Month: March 2016

Opening the heart center and allowing yourself to surrender to love is the greatest gift you can give yourself.

Chakra four, Anahata, is at the very center of our energy system. Here, in the heart area,  the energy moving up from the lower realms joins with the higher being, creating  unity and the realization of Oneness.

We spend lifetimes protecting our hearts not realizing that only willful surrender will allow us to connect with love. The barriers we put up block the flow of energy in this center until it either closes up and is unable to feel, or the emotional charge becomes too much and it oozes neediness becoming heavy and burdensome.

Experiences between 4 and 7 years of age have the greatest impact on this chakra.  Once we have mastered impulse control, we are ready to socialize. This is the time of play groups, kindergarten and school. We want to be loved so we try to win love and approval often behaving contrary to our true selves. Boys learn they cannot cry while girls learn they can’t be angry. We begin to hide those emotions and distance ourselves from who we are. At this time in life, divorce, death in the family or other traumatic events shape our relationship with love of ourselves and of others.

Later in life, betrayals, heart breaking love affairs and other perceived rejections just serve to reinforce these blockages. Issues of giving and receiving come up as well as trust and vulnerability and the holding of suppressed anger, sadness or grief.

Yoga and connecting with that loving Higher Self facilitates balance and healing of the fourth chakra.

Poses that open the chest area help push through the blockages that have resulted from loss, rejection or abandonment. These energetic blocks  affect not only the heart but the lungs, diaphragm , ribs, shoulder blades and the entire respiratory system. They can also compromise the functioning of the thymus which, during our growth period, is responsible for the healthy development of our immune system.

As bodily sensations they can be felt as tightness, rigidity, pain and shortness of breath.

If not addressed, these sensations become disorders of the heart and the circulatory system and diseases such as asthma, breast or lung cancer.

By bringing attention to what we are feeling in this area in poses such as cobra, bow, fish and child’s pose, we begin to release mental and emotional blocks that appear as sensations in the front and back of the heart. Releases here can appear as prolonged and intense crying or as a sudden sense of spaciousness and opening. Other Asanas include shoulder blade and arm openers, yoga mudra and diamond. Take time between poses and sides to feel. From that feeling allow energy to guide your practice.

The element of Anahata is Air. Pranayama and the expansion of yogic breath serves to open the heart area. As the heart expands, Ego dissolves and is replaced with forgiveness, empathy and generosity. The heart radiates love. Its masculine quality translates as protection and support. The feminine aspect nurtures and connects.

Other practices such as meditation include focusing on self-love and acceptance and softness.

Feeling fully that which we are ready to let go and filling our hearts with gratitude for what we appreciate in ourselves and in our life are also wonderful ways to heal. We can take this a step further as we show appreciation for others by taking time to be with them, by giving them attention and small conscious acts of love.

All of these practices help us recognize that we are the source of our own experience and wholeness. When we find our way to love we begin our spiritual journey.

 

 

 

We are meant to fully enjoy our human experience.

Struggle and resistance is what keeps us from being in the flow of joy.

We struggle mentally with countless thoughts of defeat on a constant basis. As we label everything  bad or good, we either resist that which is, or we desire it so much that we become attached to it emotionally and refuse to let it go. Either way we are struggling.

It is only when we are in balance that there is no struggle.

And it is a balance on all levels, mental, emotional and physical.

Practicing effortless awareness is the key to being in balance – a subtle awareness of breath, of alignment, of sensation.

A sense of Self…

This state can only be reached when the chattering mind is silenced.

In stillness there is balance and bliss.

And so it is when practicing Hatha yoga. The body must be in full alignment in order to hold “a steady, comfortable pose”, or the Sanskrit meaning of Asana.

This balance should be established in the initial neutral pose, whether sitting, standing or lying down, before moving into an Asana.

It appears as a quiet awareness of the Self that can be seen in the mind’s eye – a subtle  alignment of the spine including the neck and the head, the left and right sides of the body, front and back, as well as an energetic connection with the earth and the heavens.

From this place of balance, movement happens in what is an extension of the body’s alignment, adjusting balance every step of the way until reaching the edge or finding perfection in the pose. Here the holding becomes effortless. There is a sensation of settling and softness, even when what you are feeling is intense.

And in this moment of silent witnessing releases happen, moving us towards the ultimate Balance of Being.

Photo by Peter Lik

 

The real you isn’t bound by limitations.

It is the you of the mind that creates boundaries.

As you root into your physical and allow yourself to feel, to have and to create, the energy fires up at the third center and, as it encounters inspiration descending from the upper realms, magic happens.

But what if that energy flowing up from the second chakra finds a collapsed third chakra, one that has shut down from shaming and inhibition?

We become submissive, lethargic and aimless with  poor self-esteem and afraid of taking risks. Or we rebel, becoming agressive, controlling and competitive.

Either way the mind blocks the flow to the healthy power that we have in us and we get stuck.

According to Anodea Judith, “the subtle body in which the chakras reside consists of an energy field known as chi, prana, charge, vital force. This life force is not created by the chakras. Rather they are the managers and organizers of it. The energy lies within us but it needs to be fired up and guided appropriately. Will is the engine of the third chakra. It moves us from what is to what we want it to be.”

When energy is flowing through us freely it feels like a soothing, gentle warmth. It is this energy that we want to move to different areas of our body through the calm direction of our will.

A strong will, a balanced third chakra comes from a strong core. The energetic center of your body when engaged creates power. As you bring breath and attention into that center, energy is ignited.

Some asanas specifically target this area then  distribute the energy into the limbs. This includes  twists, side openings and warriors.

Warrior pose is a power pose. In it you are holding, drawing up and letting go at the same time in a very delicate balance.

Begin by rooting in tadasana, moving within and visualizing the energy flowing up from your roots into your core. Then like a plant reaching up towards the sky, begin to energetically extend as you push down through your feet and reach up through the crown of the head.

This engages your core and allows the spine to naturally come into its perfect axis of alignment.

Continue to reach up as you raise your arms above your head and clasp your hands, first finger in temple pose. On the inhale lift your chest and draw the shoulders back as your arms continue to hug your ears.  On the exhale allow your torso to release to one side. On the inhale come back to center. Move from side to side keeping your feet firmly grounded. Avoid collapsing your chest.

As you return into Tadasana connect with the flow of energy. Notice the sensations in your body.

From here you can move into any warrior pose of your choosing. There are many variations of this pose and all are great for the third chakra as they create core stength and help concenrate will. Be aware of a few common guidelines for all of them.

1. Energize your torso by lifting and expanding your ribs and reaching into your arms and fingers, whether sideways as in Warrior 2 or upwards as in Warrior 1. Push down through the soles of your feet, up through the crown of the head and out through your fingers, engaging your whole body.
2. Be completely aware of your core and your alignment, so that you are always moving from a place of balance. Create stability. Bend your knee so that it is in line with your ankle, never in front of it. There should be no struggle, pain or resistance.
3. Once you have found your center, settle into the pose and stay there for 5 to 7 breaths. Be the witness of your own self. Be the peaceful warrior.

Planks, boat, locust, bow and downward dog are also beneficial. These asanas can be used to generate energy throughout the whole body. As you root through the hands and feet, or through your sacrum in boat, your belly in locust, energy is projected into your core and from there it spreads throughout your body. In addition, holding any of these poses stimulates a deficient third chakra while releasing them moves the stagnant energy of an excessive  one. As you breathe into a sensation, you subconsciously identify and increase the tension in that holding. With the exhalation comes a slow relaxation that moves frozen prana.

Another way to fire up Manipura is using Kapalbhati pranayama or Breath of Fire.  http://www.artofliving.org/yoga/breathing-techniques/skull-shining-breath-kapal-bhati

A great way to generate more energy is pushing with your palms against a wall while standing in alignment. As you inhale push and as you exhale slowly back off.

The goal in any practice is to own your will as a first step to reclaiming Will and optimizing flow of energy. By allowing the fire to rise you begin to create on purpose, aligning will and power, and moving beyond the boundaries of the mind.

 

Below is the link for Deepak Chopra’s new FREE 21 Day Meditation Experience – Shedding the Weight, Mind, Body and Spirit – which starts on March 21st

Enjoy!

https://chopracentermeditation.com/