Trauma and the Chakras: Where Pain Lives in Your Energy Body

BY NICOLE LAU

Trauma doesn't just live in your mind or your memories. It lives in your body. And more specifically, it lives in your energy body—your chakra system.

When you experience trauma, the energy of that experience gets stored in specific chakras depending on the nature of the wound. A betrayal might lodge in your heart chakra. A violation of boundaries might block your solar plexus. A loss of safety might close down your root.

Understanding where trauma lives in your chakra system is the first step to healing it energetically. This isn't a replacement for therapy—it's a complement. It's another layer of healing that addresses the energetic imprint of pain.

This is your complete guide to trauma and the chakras.

Understanding Trauma Through an Energetic Lens

Trauma is an energetic disruption When something overwhelming happens, your energy system can't process it in the moment. The energy gets stuck, creating blockages in your chakras.

Different traumas affect different chakras The type of trauma determines which chakra(s) are impacted. Safety trauma affects the root. Shame affects the solar plexus. Heartbreak affects the heart.

Blocked chakras create symptoms Physical, emotional, and behavioral symptoms arise from chakra blockages caused by unprocessed trauma.

Healing requires both psychological and energetic work Talk therapy processes the story. Energy work releases the energetic imprint. Both are necessary.

The Seven Chakras and Their Trauma Signatures

Root Chakra (Muladhara) - Survival Trauma

Location: Base of spine

Color: Red

Element: Earth

Types of trauma stored here:

• Early childhood neglect or abandonment
• Physical abuse
• Poverty, homelessness, or food insecurity
• Natural disasters or accidents
• War, violence, or life-threatening situations
• Birth trauma

How it manifests when blocked:

• Physical: Chronic fatigue, lower back pain, leg/foot issues, immune system problems, digestive issues
• Emotional: Anxiety, hypervigilance, feeling unsafe, inability to trust, fear of abandonment
• Behavioral: Hoarding, overeating, financial anxiety, difficulty being present, constant fight-or-flight

Healing practices:

• Grounding exercises (barefoot walking, root visualization)
• Red crystals (red jasper, garnet, bloodstone)
• Affirmations: "I am safe. I am supported. I belong here."
• Somatic therapy, body-based practices
• Creating physical safety and stability in your life

Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana) - Emotional and Sexual Trauma

Location: Lower abdomen, below navel

Color: Orange

Element: Water

Types of trauma stored here:

• Sexual abuse or assault
• Emotional abuse or manipulation
• Shame around sexuality or pleasure
• Reproductive trauma (miscarriage, abortion, infertility)
• Creative suppression
• Emotional neglect

How it manifests when blocked:

• Physical: Reproductive issues, lower back pain, hip problems, urinary issues, sexual dysfunction
• Emotional: Inability to feel pleasure, emotional numbness, shame, guilt, fear of intimacy
• Behavioral: Sexual avoidance or compulsion, creative blocks, difficulty with emotions, people-pleasing

Healing practices:

• Water therapy (baths, swimming, crying)
• Orange crystals (carnelian, orange calcite)
• Affirmations: "I am worthy of pleasure. My emotions are valid. I reclaim my body."
• Trauma-informed somatic experiencing
• Creative expression, dance, movement

Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura) - Power and Shame Trauma

Location: Upper abdomen, stomach area

Color: Yellow

Element: Fire

Types of trauma stored here:

• Bullying or humiliation
• Controlling or authoritarian parenting
• Shaming (body shaming, performance shaming)
• Powerlessness or helplessness
• Betrayal of trust
• Failure or public embarrassment

How it manifests when blocked:

• Physical: Digestive issues, ulcers, diabetes, eating disorders, chronic fatigue
• Emotional: Low self-esteem, shame, lack of confidence, victim mentality, anger issues
• Behavioral: People-pleasing, inability to set boundaries, control issues, perfectionism

Healing practices:

• Fire practices (candle gazing, sun exposure)
• Yellow crystals (citrine, tiger's eye, yellow jasper)
• Affirmations: "I am powerful. I am worthy. I trust myself."
• Boundary work, assertiveness training
• Reclaiming personal power through action

Heart Chakra (Anahata) - Love and Loss Trauma

Location: Center of chest

Color: Green (or pink)

Element: Air

Types of trauma stored here:

• Loss of a loved one (death, abandonment)
• Betrayal in relationships
• Rejection or unrequited love
• Divorce or breakup
• Conditional love in childhood
• Witnessing violence or suffering

How it manifests when blocked:

• Physical: Heart problems, lung issues, upper back pain, circulation problems, asthma
• Emotional: Inability to give or receive love, fear of intimacy, bitterness, grief, loneliness
• Behavioral: Codependency, emotional walls, difficulty trusting, isolation, over-giving

Healing practices:

• Breathwork, heart-opening yoga poses
• Green/pink crystals (rose quartz, green aventurine, rhodonite)
• Affirmations: "I am worthy of love. I forgive. My heart is open and safe."
• Grief work, compassion practices
• Healthy relationship modeling

Throat Chakra (Vishuddha) - Expression and Voice Trauma

Location: Throat

Color: Blue

Element: Ether/Sound

Types of trauma stored here:

• Being silenced or told to "shut up"
• Punishment for speaking truth
• Lies or secrets kept
• Not being heard or believed
• Verbal abuse
• Suppression of authentic self-expression

How it manifests when blocked:

• Physical: Throat problems, thyroid issues, neck pain, jaw tension (TMJ), voice problems
• Emotional: Fear of speaking up, inability to express needs, lying, gossiping
• Behavioral: Over-talking or silence, difficulty saying no, inauthenticity, creative blocks

Healing practices:

• Singing, chanting, humming, screaming (in safe spaces)
• Blue crystals (blue lace agate, aquamarine, lapis lazuli)
• Affirmations: "I speak my truth. My voice matters. I am heard."
• Journaling, authentic communication practice
• Throat chakra toning exercises

Third Eye Chakra (Ajna) - Perception and Gaslighting Trauma

Location: Between eyebrows

Color: Indigo

Element: Light

Types of trauma stored here:

• Gaslighting (being told your reality isn't real)
• Invalidation of intuition
• Religious or spiritual abuse
• Forced to witness disturbing things
• Confusion or mental manipulation

How it manifests when blocked:

• Physical: Headaches, vision problems, sinus issues, nightmares, insomnia
• Emotional: Confusion, inability to trust intuition, paranoia, delusion, disconnection from reality
• Behavioral: Over-reliance on logic or over-reliance on intuition, difficulty making decisions, dissociation

Healing practices:

• Meditation, visualization, dreamwork
• Indigo crystals (amethyst, lapis lazuli, sodalite)
• Affirmations: "I trust my intuition. I see clearly. My perception is valid."
• Reality-testing with trusted people
• Reclaiming spiritual autonomy

Crown Chakra (Sahasrara) - Spiritual and Existential Trauma

Location: Top of head

Color: Violet or white

Element: Thought/Consciousness

Types of trauma stored here:

• Spiritual abuse or religious trauma
• Existential crisis or loss of meaning
• Near-death experiences
• Forced spiritual practices
• Disconnection from the divine

How it manifests when blocked:

• Physical: Neurological issues, sensitivity to light/sound, chronic exhaustion
• Emotional: Spiritual emptiness, cynicism, depression, feeling lost or purposeless
• Behavioral: Spiritual bypassing, materialism, or spiritual obsession, disconnection from body

Healing practices:

• Meditation, prayer, connection to something greater
• Violet/white crystals (clear quartz, selenite, amethyst)
• Affirmations: "I am connected. I am guided. I trust the universe."
• Reclaiming personal spirituality
• Grounding spiritual practice in the body

Multi-Chakra Trauma: Complex PTSD

Complex trauma affects multiple chakras simultaneously.

Childhood abuse, for example, might impact:

• Root (safety)
• Sacral (sexuality, emotions)
• Solar plexus (power, shame)
• Heart (love, trust)
• Throat (voice, expression)

This is why complex PTSD requires comprehensive, multi-layered healing.

How to Work with Chakra Trauma Healing

Step 1: Identify Which Chakras Are Affected

• Review the trauma types for each chakra
• Notice which symptoms resonate with you
• You may have multiple chakras blocked

Step 2: Seek Professional Support

• Work with a trauma-informed therapist for psychological healing
• Work with a trained energy healer for chakra work
• Don't try to heal severe trauma alone

Step 3: Practice Chakra-Specific Healing

• Use the healing practices listed for each chakra
• Work on one chakra at a time (usually start with root, move up)
• Be patient—trauma healing is slow

Step 4: Integrate Body and Energy Work

• Combine talk therapy with somatic practices
• Use energy work to support, not replace, psychological healing
• Honor both the story and the energetic imprint

Important Cautions

Energy work is NOT a substitute for therapy If you have trauma, see a licensed therapist. Energy work is complementary.

Don't force chakra opening Blocked chakras are protective. They open when you're ready. Forcing can retraumatize.

Trauma healing is not linear You'll have good days and bad days. Progress isn't always visible.

Get professional help for severe trauma PTSD, complex PTSD, and severe trauma require professional treatment.

The Deeper Truth

Your chakras are the energetic map of your life story. Every joy, every wound, every triumph, every trauma—all of it is written in your energy body.

Healing trauma through the chakras isn't about erasing the past. It's about releasing the energetic charge so the past no longer controls your present.

Your pain has a location. And that location can be healed.

Next: PTSD Through a Spiritual Lens—soul fragmentation and healing.