Knowledge about our chakras can give us information on where we’re out of balance and where we need to focus more attention to improve our health and lives. In The Chakra Secret: What Your Body is Telling You, Michelle Hastie helps you understand the chakras in very easy-to-understand terms so you can use them to understand why you may be experiencing physical problems.
Throughout her min-e-book™, Michelle Hastie teaches how each energy center shares wisdom that correlates with your mental and emotional states and how that wisdom manifests in the physical body. And she explains how to tune into the chakras to find paths back to living naturally, freely and peacefully.
Michelle recommends small daily changes that can lead to dramatic results. As she moves through the seven major chakras, she discusses the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual components of each, guiding the reader to understand how to get back into alignment.
Talking about diet and weight, Michelle zeros in on the body’s wisdom, e.g., she says weight gain isn’t happening to you, but for you. She explains how weight issues can be associated with different chakras and recommends shifting your focus off of weight loss or changing your body, and instead looking at the ways you can increase self-care and self-esteem (associated with the Sacral Chakra) by choosing healthy foods and connecting to your unique abilities.
The Chakra Secret provides exercises and yoga poses, affirmations, meditations and a chakra recipe from Chef Maria Schonder for each chakra. Plus, Michelle shares her own life lessons, such as “You control nothing so stop trying.” This is especially important in balancing the Crown Chakra, surrendering to faith and trust and starting a spiritual practice.
The Chakra Secret provides wonderful insight on how we can take responsibility for our lives, living in choice instead of in reaction. And how we can live in balance and flow, trusting that all will be well.
Author Michelle Hastie has a background in personal training, weight-loss coaching, food psychology, neuro-linguistic programming, and yoga. Here she answers my questions about her latest book:
BECCA: What message would you most like readers to take away from The Chakra Secret?
MICHELLE: I want readers to feel like they can heal their bodies through many different modalities. The worst feeling in the world is when you have a pain or disease and nothing works to alleviate it. Hopefully with this book they can begin to think outside the box and take care of their body in a way that haven’t yet thought of or tried.
Becca: As a weight loss coach, what have you found to be the most common misconceptions around dieting?
Michelle: The most common misconception about dieting is that you can attack it with intellect. Most people load up on nutrition and/or fitness information to become an expert in health. The solution to losing weight is not to use your head but to use your body. Use your body sensations and feelings to guide you through your weight loss journey. Become an expert not in health but in you.
Learn how to feel hunger and fullness in your body. Learn which foods work and don’t work in your body. Learn what movements feel good and which ones feel punishing. Learn how to dress your body so that your clothes are flattering today, not once the weight comes off. Most of all become friends with your body instead of viewing your body as the enemy.
Becca: What do you find is the best way to discover which chakra(s) may be blocked before they cause physical issues?
Michelle: Assuming one knows where the chakras are located, the first place to start is with your own intuition. Do you feel as if one chakra is calling to you simply based on where it is located? Learn about the chakras and what each center represents. Ask yourself if you could improve upon these centers based on their location and what they represent. To keep your chakras in balance, live a life of balance. Be open and honest with yourself and the kind of life you desire to live. Then take every step necessary to fulfill your desires.
Becca: You emphasize becoming a human “being” rather than a human “doing.” Any tips for that?
Michelle: We live in a society that has labeled “just being” as unproductive. Most people call “just being” “doing nothing.” Therefore the first tip is to discontinue this label as it’s untrue. Then you will want to be honest with yourself and how you feel about rest. If you spend a day in rest do you feel lazy? Are you truly resting with presence or are you checking out with TV, food or drugs/alcohol? In order to be a human “being” you must become at peace with this idea of presence in all things. When you do have downtime how can you use it to relax and be present at the same time?
Becca: You recommend staying present in the moment. How can that best be achieved?
Michelle: The easiest way to stay present is to ask yourself what you want. If you are home after a long day of work instead of checking out with food, alcohol or TV ask yourself what do I want to do or how do I want to feel. Take that extra moment to answer this question before you go into auto-pilot and just do what you have always done.
Oftentimes we struggle with staying present because there are some thoughts or feelings that we don’t want to acknowledge. Prepare yourself with a journal or meditation to allow these thoughts or feelings to be acknowledged and then be honest about what you really would like to do with your time.
Becca: What makes YOU feel inspired?
Michelle: Music makes me feel inspired. Moving my body makes me feel inspired. Cuddling my dogs, kissing my husband or watching my baby laugh makes me feel inspired. But most of all, what makes me feel inspired is balance. I work very hard to never over-fill my cup. If I have been working a lot, I take breaks. If I have been lifting weights a lot, I do yoga. If I have been with my baby a lot, I hang with just my girlfriends. I seek to live a life of balance. This allows me to avoid burnout and survive so that I can thrive and truly live passionately.
The Chakra Secret is available on Amazon Kindle. For more info from Michelle Hastie, see http://totalbodyhealthsolutions.com/starthere/.
Namaste!
Becca Chopra, author of The Chakra Diaries, Chakra Secrets, Balance Your Chakras-Balance Your Life, and The Chakra Energy Diet
