In this year, I reflected on what my values are as a fashion designer. During my undergraduate study, I often stayed up late to finish my work, overworked and overstressed most of the time, I found that it caused me to be in a state of extreme mental tension all the time. So I started looking for a solution to this problem. I wanted to free myself from anxiety and stress both physically and spiritually. I started studying about the 7 chakras. Root chakra, Sacral chakra, Solar plexus chakra, Heart chakra, Throat chakra, Third eye chakra, Crown chakra. And in the meantime exploring my culture background, looking into all the beautiful traditional craftsmanship in my hometown, Yunnan, China.
Jingyi Xie
In Sanskrit, the word “chakra” means “disk” or “wheel” and refers to the energy centres in your body. There are seven main chakras that run along your spine. They start at the root, or base, of your spine and extend to the crown of your head. Each chakra has their own symbols, and represented colours. These wheels or disks of spinning energy each correspond to certain nerve bundles and major organs.To function at their best, your chakras need to stay open, or balanced. According to the meditation practices, if the chakras ever become out of sync, they can negatively impact your. Each of the chakras is associated with a particular body part and its proper functioning. When a chakra is low in energy, we will have difficulty expressing the particular qualities associated with that chakra.When a chakra is overactive, the qualities are a dominant force in the person’s life. This can have both physical and emotional effects. For example, Physical imbalances associated with Solar Plexus Chakra include digestive problems, liver dysfunction, chronic fatigue, high blood pressure, diabetes, stomach ulcers, pancreas and gallbladder issues, colon diseases. Emotional imbalances associated with Solar Plexus Chakra include issues of personal power and self-esteem, our inner critic comes out. Fears of rejection, criticism, physical appearance.When this chakra is balanced, we feel self- respect and self-compassion. We feel in control, assertive, confident.
I want my designs to be a form of meditation to bring about clarity of mind and remind people the importance of our physical, mental and spiritual health. I also researched on colour therapy during this unit. Colour therapy is an ancient healing modality also known as chromotherapy, is the method of treating ailments through the use of colour. It can be done through different ways including looking at a particular colour. The chakra colours: red , orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple.The chakra colours reflect different frequencies of light and energy associated with each energy centre and when you receive the frequency of the colours , the body releases tension, the mind lets go of thinking, and emotions wash away to move into harmony and I only chose to work within the chakra colours
By researching into the meaning of all the chakra symbols I also discovered that the geometric shapes associated with each chakra aren’t just pretty designs crafted to please the eye. They represent more than that, In Tantric texts, each of the seven chakras has a unique symbol termed mandalas.In Sanskrit, mandala means circle. Mandalas are a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism, representing the universe.
