Working with the Chakras with Lisa Erickson

Welcome to season 3 and I'm delighted to be joined by Lisa Erickson for a basic run through the chakras, what they are, where they are and some tips on working with them.
Lisa has been working professionally with the chakras for over 20years and is a real expert in the field.
If you want to dive in deeper, she has written a book called Chakra Empowerment for Women which is full of great activations and tips to guide you.

Lisa can be contacted via:
Website:   https://enlightenedenergetics.com/
Instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/chakraempowerment/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/chakraempowerment

Her books: 

Chakra Empowerment for Women and The Art & Science of Meditation are available via her website or from Amazon

Transcript

Liz Hill: 0:05

Hi, this is Liz and welcome to my podcast, Spiritually Speaking with Liz. So excited to be back, season three, and I've got some amazing guests lined up for you. But before we start, I'm just going to ask you again to like and subscribe to the YouTube channel and tick the little notification bell. So you'll get notifications when I upload anything. And also on your podcast app, if you follow and you could always leave a little review if you wanted to, that would be very nice. Okay, so today I'm super excited. I am joined by Lisa Erickson. So Lisa is a trauma informed energy worker, mindfulness and chakra meditation instructor and author. Her primary modality is chakra based energy work, but she's also a certified mindfulness meditation instructor. Her speciality is women's energetics, women's subtle anatomy, and practices and tools that women can employ to heal, empower, and awaken themselves. She also specializes in sexual trauma healing for both men and for women. So she's written two books, Chakra Empowerment for Women, And the art of science of the art and science of meditation, how to deepen and personalize your practice. So Lisa, welcome. Thank you so much for joining

Lisa Erickson: 1:27

me. Thank you, Liz, so much for inviting me. I'm excited to speak with you.

Liz Hill: 1:32

Oh, I'm excited too. So I always like to ask cause I'm a bit nosy. So I always like to ask about somebody's journey, about how How people came to where they are now. So what started you on your spiritual journey? When did you become aware of things? And how did you come to be a chakra specialist?

Lisa Erickson: 1:52

Yeah, it really started with health problems that I was having straight out of college. I was actually working in technology in New York City, was under a lot of stress. A lot of deadlines, was having headaches and stomach aches. This is 35 years ago. You know, the doctor, when they couldn't really find anything medically wrong, someone unusually for the time suggested meditation. And quite by chance, I ended up in a chakra meditation class. Of course, that's only one form of meditation, but it really worked for me. And I sensed the energies right away. And it really started to open me up to the way I experienced the world, which I hadn't realized. A lot of it was energetic. I didn't realize how much of an empath I was. All of those kinds of things. So for many years, it was a personal spiritual path. Eventually I started to become interested in the other side of those teachings, which is more energy medicine and studying that on the side. And I didn't make the transition to doing this for a living until after my first daughter was born, when I actually had been studying it for a while, but I had a kind of a health crisis and really had to. Utilize a lot of what I've been learning and it really got me fascinated about women's energetics in particular. So I started making this transition and now I've been doing this for 20 years. Amazing. I think

Liz Hill: 3:15

that's always the way, isn't it? You, we have to have the experience to then lead the leaders fully down the path. Yeah, exactly. What I wanted, um, to, for you to talk about today, because I've been lucky enough to do some workshops with you, and what I love about you is that you bring the chakras to life because they are energy, so they are alive, they're not just this flat 2D thing in a book. And so what I thought would be really nice, because a lot of my listeners are just getting into their spiritual journey, they're hearing about chakras, but they're not fully knowing how they can use them. And what I love about your work is about how you empower us to chakras, how you give Um, little meditations to follow and great visualizations. So if that's okay with you, that's where I'd like to go today for you to sort of give us a rundown on the chakras, where they are, how they work.

Lisa Erickson: 4:16

Yeah, absolutely. And I think speaking to what you're talking about. The different ways to access them, because I think that's what can happen is people may read about one method. They may try it out. They don't feel anything. And then they're like, oh, yeah, that's not for me. But in fact, there are so many different ways to work with your energy centers visually through affirmations through touch through, you know, crystals and colors and Sound. And so it's really about finding what is your access point. What really resonates for you? Um, so that's really important. Did you want to just start with the root chakra and work up or what, what feels good for you? That

Liz Hill: 4:56

sounds good to me.

Lisa Erickson: 4:57

Yeah. Well, so I'll give my, you know, introductory, the way I think about our energy body. Is that it is this intersection between our physical body and our psyche and our spirit and the chakras are like the major organs, you know, like we have in our physical body, our stomach, our heart, et cetera, the chakras. Are the main organs in our energy body and they connect to all of those layers. So each chakra or energy center in energy medicine is linked to different physical systems, our skeletal system, our stomach, our nervous system, et cetera. And then on the psychological level, each chakra is linked to different emotions and different emotional patterns. And then on the spiritual level, they're linked to different spiritual experiences and different spiritual vibrations. So you can kind of work with them on whatever level you like. And when we talk about holistic medicine or holistic spiritual development, that's what makes energy work. So powerful is that you, you know, really looking at you as a whole being a physical issue is not just a physical issue and an emotional issue is not just an emotional issue, right? So the heart of all that is the root chakra because it's where our subtle body links in. So there's a lot of different mappings of the chakras, and in terms of the major ones that run kind of up the center of the body, different mappings will put them between 4 and 10, but the system that most people will see is 7. So that's what I'll work with is 7 today, and the root chakra is the base one, it's usually associated with your tailbone, your feet, the base of your body, and it is where that physical subtle body link occurs. And when that energy is strong. You feel grounded, you feel present, you feel safe in your body. And if you have a hard time feeling those things, like someone who's experienced trauma, for example, may have a hard time ever feeling safe or grounded, uh, there's usually difficulty accessing that energy and we're going to work with that energy a lot. So, so I don't know how much you want me to pause and you can, we can talk about questions you have at each chakra or I'm

Liz Hill: 7:09

just, I'm just hung off everywhere. Yeah, I think one of the modern day epidemics at the minute I would say is probably a bit of a big thing to say is that people seem to be here all the time as in up in the head. And so like on phones, it's drawing you out and people don't want to be in their body through obviously through trauma makes you want to come out of your body, but people who haven't suffered trauma still don't seem to want to be. grounded. They don't want to be in, like the base chakra, anybody who knows about the chakras, then you, you hear all the time that everybody's wanting to open the third eye. Everybody's wanting to open the crown and do this meditation, but nobody wants to be In the room, nobody wants to be fully grounded. Do they? Would you agree with that? Do you see a lot of that in

Lisa Erickson: 8:06

your class? Yeah, I see so much of it. And you know, there's so many layers to that. I was just reading a research study about comparing how many hours kids would spend playing outside. Uh, you know, a decade ago, even versus now. So there isn't as much physical activity. There isn't as much sense of connection with nature and the outdoors. Everything is very much screen oriented. And yes, literally being so much in our physical eyes brings our energy up here. Uh, yeah. And then you have the other piece that you mentioned, which is, you know, spiritually the upper chakras. When you're really focused on those is more where the dramatic experiences are. So people tend to want to trigger those, but honestly, there's a limit to what you can experience and what healing or growth can take place. Uh, there's a limit if these lower chakras, if the foundation of the house is not strong. So, so often I'm saying to someone, Oh, okay, that's great. You're such so intuitive. You have such beautiful mystic experiences, but you're saying to me. You have difficulty maintaining the daily container of your life, right? A job and finances, or you're saying to me, your emotions are very erratic. You have difficulty maintaining relationships. That's lower chakra work and no amount of intuitive insights. is going to help change that. We need to work on the base. So that is really a common, a common thing I'm working with people on.

Liz Hill: 9:48

Yeah. I hear that a lot. I read about that a lot and you can just, you can see it to people, can't you?

Lisa Erickson: 9:53

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And it's very, it's very common in the spiritual community and there is often an intersection also for those who have experienced some sort of trauma, especially in childhood, you know, we'll develop patterns, coping mechanisms. Ways of getting through. And that may have been sort of checking out from our surroundings in some way. Even if you don't consider your childhood to have been traumatic, maybe it was a difficult household in some way. You do, we develop patterns of coping where we disconnect. And really what happens when we do that energetically, when we disconnect from our surroundings, we're often our energies floating up off our base, off our root chakra. All of this can become very well developed, might be very well developed. Third eye. But that, that ground isn't there. So yeah, well, I can keep going to the sacral if you want, or yeah, yeah. So this sacral chakra, um, there's different locations for the second and third chakra, but I like to work with the sacral really for women. It's in the pelvis. It's between the hip bones. It really corresponds to our reproductive organs, the womb space, the womb space, which in women's spirituality traditions is very sacred. Uh, it's primordial creativity and birth and fluidity and feminine energy. And everyone has that of all sexual and gender orientations and identities. We have both feminine and masculine energy, but in all of us, this chakra is the seat of that. And it's, uh, also linked to our ability to be fluid. It's linked to the water element. It's linked to sensuality and sexuality. And in terms of energy medicine, it's linked into. Our hormonal balance and so this is the chakra that goes through a lot of changes as we move through life for women in particular in terms of menstruation. It is a cycle. It goes through every month, uh, pregnancy, postpartum menopause. So, it can be really helpful to learn some of that in terms of the way, the way that we age. So, that's kind of the big themes around the 2nd chakra.

Liz Hill: 12:06

So what could, so anybody that's feeling any of those or feeling that disconnect, what can you give some ideas of, um, like a practice that they could do? Yeah.

Lisa Erickson: 12:20

You know, I think the simplest way to connect initially with the chakras is sort of to experiment with visual, a visual affirmations and then maybe sound, right? So two that we can do very easily. Is visual, so just, and physical, physical, visual and, and affirmations. So just sort of settle down anyone that's listening or watching. And notice your tailbone and your sit bones. Like try to bring your energy down to the base of your body and experiment with just visualizing red light here. Almost like a cushion of light that you're sitting on, that your, that your tailbone is touching. And sit with that for a while and resonate with that. If you're watching this by recording, you can pause, right, to give yourself some time with that. And see, do I connect visually? Oh, go ahead.

Liz Hill: 13:15

I was just going to say, or if you're driving, come back to it later. Yes,

Lisa Erickson: 13:18

Good idea. right? If you're not jogging, you can wait while you listen. Yeah. And then the other and, and see if that resonates. See if, like, what is it like to pull your attention all the way down physically? Does that, does that resonate for you? Can you feel a warmth there? What is it like to visualize this red cushion or sphere of light? Do you resonate with the color, with the vibration? And then you can try affirmations. And the affirmations I would do, for example, for the root chakra would be. I am safe in my body. I'm fully present right now. And you can even look around and like, notice, am I fully present? What are the colors? What are the sounds around me? That's the kind of stuff we work with, with the root chakra. And right there, we worked with physical tuning into your tailbone color with the red light and affirmations. And you can just those three access methods, which one really like give you a sense that you're shifting and connecting. And that's how you kind of figure out your, your, your access method.

Liz Hill: 14:25

It's such a simple way.

Lisa Erickson: 14:29

Very visual. Some people cannot visualize at all, right? Some people affirmations are fantastic. Other people, words get them to in their head, right? It's very different for each person.

Liz Hill: 14:43

Okay. And then for the sacral, what is there that they could do for that?

Lisa Erickson: 14:48

Well, you know, in my book, so you've been in my class, I do the sacral Lotus is like my favorite kind of foundation practice. It's really visualizing this beautiful lotus flower in this space, and you can just do orange light there and you can do affirmations just like we just did kind of in the lower pelvis. But I like using this flower because. We have so many complicated messages around our sexual energy. So visualizing a flower that you personally find really radiant and luminous is healing in and of itself in terms of creating this link of this energy being beautiful and blissful and radiant. And then just imagining light emanating up from your pelvis, you know, affirmations I would use on that chakra are things like I am fluid. I. Allow myself pleasure. Um, I. Welcome, my emotions, my emotions are balanced because this is the emotional chakra, things like that. You know, I put a lot of them in the book and stuff, but those are the main ones you would focus on. It's your relationship to sensuality and sexuality, your relationship to your emotions and your relationship

Liz Hill: 16:12

to pleasure. Because that's been a really mixed message, hasn't it? From growing up, you're told that either sex that you do around sex, that there's shame, there's blame. It, it just, it, it's so mixed, isn't it? There isn't, there doesn't seem to be in, in many, well, particularly in the British culture, it's, we don't talk about it. So there is that. Um, shame, blame type thing comes up and it's so sad. I mean, some, some cultures do embrace it a lot more, but I think a lot of, a lot of, um, countries don't do they? And so we sort of brought up with this mixed emotions of, but I've got these feelings, but I shouldn't act on them. And it creates a real mix, you know, it's, it's muddies the water, so to speak.

Lisa Erickson: 17:08

Exactly. And it really complicates our relationship to our body because at the same time, we're getting the messages, you know, that, uh, you know, we, we, we all want to feel validated by others attraction to us. And we're getting so many messages around trying to be sexy. So you're getting such complicated messages, right? Be sexy, but not too sexy, you know, and so, um, yeah, and it really complicates our relationship to our body, which women already we have a very complicated relationship to our bodies in so many ways. And that impacts our relationship to. Those lower chakras, our ability to access them and have this strong foundation. And then I work with a lot of individuals who have experienced some kind of sexual assault, whether that's abuse when they were young or an assault later or harassment. Uh, and that can impact your, your, your lower chakras because you don't feel safe in your body, which is root chakra or with your sexuality, which is second chakra. Right? So then it's like you have a tree where the roots aren't deep enough. Right. That's what it's like when your lower chakras aren't strong and when a big wind comes, that tree's going to fall over. Right. So it's like going back to deepen those roots, getting comfortable with your body and with all the energies of those lower, lower chakras.

Liz Hill: 18:34

Okay. So then moving up to the navel chakra as you call it, or some people call it solar plexus.

Lisa Erickson: 18:40

Yeah, the 3rd chakra and it's really that whole belly area and in energy medicine, it is linked to the digestive system. I like to focus on the bottom of it at the navel, which corresponds in like Chinese medicine and Chinese, um, other traditions with. The Dantean or this power center. So I like to focus there, especially for women, uh, on focus on personal power. And that's what this is the center of personal power, your sense of self, your sense of yourself in the world, this balance between assertiveness. And receptivity and boundaries. So huge. I don't know which workshops you did, but energetic boundaries, you know, um, our empathic ability and our ability to sort of create a filter where we aren't taking on other emotions. We are taking responsibility for other emotions. We aren't letting those emotions become our own emotions. All of this has to do with that navel. And really important chakra. And I love it's linked to the fire elements. So I love to just cultivate the visual of a flame there, right under your belly button, inside your belly. And that's one that I work with all the time with people that is very, can be very effective.

Liz Hill: 20:03

Yeah. Yeah. No, that is, I think the, the fire is what a lot of us feel. So either in the anxiety states that particularly over the last few years with what's been going on, that's kicked everybody back into that, hasn't it? But also, like you said, it's that, Like the, be sexy, but not too sexy. It's the same with be assertive as a woman, but not too assertive. Nobody likes a woman who's too assertive. So just step back, but then be in your own power. So again, it's that mix, isn't it? Of, of really trying to sort of let go of those past messages. That's what my battle has been in my life is, is letting go of the conditioning that we've had and to just stand in your power and say, okay, this is me, this is who I am, and this is

Lisa Erickson: 20:52

okay. Absolutely. And that is really partially about that strong naval Tucker, that sense of self. Yeah. And it's so much about literally burning off, you know, the imprints, the imprints that we've received, the mixed messages that we have received. Um, often I like to work with the throat enable together and, you know, call it owning your power and voice. So it's about stepping into your power. Establishing your boundaries and then being able to communicate those, right? So that the world honors them. Um, and it's, it's not easy. It's definitely a journey.

Liz Hill: 21:29

Yeah. Well, yeah, it is. It's a lifetime journey for some, for most. Okay. So from the navel, we work up to the heart. Yes. It's

Lisa Erickson: 21:38

usually where everyone wants to start their life. Those lower ones. Oh, that seems

Liz Hill: 21:43

like a lot of work. I think people can associate with the heart more maybe. Because you could, you feel more, we've all felt that first, first heartbreak, that loss of a loved one, we've all had that physical feeling. So I think it's easier for people to dial into that and understand it.

Lisa Erickson: 22:02

Yeah, and we're very social creatures and we all want to love and be loved, you know, and yes, we've all felt heartbreak. We've also all felt like if you think even right now like someone you want to hug. You know, a child in your life or even a pet to write that feeling of wanting to pull them to you. Often when I'll say that to people, I'll ask like, what do you feel? And they'll say, Oh, I feel a warmth or tingle right here. Like, so often that's the heart chakra is the first place people will feel something tangible. Be like, yeah, that, what is that? Right? That's your heart chakra. That's this energy. Um, and that's what this chakra is about. It's about our relationships to others, our relational sense, our ability to allow ourselves to feel loved because some of us have a hard time allowing that. So worthiness issues. And also our ability to, uh, feel love for others. Right? And those two things are in direct correspondence to each other. You know, um, the exercise I like to do there is, is called heart star. And it's like, for part of it, you imagine light just coming in from every direction. Sometimes people find they have a hard time receiving that and then you switch to imagine you're emanating it out, right? And you can practice, you need to practice both, right? Your ability to let it in and your ability to emanate it out unconditionally, right?

Liz Hill: 23:30

I found that was, I thought it would be. An easy, even balance, but it wasn't. And so working with that, it does take a little bit of time, but we don't realize how women, I think, particularly, no disrespect guys, but women want to, we we're doing everything for everybody because we want to, because there's an expectation for us to do that. So there, there is quite again, another confusion there of the give and take, isn't there? Yeah,

Lisa Erickson: 24:03

and sometimes it's hard to know. We're also conditioned to be people pleasers. We're conditioned to believe, and there's plenty of men for whom this is true as well, but especially young girls. We are conditioned to be nice. So we can get confused. Maybe we're doing something for people all the time. But, in fact, it's from this place of, well, if I don't, no one will love me. Right? Or from this place of, this is what keeps me safe. I have to keep everyone around me happy. Um, and then it's not actually a true out point of love. And there's also, you know, resentment that builds up in there. Our own needs are not being met. Right? And so that's where this interplay of working with boundaries. And working with your ability to give and receive all, all, you know, is, is together.

Liz Hill: 24:53

Yeah. We're very complex, aren't we?

Lisa Erickson: 24:56

We are. Yeah. And it's easy to get bogged down. Sometimes it's, it's very simple. And so, you know, you're like, okay, just simplify it. Sometimes it's very complex, but I, that's why I like the chakras is it's creates this map that resonates for some people in terms of working with all these different layers that we do have. Yeah.

Liz Hill: 25:15

I think to me, it just makes a lot of sense. You know, when, when you think about digest, like I was played in my twenties with digestive problems and then when I started addressing things, you know, with navel chakra that started to ease. So I know now that's my point of pain, if you like, that if I'm stressed or whatever, that is my first point of, because I tense. And just hold the navel tight, hold the stomach tight, and then obviously it stops the flow, it stops the current.

Lisa Erickson: 25:50

Yeah, exactly. That's classic boundary whenever someone, you know, mentions digestive issues and stomach pain, which is also what I had in my 20s. One of the things that led me to the doctor that led me onto this path. And really, in retrospect, it was a lot about absorbing people's energy and not realizing it. Be chronic people pleaser. And because of that kind of having my energy inside out, trying to kind of sense what does everyone want for me all the time? Right? And then you end up taking it on and you don't have that that that boundary. Um, it's like, you literally take that energy into your digestive system. Right? Which has. as many nerve endings as our brain, right? They often call it the second brain. We have so many nerve endings in our digestive system. So it is very interesting how physical symptoms can be a message.

Liz Hill: 26:41

Yeah. And moving on to the throat, a common one, I think with people losing the voice, people who suffer from recurrent throat issues. Yes.

Lisa Erickson: 26:52

Constrictions there when they're trying to say certain things. Yeah. We feel a lot in our throat. It's a very sensitive area tissue wise. Um, and yes, it's about our voice. It's about our ability to express ourselves in a lot of different ways and our ability to hear. Uh, does rule the mouth, but also the ears. So it's really everything and writing, you know, any kind of communication. So it's ability, it's about our ability to receive feedback in a constructive way and also speak and to speak truthfully. Speak like, are you speaking just to please? Or are you speaking your truth to connect? Do you use speech as a wall to kind of like keep people away or do you actually use it to connect? Right? And that's a lot of times, um, people with, if you have trauma in your background or difficult childhood, et cetera, you will learn to use speech to please people in order to try to stay safe or as a wall to keep people at a distance and then feel lonely. Feel like no one knows who you are, right? And then there's what you were talking about earlier, the speaking from a place of power, learning how to just speak yourself and be okay with some people may not like it. I'll be okay if they don't, right? It's okay.

Liz Hill: 28:08

That was a hard one. I find that really hard being brought up as a people pleaser and a good girl. Yeah. It is that, it is that difficulty of, of wanting to say what you want to say, but I don't want to upset them. I don't want to offend them. And like pussyfooting around everybody where when you should, I think also when you get into your fifties, you get a bit more like, yeah, whatever.

Lisa Erickson: 28:31

Well and that's if you do menopause, right? So you did menopause, right? Because yes, it's this great opportunity and not that there's doing it wrong, but it is this huge opportunity to kind of just shed all those obstacles and just, no, this is it. This is me. Right. My wisdom self. So and energetically, there is a lot that happens at that time to support that. So that's, that's wonderful. That was my experience as well. And in fact, chakra empowerment for women. My first book was published when I was 51, right? I was writing it in my late forties. You know, it sounds like you started this podcast. It's this whole journey into your voice.

Liz Hill: 29:07

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it is. And it's, I think that I'd like to have you back at a later date about menopause and the chakras. Oh, I'd

Lisa Erickson: 29:15

love it. It's my favorite topic these days. So

Liz Hill: 29:18

yeah. So definitely that. Okay. So moving up to the third eye, what can you tell us about that?

Lisa Erickson: 29:24

Okay, well, here's the sexy one that everybody wants, right? It's the rock star. So many, you know, fascinating things. And I call it the three I's as in the letter I, because it's associated with intuition, imagination, and insight. Like, personal insight when you're growing. Like, oh. That was just like my mother. I have that pattern. I didn't really, you know, you have this insight of a pattern that you have that you didn't realize that's insight is one of them. Then of course, imagination, this ability to visualize dream things that never existed before, and then create them right. And then intuition, that ability to know things. That is beyond our cognitive mind, you know, and so many different kinds of intuition that there are right? Um, so that's what we develop when we develop the 3rd eye. And I think it's important to balance all 3 of those just developing your intuition without personal insight can be very dangerous. You can become very disconnected from reality or imagination, you know, um. So it's beautiful. And this is, this is a very common meditation point, like to just visualize white light there, you can even just hold a finger there and people will often have experiences of light here. The most important thing is that that is grounded. That you sort of are staying in your body. There are techniques for kind of traveling out of your body, but really, someone shouldn't be doing anything like that till they really have that, the roots of their tree strong.

Liz Hill: 31:01

Which a lot don't. There's a lot of things about astral travel and, and people exactly that. They're not grounded enough to be doing it really, are they? They've not got that understanding, I don't think, and that importance of knowing the body. Yeah,

Lisa Erickson: 31:17

exactly. And if someone is sort of going too far out relative to their base, what they can handle often, what we see is health problems or because it's like, you're not quite in your body. So you're absorbing a lot of energies that your body is, you're kind of almost unboundary. There's nobody tending the house, right? Everybody's checked out, you know, or, um, just difficulty. Maintaining life, you know, a job and paying the bills and stability. So that's, that's the thing. If that's happening to someone listening to this, you know, you want to take a little break and focus on the more grounded aspects of your path and your energy. Yeah. Yeah.

Liz Hill: 32:02

Okay. And then moving up to the crown.

Lisa Erickson: 32:04

Yeah. So this is often considered a spiritual chakra. It's really sort of half in half out of this top back part of our head where it's called the rear fontanel. It's one of those sections of the skull that in a baby is not fused shut yet. Right. Because our brain grows so fast those first few months, it doesn't fuse shut for a while. One up here too. So the crown is here. And it often will be shown with like a lotus flower. It's connected to awakening and enlightenment, but it's also connected to meaning and purpose. So it isn't like if you don't consider yourself a spiritual or religious person, you don't have a crown chakra or your crown chakra is closed. It's, it expresses, it may express for many people more in terms of a sense of purpose. Like maybe, you know, you're very into a certain cause that is your purpose in life, right? Um, that you could have a very open crown chakra and that's how it expresses right that it comes through you in this way as opposed to meditation or spiritual experiences. And so often in tradition, some traditions. There's a lot of focus on bringing the spiritual energy up through the chakras to open the crown for meditation experiences. Then manifesting for me is a process of bringing the energy down, sort of from inspiration down to birthing something. So you can work with the upward path and the downward path. Uh, I think the key component of working with the upward path is It starts at the base. You have to be grounded there and then you move the energy up. You don't just try to open the crown, just like the third eye. You don't just try to open it without having this sense of your whole being, your whole being.

Liz Hill: 33:47

So how does it, so I know that you're a Buddhist, so how does the chakras and the meditations, the visualizations, how does that fit in? with Buddhism.

Lisa Erickson: 34:00

Yeah, it's interesting. So the seven chakra system I just outlined is really more aligned with the yogic traditions of India, although there are chakra systems from all over the world, right? Um, there's systems that came out of Reiki in Japan and actually there's energy center systems all over the world. They don't necessarily use the word chakra because that's a Sanskrit word. Uh, from ancient India, um, but you know, there's these energy centers and that's what's so amazing. These core energy centers really in some form from cultures all over the world. So those teachings are not specifically Buddhist, but I do practice Tibetan Buddhism and there is chakra systems within the branch that I study. Some branches of Buddhism really don't work with the energy body at all and others do. And in those that do, you're going, you're connecting to that. you could say spiritual vibration of the chakras, uh, in terms of the connection to spiritual vibrations and, and, and meditating with the purpose of bringing those forth.

Liz Hill: 35:07

That's it. So on a day to day basis, your meditation practice, do you do Um, do you follow strictly like the Tibetan, um, pattern or do you have, do you sort of scan in with yourself and think, okay, this feels a bit off today. Let's do this. How does it work for

Lisa Erickson: 35:26

you today? I do both. So I have a formal Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice that is my personal practice, right? And really has to do with the path I'm on there. But a lot of the work I do with the chakras, I call it more chakra activation as opposed Meditation. So I kind of reserve the word meditation explicitly for this awakening journey, which not everyone does it. Words are used in different ways. And I use activation for kind of energetic health, right? So I will realize all the time. Oh, I need to activate my boundaries in this situation or my throat chakra is blocked or whatever. Uh, I'm feeling really constricted in my heart and I'm about, I need to have an honest conversation with this loved one. I need to open up there. Oh, I'm not grounded. I'm all up here. I'm frenetic, too much coffee, which can do that. I need to ground, you know, and then I'm working with my chakra activation practices. So I have two different ways. I'm personally working with the chakras and some people in my clientele may be more oriented. This way, and others more spiritually, more personal growth and health on this side. Again, you can kind of work with them for whatever you need in your life.

Liz Hill: 36:39

That makes absolute sense. Now, the way I found you was, it's a long time, it's over 10 years ago, I can't remember how long, and it was, um, About being an empath, about not being in control. I just discovered, or was thinking I must be an empath here and really struggling. And I did one of your empath workshops. I'm forgetting what it was called now. And one of the things I'd like you to talk about, because this was a game changer for me. And that is the second skin activation. Yes.

Lisa Erickson: 37:14

Yeah. And the second scan is an activation tool that's in my book, Chakra Empowerment for Women, but I teach it a lot and in, in sessions too, that combines the groundedness and connection to the physical body of the root chakra and the boundaries and sort of, uh, filtering capacity of the navel chakra. And really it's like you activate red light at your root. Red light at your navel and you imagine it's creating this additional energetic skin on top of your own skin. Our skin holds our organs in and protects our muscles and it's what it is. It's a protective filter. This is an energetic skin that really you can learn to have as your default way of walking around in the world where you can still sense what you need to intuitively. But you no longer take it in as your own. And even just that idea can flip someone, right? And then it takes a little practice. So I would love to hear, like, how long did it take you to feel as if you kind of changed your default way of being in the world? It took me

Liz Hill: 38:23

a while. It's because of that confusion and what you just said really sort of struck a chord when you said about the navel chakra. It was operating inside out and that took a while to flip back. Um, so I would say it took me a good couple of months to with regular practice. To be able to, to, you know, I would do it on a morning when I'd done a meditation and then out in the day I was finding it harder to keep it going. Does that make sense? So it was strengthening it. So the time I was fine, cause I'm very visual, so I was fine activating it, visualizing it, feeling it, but then partway through the day I would start to be feeling things again that weren't mine. So then I would have to sort of like, wait a minute, you know, just find a quiet space, just go over it again. So a little while, and then it got, I make my friends laugh with this, but then it got to the point where, um, if I was out and I felt anybody's that I would literally, cause I wear rings, I would literally touch a ring. Like it was a button and it's there.

Lisa Erickson: 39:41

That's fantastic. Yeah. Well, I'm so glad you shared that because that is the reality of it. It's just like going to the gym and trying to build up your biceps. It doesn't happen in one visit to the gym. It's this process, um, chakra activation. It's this process of strengthening your connection to your subtle body body. Your ability to shift intentionally, you got to the point where you can hit your ring and do it, right? That took, that takes time. And that's so important because often people will be like, Oh yeah, I tried the chakras. I didn't feel anything. Not for me. And this is where the reality don't stick with it and you will feel definitive shifts. Um, it really is about practice and empowerment. Yeah. Over time. And now it's probably your new default. I mean, for me, a same journey and still I can get knocked out. Right? I have a day where I get triggered, where I'm tired, um, a combination of factors, where all of a sudden realize, oh, wow, I'm just, I've dropped my boundary. I'm picking up everything. I need to recenter. Exactly. You know.

Liz Hill: 40:49

Yeah. What tips could you give? So obviously that would be one, but the way life is going as it just seems everybody's rushing more. Everybody seems busy, you know, it's like busy, busy, busy. And what, um, advice, what tips, what exercises could you recommend to people to make them feel more present, to bring them into that calmer space?

Lisa Erickson: 41:16

Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, you know, I think I want to say the lower chakras, but to make it more accessible reality. I, I really think connection to nature is so important. Yeah. Me too. And those lower four chakras are linked to the elements. The root is earth. The second is water. The third is fire. The heart is air. You know, this lower four. And it's really like just even going for a walk and not putting in air pods. And just focusing on the senses and being like, okay, I'm going to focus on earth. What does my feet feel like as I walk? Uh, is there water in the air? Is there a body of water around and, you know, connect to that. What is the air like, right? Feel the heat of the sun. These are the elements and you can, if you want, link them to those associated chakras. It can be a very powerful way of just giving yourself a quick connection point to those chakras, and also getting you connected to your body. And it just links your subtle body right in. So for anyone who's sort of like, I don't think I'm ready to try activations or meditations or affirmations. That's my starting point, um, connect to your body and the elements and that is in fact energy work.

Liz Hill: 42:33

Yeah. And it's the simplest thing to do, isn't it? It's just, it only takes five minutes, 10 minutes just to, I think just you breathe again, properly for me, whenever I go in wards, then I just have like a big sigh. Yeah. Yeah. It just releases everything. Exactly.

Lisa Erickson: 42:54

Well, it's connecting. And then you have a reference point. If you want to do more focused chakra activation work, you have a little bit of a reference point, a memory of what it feels like to be present in your body. Yes.

Liz Hill: 43:10

So from Lisa now to Lisa, how old are your twins

Lisa Erickson: 43:15

now? My twins are seniors in high school, they are 17 and my oldest one is a sophomore in college. So yes. Right, okay. They were probably little kids when you came to my first workshop and they were probably making noise in the background. Yeah, no, teenagers and they're never home.

Liz Hill: 43:37

So from you now, maybe to the sophomore, to your daughter. So from Lisa now. To your daughter or you at that age, what little wisdom pearls could you give, would you say for in that age thing, age gap?

Lisa Erickson: 43:54

Yeah. I mean, some of it's very general. It's like, you know, focus on finding out who you are. Right. Um, I definitely constantly want to tell all of my kids, get off your phone. Literally take breaks, right? Make you make sure and, and, and be in your body and be in your. Um, and really, uh, you can't make everybody happy and you can't make everybody like you, you know, and yes, embrace this other side of life, energy, this unseen part, tune into it, tune into it and, uh, embrace it and find what tools work for you to help you connect with it. There's more to life than just what we see.

Liz Hill: 44:45

Yeah. So true. That's beautiful. And do you say this to kids or are they just like, Oh, yeah,

Lisa Erickson: 44:51

they roll their eyes a lot, but it's okay. Mostly at this point, it's a bit humorous. They'll send memes about me. So, Boomer new age mom, you know, it's okay. It's all good. I believe it all gets in because well, we all know this, right? There's certain things. It's so funny because my parents, we did a lot of visits to national parks and things like that, which I grumbled about all the time, but it totally got in anyway. Right? Like, I ended up growing up to love nature and prioritizing that. Um, so everything gets in, as we know, as parents, even when they complain about it.

Liz Hill: 45:32

It does. And it made me smirk to myself when you said about the three eyes and, and I often now I'll say something like, Oh my God, that's my mother.

Lisa Erickson: 45:43

Yeah. So, yeah, that's what happens. Yeah, we all get humbled in that way. Right. Yeah,

Liz Hill: 45:49

definitely. Oh, Lisa, thank you so much for joining me. You've been an amazing guest and guys, you can see why I wanted Lisa on and we'll definitely, uh, rearrange for you to come back and for like a menopause special, please. Cause that would be amazing. I would love.

Lisa Erickson: 46:05

Yeah.

Liz Hill: 46:05

Thank you. I'm going to put, Lisa's book. In all the show notes, I will put links. Lisa never stops. I've never known somebody work as hard because you're always creating courses, writing blogs. Um, you run your own private practice as well as speaking on podcasts. So you're a real advocate for all of this. Um, so I invite you to check out all of her work. So enlightened energetics is her website, but again, I'll put the details below and that's her Instagram as well, as well as is momma mystic still going. I

Lisa Erickson: 46:39

haven't been blogging, but it is still alive. Yes.

Liz Hill: 46:42

Okay. That, that's how I found you as that. So there's lots of very valuable information on there. So Lisa, thank you so much for joining me. I've absolutely loved it and thank you everybody for joining us and I'll be back again soon. Thank you. Bye.