The Sahasrara, or crown chakra, is the highest chakra, sitting at the crown of the head. According to yoga and meditation guru Yogi Cameron, the crown chakra represents our ability to be fully connected spiritually.

“It’s the point at which the energy traveling up the spine from all the other chakras meet. It’s the last domino in the chakra set, and you must open all the other chakras before you can tackle this one,” Cameron explains, adding that few people will ever experience a fully opened crown chakra.

And as naturopathic doctor and Reiki master, Erica Matluck N.D. previously wrote for mindbodygreen, you can think of the crown chakra as our personal gateway to the celestial world. “The crown chakra is associated with the pineal gland, which is well known for producing melatonin, the serotonin-derived hormone that affects our sleep-wake cycles,” Matluck explains, adding, “The pineal gland of the brain is affected by the sun (a large celestial body) and directly connects the rhythms of the (microcosmic) human body to the rhythms of the (macrocosmic) universe.”

The crown chakra, then, is our connection to the divine, and to all that is. While not all of us will fully open it in our lifetimes, many of us will catch glimpses of the bliss that comes with an open crown chakra. However, that openness isn’t always easy to sustain, so even if you have a fleeting moment of blissful spiritual connection, you may find life has a way of stamping it out.

However, the more you understand this chakra and recognize the signs of an imbalance, the more you can hone it—and your spiritual connection.