Chakra Rituals: Awakening the Wild Woman Within

by Cristi Christensen

Cristi Christensen's Chakra Rituals is a book that makes the ancient science of Chakras accessible to spiritually conscious women, and offers a seven-week step-by-step program.



Learn how to tap into the single most perfect system living inside of each of us--the seven Chakras.

While Chakras have become trendy, sexy, cool, and very spiritual, few people today really know how to activate the Chakras' powerful energy for deep transformation. Cristi Christensen aims to change that, and Chakra Rituals offers readers a multi-dimensional, practical, and inspiring structured seven-week step-by-step program. Each week, readers are instructed how to activate a different Chakra, and each weekday they are led through a dynamic, easy, and motivating practice (altar building; breathing; meditation; vinyasa yoga flow, mudra, writing contemplation, and embodiment) which distills the esoteric concepts and makes them tangible, living experiences. A self-discovery and self-help guide with striking full-color illustrations, Chakra Rituals employs the Chakras' potential to open the pathways to a full, enlightened "aliveness." Seasoned practitioners and newcomers alike are invited to flow with their emotions, claim their power, transform their lives, and align with the divine.

Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction, Self Help

272 pages, Paperback

Published August 17, 2021

Reviews

[Heather Densmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chakra Rituals is a comprehensive and practical book about the 7 chakras to ideally be implemented over a 7 week timeframe. It includes ideas for altars, meditations, yoga poses, mudras, daily writing inspiration, prayers and breath exercises. This book is a great resource for those interested in exploring or learning more about the 7 chakras.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the complimentary copy of the book I won through a Goodreads giveaway.

[Melissa McGuire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ive always been into learning about spirituality. I’ve dabbled into chakras before. However this book is so helpful. It’s well separated into categories and has beautiful illustrations. I absolutely loved this book

[Heather Wiest · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am loving this beautiful Chakra resource, a must read! As a yoga teacher I often teach on the Chakras, and this masterpiece is a wealth of information!! Thank you, Cristi, for sharing your heart, soul, experience, and wisdom with us all! XO

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book! For someone who has over the last 20 years only dabbled in yoga and meditation, I think Cristi brings the practice to joyful life through this beautifully written and illustrated book. Worth reading over and over!

[Lisa J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Lots of practical and inspiring ways to integrate using the chakra system to feel more connected, inspired and alive!

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chakras, crystals and spirituality have all bee hot topics recently. Maybe it’s because we’ve all be stuck at home and looking for ways to better ourselves and pass the time, whatever it is I know we’ve all needed a change and there’s something to the energy flow in the body that helps us when it’s not stuck.

Whether you’re healing from past trauma or looking for ways to get healthy and live a truer life that connects your being to the work around us, you’ll find this book to be the answer you’ve been looking for.

It reads more like a workbook that takes you on a journey of self on an internal level. Learn how to control the energy and help it flow where it’s stuck, I promise you this is a wonderfully perfect book that comes at the best time possible.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive guide on chakras, mudras, yoga poses, writing contemplation, breath work, grounding and so much more. This book is chock full of helpful information if you are unfamiliar with the chakra system, and even if you are there is so much to this book. I enjoyed the chakra cheat sheets, the pictures of the yoga poses are extremely helpful to those that may not practice yoga a regular basis. This is definitely a worthwhile book to utilize step by step, day by day. There are rituals in the process of learning, absorbing, and practicing said information. Overall, a very good book!

[Diana N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is broken down into 7 Chakaras, each with a different theme. I followed the recommendations in the book to do one Chakara per week.

I really enjoyed the mudras in this book and the information/space for reflection. The pictures are very helpful to show each mudra. A good guide for connecting with your inner self!

[Debby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book full of all sorts of things.

[Kelly Erwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I learned so much from it that I now do on a daily basis.

[Sarafina L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know where to even start with this book, I love it soooo much! I’ll start by saying that this book is my saving grace, and Cristi’s words are a love song + the medicine that I’ve needed for so long..
I devoured everything inside of it -as I couldn’t hold back- and now I can’t wait to read it through again, very slowly, and put all of the practices into play over the course of several weeks, (as it was designed to be digested, integrated and practiced.)
Chakra Rituals is written so beautifully, so honestly and with such incredible knowledge and insight, it is impossible to put down the book without gaining significance from each page.
I can hear fire-cracker-Cristi, coming through the pages in her empowered, articulate, and vulnerable voice. She gives us real life experience, deep sacred knowledge of yogic practice, powerful goddess inspiration and a clear & beautiful path of healing that includes personal stories, mudras, chants, poses, breath work, conscious self-exploratory writing prompts and more… All this juicy goodness is wrapped up in a rainbow array of colorful pages to help us align our chakras, embody our beings and remember that it is our birthright to be the Wild Women that we are!
I am grateful to have this beautiful book on my healing path and I will forever refer back to it + share it with my wild women!
A must “read” (+ so much more than that!)

[Toni Bergins · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you need a breath of fresh air in your personal transformation practice, Chakra Rituals is a wonderful interactive experience! Cristi gives so much knowledge and beautiful exercises for you. I have many Chakra books from my years of teaching movement and transformation, and I'm adding this book to the reading list for my teacher trainings. Bravo!

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me be honest with you the way only a sister can be: I almost didn't pick this book up. I saw the rainbow chakra wheel on the cover, the word ritual in bold script, and my first thought was, Is this for me? Because for a long time, wellness spaces — the yoga studios, the crystal shops, the breathwork circles — have felt like rooms I was tolerated in but not truly seen. Spaces where "universal" usually meant white, thin, and unbothered. Where "wild woman" conjured images that didn't look like mine.

But something made me crack the spine anyway. And honey, I am so glad I did.

Chakra Rituals: Awakening the Wild Woman Within by Cristi Christensen is a seven-week, day-by-day program built around the ancient science of the seven chakras — those energy centers that run from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Each week is devoted to one chakra, and each day of that week offers a different practice: altar building, pranayama (breathwork), mudras (sacred hand gestures), vinyasa yoga flows she calls "Body Prayers," meditation, journaling prompts, and full embodiment rituals. The book is lush — full-color illustrations, poetic language, and a warmth that feels less like a textbook and more like a letter from a woman who has genuinely done the work.

Christensen is a global wellness leader, yoga teacher, and creator of Soul Fire yoga. She has taught in over twenty countries and has graced the covers of Yoga Journal and Harper's Bazaar. She is not a newcomer to this material. And it shows. The depth of knowledge she brings to each chakra — from the root (Muladhara) all the way to the crown (Sahasrara) — is thorough without being overwhelming, spiritual without being inaccessible.

The seven weeks move through the body like a slow, deliberate ascent. Week One opens at the root — Muladhara — the chakra of grounding, safety, and the primal sense of belonging to the earth and to yourself. Here, Christensen guides you through altar building and earthing rituals designed to anchor you in your own body before you go anywhere else. Week Two rises into the sacral — Svadhisthana — the seat of creativity, pleasure, and emotional flow, where movement and water rituals invite you to soften and feel. By Week Three, you are standing in the fire of the solar plexus — Manipura — the chakra of personal power and identity, stoked through breathwork and confidence-building ceremonies that ask you to stop apologizing for taking up space. Week Four settles into the heart — Anahata — where heart-opening yoga and forgiveness meditations tend to the grief and love that live side by side in the chest. Week Five rises to the throat — Vishuddha — the center of truth and authentic voice, activated through chanting, writing contemplations, and the radical act of saying what you actually mean. Week Six draws inward to the third eye — Ajna — the seat of intuition and inner vision, cultivated through visualization and the discipline of stillness. And Week Seven crowns the journey at Sahasrara — the crown chakra — where surrender rituals and transcendent meditation open you to something larger than the self you walked in with.

What Christensen does brilliantly is make each of these concepts feel, not just read. You are not studying the chakras from a distance. You are living inside them, one week at a time.

I want to talk about Week One, because the root chakra stopped me in my tracks. Christensen writes about Muladhara as the seat of safety, of belonging, of the right to simply be here — and I had to put the book down for a moment.

Because here is the truth that no wellness book I had read before had ever said plainly: Black women are not always taught that we have the right to simply exist in peace. We are taught to carry. To endure. To hold the family together, hold the community together, hold ourselves together — and to do it quietly, and to do it graciously, and to do it without complaint. We are the mules of the world, Zora Neale Hurston wrote, and she was not wrong. We are the ones who keep everything running, even when we are running on empty.

So when Christensen asks you to sit with your root chakra and ask yourself: Do I feel safe? Do I feel that I belong? Do I feel that I am enough just as I am? — that is not a small question for a Black woman. That is a revolutionary one.

Audre Lorde told us that caring for ourselves is not self-indulgence — it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare. Chakra Rituals does not use that language, but it lives in that spirit. Every altar you build, every breath you take with intention, every time you press your hands into a mudra and declare your own worth — that is resistance. That is reclamation.

Week Two — the sacral chakra — is where I wept. Not from sadness, but from recognition.

Svadhisthana governs creativity, sensuality, and the capacity for pleasure. Christensen invites you to reconnect with your body as a source of joy rather than a site of labor or judgment. She asks you to move, to feel, to let the water element of this chakra wash away the shame and the numbness.

And I thought about how many of us were raised to be suspicious of our own pleasure. How the body of a Black woman has been so historically contested — claimed, commodified, criticized, and controlled by forces outside herself — that the simple act of inhabiting it with delight can feel almost transgressive. We were not always given permission to enjoy being in our own skin. This book hands that permission back to you, gently and without apology.

This is where I want to speak directly to my sisters: You do not need to earn the right to feel good. Not by being a perfect mother, a perfect partner, a perfect professional, a perfect anything. The sacral chakra reminds you that your creative fire and your capacity for joy are not rewards for good behavior. They are your birthright.

Week Five hit me like a sermon.

The throat chakra — Vishuddha — is the center of truth-telling, of authentic expression, of using your voice without apology. Christensen's writing prompts for this week ask you to examine where you have silenced yourself, where you have shrunk, where you have swallowed your truth to keep the peace.

I thought of every meeting where I softened my words. Every room where I made myself smaller. Every time I laughed off a slight because making a scene felt more dangerous than absorbing the harm. The throat chakra work in this book is not just yoga — it is excavation. It is the kind of inner archaeology that bell hooks spent a lifetime writing about: the necessity of speaking ourselves into existence, of refusing erasure.

The chanting practices in this week are particularly powerful. There is something ancient and cellular about using your voice as a healing instrument — something that connects directly to the oral traditions of our ancestors, to the call-and-response of the Black church, to the blues, to the spirituals, to every form of Black music that has ever transformed suffering into transcendence. When Christensen asks you to open your throat and let sound move through you, she may not know she is touching something that runs very, very deep in us. But it does.

I want to be fair, because this book deserves a fair witness.

Cristi Christensen is a white woman writing about a system — the chakra system — that originates in South Asian Hindu and yogic traditions. She is not South Asian. And while she approaches the material with evident reverence, scholarship, and humility, it is worth naming that the wellness industry has a long and complicated history of extracting ancient wisdom from its cultural origins and repackaging it for a predominantly white, Western market. Christensen does not engage with this tension explicitly, and some readers — particularly those from South Asian backgrounds — may feel that absence.

For Black women reading this book, I would also say: the "wild woman" archetype that Christensen invokes draws heavily from a Western, Jungian-adjacent tradition. Our wildness, our power, our untamed feminine energy — these things live in our lineage too, but they have different names. They live in Oshun, the Yoruba orisha of love, rivers, and sweet water. They live in Yemoja, mother of waters. They live in the Hoodoo root workers and the conjure women and the grandmothers who kept altars long before it was fashionable. You can read this book and receive everything it offers while also knowing that your own ancestral traditions are just as rich, just as powerful, and just as worthy of your devotion.

This is not a reason to put the book down. It is a reason to pick up other books alongside it.

Chakra Rituals: Awakening the Wild Woman Within is a genuinely beautiful, deeply practical, and spiritually nourishing book. It is the kind of guide you return to — not just once, but in seasons, as you grow and change and need different things from yourself. The practices are accessible whether you are a seasoned yogi or someone who has never set foot on a mat. The writing is warm, honest, and alive. The illustrations are stunning.

But more than any of that, this book does something that I did not expect: it insists, on every page, that you are worth the time it takes to know yourself. That your energy matters. That your healing is not a luxury. That the fire inside you — the one that has been banked down by exhaustion and expectation and the weight of everything you carry — is still there, waiting.

For Black women especially, that message is not just wellness advice. It is a lifeline.

We were not put on this earth to simply survive. We were not put here to pour endlessly into everyone else's cup while our own runs dry. We were not put here to defer our joy, our peace, our power to some future date when everything else is handled. We were put here to live — fully, fiercely, and in the full knowledge of our own magnificence.

Cristi Christensen may not have written this book for us specifically. But we can take it, and make it ours, and use it to come home to ourselves.

And that, dear heart, is exactly what we deserve.

[ASH · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely fell in love with this book. It is inspirational, motivational, and healing for whatever one needs to be healed. Christensen wrote this book with so much love, power, and depth whilst still allowing it to be easy to follow along due to the clarity in which she clearly was channeling as she wrote it. I have read a multitude of books on the chakra system and this one is my absolute favorite!

[Debbie Mathews · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started reading this book and found a few typos, I continued to read but found more typos. I can not finish this book as there are so many typos.

[Melissa Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wild woman adventure and discovery started back in 2016 when I first met and encountered Cristi. During my YTT in Bali, her teachings were inspiring - she captured my attention in a way no person had in my 28 years of life. During our morning self practice I would find myself captivated by her movement, she was so beautiful in the way she moved. When Cristi taught or spoke I was mesmerized, I knew than that this wild woman was changing my perspective on woman I wanted to embody and who I wanted to be.
After my first Deep Exhale class I was over taken with the idea I could feel so open, that I could be worthy of this empowerment, accepting love and peace coming into my life. Cristi awoken a part of me I never thought would be possible, following her around the world any chance I get. Because of her guidance I choose to live more freely, open and ready for each day. Now I have the perfect guidance to dig deep into each Chakra and continue my growth.
Cristi introduced me to the Chakra's and her book is so beautiful and clearly written, that opening up my own wild self is in bloom.
This is the book that you need to dive deep into your own power - from the original Wild Woman herself.

[Deena B · Rating 3 out of 5]

CHAKRA RITUALS - AWAKENING THE WILD WOMAN WITHIN by Cristi Christensen

This system/science dates back to over 4,000 years ago. It came from the ancient Yogis if India.

There are 7 Chakras from the bottom of your feet to the tippy top of your head.
They are wheels or circles ( of light, energy, portals and doorways)
There's meditation, levels of embodiment, currents of power, yogi-centric rituals, altar building, breathing exercises,

While this book is meant to be a 7-week journey, step-by-step, week-to-week through the 7 Chakras one week for each Chakra, I cheated and read ahead till the end. It's very new age and crystals, healing and empowerment.
I think the book is well put together- if you are willing & able to put in the time for these practices and open-minded and looking for 'Spiritual Healing And Empowerment" , then I recommend Chakra Rituals for you.
I myself couldn't get into it for personal religious reasons.

CHAKRA rituals(dot com) also has a website where you can download helpful stuff.

Thank you! to Goodreads Giveaway, the author, and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read an early copy!

[Daphfree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a joy to hold this book in my hands! It's beautifully written with gorgeous images!
Cristi offers practices and rituals that are easy to understand and access - even for beginners! I appreciate how Cristi offers her heartfelt personal experience and guides the reader through a fun and deep journey through the chakras.
One of the highlights of the book is the 7 day journey through each chakra which merges the esoteric with the contemporary and gave me so many options to try from asana practice to meditations to contemplative writings to altar building to pranayama to mudras, mantras and more.
I actually loved flipping through the chapters (they are color coordinated by the rainbow chakra colors) and picking a chakra to explore and immerse through these ancient energy practices.
I've read many books and taken even more workshops on the chakras over the past 20 years and this book is an empowering map to live your truest, fullest and most vibrant life. I highly recommend it!

[Carmela Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

To say that this book is amazing is an understatement! The way Cristi is able to explain each chakra and then have you connect with each one is truly powerful. As you’re participating in each day’s activity, whether it’s creating your alter, movement exercises, breath work, meditation, etc, you are not only reading about each chakra, you are embodying it . You are truly becoming a part of and living in the essence of each chakra . It is then that you can truly feel how each chakra works and how it becomes a part of your daily life. It’s also great that Cristi has audio and video recordings of the exercises as well. Her voice is soothing and inviting, wanting to take you along for this journey, helping you tap into this part of you, that’s life changing. I can not recommend this book enough!

[Jessy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read several books about the chakra and on meditation. Some have been informative on the history or philosophy behind meditation and the understanding of the chakras. This book is the first one to ever give me tangible instruction on how to implement that meditation into my daily life. Cristi fills her book with rituals, step by step meditations, and yoga routinea that you can easily bring into your practice. Not everyone has the luxury of going to a guided meditation retreat or has access to a resident Yogi to learn from. Cristi has created a book that brings that instructive experience to the reader.

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light up the fire within you! Chakra rituals has been a profound spiritual read, great for anyone new or interested in aligning the energy with the self and the universe. Her words are full of energy just like all of the colorful pages she has with yoga poses included in the chapters. Forget mainstream and learn from real Sanskrit teachings for the western mind!
Cristi is an evangelist and ambassador for global yogi organizations, with rich knowledge taken from 20 years of studying chakras. Great read for the wild women within All!

[Marques S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've followed Cristi for years as a yoga teacher. She has always inserted pearls of wisdom into her classes. Often referring to the Chakra system. I've also had the pleasure of working close with her and witnessed her truly practicing these very rituals and doing tons of writing. She's the real deal, truly inspirational and I whole heartedly believe in what she teaches and that these practices will work for anyone who gives them a chance. So proud of her and happy her magic is being shared with the world. ~MW

[Michelle Brawanski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Cristi in person and from the first second she inspired me with her aura. I didn't knew how much she was into these topics of spirituality and chakras. I was practicing with her online programs, where I could meditate with her and later my husband ordered a version of this beautiful book for me. I really loved to dive deeper in the knowledge and really can recommend Cristis work to everyone. If you get the chance to meet her in person, do it. Thank you Cristi for your lovely being. Wish you all the best!

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive and practical, chakras explained for everyone
This book is an amazing choice if you would like to know more about chakras, both for beginners and passionate people about it.
I have already read and lived Chakra system Awakening and Empowerment experiences before, but this book takes you further. Rituals, breathing, yoga, detailed explanations and extra material through videos and audios.
I totally recommend it!

[Pele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in love with this book. Tomorrow I start Chapter 6 moving into the heart chakra week. If you read the book the way Christensen has designed you will spend an entire week with each energy center. The daily practices and the bonus audio and video content make it so easy for me to show up every day for me. I feel myself getting stronger and my connected everyday. This is a book I will be gifting to all the wild woman in my life!

[Liberté Chan]

I’m a huge fan of this book. I’ve always wanted to learn more about chakras and specific tools I can use to help with stress and anxiety, etc. Cristi explains everything concisely and beautifully. I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about self-soothing techniques that can help you on a daily basis.

[Nancy Flor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVE this gorgeous lively book ! Deeply meaningful taking you in easy steps to a daily ritual practice . This book is such a treat ! I look forward to it every morning feeling so alive and ready to start the day with an open heart , aligned and connected! So much love within ! Very powerful !

[Julie Mackiewicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing! I've learned about and studied the chakras for a number of years, but realized while working through this book, that it had really been on an intellectual level. The way Cristi outlines this book and presents the practices deepened my understanding and relationship with the chakras on a whole new experiential and embodied level. I can't recommend it enough!

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a unique and accessible guide to the chakras! Whether you are super familiar with the content, or a total newbie, this guide is truly valuable to give you accessible tools and create a unique look at why this kind of work is so helpful and valuable.

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such power and beauty are within these pages!!! Cristi takes you on a magical journey. It's like talking to your best girlfriend while simultaneously learning from a wise yogini. Each colorful page invites you to explore your inner world with greater curiosity and wonder. Dive in!!!