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INTRODUCTION

I was introduced to chakras about twenty years ago when I started taking yoga classes. Their connection to the concepts of energy and vibration was particularly intriguing to me. Being an artist drawn to the intensity of colors and the healing arts, I soon realized that the chakras were a perfect marriage of the two. Since that time, I've read countless books on chakras, attended classes on chakras, painted chakras, created chakra greeting cards, and finally learned to read and interpret the chakras. Now I work with the chakras in my own daily practice and use them as a tool in working with others. Sometimes I choose not to say that I am utilizing the chakra system as a framework to helping others, simply because it's not always necessary to get trapped in the net of an unfamiliar verbiage that may require undue explanation. To make the chakra concept more accessible and modern, I have attempted to describe the chakras differently, capturing their essence for the nonsubscribers to this system. Instead of talking about the root chakra, I might refer to the “body and everyday physical needs.” Rather than saying the “third eye chakra” and talking about intuition, I talk about insight and thought. These words can be understood by all without the umbrella of the chakra system.

The beauty of the ancient chakra system is that it can be applied to just about anything in life. Anything we do, think, say, and feel has the ability to shift our chakras and our collective energy field. Many authors have discussed how to heal the chakras through various means, such as verbal or written affirmations, yogic exercises, or visualization. Since my academic and professional background has been focused on nutrition, I soon began to discern a correlation between food, eating, and chakras. From this perspective, I created a series of classes and workshops called Nutrition for the Soul to describe this multidimensional, triangular relationship in an experiential way. These classes prompted me to create the book Chakra Foods for Optimum Health: A Guide to the Foods that can Improve Your Energy, Inspire Creative Changes, Open Your Heart, and Heal Body, Mind, and Spirit in order to take these concepts to a larger audience. While cravings for foods could explain chakra imbalances and eating certain foods could help to correct these imbalances, it seemed that there could be other ways to support the vibration imparted by the foods eaten and how they were eaten. Since I had used dietary supplements extensively in clinical practice, I soon connected the dots and realized that vitamins, minerals, and herbs could be part of that support system. After all, there is a natural connection between food and supplements, as healthy eating patterns often include supplementation. At that point, Quantum Supplements was born.

This book will provide you with a hands-on, easy-read, no-nonsense approach to working with your chakras through taking dietary supplements. Please note that this book gives some general guidance on supplements and their relationship to the chakras. With this in mind, I would strongly advise you to work with a healthcare professional to find a supplement regimen tailored to your physical and spiritual needs. Supplements are not magic bullets. They provide the space for you to make a shift into the direction of healing. If you start taking supplements, but don't change your life, you will not consistently see the results you are looking for long term. Therefore, dietary supplements are best used in conjunction with a fully fleshed out healing regimen consisting of a whole-foods way of eating, adequate physical movement, positive thinking and actions, sufficient sleep, and stress management techniques.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

This book is best employed while working with a qualified healthcare professional who is versed in knowledge of the human body and is also open to working with the more subtle layers (for example, emotions, thoughts, spiritual aspects) of the being. You can use the book as a guide, allowing your physical symptoms to usher you to the chapter that serves you at the particular time you need it. If you have a specific body issue that requires attention, check the tables (found in Chapter 2 and in Appendix B) displaying the physiological correlates of the chakras so you will know how to find your way to the chapter containing the information you need.

Let's say that you have been getting frequent colds and would like to know how to bolster your immune system. By checking the chart, you will see that the immune system relates to the root chakra. You would then turn to the chapter on the root chakra for examples of supplemental nutrients or botanicals that could assist you in supporting your immune system. There may be several options, together with recommended daily doses, side effects, and interactions with supplements and drugs. As part of the supplementation strategy, you may also see suggestions listed in that section as to the personal growth or spiritual issues connected to the immune system. For instance, perhaps you need to focus on strengthening your personal boundaries or your ability to say no in situations where it is warranted. This information is not to be ignored. What most people overlook is the deep unfolding process of healing that dietary supplementation can bring forth—instead, they just want the ‘quick fix’ approach. Rather, the key to optimal health is to embrace the shift that dietary supplements may reveal to you in the direction of healing, and to use this opportunity to fuel positive changes in your life so that you can heal from your symptoms or disease. Foods, eating, and dietary supplements lay the groundwork, but the transformative work still needs to be done by you on other levels (emotional, intellectual, spiritual, etc.).

This book may be employed as a reference manual, or it can be read straight through for a more comprehensive understanding of the finer vibrations of supplements and how they heal the chakras. You will find that several vitamins, minerals, and botanicals will influence more than one chakra. An explanation of a particular supplement is provided in the chapter of the chakra where it has the most effect and includes the following:

 Description/Sources: A short detailed definition including what foods it is found in

 Functions: How this supplement works in the body

 Intake: Who should take this supplement

 Deficiency: Symptoms that occur when levels in the body are too low

 Overuse: Side effects of high levels in the body

 Interactions: How this supplement can interfere with or stimulate the absorption or activity of other supplements and drugs, or how drugs and other supplements can interfere with the absorption or activity of the supplement

 Relationship to Chakras: How the supplement affects the subtle energy

If more than one chakra is impacted, that supplement will also be mentioned in the chapter that corresponds to that chakra, with specific instruction as to how it resonates with that particular chakra. For example, vitamin B6 impacts several chakras, but the solar plexus is its primary target since it is required for carbohydrate metabolism. In the chapter on the solar plexus, you will find a detailed explanation of vitamin B6. However, vitamin B6 is also briefly listed under other chakras like the sacral chakra for its role in reducing PMS symptoms and the third eye chakra because it is needed to make neurotransmitters in the brain.