The Avatar State was an incredibly powerful tool in Avatar: The Last Airbender, giving the user access to all the combined experiences and powers of their past lives. In order to fully master the Avatar State, Aang was told by his teacher, Guru Pathik, that he needed to unblock all seven of his chakras. He managed to unblock six chakras but was unable to unblock the seventh as it required him to let go of his earthly attachment to Katara.

However, once Aang let go of his earthly attachment to Katara and opened his seventh chakra, he was mortally wounded by Azula. Although Aang had succeeded at the mental aspect of his training, his physical wounds prevented him from accessing the Avatar State. This setback lasted for the rest of the series, until a protruding rock jabbed his scar and allowed him complete control of the Avatar State. This sequence of events left many fans confused. How does a simple rock reconnect Aang to the Avatar State, and how was he able to control it when he never unblocked all of his chakras? Clearly, Aang did not let go of his earthly attachments if he still loved Katara, right?

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A Different Perspective Helped Aang to Master the Avatar State

The context behind Guru Pathik's teachings with Aang are crucial in understanding how he first mastered the Avatar State. Rather than being taught to erase his emotions, Aang was instead learning how to not let them control him. Fear, guilt, shame, grief, lies, illusions, and earthly attachments all block the seven chakras, but Avatars before Aang mastered the Avatar State while still experiencing these emotions. Letting go of one's fear or guilt did not mean that they never felt those emotions again, it just meant they wouldn't let those emotions influence their actions.

So this didn't mean that Aang no longer loved her or cared about Katara. Other fully realized avatars like Roku, Kuruk, and later Korra were able to control the Avatar State while being in love. Aang's decision to let go of his attachment to Katara just meant that he would not allow his feelings for her to hinder his duties as the Avatar.

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How Aang Gradually Overcame His Emotional and Physical Setbacks

Aang glows with purple light with a starry background behind him

Aang's blocked chakras would explain why his character seemed to regress in Book 3. Aang was terrified of confronting Ozai during the eclipse even though he released his fear of Ozai during his training with Pathik. The same situation occurred when Aang had trouble learning how to firebend because of his bad experience burning Katara. Aang released his shame over that event during his chakra training, but it resurfaced because his body was physically blocked.

Aang's physically blocked body would continue to be a hindrance until his scar from the lightning strike was stabbed by the rock. The rock acted like a form of acupuncture that released all of his chakras. This returned Aang's body back to the moment before his injury and realigned his physical form and his mind. Aang had already mentally done the work of mastering the Avatar State so when his body was restored he had complete control. Avatar: The Last Airbender is a series that stresses the importance of both mental and physical health. In order to be your best self and achieve your highest potential, both aspects need to be in balance.