re still made up of energy.

We are all made up of energy. There is only one tiny basic unit that connects everything and makes up all of us.

WHAT IS REIKI?

Now that you know what energy is, what is Reiki? Reiki is a specific kind of energy work. It’s an energy healing modality that was channeled by Dr. Mikao Usui in Japan, which I’ll get into more detail about below.

The word Reiki itself means “Universal Energy.” It’s Universal Energy, spiritual energy, the energy of oneness, that can be channeled from one human being to another to facilitate healing.

Reiki has its own intelligence. You don’t have to be special to give Reiki, which is one of the things I love about it. We all have this energy within us--it simply gets awakened through a process called a Reiki attunement.

Learn more about different types of energy work here.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF REIKI

As I mentioned above, Reiki was channeled by Dr. Mikao Usui. He was born in 1865 in a little village in the mountains of southern Japan into a well-off Buddhist family and was always interested in healing. Later in life, he became a Buddhist monk and lived in a monastery but was still looking for something.

Dr. Usui wanted to find a method of healing that was unattached to any specific religion, accessible to everyone.

So he isolated himself on Mount Kurama fasting, meditating, and praying. After 21 days, he felt an awakening. A vision of light, a feeling of complete peace and oneness, and he saw the ancient symbols that helped him create the Usui Reiki system of healing.

He quickly came down from the mountain and moved back to Tokyo where he established a healing Reiki clinic and school there (around 1922). He wanted to help as many people as possible, so he taught several Reiki Masters, making sure Reiki wouldn’t be forgotten.

Those Reiki Masters trained some other Reiki masters, who further refined the attunement process and the hand positions used. In 1935 one of those Reiki Masters, Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, trained a Japanese American woman who originally came to him for healing, Hawayo Takata.

Hawayo Takata is the person who brought Reiki to the US. She returned home and spread the system of healing to others here, attuning 22 Reiki masters before she died.

BENEFITS OF REIKI

Now that you know a bit about what Reiki is and where it comes from, what are the benefits of Reiki?

I have found over and over again that Reiki will give each individual whatever it is they need. Here is a non-exhaustive list of some of the benefits of Reiki from my experience and from my teachers:

• Relief of physical pain and discomfort

• Release of limiting belief systems

• Release of blocked energy and blocked emotions

• Reconnection to your highest self

• Reach a calmer, meditative state

• Become more present and enjoy your life more

• Open to your own self-healing power

• Feel lighter and more in balance

• Relax and reduce stress

• Calm the ego

• Connect you to who you really are

• Align with your higher calling and purpose

• Enhance your connection to spirit

• Open your intuitive channel

And more!

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT IN A REIKI SESSION?

You’ll typically receive a Reiki session laying down on a massage table, and you’ll always be fully clothed. Your practitioner will use a combination of hands-on gentle touch and hands-off (hovering).

Each individual’s experience of Reiki is unique, and there’s definitely no right or wrong way to experience Reiki. You might see color, words, and/or images. You might get intuitive hits, inspiration, and creative ideas. You might have an emotional release like crying afterwards, or the next day. Or maybe you just feel super relaxed. Maybe you fall asleep.

Personally, I often see color and get creative ideas and intuitive hits. I occasionally see images. I typically reach a calmer, more present, meditative state and deeply feel my connection with Source.

HOW TO WEAVE REIKI INTO YOUR RITUAL AND SPELLWORK PRACTICE

Attuned to Reiki? I love weaving Reiki into my ritual and spellwork practice, and you can do it, too! Here are some of my favorite ways to weave Reiki into my witchcraft:

• Using Reiki to clear and/or charge my magical tools

• Using Reiki in spellwork to charge my spell bag, candle, etc. with my intention

• Using Reiki to open my channel to receive messages from my guides and ancestors

There are so many different ways to work with Reiki once you’re attuned. Get creative and follow your intuition!

EXPLORE REIKI FURTHER

Want to learn more about Reiki? Two of my favorite books are The Art of Psychic Reiki by Lisa Campion and This Is Reiki by Frank Arjava Petter.

If you’ve received Reiki before and are thinking about learning Reiki for yourself, check out this article to help you choose a Reiki 1 training that’s a fit for you.

Your Spiritual Tool Box for Stress & Anxiety

Whether you’re in full-on crisis mode or wading through a stressful season of life, knowing which direction to turn for relief can feel overwhelming. A quick fix like reaching for a glass of wine or a shopping splurge might help now and then, but it’s not a long-term solution. What tools can you rely on to help keep your cool when things seem to be falling apart around you?

As a new mom to twins and a business owner, stress and anxiety have become part of my norm. Over the last year, I’ve had to put my spiritual tools to work like never before. I believe we all come to the Earth plane with an assortment of battles to accept and overcome to help our souls progress. We’re all fighting battles. The important part is how you walk through it.

Crisis often brings people to spirituality. I’m frequently asked, “ XYZ horrible thing has happened. Where do I begin?” Here are my top go-to tools that I turn to when life feels out of control.

1. Meditation & Mindfulness

Sit. Be still. Heal. When most people reach out to me asking how to ease stress and anxiety through their spiritual practice, they want a crystal suggestion to make everything OK. Sometimes, a crystal just won’t cut it and work better as an ancillary tool.

Meditation and mindfulness are at the top of my list because if you’re practicing them regularly, even five minutes a day, the rest of these tools will come easier.

Sitting in silence may feel incredibly uncomfortable, initially, if you’re going through a stressful season of life. If you haven’t given yourself a moment to process anything that’s happening in your life, of course, your mind is going to be running a mile a minute the moment you sit down.

During stressful times, I find it helpful to look at meditation as more of a time process and purge. Let all of the stuff that’s been running around in your mind run free. Permitting your thoughts to race around will allow you to process things you’ll otherwise keep cycling through over and over.

Once you’ve allowed your mind some time to run free with your worries, you might find a guided meditation helpful. I love all of the guided meditations from Meditation Oasis, and they have a wonderful selection of free meditations, including several specifically for stress and anxiety. You can also check out my Energy Reset Meditations Bundle and other guided meditations here.

Try meditating or sitting in silence for five to ten minutes a day for a week and see how you feel — having a hard time sticking to your meditation practice? Check out this blog post for ways to stick to it.

2. Body Awareness 

Your miraculous body does so much for you during times of stress! Taking time to become aware of your body offers the opportunity to tune into something other than your worries and can give your body a needed release. We store stress and anxiety all over our bodies but often don’t even notice it because we become so used to it. Try this body awareness exercise a few times a week if you’re in the midst of a stressful time.

To become more aware of your body sit or lie down and name each part of your body. Start at your toes and work your way up to the top of your head. You can do this by saying something like “I feel my left big toe” or “I breathe into my right thigh” etc. for each body part. Take a breath for each body part you go over and spend extra time on any parts that feel extra tense. You can make this activity as long or as short as you need. If your time is limited, try doing this activity in the shower or at a stoplight. Even little moments of body awareness can help.

Mudras are another great tool your body offers. Learn more about using mudras during times of stress here.

3. Breathwork

When we’re stuck in worry and fear, our breath often stays high in our chest. Short chest breaths signal to our body that there’s danger nearby. Directing your breath deep into your belly can help break the anxiety cycle and send messages to your body that it’s OK to relax. It also can take a little bit more focus to remember to breathe from your belly, which can give your mind a break too.

Deep belly breaths are a given if you’re meditating or practicing body awareness but can be an invaluable tool when you’re on the run. Running late and stuck in traffic? Have a screaming child in your arms? Whatever your stressor and wherever you’re at your breath is available to you. The hardest part about this tool is remembering that it’s available. You can learn more about breathwork here.

Remember how I said that meditation and mindfulness would help with all of the other tools? If you’re meditating regularly, even five minutes a day, the thought to take deep belly breaths may come to you more readily than if you’re not meditating.

4. Accept the imperfectness 

During times of stress and anxiety, it can be helpful, and sometimes necessary, to shift our expectations of ourselves. We so often compound our anxiety by placing pressure on ourselves to continue to perform at a near-perfect level even if we’re going through a stressful time. Warning, this one can feel the hardest because it often involves letting others see you in a vulnerable state.

Take an honest look at your week, what can you let go of to help you through this challenging time? Can you let go of cooking a few times and eat out? Can you call a friend or family member to ask for help with something you usually do for yourself? Can you take some time off from work to reset?Whether you choose to let some things go or are forced to, accept yourself and your life where it is in the moment, even if it doesn’t look the way you want it to right now. Accepting yourself where you’re at will let you off the hook from unnecessary self-imposed stress.

Working with a mantra can be helpful when working on acceptance. Find a list of mantras and learn more about using them here.

5. Crystals 

Even though crystals may not be a cure-all for working through stress and anxiety, they can still serve a purpose. I like to think of crystals as a physical reminder of the tools I do have during stressful times.

Grounding stones like jasper, obsidian, onyx and smoky quartz are great candidates when it comes to keeping calm during times of stress. Beyond the grounding energy these stones offer, keeping them nearby can remind you throughout your day that you do have tools to help you through times of stress.

For more tips to help you get grounded, check out this blog post all about the root chakra.

I hope these tips make you feel more supported and offer some relief if you’re facing a hard season of life. Know that it will pass and that The Universe wants nothing but the best for you. Your soul is here to learn and grow!

Heart-opening Yoga practice & breathwork to cultivate self-love

Every February, we’re reminded of the love that already exists within us. While there are so many different kinds of love in our lives, it all starts with us: from a place of deep self-love.

In this blog, I’ll be sharing a heart-opening yoga practice and a Kundalini breathwork meditation to help you cultivate self-love.

Kundalini Breathwork meditation

This Kundalini yoga breathwork meditation is said to help give strength to your heart and open up your heart center.

Find a comfortable seat and extend your arms straight out in front of you. You want them to be parallel to the mat with your palms facing down. Close your eyes and focus your inner gaze at the center of your chin. Start to take long, slow, deep breaths, holding your arms steady in front of you.

Hold this breathwork meditation for three minutes. Then, move into our asana practice below.

Yoga practice

This yoga practice is focused on heart-opening yoga poses because heart openers, like the name suggests, help balance and open your heart chakra. Your heart chakra is the center of giving and receiving love in your body. Opening this center helps open you up to a flow of unconditional love within and outside of yourself.

Heart bench

As someone with chronically tight shoulders, heart bench is my favorite restorative pose to start off a yoga practice. For this pose, you’ll need two yoga blocks. If you don’t have blocks, try getting creative with stacks of books or a rolled yoga mat under the shoulders.

You’ll take your first block at either its low or medium height and place it lengthwise along the spine between the shoulder blades, opening the heart. The second block will go under your head at whatever height supports a long neck and open throat.

Breathe into your heart space here, visualizing each inhale sending breath into the chest and each exhale softening, opening, and expanding your heart chakra. Stay here for 3-5 minutes, breathing deeply.

Half-pigeon variation

To transition out of your heart bench, lower all the way onto your back, bend your knees, and press your whole back into your mat. Feel your whole back grounding into the Earth, resetting the spine.

When you feel ready, cross your right ankle over the bottom of the left thigh (right under the knee). Then prop yourself up on your forearms and roll the shoulders back to open the heart as you energetically push your right knee away from you, stretching the hips. Spend a minute or two here, breathing deeply into the heart center, and then repeat on the other side.

Low lunge

Slowly find your way to downward-facing dog and pedal out the feet. When you feel ready, inhale to step your left leg forward. Lower the knee onto a mat or blanket, and create enough space in the hips so that you can really feel a stretch into your right hip flexor. Inhale to lift the arms overhead, bending back into a crescent lunge.

After a few breaths with this arm variation, stack your palms over your heart and breathe into your hands, keeping your back bending.

Stay here for ten more breaths, then repeat on the other side.

Mountain pose flow

From your lunge, step the back leg forward into a forward fold at the top of your mat. Hold opposite elbows to help pull your chest to your thighs and find a few breaths here.

When you feel complete, release your arms and inhale to a flat back, palms to shins or thighs. Exhale to fold forward. Inhale to roll all the way up to stand, reaching up and back. Exhale to fold all the way forward as you chant “YAM” (pronounced YUM), the bija mantra for the heart chakra.

Continue to flow with your breath for at least 10 complete cycles. Let yourself find a rhythm and find softness through the face, the knees, the heart, as you move.

Dancer’s pose

After your last exhale, hold in your favorite version of forward fold for a few more breaths. When you feel complete, inhale to roll up through your spine and find mountain pose with your arms at your sides.

Create a stable foundation by grounding down through your left foot, pressing into all four corners of the foot and through each of the toes. Bend your right knee and take the ankle into the right hand behind you. Inhale to lift your left arm over your head.

Feel free to stay here. If you’d like to go deeper, use your next exhale to slowly kick your right foot back and hinge forward at the hips, opening your heart and your right hip flexor. Stay here for at least 10 breaths. If you find yourself feeling unsteady or falling out of the pose, practice talking to yourself in a loving way and come back into the pose without judgment!

After ten breaths or whenever you feel ready, use an exhale to release everything back down and take the post to your other side.

Cobra pose or upward facing dog

From mountain pose at the top of your mat, fold forward, and step back to downward-facing dog. Inhale to shift forward to plank and exhale to either lower halfway or lower all the way onto the belly. Inhale to lift into cobra or upward facing dog. Stay here for a few breaths, rolling the shoulders back, pressing into the tops of the feet, and firming through the legs. After a few breaths, exhale to shift back to downward-facing dog.

Repeat this sequence one to three times, then stay in downward-facing dog for a few breaths.

Child’s pose

Inhale to lower your knees, and exhale to shift your hips back into your favorite variation of child’s pose. Let this child’s pose be a place of deep presence with yourself — with your breath, with any feelings or thoughts that are coming up to the surface. Practice speaking to yourself lovingly and tending to yourself with care. Stay here for about twenty breaths.

Cat/cow flow

From child’s pose, inhale to lift yourself into tabletop. Start to move through a cat/cow flow with your breath, using your inhale to lift your tailbone and open your heart, and your exhale to round through your spine and tuck your chin. Feel free to add in any other movements that feel good to you, like opening up through the sides of your body or incorporating hip circles.

Heart to Earth pose

When you feel complete in cat/cow, find your way back to a neutral spine. Start to walk your palms out in front of you, keeping your hips stacked over your knees, slowly lowering your chest and forehead all the way to your mat.

This intense pose invites us into a place of deep surrender. Keep your awareness on your breath, sending it into your heart space, and let yourself be with whatever comes up here. Stay here for at least 10 breaths, but feel free to stay longer if that feels right for you.

Bridge pose

Slowly shift back into tabletop and all the way onto your back, bending your knees and planting your feet on your mat. Inhale to slowly lift your hips and lift your arms all the way overhead, backs of palms touching down behind you. Breathe here in this bridge pose variation for 10 breaths, using an exhale to slowly lower your hips and arms back down.

Find a counterpose after you come down by walking your feet wider than hip’s distance and releasing your knees to rest in on each other. Place your palms on your belly and rest here for 5-10 breaths.

Reclining cobbler pose

Find your savasana in reclining cobbler’s pose, bringing the soles of your feet together. Rest one palm on your heart and one palm on your belly, letting yourself rest, relax, and integrate the benefits of your practice. Stay here as long as you like, but make sure you let yourself spend at least three minutes here.

Explore more blogs to help you cultivate self-love here:

• 7 Self-Love Rituals for Valentine’s Day

• The Only 3 Love Spells You’ll Ever Need

• 5 Tips to Open your Heart Chakra and How to Know when it's Blocked

• Attracting Love with Crystal Grids

Healing with Meridian Tracing

Meridian tracing is a form of energy healing that just about anyone can do.

The meridians are energy pathways in the body that traditional Chinese medicine has studied and worked with for centuries. These pathways allow the flow of energy, called Chi in Chinese medicine, through the body.

There are 12 major meridians, and each one works to support and nourish a specific organ system. If the flow of energy in any of your meridians is too strong or too weak, the associated organ system may be disrupted. I’ll be covering eight of them today.

Meridian tracing can be a powerful self-care tool to add to your toolbox. Using it regularly helps keep your Chi flowing freely through your body, releasing blockages and revitalizing you.

Scroll down to look through eight of the 12 main meridians in the body and learn how to trace them to balance your flow of Chi.

How to trace your meridians

To trace your meridians, start by simply moving your open hand (either an inch or two above your body or directly over your body) along the course of each meridian. Visualize the energy flowing freely through the meridian. That’s it!

Take your meridian tracing a step further by tracing them with a favorite crystal. If you’re unsure, clear quartz is always a safe bet. Point crystal necklaces make the perfect wearable tool to practice this self-care technique.

Meridians

Read through the list of meridians below to find one that suits your needs. The eight meridians below are mirrored on the other side of your body. So, for example, a meridian that runs down your left leg also runs down your right leg.

Liver meridian

When this meridian’s energy is imbalanced, you may experience issues with menstruation, blurred vision, jaundice, irritability, or depression.

Heart meridian

Imbalance in the heart meridian can show up as chest pain, shortness of breath, hot flashes, heart palpitations, insomnia, irritability, anxiety, depression, and lack of joy in life.

Spleen meridian

An imbalanced spleen can manifest as diarrhea or constipation, lack of appetite, fatigue, bloating, brain fog, and absentmindedness.

Stomach meridian

When your stomach meridian is imbalanced, you might struggle with feelings of worry and nervousness.

Lung meridian

An imbalanced lung meridian can manifest as infections, upper body inflammation, excessive sweating, issues with your nose and sense of smell, and skin conditions.

Kidney meridian

This meridian rules willpower, determination, and the ability to cope with difficulty— so an imbalance here could manifest as a lack of any of those skills. Physically, an imbalance can manifest as backaches, asthma, and urinary disorders.

Bladder meridian

Emotionally, an imbalance here is associated with suppressed anger and an inability to express your true feelings. Physically, an imbalance is associated with neck and shoulder tightness, headaches, and urinary issues.

Pericardium meridian

When this meridian is imbalanced, you may experience difficulty expressing your feelings. Physically, you might have issues with your heart, chest, or stomach.

The best thing about this self-care tool is that you don’t need any tools to perform it. Meridian tracing is a simple practice that can give you an excuse to pause during a busy day to focus on your body and energy.

If you’re trying this practice with crystals, make note of how you feel after using different gemstones, as they’ll each offer you a different kind of energy.

10 Uses for Labradorite

It’s hard not to fall in love with labradorite. Ancient people who came upon labradorite believed it was connected to the Aurora Borealis. Just like this natural wonder in the sky, no two pieces of labradorite look quite alike with their flashes of color.

In addition to its colorful glow, labradorite comes with a slew of metaphysical and spiritual uses. The best part is that this stone is easy to come by and relatively inexpensive to acquire.

Labradorite is said to be the stone of magick. This title isn’t surprising due to its long list of magickal and spiritual benefits. Keep reading for ten uses for labradorite.

Aura Cleansing

Labradorite is queen when it comes to cleansing your aura (learn more about auras here). If your aura is weak, has tears, or holes in it labradorite can help with that too. Keep that aura squeaky clean by meditating with a piece of labradorite or going around your entire body with a piece of it in your hand.

Psychic Protection

Beyond protecting your aura, labradorite can help shield you during psychic work too. Whether you’re practicing tarot, using a pendulum, or scrying with a crystal ball labradorite can help protect you from any unwanted spiritual energy. Try wearing or placing a piece of labradorite nearby you the next time you practice any form of psychic work.

Enhancing Intuition

Labradorite connects strongly to your third eye, especially if you can find one with some purples in it! This third eye connection makes this stone ideal for honing your intuitive abilities. Start including labradorite into your daily life and see if it makes a difference. You may even try placing some labradorite on your nightstand to work on your intuition at night too.

Connecting with Guides and Angels

If you’re trying to connect with your spirit guides or angels, labradorite can help with this too. If you haven’t noticed, labradorite has a thing for helping you with the spirit realm! Think of labradorite as a window to the other side. This stone will make connecting with your guides and angels easier, and the best part is that it will also offer protection too. Wear or hold a piece of labradorite in your hand as you call on the guide or angel you’re trying to connect with.

Balancing Chakras

Because you can find labradorite in just about every color, it’s a potent healer and balancer for your chakra system. If you know that you have a specific chakra that’s out of wack you can try to find a labradorite stone that matches that chakra's color. Or, you can grab yourself an extra rainbowy labradorite that has every color in it to have a powerful chakra balancer for all of your chakras!

Astral Travel

Labradorite is a must for astral travel. It will help open the doors to the other side and will offer you protection along the way. Wear or hold labradorite in your hand anytime you intend to leave your earthly body for a trip through the cosmos or to the Akashic records.

Aid for Magick and Spellwork

Of course, the stone of magick is ideal for performing any magick or spellwork. Anytime you’re performing magickal spells you’re enlisting forces on the other side to help you. Because labradorite helps open doors to the other side, it’s the ideal stone to have nearby for any magickal work you’re practicing. If you already have an altar space where you perform spellwork placing a piece of labradorite on it won’t hurt!

Creativity and Imagination

Looking for a way to get more in touch with your creative side? Think of your creative thoughts as little nudges from the other side; labradorite can help let them in. If you’re looking for labradorite to help with a serious creative block, try finding labradorite with an orange flash to it so it can work on your sacral chakra too.

Anxiety

If you have anxiety or identify as an empath, labradorite is an excellent stone to keep handy while you’re out and about, especially in large groups of people. Because this stone is so good at protecting your energy, it’s great for super sensitive souls too. Don’t let labradorite take the place of your doctor or therapist, but it can offer some added protection when you’re feeling triggered.

Light Bringer

Remember when I said ancient tribes believed labradorite was connected to the Aurora Borealis? Remember that anytime you use it. This iridescent stone is all about bringing self-awareness and opening pathways for you. Labradorite is a true bringer of light in both appearance and its many applications.

I hope you’ve found ten more reasons to adore this stone! It truly is a stone of magick and has so much to offer.

What is The Soul Star Chakra and How to Connect to it

Have you ever experienced flashes or intuitive nudges about your past lives? If you have, you may have already connected to your soul star chakra. Your soul star chakra is said to be the seat of your soul, even though it’s located above your head. It gets its nickname because it’s your direct connection to your higher self, the Akashic Records, your karmic past, and your past lives.

Think of this chakra as a storage bank for your soul. The soul star chakra carries all of the information for your soul’s past and present purpose for being here.

Generally, this information about your soul isn’t readily available to you in your earthly body unless you accidentally stumbled upon it or inadvertently open your soul star chakra. All of this information is there, present within your energetic body, and can be tapped into with practice.

Where is the soul star chakra located?

Similar to the earth star chakra, the soul star chakra is outside of your physical body and located in your etheric body approximately six inches above your head. It resides within your auric field and is connected to your other chakras. The color of this chakra is up for negotiation. Some say it’s white and golden, while others ascribe a specific color to it. I suggest connecting to this chakra and deciding for yourself what color yours is.

What is the purpose of the soul star chakra?

Activating this chakra will act as a potent chakra balancing tool. Because your soul star chakra is connected to your higher self it is also connected to the light of the universe. This powerful energy can keep your crown chakra open and healthy along with all of your other chakras.

If you’re interested in tapping into your karmic past, past lives, or the Akashic Records, the soul star chakra is the key. Your soul star chakra is the direct link to all of this information. Tapping into your soul’s past may help you better understand fears and challenges in this current lifetime, why you’re being faced with them, and how to overcome them. Another benefit of tapping into your soul’s past is better understanding the relationships and people in your life.

Learning how to engage with information about your past lives and the Akashic Records can be powerful and life-changing. It could also be upsetting and shocking if you’re not ready for it. If you feel uneasy about it or encounter something you weren’t ready for, there are professionals that specialize in past life regression and the Akashic Records that can safely assist you.

As an added benefit, connecting with this chakra will also help support your psychic abilities.

How to connect to the Soul Star Chakra?

There are a variety of methods for connecting with your soul star chakra. Here are some of my favorites to get you started.

Crystals

Try holding any of these crystals in your hands during meditation to connect with your soul star chakra.

• Kyanite: This is a great crystal to use when you’re getting started working with this chakra. Kyanite will help gently cleanse and balance all of your chakras to ensure that your energetic body is in good shape.

• Phenacite: This less common crystal is a powerful one for connecting with all of your upper chakras and especially your higher self. Because this stone is rare it tends to be a larger investment. The other more common gemstones listed below will also prove helpful and you may already have some.

• Selenite: This super cleansing stone can help open up your crown and soul star chakra. Try waving a selenite wand around the top of your head around your soul star chakra and crown chakra to cleanse and open them.

• Clear Quartz: Clear quartz is queen when it comes to balancing all your chakras, and is especially helpful for your upper chakras.

• Lithium Quartz: If you need help calming yourself as you begin your journey with this chakra, this stone has all of the added benefits of clear quartz with the addition of calming energy.

Meditation

Start your journey with curiosity as you become familiar with this chakra. A soul star meditation will be similar to a white light chakra meditation, but with your intentions set on your soul star chakra. Here are steps to perform a meditation for your soul star chakra.

• Find a quiet place to sit and place some of the crystals mentioned above in each of your hands (the crystals are optional).

• Focus on your breathing and begin to imagine a white or golden light about six inches above your head. If you feel this ball of light wants to take on a specific color, go with it.

• Imagine a beam of white light from the universe zooming down to meet your soul star chakra. Once the beam of light connects to your soul star chakra imagine it growing brighter with every breath.

• Ask to be connected to your soul star chakra. If you work with any guides or angels this is a good time to call on their support.

• If you feel called to, repeat the mantra “I am divine light” or “I am love” during the meditation.

• Once you feel connected to your soul star chakra imagine the light from it radiating to the rest of your chakras balancing them and restoring them.

• Close this meditation slowly and thoughtfully by imagining the white light slowly retreating back to the universe. You can continue to envision your soul star chakra glowing above your head throughout your day.

Practice this meditation a few times, or until you feel comfortable, before asking to be shown information about your past lives or karmic history.

Have a healthy crown chakra

Because your soul star chakra links directly to your crown chakra it’s important to ensure that your crown chakra is healthy and balanced. If your crown chakra is blocked you may have a difficult time accessing your soul star chakra. Feeling stuck? Check out this blog post to find out if your crown chakra needs some attention.

Want to learn more about the basic chakra system? Understanding Chakras Book offers tools and information about your chakras.