Chakras and Meditations - Hot Yoga for Cool People

CHAKRAS: Your vibrational anatomy

What are Chakras?

There is an energy that swirls through all living beings: people, animals, plants...even "inanimate" objects like rocks, water and more.

When seen with Kirilian photography this energy looks like colorful ripples or auras expanding outward at a certain speeds

Yoga describes these as The Chakras: energy vortices that correspond to parts of the physical, emotional and spiritual body.

What we know about Chakras:

There are 7 Major Chakras
Chakras animate the body from the inside out
When aligned, the Chakras create optimal health of body, mind and spirit.
Each Chakra has a physical, emotional, creative, and spiritual component.
Each Chakra relates to an element of higher consciousness.
Chakras are powerful yet sensitive and easily affected. Strong emotions, traumas, life experiences can easily upset the balance of the chakras.
Physical ailments are often associated with imbalances of the chakras
If your chakra energies are "off" in some way, you feel it in various ways

To understand the Chakras you will read about them, then focus on them one at a time to experience each chakra during hot yoga and note what you feel in your yoga in your your body - and in your life.

Chakras By the Numbers

Chakras are masculine and feminine

Even-numbered chakras (the second at the sacrum; fourth, at the heart, and the sixth, at the third eye) govern the “feminine” qualities of relaxation and openness.

Odd-numbered chakras, found in the legs and feet, solar plexus, throat, and crown of the head, govern the “masculine” ennergies of assertion, to have, to ask, to speak, and to know.

The odd-numbered, masculine chakras tend to move energy out into the world and create warmth and heat.

The even-numbered, feminine chakras cool things down, attracting energy inward.

To be balanced is to enjoy both masculine and feminine energies

If you have unbalanced masculine chakras, for instance, you may find yourself pushing yourself hard in work. This is especially deadly for women who are "wired" for feminine chakras.

But there is no one balance that is appropriate for all people; you find your balance by staying aware of your feelings. When you feel disconnected in any way, try setting your mind and your imagination to the chakra of the part of your boy associated with that feeling.

There you will find soothing for body, mind and spirit

When Chakras become unbalanced...

You feel achy, clogged, there may be pain in your body. You go to the doctor for a diagnosis and she tells you there's "nothing wrong with you"

Dis-ease is a pretty accurate word; something is off. It starts out subtly - vibrationally - then the body is said to manifest that "disease."

The good news is that you have many hints about it before then

When you even the smallest, gentlest focus on your chakras, with the intent to balance your chakras, you can balance easily.

Balanced chakras are feel like bliss, harmony, balance, calm.

...and Chakras can be easily rebalanced

YOGA

How does yoga balance chakras?

Asana aligns Chakras even more powerfully than bodies.

And as the asanas bring the body into physical alignment, they are also aligning each chakra.

MEDITATION

How does meditation balance chakras?

As meditation quiets the mind, negative energy is withdrawn from the chakras. Meditation balances chakra energy by cessation of what throws if off balance. (hot yoga is a 90-minute fully-aware open-eyed meditation)

JOURNALING

How does journaling balance chakras?

Journaling is a way of releasing stagnant energy in the chakras...if you simply keep your pen moving on the page, energy moves from emotion to expression in a fluid movement without interference from your "thinking mind" and this can remove stagnant energy in the chakras.

Let's practice feeling, enjoying, balancing the chakras and benefiting your life.

Entries in hot yoga (1)

Thursday

May022013

Chakra 1 Muladhara: The Root of All Things

Thursday, May 2, 2013 at 09:50AM

CHAKRA ONE Muladhara

Located at the base of the spine, Muladhara chakra forms your foundation. It represents the element earth, and is related to our primal instinct of survival, a sense of grounding and a connection to our bodies and the physical plane.

When balanced, Muladhara brings health, prosperity, security and dynamic presence. Root support helps you stay grounded on your feet and walking your life path.

Smell is a Root Chakra sense, bringing awareness to the scents in your environment and in your food

Focus: Survival
Color: Red
Seed Sound: Lam
Sense Organ: The Nose
Associated Sense: Smell

ESSENTIAL OILS:

Patchouli – evokes feelings of security
Sandalwood – beneficial if you feel stuck
Vetiver – Assists in life transformation
Ginger – lifts apathy, gives feeling of grounding
Thyme – boosts immune system
Basil – reduces stress, nervousness and mental fatigue
Clary Sage – Good for depression, feeling overwhelmed

CRYSTALS & GEMSTONES:

Hematite- protects, dispels negativity
Smokey Quartz – brings focus, dissolves emotional blocks
Beryl – promotes will to succeed, releases fears
Black Tourmaline – protects, calms, dissolves fears
Garnet – energizes, grounding in reality, assists with insecurity

Incense: Cedar, Sage Patchouli

Grounding & Nurturing foods: Root vegetables, seeds and the oils sourced from them, strawberries, pomegranate, raspberries, soy products, vegetable protein, meat.

Corresponds to: legs, feet, nose, large intestine, and the immune system

Chakra location: Base of Spine

NOTICING MULADHARA CHAKRA

Balanced: Good physical health, stability, prosperity, present in the moment, sense of safety and security, grounded, comfortable with the physical body, eating healthy.

Hot Yoga Poses that Balance Muldhara:

This is a partial list at best - start with your focus on these chakras for these poses and then see what you feel for yourself

Pada Hasthasana: hips to the ceiling lengthens the area of your root chakra.

Garudasana: standing-balancing poses strengthen the 1^st chakra and connects physical body to the earth

Dandayamana-Janushirasana another standing-balancing pose that strengthens the 1^st chakra and our connection to the energy of the earth

Dandayamana-Danurasana and Tuladandasana - same as above

Dandayamana-Bibhaktapada-Paschimotthanasana:

lifting hips to the ceiling, stretching the area of your root chakra, helps create balance in your groundedness

Tadasana/Padangustasana:

standing-balancing poses strengthen the 1^st chakra and connect you solidly to the earth element

Pavanamuktasana

massages the digestive system, the organs/system associated with root chakra.

FOODS & RECIPES FOR MULADHARA

Carrots, potatoes, parsnips, radishes, onions and garlic, and anything else that roots itself, can have a soothing effect for our Root Chakra.

As a healthy root chakra vibrates red, eating red foods can help balance it. Red foods usually have high levels of vitamin C which is utilized by body parts governed by Root chakra: bones, teeth, skin and adrenals. Red foods include tomatoes, ripe strawberries, apples, lush pomegranates and oh those Bing cherries!

Recipe: Kale Mushroom Stuffed Potatoes

Credit for this recipe goes to Heidi Templeton, hot yoga teacher and chef of the chakras

Ingredients:

4 potatoes

Grapeseed oil

1 1/2 red onions

2 cloves of garlic

1 cup kidney beans

1 cup of kale

1 cup of mushrooms

Parsley, salt and pepper for seasoning

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Wash 4 potatoes

Poke holes and coat with oil of your choice.

Add a little salt to taste

Meanwhile:

sauté 1/2 a red onion and the garlic cloves until clear.

Add kidney beans and sauté three minutes.

Add kale, mushrooms, and chopped red onion.

Season with parsley, salt and pepper.

Slice cooked potatoes down the middle and combine the mixture into it. Back into the over for 10 minutes to warm (not cook)

Serve immediately....mmmmmm!

Meditation for MULADHARA CHAKRA: I Am Grounded

NOTE: This MEDITATION for MULAHDARA/Chakra 1 can support script memorization.

Recommended: Listen to that meditation each night as you drift off to sleep.

Recommended: Repeat its simple phrasing to yourself at the start of each script memorization session you do .

As this meditation helps you to relax and trust in your ability, you may notice how much your script memorization is progressing...and more importantly, how much you are enjoying and looking forward to doing your videos

Enclosure

Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT |