Don’t worry! The computer is in the shop and I am borrowing my husband’s for the moment! Yes, there will be class this Monday nite, July 26 from 6:30-8pm at the UU Church of Fresno. We’ll continue on with the third chakra soon!
Our Monday nite yoga class helps to focus the mind on the positive, as we strengthen our bodies. Join us this Monday, July 19, 2010 from 6:30pm-8:00 pm in the sanctuary of the UU Church of Fresno on Alluvial in Clovis. If you have questions on the practice, open the link on the right side titled Ananda Yoga Intro.
As we move up the astral spine, we come to the third chakra, manipura. Man means jewel, pur means city. City of jewels. What jewels? Your personal power, self-esteem, enthusiasm for life, self-control. Located in the area of your solar plexus, this energy influences organs of digestion and assimilation (this covers alot of area in our bodies!) and the middle back.
The yantra, a bright red triangle surrounded by a ten petal lotus of deep blue. These symbols represent the fiery nature of this chakra. The blue lotus petals representing the hottest part of the fire.
Practice for the third chakra focuses on strengthening your physical and emotional core.
Consider the words of Swami Satyananda Saraswati,
“In the same way the sun continually radiates energy to the planets, manipura chakra radiates and distributes pranic energy throughout the entire human framework”.
Come and learn ways to create both your body and your soul with us this Monday, July 12 at the UU Church of Fresno, from 6:30-8:00pm. Our yoga practice is adaptable to all levels. This is a donation only class. Donations go to the UU Church.
When you look at the first three chakras, notice that all three are very physically based. While all chakras have connection to specific organs and body processes, the first three contain most of the organ systems. When I think about it, alot of us have medical problems”below the belt”, all related to the first three chakras. Maybe if we concentrate our attention on the energy within these areas first, the other chakras will come easier
(?). As Christiane Northrup points out, most people want to work with the energies that are more spiritual (4-7). But until we make right those first three chakras, it may be difficult to “move up”.
I have included a practice that focuses on second chakra energy. As you practice, bring your concentration to the second chakra area and allow yourself to explore what your unique issues are.
Chakra 2 Swadhisthana 
Centering
Breathing
Energization
Padahastasana (standing forward bend)
Standing back bend
Head to knee pose
Tree
Wide stance forward bend to windmill
Ardha Chandrasana (Ananda’s Half moon)
Triangle to warrior 2
Forward bend to floor thru downdog
Perfect Pose
Cow Face
Open Angle Pose
Bound angle
King Arthur’s at the wall
Pigeon pose
Janushirasana ( Head to knee, seated)
Matsyasana (Fish Pose)
Child’s
Seated Twist
Savasana
See you at 6:30 pm at the UU Church of Fresno for a Yin yoga practice. We’ll be practicing until 8pm!
The key word for this chakra is relationship. Relationship refers to all that we relate to: ourselves, others, how we live day to day, the physical aspects of our living. Our tribal training guides us into roles that we may be unconsciously following often deflecting our own needs for those of others. It is said that when we marry, we find a partner that helps fulfill our second chakra issues.
Meaning: sweetness
Location: Sacral area, between lower pelvis and navel.
Color: Orange/brown
Element: Water
Physical aspects governed: pelvis, hips low back organs of reproduction, urinary bladder.
Positive attributes: flexibility, open, willingness, intuitive, creative.
Negative attributes: ungrounded, wishy-washy, undecided, carries others emotional baggage.
Symbol: six petal red lotus often with Sanskrit words on each petal, crescent moon and water encircling earth.
As we begin to look into the second chakra, try to feel the sweetness in your own life. Are there things that are blocking you from enjoying your life to its fullest? Can these things be changed?
Relating the chakras to our emotional and physical health can help us to clarify how this theory can be relevant. Christiane Northrup, MD in her book Woman’s Bodies, Woman’s Wisdoms takes chakra theory to an easily applicable level. This book has been written to address women, but chakras are a human energy system. I will loosely touch on her interruptions.
The health of our first chakra energy is based on our upbringing and family life. She includes all elemental definitions of who we are: race, social status, family expectations/legacy, religion and the like. These have been handed down over generations. Deeply ingrained, she calls this tribal mind. Today, we might term this dysfunctional family.
The tribe demands loyalty to its ideals. Thinking as an individual removes you from tribal favor. If you no longer fit it, you receive negative feedback from the tribe. Your self worth comes into question. Fit in or you’re out.
The tribal mentality demeans that group survival is more important than what it’s individual members experience. Therefore, issues of physical, emotional or sexual abuse from a tribal member to another is often not acknowledged by other tribal members. Tribal secrets can lead to individual members suffering from first chakra illnesses(physical and emotional) unless they are resolved.
Just a reminder that we will have a practice at the UU Church on Monday, June 21 from 6:30-8:00pm. The following Monday nite we won’t be having class, as I will be on vacation. We’ll be back together on July 5!
See you Monday nite, June 14 at the UU Church of Fresno (2672 E. Alluvial, Clovis) from 6:30-8:00pm. We’ll focus our practice on asanas for the first chakra. Read posts below for more on the Muladhara chakra.
When I first heard about the chakra theory, my rational/scientific brain rebelled. The whole concept felt a little too “out there” for me, so I chose to ignore it. But then I got to thinking about other theories that I have accepted and realized that this one deserved a second look.
My yoga teacher training experiences convinced me that this whole idea of energy, which is the basis to the chakra theory, is real. I could feel it. Now I became open to trying to understand it. The biggest question I have is related to what animates us after conception. Where does that come from? Is that the energy I feel in my body when I do yoga? If so, where it it originate? Big questions with unproven and likely, unprovable answers.
Next, I started to look at theories that I do accept as plausible. The one that predominated my thoughts is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Seems like there are a number of connections between the needs and the energy centers of chakra theory. For me , this connection opened my mind to looking at the wisdom of the yogi’s and modern man’s need to explain the same concepts.
Wisdom is wisdom from long ago to modern times. I love the fact that we as humans keep on searching for answers and often find that some of the answers we seek have been around for a long time. My quest continues.
