A JOURNEY INTO THE HARA THROAT

I’d like to embark on another journey along the Hara-Throat axis, because energy centers, in connection with our lives, can often become mechanical, surface-level information templates, rather than being something we deeply reflect on and devote time to. When that happens, some things don’t fully reveal themselves to us.

At this point, instead of merely talking about chakras, I want to open up a bit about the more dimensional lines of balance that we tend to overlook...

Each center has auric layers that open within itself… That is, your throat chakra has etheric, emotional, mental, and spiritual layers and climates—and, of course, it has branches flowing into all the other centers, and fundamentally, balancing lines connected to the hara. Think of it like a tree growing upward and downward, with main veins and branches blooming out layer by layer. Naturally, what is necessary at one level can become unnecessary, even obstructive, at another.

Think of the hara as inner/self/feminine/sensory. Think of the throat as outer/other/masculine/expression. Two different faces of the same thing—like polarities. I’m speaking here from a spiritual dimension, but you can also bring this down into the physical realms and explore it from that perspective.

There are certain issues we get stuck on; we need to reconsider these in light of this axis… In fact, it wouldn't be a bad practice to reconsider everything we get stuck on in terms of these central lines and their layers and balance—it opens many doors.

One such issue is the problem of form and structure in practices. This has two ends: either I’m seeking approval, highly dependent on templates and copy-pasting—or I destroy everything and fly off into space. In the first case, your hara axis is underactive, and the expression of that practice becomes simply copying and pasting it as-is. The result? A dead, lifeless copy, because I haven’t internalized and flavored the why and how of it within myself. How effective do you think that will be? Could it even cause harm instead of help?

In the opposite direction, we sometimes produce things that don’t exist at all or are fundamentally opposed to certain principles—and when that echoes in the outer world, it affects others in a chain, impacting the collective.

Another issue is the idea that only the “compatible” survive, or that one must be "fit for life." But is life really like that? Life loves diversity! No matter what you’re doing, the hara is the place where you must find your own voice! Life blesses that above all—this is why we’re here. We carry a lot of blocks here, and our nervous systems get locked up. That’s why inner child work and sympathetic nervous system activation are essential for the flow of energy. Because if we can’t reach freedom, authenticity, emotional flow, creativity, joy, and inner approval within ourselves, then we either can't express them outwardly, or we express them in a distorted way—our tone suffers, or we get triggered easily by external expressions, we lose ourselves, and we become too difficult even for ourselves.

As these begin to open, certain things may fall away, and we often perceive these as imbalance, incompatibility, or inappropriateness—but they may not be that at all.

Being able to remain in our individuality without trampling others—being able to be “me” while also being mindful of “us”—yes, this is a difficult balance. It requires effort and time. Harmony is the key here, but disharmony also has its place in the story in service of that harmony. To recognize your own truth, stay faithful to it, and if it's not working, to let go gracefully and with honor—to write another story you’d enjoy reading—this is all it really is.

Another issue: labeling, devaluing, fighting against, or trying to avoid the parts of ourselves that think too much, feel too much, or possess different sensitivities and awarenesses. And naturally, these parts are often demonized by others too. But these are our potential jewels.

I’d like to close with a very small yet powerful daily practice for all of us working in the energy healing field—especially those dealing with the Hara-Throat axis—because just like all faces of life, the Hara-Throat axis is infinite...

Think of the hara as the emptiness that holds the clay pot. Think of the throat as the shape of that pot. However you hold the hara inside, it will give you a taste internally—and its outward manifestation and expression will reflect that. Let’s say: the manifest and the form. A Hara that knows and recognizes itself will experience and see its own truth in the throat chakra. So, hold space—for yourself and the other.

1. A strong energy has arisen: a situation, an event, a feeling. Without labeling it, without judging it as positive or negative, withdraw the ego and simply say, “Right now, I feel this way / you appear this way.” It’s just an observation.

2. Pause for a moment, allow the flow; this isn’t about fixing, correcting, healing, or banishing. It’s about recognizing, creating space, and accepting.

3. What do you need / what do I need? Hold space—for a simple emergence… What does that “guest” need? How would they be soothed in their expression? How can we meet them? Maybe it’s solitude. Maybe a somatic exercise. Maybe a hug. Maybe sleep. Maybe breath. Maybe tears. Maybe writing. Maybe a song. Maybe even a curse word...

4. The origins of this, and deepening that familiarity, can come much later—if necessary.

The first 3 steps are a healing axis on their own. When we rush past these and skip to somewhere else, the flow becomes blocked. What’s mentioned doesn’t land well, and balance isn’t achieved. For the Hara-Throat to function this way, it also needs the total power of energy: a trustworthy root center, the solar strength and patience, the fire that will be revealed, the unconditional heart, its love and compassion, the third eye’s transcendence and unity, and the crown's guidance and balance.

But for all of us who experience the Hara-Throat issue, this is a very fundamental understanding we can diversify: Know it within, live it without.

Wishing all of us a brand-new summer—one that shines crystal clear, cleansed and balanced by the union of water and light.

Ahu BİRLİK