The Seven Chakras: understanding stored emotions and life stages.

Our bodies are remarkable vessels that not only carry us through physical space but also hold the imprints of our emotional experiences. The chakra system, an ancient framework originating from Hindu and yogic traditions, offers a profound map for understanding how our life experiences become encoded in our physical and energetic bodies. Each of the seven main chakras corresponds to specific emotions, developmental stages, and life lessons that shape who we are today.

By exploring the connection between chakras, stored emotions, and the age periods when they develop, we can gain insight into patterns that may be influencing our present lives. This understanding becomes a powerful tool for healing, allowing us to trace current struggles back to their origins and work with them more compassionately.

Root Chakra (Muladhara): Birth to 7 Years

Located at the base of the spine, the root chakra develops during our earliest years, from birth through approximately age seven. This foundational energy centre is intimately connected with our sense of safety, security, and basic trust in the world.

The emotions most commonly stored in the root chakra include fear, anxiety about survival, feelings of abandonment, and a lack of groundedness. When our basic needs for food, shelter, safety, and consistent caregiving are met during these formative years, we develop a healthy root chakra. However, experiences of instability, trauma, neglect, or inconsistent care during this period can create blockages that manifest later as chronic anxiety, financial insecurity, difficulty trusting others, or a persistent feeling of not belonging.

Looking back at your first seven years can illuminate present-day struggles with feeling safe in the world or maintaining stability in your life. Understanding that these patterns were formed when you were most vulnerable can help you approach healing with greater self-compassion.

Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana): 7 to 14 Years

The sacral chakra, located in the lower abdomen, becomes most active during the years between seven and fourteen. This period encompasses early childhood social development and the beginning of puberty, making it deeply connected to creativity, sexuality, emotions, and pleasure.

Emotions stored in the sacral chakra often include guilt, shame (particularly around the body and sexuality), suppressed creativity, and fear of change. During these years, we learn about our emotional world, develop our sense of creativity and play, and begin to form our relationship with pleasure and our changing bodies.

Experiences of shame, emotional invalidation, creative discouragement, or uncomfortable messages about the body and sexuality during this developmental window can create lasting imprints. As adults, these may appear as difficulty experiencing pleasure, creative blocks, guilt around self-expression, or challenges with emotional intimacy. Reflecting on your experiences between ages seven and fourteen can reveal the roots of how you relate to your emotions and creative self today.

Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura): 14 to 21 Years

Situated in the upper abdomen, the solar plexus chakra develops most actively during adolescence and early adulthood, roughly from ages fourteen to twenty-one. This is the seat of personal power, self-esteem, confidence, and identity formation.

The emotions typically stored here include shame (particularly around identity and capability), anger, powerlessness, and low self-worth. During these years, we're answering the fundamental question: "Who am I?" We're developing our sense of autonomy, testing our abilities, and beginning to step into our personal power.

Experiences of criticism, control, invalidation, or powerlessness during this period can create significant blockages. These may manifest in adulthood as difficulty setting boundaries, people-pleasing tendencies, lack of confidence, difficulty making decisions, or conversely, excessive need for control. When you examine your teenage years and early twenties, you may discover the origins of struggles with self-esteem and personal agency that persist today.

Heart Chakra (Anahata): 21 to 28 Years

The heart chakra, located at the centre of the chest, comes into full development during young adulthood, approximately ages twenty-one to twenty-eight. This energy centre governs love, compassion, connection, and our capacity for relationships.

Grief, heartbreak, resentment, loneliness, and difficulty with forgiveness are the emotions most commonly stored in the heart chakra. During this developmental phase, we typically form our most significant romantic relationships, deepen friendships, and learn about love, loss, and connection in mature ways.

Experiences of betrayal, heartbreak, loss, or conditional love during these years can create protective barriers around the heart. In later life, this may manifest as difficulty trusting in relationships, fear of intimacy, challenges with vulnerability, or patterns of emotional unavailability. Reflecting on your early to mid-twenties can illuminate current relationship patterns and help you understand where walls around your heart may have been built.

Throat Chakra (Vishuddha): 28 to 35 Years

Located at the throat, this chakra develops most significantly between ages twenty-eight and thirty-five. It governs communication, self-expression, truth, and authenticity.

The emotions stored in the throat chakra include suppressed expression, fear of speaking up, lies we've told or been told, and anxiety about being truly seen and heard. During this life stage, we're often establishing ourselves professionally and personally, finding our voice in the world, and learning to communicate our truth.

Experiences where your voice was dismissed, where you felt unsafe speaking your truth, or where you had to suppress your authentic self during this period can create lasting blockages. These may appear as difficulty expressing needs, fear of public speaking, chronic throat issues, or a disconnect between your inner truth and outer expression. Looking back at your late twenties and early thirties can reveal why you might struggle with authentic communication today.

Third Eye Chakra (Ajna): 35 to 42 Years

The third eye chakra, located between the eyebrows, develops during the years from thirty-five to forty-two. This centre governs intuition, insight, imagination, and our ability to see beyond the physical.

Emotions stored here include confusion, disconnection from intuition, inability to see clearly, and fear of looking within. During this life stage, many people begin to question deeper meanings, seek spiritual understanding, or reassess their life's direction.

Experiences that caused you to doubt your intuition, dismiss your inner knowing, or stay stuck in rigid thinking during this period can create blockages. These may manifest as difficulty trusting your gut feelings, lack of clarity about life direction, or disconnection from your spiritual self. Examining your late thirties can help you understand current struggles with vision and intuition.

Crown Chakra (Sahasrara): 42 Years and Beyond

The crown chakra, at the top of the head, continues developing from age forty-two onward. It represents our connection to something greater than ourselves, spiritual understanding, and unity consciousness.

Emotions stored in the crown chakra include disconnection, meaninglessness, spiritual despair, and attachment to the material world. This ongoing developmental phase is about deepening wisdom, finding purpose, and connecting with the transcendent aspects of existence.

Blockages here may manifest as feeling disconnected from purpose, inability to access peace, or excessive attachment to ego and material concerns. This chakra continues to evolve throughout our later years, inviting us into deeper wisdom and connection.

So now let’s bring it all together. Understanding the chakra system as a developmental map allows us to trace our current emotional patterns back to their origins. When you're struggling with trust issues, you might look back at your first seven years. When facing creative blocks, examine ages seven to fourteen. When boundaries feel impossible, explore your teenage years.

This isn't about blaming the past but about understanding it with compassion. Each chakra holds not just stored emotions but also the potential for healing and transformation. By acknowledging what was stored and when, we can begin the gentle work of releasing what no longer serves us and reclaiming the wholeness that has always been our birthright.