philosophy
Classes starting back this Monday Jan 19th 2015.
2nd Chakra- Sacral chakra
Say hello to your Sacral Chakra which lies in the centre of the pelvis, this chakra also known as Svahisthana which means “ones own abode-dwelling place”.
It holds a lot of power psychologically and energically, our primal instincts are controlled here. The Sacral chakra holds our passion and creativity.
The element of water is connected to Svahisthana so when this Chakra is balanced it allows us to go with the flow of life and be flexible. We will be adaptable, and able to let go of growth retarding thoughts or memories.
If this Chakra is unbalanced we may feel uncontrolled passions and sexual energies, unable to let go of damaging or harmful thoughts in your memory. A wishy-washy or indecisiveness can be expressed when the Sacral Chakra is unbalanced.
It is attached to the colour Orange and the Mantra YAM!
Physically it controls reproductive organs/bowel and organs of excretion/sacrum and sacroiliac joint.
Asanas or yoga poses to assist this Chakra are
1.pelvic tilts
2. Bridge or setubandhasana
3.Cobra
4. pigeon
You guessed it ….The Forth Chakra
Anahata or Heart chakra is locate in the area of the heart. The colour green is associated with this Chakra, the areas of the body that Anahata governs are the cardiac region, lungs, arms and hands.
This Chakra is often the focus of most yoga classes as the heart represents love, and without love humans cannot exist.
However when this Chakra is unbalanced we become overly emotional, possessive, jealous, struck in grief or may feel as though the heart has shut down.
When balanced the heart Chakra or energy centre gives us the feeling of fearlessness, devotion, empathy, compassion and unconditional love.
Humans thrive in a loving environment and like all living beings we need love and the vibration love brings into the body and mind. The feeling of love activates endorphins so we feel good, happy and vibrant.
This is most obvious in couples that have just fallen in love, and feelings are intense and powerful. A fresh glow in their faces is usually seen.
The yoga poses that help keep this Chakra open and keep spinning are all arm and hand sequences.
For example circle of joy and eagle arms. All back bends help bring energy to Anahata, such as cobra, camel pose and Wheel pose.
The 5th Chakra is called the throat chakra or Vishuddha.
The throat Chakra is situated between the cervical (neck) spine and the throat area. When this Chakra is open, we feel a sense of freedom to express ourselves, inner calmness and peace.
When it is unbalanced or blocked, our energy seems scattered , we may lack confidence or feel as though we can’t clear our throat. Sometimes people say, I feel like I have a frog in my throat, an uncomfortable uneasy feeling.
This is when we need to work on opening this particular Chakra.
The colour sky blue is connected to the throat Chakra and the physical areas of the body that are influenced by this chakra are
the Laryngeal nerve plexus, vocal cords, thyroid, parathyroid glands,larynx.
Asanas or poses to help free energy to the throat Chakra are:
1.cat/cow
2.hare
3.shoulder stand and head stand
4.fish pose.
Its time to get to know the 6th chakra!
Ajna or spiritual eye chakra is centred between the eyebrows like a third eye, this is the chakra linked to our intuition.
When his chakra is balanced we will hold strong sense of will power, concentration, memory and spiritual connection.
When we focus on the third eye we visualise the colour purple surrounded by blue blending outline this spills through to a violet haze.
Ajna means command centre, so when we meditate, the inner gaze draws us through the spiritual eye to the space within the physical body. This stimulates our awareness to a higher plane, increases grey matter within the brain as well as flooding the body with emotional wellbeing.
Physical areas influenced by this chakra are :Frontal lobe of the brain and eyes.
The mantra attached to Ajna is the sound Aum.
This chakra can be activated by
1. Focusing on the third eye while performing pranayama (breathing yogic breath).
1a. Nadi Shodana (alternative nostril breathing) or breathe retention and bandhas .
2. Headstand or (Shirsasana)
Usually a yoga class will bring us to the point of the third eye and it is just a matter of letting go and taking that journey through to that a higher plane,where the mind is truly rested and the body feels replenished.
My words for what it feels like to enter this state, is we feel so relaxed, nothing else matters or is needed, a whirling energy fills our entire existence and we feel FREE!
Lets travel through the body one chakra at a time.
We will start the chakra journey at the head this is the 7th chakra. The most powerful of all chakras ,it is called
‘ The Crown’ we visualise the crown chakra as white because it represents all the lower chakra colours combined. This is the chakra (or energy centre) that connects us to pure consciousness , in other words all is revealed once we can enter into the crown chakra whenever we desire.
It is only truly accessible once all the lower chakras are in balance. This is the ultimate reason for yoga practice.
The crown chakra is also known as ‘Sahasrara’, once all the other chakras are in balance ,the way into Sahasara is through meditation.
There are two poses used in yoga which help bring awareness to Sahasara, they are
1. Cross-legged seated mountain pose, while in this position we use the yogic breathe and visualise the breath traveling from the base chakra through to the crown chakra.
2. Headstand while visualising the white light at the crown.
When we take the time to come to yoga, we move our bodies to the beat of our breath , dissolving all disruptions to our energy channels or chakra pathways.
Synchronising breath with yoga is the body drawing the mind into the spirit.
This is known as Samadhi. (Pure consciousness or complete contentment and Bliss!)
Getting To Know Yourself.
Getting to know yourself can be confronting and maybe even uncomfortable. But if we keep busy and always have lots of noise around us, we probably can side step the issue of what we are made of. Our fears, our frustrations, what we dislike about ourselves and why we are the way we are. Yoga is this very issue, it is confronting. It draws us to the point of connection, dissolves the layers , removes the control and teaches us to let go and trust. This can be a great relief for most people and a great sense of freedom is felt both mentally and physically .
You may ask why is this necessary, to have times in our lives where we are doing nothing just focusing on breathing! Well if you want to feel like your life is complete, that you no longer need to search for happiness and who you are is really who you want to be.
Then, yes it is necessary to stop the busyness, stop running in the same direction as the herd, stop getting caught up in all the negative media. Most of all stop letting the self proclaimers take over your brain and make you feel inadequate.
If you do your yoga often and silence the world with your mediation, then it will be easy to hear the issues of the world but not let your soul be filled with the negative pressure that can consume you, to the point of destruction by disease or illness.
We will then be free to be who we really are and our unique qualities will appear and before we know it, there will be a person we really like and are glad to be. I often stand in my studio, looking out over the Sunshine Coast- I open the palms of my hands look to the setting sun and breathe in the goodness of the universe, repeating with each breath …..I am this……
