The seventh chakra, or crown chakra, is at the top of the head where the soft spot is on a baby. It is associated with the discovery and connection to the divine. Purple and white are the colors of this chakra—purple for the divine and white for purity. The pineal gland—which is the master gland in the body, brain, and eyes—is associated with this chakra.
Many yogis call this chakra the thousandpetaled lotus. As I was preparing to introduce the seventh chakra to singers, the way this chakra is depicted in pictures came to mind. It is often shown as a lotus flower with its petals open at the crown of the head, to symbolize a spiritual awakening. When one of my first voice teachers taught me about the head voice, she said to imagine a beautiful flower looming out of the top of my head. For 20 years, I kept that picture of the singing head voice in my mind. The “aha” moment came the first time I saw the chakra system poster in the yoga studio. It was the same as the internal picture I had in my head from college lessons.
Each part of the body has a different color and works together to create a beautiful song, symbolized by the lotus flower. Little do we as voice teachers know the influence a few words may have on our young students!
In India, the lotus flower is very symbolic because it is a flower without boundaries. It blooms in beautiful gardens as well as garbage dumps, yet it represents eternity, purity, and divinity. The lotus root in the soil represents
our connection to the earth. The nurture of water and sun forms the stem, which represents our intuitive work, and the lotus blossom represents spiritual and self-enlightenment.
I compare this to the journey of a singer with an aria. We need to be grounded in the body, using knowledge, strength, and intuition to create a beautiful creation in the form of song. The seventh chakra transcends all the senses and connects us to the spiritual. As singers, we know how a piece of music, whether heard or performed, has touched all our senses and gone beyond to awaken a new, indescribable part of our being. This is the crown chakra at work.
The seventh chakra is one of the most, if not the most, private of the chakras. When this chakra is balanced, you feel a connection to spirituality and an ability to live in the present without worry. You can live your life with a sense of calm, quiet strength, and confidence.
If the crown chakra is not in balance you may experience spiritual cynicism or a very rigid belief system, apathy, loss of identity, or loneliness. Physical manifestations may include fatigue unrelated to physical symptoms, sensitivity to light, sound, or the environment as a whole.
Exercises to awaken the seventh chakra are physical and spiritual in nature.
Prayer
Prayer is a way to connect to your spiritual nature. Prayer means different things to different people, depending on their belief system. Take a moment to see what images this word brings to you—on your knees with your hands
folded, or taking a walk in nature. Whatever prayer means to you, practice it for opening.
Meditation
Watching the Breath is a valuable meditation technique. Since the breath is a cycle, focusing on the breath may help bring you into the present moment.
Then observe your thoughts. If your mind feels cluttered when you are trying to meditate, just begin to observe your thoughts without judgment. Many students have said they feel as if they are watching a movie. This helps them
to “just be” with their thoughts.
Next, visualize your thoughts floating by on a cloud, and when they are gone, return to Watching the Breath.
Fasting
Limiting food intake is a technique to bring about awareness and devotion in the body, mind, or spirit.
Physical Exercises
Head Roll. Go into child pose, roll your toes under, and place your palms on the ground, arms by your side. Begin to massage your head on the mat. First putting weight on the forehead, temples, ears, and then move up to the crown of the head, massaging back and forth. When completed, roll the body up slowly, one vertebrae at a time, and come into hero pose or easy pose. Take deep full breaths and direct your attention to the part of the head that was resting on the mat.
Head Massage. There are at least 17 meridian junctures on the head. When these are accessed like in foot reflexology, the benefits travel to your entire body. In addition, the muscles of the face are relaxed, vision is stimulated and stress throughout the body is relieved. This technique will provide you with immediate results if performed correctly. You may feel a tingling from your head to your toes.
Place the pads of your fingers to your head at the hairline of your forehead. With a firm, vigorous back and forth motion, move down the center of the skull from the forehead to the base of the skull at the occipital ridge. You are moving the skin on your scalp. Then go to the midline at the side of the skull and go back again to the occipital ridge. Then place your hands at the hairline above the ears and go to the mastoid process. Repeat two times.
Eye Movement Exercises. Move your eyes up, down, side to side, and roll them around in circles.
Headstand. You must do this advanced exercise while under the instruction of a certified yoga teacher.
Chanting the primordial sound “om.”
Sounding. The practice of using sound vibrations to awaken, body, mind and spirit, this technique is very important for the singer. Watch for a more detailed explanation in an upcoming article.
Lotus Pose. In a seated position on the floor, fold your left leg in, allowing your left foot to settle in the hip crease of your right leg. Fold your right leg over the left leg, placing your right foot in the hip crease of your left leg. Reverse.
