Inside the Chakra Petals Workshop: What Happens in Each Session

Each Chakra Petals Workshop session focuses on one chakra, from root to crown, and follows the same four steps: a settling breath practice, a short teaching on that chakra's petals, a guided reflection, and a small routine to take home. Here is what happens inside the chakra workshop Sheikh Zayed Road participants join in Dubai.

The in-person group meets in Dubai, close to Sheikh Zayed Road, and the same structure runs online for people who join from further away. Whether you sit with us in the room or at your own desk, the rhythm of each session is the same.

People often ask me what they are actually signing up for. They have read a little about the chakras, perhaps seen a colourful chart, and they want to know whether the workshop is a lecture, a meditation class or something else. It is a bit of each, and I want you to arrive knowing exactly how the time is spent.

Why I built the workshop around the petals

Most introductions to the chakras stop at colours and locations. That is a fine start, but in the older traditions each chakra is drawn as a lotus, and every lotus has a set number of petals. The root has four, the sacral six, the solar plexus ten, the heart twelve, the throat sixteen, the third eye two, and the crown is described as a thousand.

I find the petals give people something to hold on to. Instead of a vague idea of "energy", you have a picture with a shape, a count and a set of qualities that teachers have linked to each petal over centuries. It turns an abstract subject into something you can draw, reflect on and return to.

The petals are a teaching image from a living tradition. I share them as a way to look at your own habits, moods and priorities, not as a scientific map of the body. That framing keeps the work grounded and practical.

How each chakra workshop Sheikh Zayed Road session is structured

Every session runs in the same order, so that by the second or third week you know what is coming and can settle in more quickly.

1. Arriving and settling. We begin with ten minutes of slow breathing and a short body scan. Phones go face down. This is simply a way of leaving the drive along Sheikh Zayed Road, or the last email, behind you.
2. The teaching. I introduce the chakra of the day: its traditional name, its element, its colour and the meaning given to each of its petals. I keep this part short and visual, often sketching the lotus as I speak.
3. Guided reflection. You work quietly with a set of prompts linked to the petals. Some people write, some draw, some simply sit with the questions. There is no right answer.
4. Sharing, if you wish. Anyone who wants to can share one observation with the group. Nobody is ever asked to speak, and what is said in the room stays in the room.
5. A routine to take home. We close with one small practice for the week ahead, usually five minutes or less.

Sessions one to three: root, sacral and solar plexus

The first three sessions look at the foundations: where you feel steady, what brings you enjoyment and creativity, and how you use your will and effort.

Session one: the root and its four petals

We look at routine, home and the sense of having your feet on the ground. The reflection asks simple questions about your daily rhythm: when you wake, what you eat, where you feel most settled. The take-home practice is often a standing breath exercise you can do barefoot each morning.

Session two: the sacral and its six petals

This session moves to play, creativity and enjoyment. Many people realise how long it has been since they made something just for the pleasure of it. We use colour and water imagery, and the weekly routine usually involves one small creative act, such as ten minutes of sketching or cooking without a recipe.

Session three: the solar plexus and its ten petals

Here we talk about effort, confidence and boundaries. The reflection invites you to notice where you say yes when you mean no, and where you hold back when you would like to step forward. The practice for the week is a short morning intention written in a single line.

Session four: the heart and its twelve petals

The heart session sits in the middle of the workshop for a reason. It links the first three chakras, which are about the self, with the upper three, which are about expression and perspective.

We spend time on the twelve petals and the qualities the tradition gives them, such as kindness, patience and openness. The reflection is gentle. You might think about one relationship you value and one you would like to tend more carefully. The routine for the week is often a short gratitude note, written in the evening before bed.

This is usually the session where the group starts to feel like a group. People have met three times, they know each other's names, and the conversation becomes warmer.

Sessions five to seven: throat, third eye and crown

The final three sessions move upward, towards how you express yourself, how you see your situation and how you connect with something larger than daily life.

• The throat, with sixteen petals. We explore honest speech and listening. A favourite exercise is reading a short passage aloud, slowly, and noticing how your voice changes when you are not rushing.
• The third eye, with two petals. The two petals are often read as two ways of seeing: looking outward and looking inward. We use a short visualisation and a journaling prompt about one decision you have been putting off.
• The crown, described as a thousand petals. The last session is the quietest. We spend more time in stillness, review the whole lotus map you have built over seven weeks, and choose one routine from the workshop that you want to keep.

What you take home after each session

I want the workshop to fit into ordinary weeks in Dubai, with school runs, traffic and long working days. So each take-home routine is small enough to actually do.

• A one-page petal sheet for that chakra, with the traditional qualities and your own notes.
• One short practice, usually breath, movement, writing or a simple visualisation.
• A reflection question to carry through the week.

By the end, you have seven pages that together form your own lotus map. Many participants keep it on their desk or in a journal and return to it whenever life feels crowded.

Who the workshop suits, and what it is not

The Chakra Petals Workshop suits curious beginners, people who already meditate and want a clearer structure, and anyone who likes to learn through images and reflection rather than long lectures. You do not need any background in yoga or Indian philosophy.

It is important to be clear about what it is not. The workshop is a space for learning a tradition, building calm routines and reflecting on your life. It does not replace advice from a doctor or another qualified professional, and I make no promises about specific outcomes. What I can offer is a steady, thoughtful hour each week and a set of practices you can keep.

If you prefer to read before you join, my books on the chakras follow the same petal-by-petal approach, so you can go at your own pace and arrive at the first session already familiar with the lotus images.

Dr S Pujah works with clients in person around Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, and online with people across Abu Dhabi, the GCC and Singapore.

If you would like a gentle first step before the workshop, explore Dr Pujah's chakra books and their petal-by-petal guides and choose the one that speaks to you.