The Chakras in Shamanic Practice: eight stages of healing and transformation

The chakra system identifies eight centers in the psycho-anatomy of humans, each one associated with a different part of the physical or energy body. Susan J. Wright, a practicing shaman and Gestalt psychotherapist, uses her own life journey to show that each chakra also is linked to a different stage of emotional and spiritual development. In The Chakras in Shamanic Practice, she identifies eight key developmental stages of life, from birth to old age/death. Each of these life stages has various developmental challenges and potential traumatic events that will likely occur and affect the health and well-being of the individual.

Wright explains that life traumas experienced in particular developmental stages become lodged within the energy body as they cling to their corresponding chakra. By identifying and working with the chakra involved, a doorway can be opened to a world of transformative images, allowing powerful shamanic techniques to heal these psychic wounds. Providing both physical exercises and guided meditations that utilize the techniques of soul retrieval, working with power animals, and transcending trauma, Wright offers practitioners a way to gather and nurture the fragmented parts of their energy body and lead themselves to physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.