The element of the second chakra is water. The energy of the second chakra is wrapped up in our sexuality and creativity. In conjunction with the energy of water we welcome in the adaptability and changeability that the movement of water brings. But we also tap into the freedom of water. Water wears away at anything that tries to hold it, overflowing or eroding to break through. Connect with this energy in the second chakra with this poem by Mary Oliver.
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New Year's day marks the start of another cycle. We constantly witness cycles in our daily lives whether its through watching the inflow and outlfow of breath, the passing of the days, the cycle of the moon or the changing of the seasons. We are constantly part of cycles and living in cycles and they remind us that part of our work is letting go into the change. In a cycle there is always a start, a building, a dying away and a beginning again. If we try to hold on to hard in a part of that cycle, wishing things wouldn't change, we create a great deal of suffering for ourselves. The best thing we can do is welcome the energy of the time of the cycle we're in. For now, we start the new year. We are in the process of releasing the past year and preparing for the new. Here are the poems I shared New Year's Day for inspiration: I was lucky enough to spend three days with a fabulous group of openhearted yogis a the Sleeping Lady Resort in Leavenworth this past weekend. We shared beautiful practice, amazing food and the wonderful opportunity to watch seasons change right before our very eyes. As part of the weekend, I shared several poems, here they are to inspire you on your own journey: For many of us, the first month of 2017 has been one of great challenge. At for many more, the past week or so has been a time of grief, anger, hurt and dispair. It is an incredibly challenging time to navigate and can leave us feeling depressed, depleted and exhausted. While it may seem that there are so many things outside of ourselves calling for our attention, our action and our energy, we also must recognize the importance of maintaining self care routines. If we push ourselves to the bring of exhaustion or worry, we have very little to give and may find that moving forward becomes increasingly difficult. I encourage you to take time to set practices and space for self care. Now is the time to lean into your yoga and meditation practices and to ensure that you are doing things that nourish you in both body and spirit. Sixteen beautiful yogis came to share in a heartfelt and heart opening practices this New Year's Day at Aditi Yoga. We spent two hours together letting go of this past year and welcoming in all that 2017 has to offer. Over the cours of the workshop I offered several poems by one of my favorite poets, Dana Fualds. Here there are to insprire you for the coming year: This year's winter solstice marked the darkest day in over 500 years. For many of us, this feels like an accurate representation to what we're both in our outer and inner worlds. There is a sense of darkness that feels insurmountable and unshakeable. I have spoken with many people who feel overwhelmed by our current political and social climate and feel immobilized by their feelings of sadness and grief. And yet others I have spoken to have been mobilized by their anger and struggling with where to direct that energy. It feels like many of us are looking for tools and frameworks of how to work with what we're feeling. For me, I have turned to my yoga community and its teachings to help me bridge the gap of action with intention. And yet as I’ve started to watch what is unfolding in the community I've seen a lot of interesting dialogue around "being positive," "focusing only only on love" and I have seen many teachers and students alike coming down on one another for negativity or the righteous anger they are expressing. I have to say say, as student of yoga and human being I am troubled by this. “The Moon, in Qabalistic tradition, is called the Intelligence of Interrelatedness and is though to have an affinity for the occipital region of the brain (the round curve at the back of your heard). In esoteric metaphysics, the occipital region of the brain is said to be connected to every point in time and space. Through the Moon we are connected to the universe. An idea to entertain (in your occipital) is that this region of the brain is the portal through which images cross from our minds out into the world, where they become real.” - Caroline Casey Both the 6th chakra and the moon invite us to dive inside in and explore our inner realms. They both explore the fruits of dream time and our power to be active participants in the world we dream up. As I explored this further, I came across the passage above from Caroline Casey about the moon. It seemed fitting, this idea of the moon's residence in the back of the skull and that like the 6th chakra it created this bridge between our own mind and the world. "The real voyage of discovery consists of not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust As we traveled through the lower chakras, we explored the elements associated with each. The first chakra is associated with earth, the second water, third with fire and the fourth with air. The throat chakra is often spoken of as being associated with the element of ether, which has a very light and etheric quality, but moving out of the throat, we leave all traditional element behind (a note here, that sometimes the throat is considered to embody the element of sound). The sixth chakra, is sometimes spoken of as embracing the element of light. While light is not an element in it the most traditional sense, it certainly has elemental qualities and given the 6th chakra association with sight, light makes perfect sense in this context. Right now it can feel like there is so much going on in the world. We can spend our whole days plugged in to social media, the news and the TV to keep abreast as to the ever changing world we live in. It is an information overload and can be a good reminder for me of all the information we bring into our physical and energetic system through the eyes, and, especially in our "plugged in" society. It is also an important reminder of how rare it is that we turn all of that off. |
AuthorYoga teacher, sound healer and explorer of the inner landscape. Join me! Archives
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