AS much as every parent sometimes wishes they could read their child's mind to figure out what an earth is going on inside their head, this is sadly impossible.
But what if there was a way you could work our how your child was feeling, quickly and easily, without even talking to them?
Former pharmacist Rachel Brown set up her company Chakra Kids in a bid to help children "manage and express their emotions" while also building "confidence, self belief and positivity".
And with the scary statistic that one in six school children have a mental health issue now – compared to 1 in 9 back in July 2017 – Rachel's work is even more important.
"The root of any mental health issue is the suppression of emotions," she explained.
"Scientifically, emotions are energy, and we only experience them for 90 seconds. A negative emotion = negative energy.
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"If we suppress it rather than express it, the energy of the emotion stops causing an imbalance in our body’s energy centres, leading to more of the same emotion, various negative behaviours and physical issues.
"A big part of the problem is that children are rarely taught to recognise, understand and work through their emotions."
So Rachel works with children to teach them how to understand their emotions, and how to identify them in terms of colours – each of which is linked to an energy centre inside the body.
"By identifying the colour the child feels, we can then more easily work out what emotion they are feeling, particularly if they are unable to verbalise it," Rachel continued.
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"And using the unique properties of the energy centre that is associated with that colour, we can encourage them to do simple, fun and engaging activities – which will support them to express the emotion at the point they feel it rather than suppress it."
To help and support parents, Rachel has created something called the "behaviour equation" – "Behaviour + colour +/- physical issue = imbalanced energy centre".
"Children are very visual and are much more likely to be able to tell us what colour they feel, or choose a colour they feel, rather than verbalise how they feel," she explained.
What does each colour mean?
RED
The first/red energy centre is linked to the physical self – the idea of belonging, feeling secure, safe and stable.
If the energy centre is balanced your child will most likely be self confident, calm and centred, energetic and trusting.
If this energy centre is imbalanced some of the emotions that can occur include stress, anxiety anger and fear. And you may also see behaviours such as laziness lack of motivation, hoarding tendencies, tantrums, lack of trust, lack of vitality.
Physically it may manifest as lower body issues such as constipation, diarrhoea, under/over weight, and aches and pains in lower legs and feet.
ORANGE
The second/orange energy centre is linked to the creative/exploratory self, our fun loving side, the seat of our being.
If the energy centre is balanced your child will most likely experience harmonious relationships with self and others, be able to express wants, needs emotions freely, and be creative and fun loving.
If this energy centre is imbalanced some of the emotions that can occur include excessive mood swings, emotional sensitivity/insensitivity, overwhelm. You may also see behaviours such as separation/attachment issues, boredom, a loss of creativity/enthusiasm or an unwillingness to try new things.
Physically it may manifest as lower body issues such as hip problems, lower back pain and bladder problems.
YELLOW
The third/yellow energy centre is linked to our ego self, our power/autonomy.
If the energy centre is balanced your child will most likely to be spontaneous, energetic, responsible, decisive have a sense of humour and be warm and reliable.
When this is imbalance some of the emotions that can occur include aggression, blame, anger, feeling things are unfair, nervousness. You may also see behaviours such as more or less energy than friends, fearful about making mistakes, avoiding doing what they they are feel not good at, competitiveness, indecisiveness and not listening.
Physically it may manifest as problems such as eating disorders, digestive disorders.
GREEN
The fourth/green energy centre is linked to our social self, our love and compassion for self and others, our connection to self and others.
If the energy centre is balanced your child will most likely to be peaceful, centred, loving, empathetic, joyful, open to experiences, able to resolve challenges easily and able to accept themselves for who they are.
When this is imbalanced some of the emotions that can occur include jealously, being highly critical and demanding and you may also see behaviours such as being a people pleaser, a loner, finding friendships difficult, being cold and withdrawn.
Physically it may manifest as problems such asthma, heart/circulation disorders or immune system disorders.
BLUE
The fifth/blue energy centre is linked to our creative self, our ability to communicate.
If the energy centre is balanced your child will most likely to be able to speak openly and authentically, have a good sense of rhythm, be a good listener, be creative, understanding able to speak their truth, open minded and be able to adjust well to change.
When this is imbalanced some of the emotions and behaviours that can occur include indecisiveness, judgemental, telling lies, being very shy, speaking with a very soft voice or a very loud voice, talking too much at inappropriate times, often interrupting, being a stutterer, a gossiper, being critical, dishonest and a poor listener.
Whilst physically it may manifest as problems such as a chronic sore throat, grinding teeth, mouth and gum difficulties, joint problems, swollen glands and thyroid problems.
INDIGO
The sixth/indigo energy centre is linked to our intuitive self, our understanding of our unique place in the world and how we fit in with the bigger picture.
If the energy centre is balanced your child will most likely to be intuitive, perceptive, imaginative, have a good memory and a good imagination, they are able to visualise, able to recall dreams, have clarity of thought and are open to learn and grow from the experiences of life.
When this is imbalanced some of the emotions and behaviours that can occur include feelings of inadequacy, being close minded, inability to learn from their mistakes, over/under active imagination, a poor memory, difficulty concentrating, insensitive to others and situations and rigid thinking.
Physically it may manifest as problems such as frequent nightmares, problems with eyes and eyesight, headaches, neurological issues, spinal difficulties, learning difficulties and seizures.
PURPLE
The seventh/purple energy centre is linked to our spiritual self, our spiritual connection, our self awareness and consciousness.
If the energy centre is balanced your child will most likely to be thoughtful, open minded, questioning, peaceful, have a clear perspective on life and be connected to inner wisdom and understanding of their place in the world.
When this is imbalanced some of the emotions and behaviours that can occur include living in their head, boredom, disillusionment, restlessness, narrow mindedness, greedy, materialistic, confusion, inability to live in the moment, loss of purpose and meaning, unable to see bigger picture and unable to trust process of life.
Whilst physically it may manifest as problems such as Migraines and headache, learning difficulties, sensitivity to light and sound and unexplained chronic exhaustion.
"We can then use this together with any behaviours and physical issues they may be experiencing to work out which energy centre is most likely to be imbalanced.
"Then, using a toolbox of activities for each energy centre, encourage the child to do some of these activities, all of which are short, simple and fun and created to be fitted into the daily routine – which in turn helps them to express that emotion there and then.
"The idea is that these then become habits, the children feel more in control because they have a method that is fun to do and which helps them feel better when they don’t feel right and don’t necessarily know why."
As an example, Rachel explained what she would do if a child came to her struggling with tantrums and leg pains, and identified with the colour red.
"Since the red energy centre is linked with the element of earth, a great activity to do is to encourage children to take their shoes and socks off and stamp on the ground," she said.
"By doing this our body grounds and all the negative energy that has built up dissipates into the ground and we pull in positive energy from the ground."
In order to help children, Rachel has created a series of seven stories about mental health monsters, together with a soft toy version of the monster that has an affirmation or positive statement sewn onto his back linked to the emotions of the energy centre they represent.
She also recommends her card pack of awesomeness, which comprises 21 cards, 3 of each colour of the rainbow, linking to the 7 energy centres.
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And through Chakra Kids, Rachel offers a wide variety of services including a 1:1 eight-week bespoke mentorship programme, a 60-minute 1:1 chakra cleanse and a series of chakra workshops.
She also has a free guide, free chakra quiz, free workshop and a free video recording of part of first book in the mental health monster series here.
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