Chakras have bad press. Say the word ‘chakra’ and observe the inner cynic roll their eyes up.  Chakras are not visible, but rather felt in the subtle realm – that of energies, prana (life force) and intuition. It is said that Kundalini the serpent who helps us attain bliss awareness sleeps in our pelvis (base chakra) and rises up these churning wheels of energy, when and if they are all in alignment, as the serpent rises she joins the individual with the universal. So we see the bigger picture, experience inner fireworks and/or just feel pretty darn good.

I decided to study and teach the chakras in my classes recently and have found it incredibly interesting and challenging. To achieve harmonious energy flow in each chakra what is initially needed is physical alignment. That’s not too woo woo. From there each chakra symbolises aspects of our lives and consciousness, I’ve found reading and contemplating these aspects fascinating.  The cynic in me too balks but remember in the East philosophy is discussed with the body as the analogy – not necessarily in an anatomically correct way. Ah yes, anything spiritual is not literal (please tell that to the fundamentalists). It is a scientific art.

By studying our patterns and processes of moving, feeling and thinking and how they tie together is a way of creating more awareness of our programming. It’s like a computer or smartphone – the better you know the system the better you can fix any malfunctions that might occur – the more you get out of it. So it is is with our body and mind. We study ourselves so we get better functionality, so we are happier and healthier.

The study of the chakras is like a ‘subtle body’ manual for our body-mind and energies. You discover things you  like and dislike about your hard-wiring. And it’s subtle and deep for sure. Do you have times when you feel utterly exasperated with yourself, your life or complete lack of energy? You can shift that with chakra yoga.  The more I practice and study, the more it astounds me.

How? Start from the bottom up. This is a STRONG note of caution. The serpent lies in our pelvis. You need to start your balancing work from the ground up. You need to find stability and grounded-ness before you move your way to the more subtle work, and you need to keep your feet on the ground – otherwise you will become one of those crazed bliss addicts.

Bring awareness to pelvis and feet, find alignment in pelvis and feet. This is your starting point and the foundation you need to keep returning to. Then keep an open mind, but keep your questioning and discerning hat on. That’s always a good hat to wear.

RECOMMENDATIONS

There are many great teachers and writers on the subject, here are a few resources I recommend: Eastern Body Western Mind by Anodea Judith and Chakra Yoga by Alan Finger & Katrina Repka. If in London this month check out Jo Ibbett’s Chakra workshop on 9 June at Indaba Yoga (Jo often works with the Chakras so basically check out anything she does!) and/or yoga masters Katrina and Alan are co-teaching at YogaCampus this November.

MAT MOMENT

Find your feet first:- alignment in the feet brings alignment to all the chakras and particularly helps balance the base chakra. Start your practice by simply massaging your own feet, this is a wonderful way of getting grounded and bringing awareness to feet.  Once you have given each foot a good rub, flow through some simple asanas (e.g. down dog, warrior 2)
and keep awareness in feet – notice that if you lift your toes up your arches ignite. See if you can release grip of toes and keep the arch elevated. At any stage during your practice or week lift toes whilst planting four corners of the sole of the foot firmly down.

A Saturday afternoon urban retreat for those that need to recoup and renew.

Photo from Yoga on the Lane

Drawing influence from restorative yoga, yoga therapeutics, Alexander technique, body biomechanics, anatomical study, yoga theory, the session will focus deep relaxation and breath-work to work with the body and mind to find your optimal alignment physically, mentally and energetically. Particularly good to anyone and ideal for people who are suffering from on-going injuries, medical conditions, stress, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue and life’s general aches and pains. Book your mat space through yogaonthelane@gmail.com . See here for directions.

Cover by Luke Andrews

This winter I had the great pleasure of working on a book with the lovely Sinead Mac Manus of 8fold. We are proud to announce it’s completion. To celebrate we are having a little shindig – you are welcome to join us! You can sign up here.

When? Thursday 6:30pm – 8:30pm, 26th April

Where? Club Workspace, London Bridge

Why? The Business Yogi: How to be Happy at Work is 140 pages of ideas and inspiration from the philosophy and practice of yoga applied to the modern workplace. Divided into five chapters: Starting, Challenges, Progress, Relationships, and Focus, the book takes the readers on a personal journey into their inner self helping them use their yoga practice to find resilience and happiness in the workplace.

Who? Whether you are a yoga newbie wanting to find out more or a seasoned practitioner wishing to deepen your practice, The Business Yogi has something for everyone to incorporate into their busy life.

What? Join us for drinks, extracts from the book and fun!

I love to think of each yoga practice as a journey.  There’s a beginning, middle and end, ups and downs, darks and lights, highs and lows. When I teach I am the trekking guide, when I practice it’s firsthand experience.

Like on any journey we are confronted with our limitations, our weaknesses, strengths and ultimately a sense of freedom.

When I travel all my old baggage piles up for me to sort through: the fears, the ways I confront my fears, habits, the shadowy silhouette of my soul.  When we travel we can take this opportunity to be honest with ourselves. It’s in those moments of awareness that we can shape shift and learn to transform our samscaras (engrained grooves/ways of reacting).  So too in our yoga practice we have this opportunity to bear witness to ourselves, to be honest with who we are and find more freedom, maybe find different aspects of – or opportunities for – ourselves that we never knew existed.

By being open, honest and adventurous and turning our attention to that which challenges us, we can work with these parts of ourselves in a gentle way. Some fears may leave us, some may stay, new ones may come up. Whatever they are, we shed a little light on them.  And then set off again from where we began, at the same but very different place.

It’s so easy to forget, to forget the dark times when things are going well and to nitpick and picknit everything and everyone. We close ourselves off in our bubble of man-made misery.

Yoga wisdoms teach us to be grateful for what we have. Because we have more than we need, and we are everything we should be. As we focus on the more positive aspects our life seems fuller, and we experience more contentment (santosha). No need to delude ourselves, just take a good hearty look. As my good friend always says “Don’t sweat the small stuff” . Your strong challenges will come don’t you worry about that, so preserve your adrenaline for when you actually need it, don’t deplete yourself.

Remembering your lot i.e. being grateful means bringing it back in, shutting off the “I wants” from the outside (not looking at the big A-boards telling you what you need). In your deep core you know you have enough. Go deep and see yourself for who you are, then spread out the lurve the luff the love!

I’ll share one of my favourite quotes (again):

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes" 
- Marcel Proust

Practice:  just before you drift to sleep and first thing as you wake , on the threshold of consciousness, think of three things you are really grateful for. They can be very small or very big, they can be the same thing everyday, but make sure you mean it.

We all hold the potential for limitless power. As we see our reflection of self in our yoga practice we realise that there is always more – there is always more energy, knowledge, strength, flexibility to be find. The more we weave ourselves mindfully through life the more we discover our own inner power.   That power being a combination of strength and flexibility in body and mind.

Often when we start yoga we only see the outer form of ourselves, what we can and cannot do. We push and compete with ourselves and others. And then the body confronts us (often screaming at us with it’s limitations with pain and injury) and we realise that the practice is actually about what’s happening deep inside.  We draw into the interior landscape of the practice. We discover that if we spiral our inner thighs back in space our hips find more flexibility, if our arm bones root back into the shoulder sockets we find more strength in upper body. The technology of the practice absorbs us and if we work hard at refining our practice, working deep into the core of our being, we suddenly notice ourselves sailing through poses we only dreamed of before!

When I started yoga I really was not particularly strong nor flexible it seemed comparing myself to the rest of the room. The more I compared myself the ‘worse’ I seemed to get and I seemed to get stuck half way fingers to toes, collapsing in my planks. Then it all shifted. And I believe that part of the shift came because I began to believe that I would one day be able to do it. I started to affirm myself instead of telling myself I was useless. I mean, of course I wasn’t going to get anywhere if I told myself I couldn’t get there.  Why on earth would my body trust my mind sending crazy mixed signals. One day when I was preparing to launch myself at the wall, instead of the aggressive internal dialogue my heart said to me “You do not need to be afraid, you can do this” and upside down I sprung. And stayed there.

Perhaps you can relate to the internal dialogue or perhaps your voices are different. But what I have learnt is that, yes, there is always more to be learnt and more to be done but we expand to embrace the challenge. And if we believe in and affirm ourselves it’s far more likely we will get there.

The Bliss of Awareness is discovered through the expansion of the centre. 
– Sutra 17, The Heart of Recognition, Ksemaraja (tr. Hareesh Wallis)

As we rise to new challenges unfolding its important to remember to stay grounded. As we get excited we can forget why we are doing what we are doing, who and where we came from.  We disconnect and lose perspective of our bigger picture.

Like the spring crocus that blossoms, it lasts longer if it stays connected to its roots.

Remember your Roots

And it is so easy to get uprooted and burn out in this crazy world. (Been there, done that times a hundred!) So we have to work to remember to actively bring our feet to the ground, remembering our support, being sensitive, so we can stay strong for long. Like in a headstand, we root down to rise up in life.

And the flower cannot grow more without its roots in the earth.

Micro Practice (for when you are busy running around like a headless chicken): take a moment to literally feel the ground beneath you and imagine roots growing under your feet into the ground. Balance out your stance between left and right steadying yourself. It’s as simple and effective as that, feeling the floor beneath you makes you more grounded as a person and gives you energy to keep going. If we take these quick moments every couple of hours to steady ourselves we ultimately become more productive and our decisions and energies flow. Give it a go .

I’d love to believe that life is a box of chocolates, but … sometimes it feels like we pick up a piece of turd in our metaphoric chocolate box.  Even with all our wonderful yogic beliefs, strong practice and healthy attitude, sometimes something comes up out of nowhere and really throws you off centre. You know what I’m talking about. At these times I need to remind myself that at the very least: this will change.  Nature constantly pulsates growth, contraction, expansion , change.

Everything flows, nothing stands still - Heraclitus

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus articulated that the only constant is change. Nothing is permanent in the universe; therefore attachment to any one state of being equals disappointment.

The contemporary American philosopher Douglas Brooks taught me that the cyclical nature of the universe is represented by the three goddesses Durga, Saraswati and Lakshmi.

Together these three goddesses represent the evolution of everything and every thing.  In a nutshell: Durga represents darkness and chaos, Saraswati – organization and order. And Lakshmi is our favourable lady of beauty and bliss. We always hold elements of these three goddesses within us and our lives. Different parts of our lives may be more Kali, Saraswati or Lakshmi weighted.  All three are vital for growth, learning and development.

We all love the Lakshmi moments of blissful contentment (the hazelnut centre of a chocolate moment) but the moment must pass. The more we chase the blissful nectar that Lakshmi gives the more elusive she becomes, and we begin to suffer immense disappointment when Durga raises her head to confound us. As we embrace Durga’s darkness Saraswati gives us the tools to negotiate the chaos and so we attain blissful realisation of Lakshmi again. For a while.  Each cycle is as important as the other .  If everything was sweet, we would by our very human nature grow bored and discontented. I know it, you know it.

Yoga gives us a much needed map to negotiate the balance of this bitter and sweet, dark and light in this topsy turvey and up down life.  If we focus on the fun and light beauty too much  - their shadows loom up and bite you on your bum.

The next time you hit the full force of a life tornado, give it a moment and instead of giving up all hope, make some extra time for strong yoga practice (sadhana) so you can be really steady. This gives you the freedom to face the storm full on. Perhaps discovering hidden strengths you had no idea were there. We all hold a fathomless amount of potential for growth -our nature is to expand from the contractions remember? And on and on the spiralling merry-go-round we go. So next time the turd turns up on your front door – stop your stride, look at it, accept it and get the tools you need to deal with it.

We constantly experience flux and change, and although it may not always feel like it, these are opportunities for us to expand and grow.  Often at the threshold of something (moving, asking for a raise, changing jobs, getting married etc etc) we begin to feel afraid and forget to trust ourselves and our experience.  We get ourselves to the doorway and suddenly overcome by fear, it’s hard to take the next step.  We can sit staring at the doorway into this ‘life we could have’ forever not taking the next step. I’ve definitely had my fair share of idling in the doorway.

Unfortunately we cannot go back to where we come from, and have to keep moving forward expanding our experiences, the experiences that lead us to every moment, every threshold we find ourselves at. So do we stay here peering through the doorway?  It’s an option.  But we didn’t get to the doorway from our desire – the things we want, the people we want to connect with, the work, the love, the life is all on the other side of this threshold sometimes dragging us across. But only you can take that final step and I know – tis SCARY.

Sometimes we’ve  pushed ourselves too soon through it, we are not ready and are flung back again. That hurts and we hold that hurt in us.  And those painful moments teach us to wait until we are truly ready. We need to trust our knowledge, and the advice of those we deeply trust around us to know when the time is right. And I believe that you can ask the Dalai Lama and he can offer you some great advice but actually only you know.  You will know.

And then we take all of our experience – our past and present – and step forward into the future and whatever waits ahead of us. Like Ganesha – deeply listen with your figurative big ears, hold your past, present and future in your belly, be wise, and step forward with awareness and great strength.

me stepping over with glee

PRACTICE “Stepping over” through Chi Walking:

1. Notice your stride – are you rushing? Could you shorten your stride a bit? Over striding can cause a lot of muscular-skeletal tension and troubles so perhaps make it a little shorter.

2. Then, assess how you actually land on your foot. Chi Walking recommends landing with your foot under your center of gravity on the front of the heel, it lands under you and goes out the back with a heel-toe roll action.  - see http://www.chiliving.com/ for more information. (Note Chi Walking action differs slightly from Chi Running).

3. Perhaps the technique won’t work for you, but at the very least bringing awareness to any action can bring about a sense of control and calm in this world.

(Thanks to my dad for teaching me about Chi Walking and also supporting me as a step over many a threshold.)

Elephant Feet by scarletarts

I take a symbolic ‘Ganesha moment’. Ganesha being the mythical elephant god who sits on the threshold of transformation, remover of obstacles, deeply wise, deeply patient. He remembers, he reconnects, he listens, he teaches. And he is heavy, he is weighted.   His big feet ground him, keeping him steady.

‘Guru’ doesn’t mean saviour, person you hand all your power to, no! It means one who leads you from light to dark and/or the weighted one.  I strongly believe we are our own guru.  Yoga teaches us to go within to find the teachings where we all hold the knowledge in a deep level of consciousness.  And yes, we have guides, fellow travellers in the life journey who can teach us how they learned to listen. But only we hold our personal key to our inner display of light in dark, dark in light.

‎The entire reason for spiritual practice is to train your instincts so that at moments requiring action, you do the right thing.- Dr. Katy Poole

So like Ganesha, when we are confronted with a challenge we can learn to take a moment, listen to our breath, connect ourselves to the ground (feel our feet grow heavy, press them into the earth) and then, only then, we make clear wise decisions.