Laying gemstones on the body for healing purposes has been practiced across numerous cultures for thousands of years. But why? What could a seemingly inert stone possibly do that could benefit the body?

The answer lies in a scientific phenomenon called the piezoelectric effect. To avoid getting into too much technical jargon, you can best understand the piezoelectric effect by considering a quartz watch. When slightly bent, a small piece of quartz puts out a constant voltage that keeps a watch running with phenomenal accuracy.

Crystals and gemstones do the same for us. They put out a small, charge that interacts with our biomagnetic field and creates more harmony and balance.

Every stone has a unique vibration, just as every person does. For this reason, the particular stones needed for balancing the chakras will vary somewhat from person to person. And this means you’ll find a lot of different suggestions across various chakra sources.

The best way to determine if a particular gemstone is good for you or for a specific chakra is to “test” it by placing it on your body and checking in with your body’s subtle (or sometimes, not-so-subtle) response.

You may even want to have a friend place different stones on your body while your eyes are closed, and determine which ones feel the best on each chakra so you aren’t biased by the visual appeal of the stone.

Always trust your body’s response. If a stone feels bad on the body, remove it – unless you recognize that “bad” feeling as a clearing, and feel an instinctive desire to stay with the stone.

A very simple, but generally good rule for chakra balancing is that if a stone is the color of the chakra, it’s good for boosting and balancing that chakra. Hence, the first chakra stones tend to be red-toned, the second chakra stones orange-toned, and so on. Certain stones, like quartz, come in many different hues and can be used for all of the chakras depending on the shade.

When picking which gemstones to use for each chakra, secondary colors should also be considered. Two common ones are: black for the root chakra and pink for the heart chakra.

This doesn’t mean that every stone that heals a particular chakra will be the primary or secondary color of that chakra. There are exceptions. Still, there is so much correspondence between the gemstones’ color and the chakras they balance, that it is a great “rule of thumb” – especially for anyone who doesn’t know a lot about rocks.

If you wish to experiment with some gemstones to see which ones feel right for you, here is a list of some of the more popular ones you can try.