Feeling achy, cranky or scared? Maybe your chakra needs a tune-up

It's a new year, with new ideas, so how about a new approach to your wellbeing?

Sounds appealing, right? Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary, a neuroscientist and the former director Wellspring Health in Scripps Memorial Hospital, knows her way around integrative medicine. Which means she says she can help us manage chronic disorders by mixing in fundamental changes in diet, behavior, and stress.

And as we spend our days rushing from school drop-offs, to morning meetings, to rushed lunches, to harried commutes home, who wouldn’t welcome something — anything — to make things go more smoother on your mind and body.

And that’s where your chakras come in. Chaudhary says there are 7 major chakras in the human body, and the chakra system is based on energy, with each one correlating to different organs as well as our mental and emotional state. The chakras work as an integrated team. So that means when one is out of whack, it can throw other chakras out of balance. Chakras are important in traditional Eastern medicine.

So how do you know when something is awry?

"If you have any type of chronic symptom, than you know a chakra is out of balance. The trick is figuring out which one is causing the main problem because when one chakra goes out of balance, it usually causes another one to also go out of balance," Chaudhary tells Megyn Kelly TODAY. "A good example is when the crown chakra goes out of balance, causing sleep disturbances, but also throws off the root chakra, causing constipation."

The possible solutions: "Herbs, specific foods, yoga, acupuncture, color therapy, and massage, but one of my favorite modalities is the use of sound to balance the chakras. Mantras are my favorite form of sound medicine because you can do them yourself and it doesn't cost you anything," says Chaudhary.

So without further ado, a look at the 7 chakras, how they work and why they matter.

Root Chakra (1st chakra)

Color: red
Location: tip of the tailbone.
Medical problems: issues with the colon (constipation) or lower back pain Mental/Emotional: helps you feel grounded and safe

Sacral Chakra (2nd chakra)

Color: orange
Location: below the naval
Medical problems: issues with the reproductive system
Mental/Emotional: creativity and sexuality

Solar Plexus (3rd chakra)

Color: yellow
Location: navel
Medical problems: digestive issues
Mental/Emotional: self-esteem and willpower

Heart Chakra (4th chakra)

Color: green
Location: chest
Medical problems: cardiovascular disease
Mental/Emotional: fear of intimacy

Throat Chakra (5th chakra)

Color: Blue
Location: throat
Medical problems: thyroid disease
Mental/Emotional: difficulty expressing thoughts and feelings

Third Eye Chakra (6th chakra)

Color: Violet
Location: center of the forehead
Medical problems: eye problems, hormonal imbalances (connection to the pituitary gland)
Mental/Emotional: depression

Crown Chakra (7th chakra)

Color: Purple
Location: top of the head
Medical problems: sleep disorders
Mental/Emotional: feeling disconnected from others

To help your chakras stay in sync, you might want to do a mantra. It is a specific sound that vibrates through the nervous system to have a direct impact on the chakras. By saying a mantra, you further enhance the connection between the brain and the specific chakra by stimulating these reflex points on the roof of the mouth. It’s easy. It’s quick. And it gets your day started the best way possible, with total physical and emotional alignment.

Ancient Sanskrit Mantra for balancing all seven chakras (should only be done for 20 minutes a day):