Throat Chakra Practice 4/18/23

COMMUNICATION IS THE ESSENTIAL FUNCTION OF THE FIFTH CHAKRA. AS SELF-EXPRESSION, IT IS A GATEWAY BETWEEN THE INNER WORLD AND THE OUTER. ONLY THROUGH SELF-EXPRESSION DOES THE OUTER WORLD GET TO KNOW WHAT'S INSIDE OF US. WE ONLY KNOW WHAT INSIDE SOMEONE WHEN THEY CHOOSE TO TELL US. - ANODEA JUDITH

Hi Hello my name is Eileen Galdamez and I like to pretend I don't have an entire blog dedicated to my voice being expressed.

Honestly most of the time what holds me back is thinking I'm not good enough, or my thoughts aren't interesting enough. But if you are here reader, it must be for a reason. I just hope I offer something interesting enough that will spark a light in any thought you may have while reading.

We are our own worst critic and sometimes I feel my writing isn't well prepared or meaningless. The cognitive dissonance creates stress when a part of me knows I created this blog with intention and purpose. I don't like to gossip. I don't like shallow conversation. I don't care about your materialistic matters. I care about the soul, I care about who we are deep down inside, stripped from the noise of opinions of others, projections, cars, money, etc, Who are you without that? That is what Im interested in.

With that being said, If I'm going to have a successful blog, I kinda need to start posting on it more consistently and remember why I made it in the first place, and my only hope is to inspire and bring a place of comfort and creativity for others. Sometimes I imagine fake scenarios of a certain person, or a future professional in my life reading and not thinking it's intelligent. Or even worse I fear of others misinterpreting or misunderstanding my words and taking them personally or offensively, when this is not true to my purpose. So then I stop myself from saying anything at all! And that is not fair to the voice in my head that has been yearning to express - I don't naturally feel the need to be heard or listened to - I more so just feel the need to express it. The truth of the matter is, in all of us, we will never have control of how others perceive our words. Even further deeper than that, we will never be aware or fully understand another's perception of us. We will only ever know and fully understand our own.

What is the throat chakra?

The color is blue and it is the 5th chakra placed around the throat/neck. It connects with our emotions towards communication. We know the throat chakra is balanced when one speaks their most authentic truths, is expressive, speaks for oneself, is a good listener and can agree to disagree. We know the throat chakra is unbalanced when one holds many secrets, is silent or silenced, chooses violence, or "holding" of the tongue (Clark Kegley 2021). We also know there are blockages when there is a lack of communication, problems around the throat, neck, ears, or voice, and talking too much or too little.

We all know those people who speak with their tone going up at the end of sentences. This can be a sign of someone questioning their own words or not fully believing them. A sign that someone is being truthful or authentic with their words is when the voice goes down. Almost like a sign of grounded-ness and being true to where the sentence is coming from.

Balanced and exercised:

"You speak confidently and listen well, you express yourself freely, you're self confident and authentic, you're open minded and you adjust well to change, you're in full creative flow." (theyogacollective).

Unbalanced and tense:

"You may experience tension in your throat, clenching of the teeth or stiffness in the jaw. -A blocked throat chakra can manifest as an inability to self-express with confidence; one might feel that they have nothing of value to share with the world when the throat is blocked; you lose confidence in your voice"(thecenterforgrowth).

How to Unblock the Throat Chakra

There are plenty of yoga stretches that you can find online, yoga is not my expertise quite yet, however some of my favorites are

- cat-cows and really letting that neck flow with the spine. For better intention I focus on and imagine my throat chakra being stretched.

- cobra pose

- camel pose: I also really love with the intention of opening up the heart chakra

Other more simpler exercises for those whom aren't interested in getting down and dirty are

- neck rolls/stretches

- breathing exercises, focusing on the breath/deep breathing

- journaling

- yelling, respectfully of course, maybe in nature, not directly at anyone

- having an honest conversation with yourself or someone you trust

- writing letters, you don't have to send them

- writing letters to your inner child

Some of My Throat Chakra Journey

From a young age, I was never afraid to express myself in front of others or share my opinion. Of course depending on the situation. I had my shy moments and environment where I would only express my voice to friends. Then I had my moments where I felt like my voice was good enough to sing in front of my entire 5th grade class for an audition for a play. I admire my 10 year old self for feeling brave enough to do so. Despite my natural confidence, I have kept many secrets as well. The dark ones we like to suppress and ignore.

I was never afraid to let these secrets come to light and have more fallen on the spectrum of talking too much with friends, letting my voice get the best of me and over power conversation. Or so, I think I have been this way in my later years as a teenager. It wasn't until my childhood best friend expressed to me how hurtful it was to be interrupted that the thought of interrupting even occurred to me. Ever since, I have practiced being a good listener and have become aware of even when Im being interrupted. Something I hadn't noticed for 20 years of my life.

Now Im at a point where, if you're reading this, then you know Im actively exercising my throat chakra by sharing my experiences and my thoughts. However, there is still that tiny shy part of me that hides when it's going to share something big somewhere big. As we learned, only when speaking for myself. Put me on a stage and make me become an actress, I'll do it confidently, they're not my words. Put me in a conference room of people I just met and I have to share vulnerable information about myself, I may still be confident because thats just who I am, but I will speak hesitantly and tensely. Because I want what I say to come off as authentically as I can, while also understanding to whom Im speaking to.

I used to get annoyed in conversations with others where they would disagree with me, or not understand what I was trying to say. Now I just listen and nod. This change happened when I learned scientifically, it is impossible to convince someone to believe something that you believe. Ultimately we ourselves, choose what believe and our beliefs are basically like concrete. They can only be drilled and refurbished when we choose to change that belief. Anyone else trying to drill into your beliefs will never work, because they don't live in your brain, only you do.

My Throat Chakra Goal

I authentically express myself with those closest to me, and those I come across on the day to day. However I have yearned for a couple years now to share my voice at a higher scale. Why: Ive noticed, on the contrary of the beginning of this piece, a lot of people find meaning in what I say. Sometimes I'll be in a conversation, say something, and the other person becomes speechless, in a way where it's almost like the ultimate truth no one has been able to express to them was just said, and now they need to soak it in. Some people have told me I've helped them change in positive ways, because of our conversations. I have always kept this secret and taken it with a grain of salt.

I want to believe that my voice is worthy of being heard, wether you're apart of my inner circle or not. I want to believe my voice can leave other people I don't know speechless, because I just said something that gave them that 'click' in their mind, to create a positive change in their lives. I don't want to reserve my voice for only friends and family, I want to share it with the world! One thing I have preached since my spiritual journey is "you deserve to heard and listened to". I have said this to loved ones countless times, yet Im not fully practicing.

I deserve to be heard.

I deserve to be listened to.

(practicing throat mantras ;)

In Conclusion

I know it may feel easier to hold fear and bite our tongue. It's easier to be silent than to conceptualize and express our own thoughts. It's easier to be quiet about an issue, then having that difficult conversation with that person. The beginning quote inspired me to think: how will we ever show our most authentic true selves to others, if we do not practice expressing our most authentic selves to ourself.

Living in secrecy, silence, and violence will only prolong the unbalanced self from growth, and attainment of ones full authentic self in order to live a true fulfilled life.

We will always be bitter, complain, and gossip if we choose to not go within and remove those blocks. How will we know what it is we truly want to say when we hold our tongue? Similarly, how will we ever live a fulfilled life if we believe our voice is not worthy? Something incredibly vital when involving communication (the key to successful relationships/connections, romantic/platonic/professional etc.) how?!?!?!?

On that note I encourage you to exercise your throat chakra today wether thats through a short journal session, neck stretches, or an intentional letter.

Your voice deserves to be heard.

Your voice deserves to be listened to. <3

JOURNAL PROMPTS

1. What are topics I hesitate or tense up talking about?

2. What parts of me am I afraid of facing?

3. What is something I wish I could say to a younger version of myself who is suffering?

4. Who/when/where do I bite my tongue around the most? & Why?

5. What are some things I can easily change in my daily routine to practice my throat chakra? (voice memos instead of texting, writing a letter instead of arguing, neck stretches with intention etc).