A powerful technique to resonate and balance your chakras using vowel sounds. This is a good exercise to do every day, and is a great introduction to exploring the harmonics naturally present in the vowels.
Vowels carry the “information energy” of speech, whereas consonants act to break up the energy flow. In ancient Sanskrit, Hebrew, Chinese, etc, the vowel sounds are considered to be sacred. In other words, the vowel sounds carry the intention and focus.
Start by sitting comfortably in a chair or on a cushion on the floor. Try to keep your spine as straight as possible, which allows the energy to flow in your body more freely – it may help to imagine your head is suspended from above by a fine cord, letting your body hang below it naturally.
Make these sounds in a gentle voice – don’t strain. Focus your energy and intent for balancing and energising each chakra before toning. To find the correct pitch for a particular chakra, scan up and down feeling in your body for a resonance (apart from the throat where it will always resonate). The pitch will change according to the person, mood, diet, activities, emotional states, etc on a daily basis. There is no set frequency.
Breathe in deeply, expanding your lower stomach as you inhale. I imagine the energy of each breath coming into my body through whichever chakra I am working on,this can help to focus your awareness. You may also wish to add a colour visualisation on each chakra.
The first chakra (Root) – located at the base of the spine. Tone seven times with the deepest “UUH”, as in “cup”, a very low guttural sound just gently riding on the breath. Stay comfortable with the sound – don’t force it. (Red).
Second chakra (Sacral) – located about 2-3 inches below the navel. Tone seven times using a higher pitched but still deep “OOO”, as in “you”. (Orange).
Third chakra (Solar Plexus) – located above the navel. Tone seven times using a higher pitched “OH”, as in “go”. (Yellow).
Fourth chakra (Heart) – located in the centre of the chest. Tone seven times using a higher pitched “AH”, as in “ma”. This is the sound that embodies compassion. (Green).
Fifth chakra (Throat) – Tone seven times using a higher pitched “EYE”, as in “my”. (Blue).
Sixth chakra (Third Eye) – located in the middle of the forehead slightly above the eyes. Tone seven times, using a still higher “AYE”, as in “say”. (Indigo).
Seventh (Crown) – Tone seven times using the highest pitched “EEE” sound, as in “me”, you can comfortably make. (Violet or white).
Now sit in a space of silence and receptivity for 10 – 20 minutes to experience the energy. After this If you feel too light-headed tone an “aaaah” to bring the energy back to the heart, then an “ooooh” to bring the energy down to the sacral to be more grounded.
There’s no need for citing references or sources for the sounds assigned to each chakra, neither is there the need to physically produce sounds to see where they resonate in the body…meditate and focus on each chakra individually with the intent to hear its vibrational frequency and you will hear it yourself…now meditate with the intent to see the vibrational frequency (color) and you will sense it yourself
oh yeah and the ‘WHY’….great 🙂 that’s really useful
Hi,
I too have been toning and making harmonics for years and did Jonathan Goldman’s sound healing intensive, etc…
It seems to me the natural order of vowels for resonating/working on the main first 7 body chakras is what best creates the harmonics in the harmonic series. It kind of depends which best brings out the series for you, and I slightly adapted the Goldman sounds which mostly follow the series.
For me, what naturally brings out the series is oooh (uuuuuuu); aww; ohh; ah; eh (which I often get by starting with eye); ayye; eeeeeeeee…mmmmnnnng…
having said that a lot of the harmonics are more easily attained adding in consonants. For instance on the third eye, nnnneeeeeeeee or nuuuurrrr insteasd of just eeee.
I’ve seen Anna Maria Hefele’s overtoning videos, they’re great, except they’re using sygyt technique, so you won’t get the same open vowel harmonics that way. I believe open vowels are best for resonating the chakras. And using the best pitch for each chakra unique to yourself as the fundamental for the vowel sound you’re making…!
Hi, Neil. Thanks for posting my comment! I just read back through the article and comments and saw where you mentioned the “WHY” chant in the comments section in response to another comment. I had overlooked that when I submitted my first comment. Anyway, I’m very excited to know that you also discovered the “WHY” chant and have had the same experience with it that I’ve had. As of now, you’re the only other person I’ve heard mention it other than myself. The Jonathan Goldman sounds just don’t make sense to me as I’ve already mentioned. Some of those sounds are diphthongs as opposed to pure vowel sounds, and the sounds can’t be strung together seamlessly and smoothly as a naturally occurring harmonic sequence as can be done with “WHY”. As you mentioned, ” If you tone this, you can feel the point of focus moving from the root up to the crown”. That is also my experience; I’m not able to do that with the Goldman sounds. Additionally, after I posted my comment, I clicked on your “Contact” link and saw that you were in Scotland. First thing I thought was, “Oops! Vowels sounds in Scotland are different from America!” Regardless, it’s interesting that we both discovered it even with the differences.
I’d also like to suggest checking out Polyphonic Overtone Singing by Anna-Maria Hefele on YouTube. She has several videos both explaining and performing overtone singing and she’s absolutely amazing!
Thanks!
Hi Kevin, thanks for your response. I’d agree, I teach the ‘WHY’ sound as it just makes natural sense, I’m sure I’d mentioned it in the article above or elsewhere on the site. If you tone this, you can feel the point of focus moving from the root up to the crown. The sounds above are what I was initially taught – and I’ve seen different sounds for different traditions and cultures, I think the constant is ‘AH’ for the heart. I think some of the differences are down to how certain cultures sound and write their vowels more than anything. How an American describes a vowel sound is completely different to my Scottish description. The key is plenty of experimentation! Once you are used to sounding, you will intuitively sound what you need. The above is a guideline only to get you started. You may find sometimes you need a completely different sound at a certain chakra. Its all about tuning in and being sensitive with yourself.
As a musician for more than 40 years. I’ve spent a lot of time studying frequency, vibration and harmonics, not only as they apply to musical intervals, scales, and chords, but also as they apply to the human voice. The vowel sounds of the human voice are nothing more than harmonic overtones. I’ve read on various websites the same description as listed in the above article of the vowel sounds for each of the chakras. However, nobody seems to be able to cite a source. These vowel sounds as described don’t pan out from my perspective and, in some cases, are not pure vowel sounds at all but combinations of vowel sounds. For example, the sound Oh is not a pure harmonic vowel sound generated by the voice as it ends in the sound Ooh; it is a composite of vowel sounds. Likewise, Eye is also not a pure harmonic vowel sound of the voice, but a composite of AAh as in father, Eh as in pet, Ih as in hit then EE as in meet, all strung together in succession, merging into one another to create the composite sound of eye. Prove it to yourself. Say Eye very slowly and smoothly by chanting the above sounds in succession while allowing them to seamlessly merge into one another to create one, slow continuous and smooth sound. Any musician out there will see immediately that this is true. Regarding the pure harmonic vowel sounds of the human voice, there is only one way to transition from one to the next in a smooth and naturally occurring manner. To put it simply, this is accomplished by chanting the word “WHY”. The word “WHY” consists of 7 PURE harmonic vowel sounds, all strung together in their naturally occurring harmonic sequence. This can be easily proven to yourself by chanting as follows. Remember, chant each vowel sound slowly and smoothly while seamlessly transitioning from one vowel sound to the next. Chant the sounds in order and listen carefully. Again, this is easy for a musician, but I’d assume most people will be able to do it as well. Here is the natural sequence of harmonic vowel sounds as generated by the human voice:
1) Ooh as in food
2) oo as in book
3) Uh as in cut
4) Aah as in as in father
5) Eh as in pet
6) Ih as in hit
7) ee as in meet
Strung together seamlessly and smoothly it can easily be seen how they naturally transition from one to the next and, when said a little more quickly, sound out the word WHY.
Additionally, each of these harmonic vowel sounds correspond to specific notes of the major scale in music. The major scale is the familiar Do, Re Mi, Fa, So La Ti, Do. In music, we assign numerical values to each of these intervals. Do is 1, Re is 2, Mi is 3, etc. Therefore, Do, Mi and So correspond to 1, 3 and 5 respectively. It just so happens that these three notes also form a chord known as the major triad. It’s the starting point for more complicated chords which have additional intervals added to it. Having said that, the 7 harmonic vowel sounds listed above correspond to to the 1, 3 and 5 intervals as follows. If you aren’t a musician, you’ll just have to take my word for it. A trained ear can easily hear these musical intervals.
1) Ooh as in food = 1 (Do)
2) oo as in book = 3 (Mi)
3) Uh as in cut = 5 (So)
4) Aah as in as in father = 1 (Do)
5) Eh as in pet = 5 (So)
6) Ih as in hit = 3 (Mi)
7) ee as in meet = 1 (Do)
Given all of the above it therefore makes the most since to me that:
1) Ooh as in food = 1 (Do) = Root Chakra
2) oo as in book = 3 (Mi) = Sacral Chakra
3) Uh as in cut = 5 (So) = Solar Plexus Chakra
4) Aah as in as in father = 1 (Do) = Heart Chakra
5) Eh as in pet = 5 (So) = Throat Charka
6) Ih as in hit = 3 (Mi) = Third Eye Chakra
7) ee as in meet = 1 (Do) = Crown Chakra
If you play with these pure vowel tones as I’ve described, try to see where in your body you can feel the vibration. Most people can feel the Aah in their heart and the Ee in their crown; I know I can. Hope you guys find this interesting or helpful. Again, this is just what makes the most since to me.
Hi Neil,
I was researching vowel sounds and their relationship with the chakras and came across your very indepth post. Thanks!
I’ve included a link to that page in a recent article I wrote for my site – a beginners guide to chakra balancing tools & methods. You can read it here http://baskinginlight.com/demystifying-chakra-balancing-energy-medicine/
Feel free to give feedback to me or share it if you think its worthwhile for your audience.
Cheers! Kate
I was given a booklet with these chakra toning techniques because at the time I was unwell and unable to cry. I was told that we are made up of vibrations. All of a sudden after a couple of weeks while chanting the throat chakra I started to cry and didn’t stop for a while but it made me feel better. I have a similar problem now and hope it helps again.
These are the vowels of the Sanskrit or Hindi language taught from childhood and yes each letter and vowel of the Sanskrit language activates a chakra or a petal of a chakra
These sounds correlate to the seven archons discussed in the Gnostic books dug up out of the desert in Egypt in 1945…. Since much of the ancient knowledge was systematically destroyed, i feel there is something in it worth investigating further..
http://gnosis.org/naghamm/origin.html
“Next, the ruler had a thought – consistent with his nature – and by means of verbal expression he created an androgyne. He opened his mouth and cooed to him. When his eyes had been opened, he looked at his father, and he said to him, “Eee!” Then his father called him Eee-a-o (‘Yao’). Next he created the second son. He cooed to him. And he opened his eyes and said to his father, “Eh!” His father called him ‘Eloai’. Next, he created the third son. He cooed to him. And he opened his eyes and said to his father, “Asss!” His father called him ‘Astaphaios’. These are the three sons of their father.”
Thankyou for this!
The person who usually does the chakra chanting with our group (Rainbow Circle) is away from the field we are camping in, so I looked it up and found you. We shall do chakra chanting tonight!! X
Thank you for sharing this on the internet. I am just now practicing this and was glad to find a website that shared the information that I needed to do the chakra meditation! 🙂
Good dear all!
‘Chakra’ is a Hindi word derived from Sanskrit.
In Bhagvad Gita Lord Krishna about 5000-7000 yrs ago taught the methods of Meditation: realization of oneself through reciting A-U-M energy to his friend and disciple Arjun..
In terms of citing references, this is a frequent challenge in the Age of the Internet where closed circles references abound 😉
However, one may simply try this for oneself and see what results. That is the best test anyway. Bear in mind that specific vowels are not set in concrete for each area of the body. We are individuals and we are in a constant state of change. Another reason to always “feel” what is resonating for you today. Tomorrow may be different.
But generally, the idea is to form all the vowel sound combinations while changing the shape of one’s mouth and throat. Generally the lower tones come from a more open pathway for the air, and higher tones (into the falsetto voice) are formed by more constrictive passage ways. For a good set of references on this I’d suggest researching vocal training, either for singers or for speach therapy.
For example, go to the upper and lower extreme. Try making a super deep “EEEE” sound, then try making a super deep “OH” or “OOOOO” (as in ‘you’) sound. Then try the reverse, making a falsetto “EEEE” and “OH” sounds. Most persons find it easy to distinguish a difference between the two. To some degree this is body mechanics, and in that sense we are all human and share many similar traits. I believe this to be at the root of why most systems suggest OHs and OOOs for the lower tones and EEEs, NNNNs, and MMMMs for the higher tones.
Once familar with this one might try adding additional tones, often called overtones, by opening the nasal passage at the same time. Or by “yawning through your ears.” Soft tones are used — use you “inside” voice 😉
I tend to think of this as “inward directed.” I do not “tone” while trying to project my voice to the back of a large theater. I am projecting my toning into my own body. This can be a very low sound level as much of it seems to be carried by the bone conduction.
And has been mentioned, breath from the belly — if the belly button is raising and falling as you breath you are breathing deeply. If only the chest is rising/falling you are most likely breathing shallowly.
After getting the basics, it is a matter of feeling where the various tones vibrate in your own body, on that occasion. Try to find out how low in your body you can sense of mutual vibration, as well as how high in your head, and points in between.
Common suggestions follow the basic energy chakra centers…. these start at the bottom of the spine, and follow the length of the spine and then up through the head. Usually 5 or 7 chakras are specifically identified.
Base of spine.
Just below the belly button.
Between the belly button and heart.
The heart.
The throat.
The forehead.
The top of the head.
But some systems combine the lower two centers into one, as well as combining the upper two centers. Which one uses isn’t all that important, I don’t think. Use what you find resonates with you — that is the point after all, to find a means of resonating your personal energy within your own body.
Thankyou for sharing your knowledge 🙂 Interesting that my name Toni is contained within the word toning. I think the universe is trying to tell me something………..and I’m listening 🙂 Bless you
Fantastic and just the information I was looking for! THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH! May peace and love be with you all!
Also – I no longer stick to these sounds nearly so rigidly. These days I’ll likely use them as a starting point, either for myself or when toning another, and then just go where the sound/energy/spirit takes me. Most often the sound will become something radically different! However, these are still very valuable exercises, I find.
Neil
I was taught this set of sounds by Jonathan Goldman, who also did not credit them! I believe the “AH” heart sound to be truly global – many cultures use this sound for the heart it seems.
The sound sequence also seems to arise naturally as the mouth opens up – toning from a deep OOOH up to an EEE these sounds are all part of the sequence which forms, sounding like an elongated “WHY”. As I do this I can feel the sound moving up my body.
Best Wishes, Neil
Thank you for sharing these. I have seen them before and do not know who to credit for them, either, but I needed to refer to them, so thank you for posting! Have a great day! Andrea
Did you have any idea of the source of these vowel sounds? Thry have become common parlance in various forms and yet nowhere is any credit given for their source.