The Five S’s of Balancing 5th Chakra

If you’ve ever had the experience of a quiet morning in nature, or a silent midnight moonbath, you know the power of stillness. Your ears thank you, your heart thanks you, your skin thanks you. 

We spend so much time in sensory overload, we might not even notice we are building toxicity until it presents physically, like with headaches, tinnitus,  racing pulse, poor digestion, anxiety, thyroid issues, and restless sleep. These are all signals that you could be out of whack in Vishuddha, the fifth chakra. 

Sound, speaking, and silence are all part of the energetic center around the throat, neck, jaw, ears, and upper shoulders.  This is where we speak the truth and use our voice (hopefully), and where we confront toxicity in our lives, both within and around us. 

In this week’s Jess on the Mountain podcast episode 24, I talk about the thyroid, which is the gland associated with the 5th chakra. I remember a story about my college roommate’s dad sparking my interest in silence, my former discomfort with it, and how I now see the balance of sound and silence as an integral component to a life of greater harmony. 

I also give listeners a handy little alliteration list I created to help balance an excessive or deficient 5th Chakra. 

These are the FIVE S’s for balancing and harmonizing the 5th chakra:

Sing

Say 

Sigh

Soothe

Silence

• Sing: loud and proud, in the car, in the shower. Good stuff though, because we get on the same resonance as the words we sing. They matter! Make it uplifting and joyful when that’s your intention, or low and soulful when you want to move through grief (singing from your heart). Have your vocal cords embody and vibrate with the way you want to be and feel. 

• Say: Say what’s on your mind, and speak honestly. Lies and dishonesty build up in our systems and create toxicity, just like a noisy environment. Vishuddha is here to purify–so let your words be a vehicle for detoxing a situation. Words from a place of love will heal, from pain and fear can hurt. So check in with your breath and your feelings, then say what needs to be said. Screaming can help, if it’s not directed at anyone. Sometimes that pent up energy behind what you haven’t said has to come out! Giving it a big, loud, guttural scream, cry, or wail might be what’s needed to get things back on track. Used mindfully, loud vocalizations can be quite cathartic! 

• Sigh: Your nervous system loves the sound of your voice! A good sigh signals a stress-reducing response.The act of sighing, particularly when done consciously and with awareness, can trigger a relaxation response in the body because it stimulates the vagus nerve, which is a major component of the parasympathetic nervous system that’s responsible for rest and digest, a general state of calm and peace.

• Soothe: Gently stretch your neck and shoulders, massage your tight jaw, and wear a scarf when it’s cold out. You can calm tinnitus and protect the energy of your ears by massaging sesame oil in and around your ears and throat. 

• Silence: Break up your day with moments of silence, and just see what happens. 

These 5 S’s contribute to an overall healthy sense of embodiment as you can better hear the messages from your body, release an avoidance of silence, and not be afraid to speak your truth. A chakra one foundation of claiming your body and connecting it to the world in a healthy way will facilitate balancing all the chakras above it, including chakra five. 

I hope you feel empowered to reclaim your soundscape and make it what you need it to be to feel relaxed, effective, and present in your body, right where it is. Check in with your own Knowing about whether what you’re listening to will bring balance or disharmony.  Pay attention to the noise you’re putting in the world, and I challenge us all to be bringers of quiet and peace–unless of course what’s needed in THAT moment is a loud laugh, woop, wail, scream, or song. Then, do that.

May you find peace through sound, may you embody good vibrations, and may you balance the energy of Vishudha.

Much love