Manipura Chakra

We start our yoga practice by taking a seat and reflecting on our self in silence. From this place we set an intention, which in some way allows us to connect more fully to our heart.

Then we move into the physical asana practice where we move from one pose to another. As we do this physical practice, we begin what I call, the cycle of remembering the heart. In this cycle we forget about our intention/heart, and then with compassionate awareness we notice that we forgot, and then we connect back to our intention/ heart. When we connect back to the intention we don’t just hear the words in our head but we invoke the feeling tone of the heart that brings a reassuring deep peace and a connection and remembrance to our inherent goodness. This cycle happens for every yogi no matter how advanced, the only difference is a beginner yogi might have longer periods of forgetting their intention and an advanced yogi maybe quicker to notice when the intention has slipped away or they may even be so aware that they can catch when the intention begins to slip away but hasnt completely left. This is the practice of remembering the heart.


In the classes I taught on Wednesday, one was an all level class at Flow Yoga SLC and a Level 1 & 2 class I taught at The Yoga Center we focused on the manipura Chakra. I will also be continuing this theme for my Friday classes. The manipura is the third chakra which in Sanskrit means "city of jewels." It is located in the solar plexus, navel and digestive system. It is where we get our sense of self and where we draw our personal power, discipline and passion from. When we hold an asana we find the strength and vitality to stay in the pose from this energy center. This chakra is not only important because it helps us connect to our full potential and our own strength, but it is also important because it sits below the anahata chakra (the heart chakra). The chakras build off of each other in steps, if you don’t have a developed connection to your manipura chakra you won’t have the capacity or strength to connect, open, and share you anahata chakra. So not only do we draw on this fiery chakra when we need more physical strength and endurance throughout practice, but we also use the strength, discipline, and passion of this chakra to continue to come back to our intention and to remember our heart.

So in my classes this week we energetically focused on cultivating our connection to our manipura chakra finding our discipline and passion so we may deepen our awareness to the cycle of remembering the heart and have the strength to continue to connect to our intention and hold space for the energy of our heart.

Asanas physically in this class we build up fiery heat through:
•Surya Namaska 5-10X
•Chaturanga tune ups (i.e. good old pushups…with alignment and breath)
•Jumping forward from AMS (we took AMS at the wall finger tips a little less than one hand print away from the wall, good foundation in the hands, shoulder loop, inner spiral thighs, scoop in the tail bone, toned belly…then hoop! Working to get the sit bones to the wall. This is great it teaches you how hard you have to jump to get the hips over the wrists without worrying about filling over)
•core work and abductor strengthers
•AMC (handstand 3 ways…L at wall, heels at wall, heels at wall to bent knees working our way to full hand stand)
•Parsvakonasana
•Virabhadhasana
•Reverse wirabhadhasana
•In this class physically there were times when the students were asked to dig deep and call upon the power of their manipura chakra…while smiling of course.
•I also continued to ask where are you in your cycle of your heart felt intention? Are you very aware of it and immersed in the feeling tone, have you forgotten about it, are you bring your awareness back to it…remember no judgments just awareness.

I think next week I might be feeling the anahata chakra since we have been building up the personal strength to move more deeply into the heart…

Suggested mantra meditation: Ram is the bija (seed sound) for this energy center. Repeating this sound out loud releases a vibration sound energy that helps you connect to the region of the manipura chakra. So simply repeat….Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram…find your own internal rhythm.

Making beauty through asana…SHRI

I was watching one of John Friend’s Yoga Teacher Training DVD’s today and he was talking about reasons we practice yoga. He said one reason to practice yoga is to co-create with the divine, so we may bring more beauty into the world through our artistic expression. I love this! We all have the power to create beauty though our own freedom! We can choose to co-create with the Universal! Through the practice of Anusara yoga, by aligning with the divine and remembering the Universal, we experience delight.

Through the practice of asana, pranayama and remembering the heart we draw into ourselves (muscular energy). Through this drawing in we find our inner luster, we remember our divine nature, and we remember our beauty. In drawing in we see and experience our intrinsic goodness. We have this moment of AHHA, like an inner sigh, as we recognize that we are an expression of this one divine essence! Through this recognition we can shine out (organic energy). We shine out our glorification of this inner recognition. When we come to this place of inner connection and recognition and shine out from this divine space, we add the most beauty possible to the world.

In this DVD, John used a metaphor that I really liked and used in my classes today (at Flow and Kula). John said it is like we are all an instrument and our instrument is unique to each one of us. No one in the world has the same instrument as us. With our own instrument through alignment, breath, and our heart connection we can play the instrument and make the most beautiful noise. A noise that no one else can make, a noise that is truly ours to contribute to the whole. When we practice with heart and alignment we play our instrument as best we can. We contribute this sound to the whole in our asana class making a beautiful orchestra! Not only do we contribute our unique instrument sound to our asana class, but we contribute our beauty to all the yogis worldwide, contributing to the global orchestra. John said that we can also think of ourselves as a whole orchestra and that each part of our body is its own instrument. Through aligning each part of our body correctly and being very aware of all the different body parts/ musical instruments, we contribute to one orchestra. (What a lovely metaphor)

I have been practicing mainly Vinyasa, and Prana Vinyasa Yoga for many years and have recently found Anusara yoga. When I think about this metaphor, especially the one where I am the whole orchestra and each part of my body is its own instrument that contributes to the beautiful sounds of the whole orchestra (my whole self), gets me thinking about how I used to perform asanas. I thought I was getting pretty good. I looked good in the pose, I could hold it for a long time, but now I realize that not every part of my body was involved in the pose. I had trained myself to come into a pose and collapse and just allow my bone structure to hold me up. I wasn’t playing all my instruments in the most beneficial way. Yes, it was easy because I wasn’t engaged. Now when I do yoga, even if I am in a basic class, every pose I come into, and every part of my body, every instrument is contributing someway to the whole.

This is Shri. Shri means “radiance” in Sanskrit, it can also be translated as beauty or that which is inspiring. Shri is essential beauty, something that lifts and opens your heart. Shri is the recognition of our intrinsic goodness. The effervescent light that shines from within when we align with the divine and we experience a AHHH...sensation in our mind body and spirit.

May we align with the divine in our asana poses and in our life so we may choose to contribute more beauty to the world, and with this wonderful life we have been blessed with.

Happy day to you, may we all reflect and connect to our heart on and off the matt.

New buissness card!!

Thanks Alysha!
Alysha Kester took photos and helped me desing....http://www.alyography.com

Purnatva (perfect fullness)

Inspired by the full moon on March 29, we explored the Purnatva “perfect, fullness” in my Tuesday evening (Kula Yoga) and Wednesday morning (Flow Yoga) classes.

When I saw the full moon on the 29th I was in awe! It was so beautiful, radiant and full. As I looked at the moon I felt a connection to my own beauty, my own radiance, and my whole fullness. Purnatva often translated as “perfect fullness”. I was hesitant at first about bring up the term perfect in my yoga class, so often we think perfect means striving for the best, yet it seems always out of reach, like we aren’t quite good enough yet. I didn’t want my students to think of that. Instead I wanted them to think of perfect as perfectly content with where they are in there existence, in their life, in the moment, and in their pose. In recognition of their own perfection they fill full. Full of the divine essence that fills us all in such abundance.

I know I keep coming back to this, but it just keeps coming to mind. “Niralambaya Tejase” the last line of the Anusara invocation which means the inner sparkling brilliance of the heart that is always present. I think of this verse when I think of Purnatva. That we are so full of this inner radiance and that this radiance is always present, and as long as we do our best in whatever (life, relationships, yoga asana, meditation) then we are perfect in that moment. Maybe being perfect in that moment means not taking the full expression of the pose whether we can do it or not. Being perfect means listening with an honest compassion to our body and honoring how far we should go in a pose.

When you practice from a place of Purnatva, allow yourself feel luminous, beautiful, and full like the moon, cultivating an attitude like there is nothing lacking in this moment or any moment. When you look at the moon you see the holes and the dips and in a way those holes are the moons imperfections, but they just add to the perfectness of the moon! Without the holes, without the imperfections the moon might not be as perfect. Being perfectly whole means loving and accepting where you are in life or in your asana. You are imperfectly perfect! Just as you are, right now in this moment!

When you realize you are perfect just the way you are and that you are always full of spirit and are an expression of Grace, you feel perfect and full (Purnatva). One mantra I use when I feel like I am not perfect, not full, or I feel defeated is….”I am perfect and whole”...A simple mantra/affirmation but it helps shift my mood and energy tremendously.

Things to remember in your asana practice:
•Instead of striving for perfection in your pose connect to your inner essence and feel the fullness from within. When you practice yoga asana from this inner connection any pose you do is perfect and full.

•Remember your Divine essence; know your asanas are already perfect as they are when you honor yourself and your body.

•Have fun as you connect with your breath, your alignment, and your awareness of Niralambaya Tejase. Remember that your asanas bring beauty into the world through your artistic expression.

•When you come into an asana, allow every moment and every breath help you bring more beauty, more fullness, and more perfection into your asana. Like holding the pose is a delight because it gives you an opportunity to keep finding more beauty and fullness. Instead of coming into a pose (that might be more advanced) if it means you can only hold perfectly full for two breaths but after that you slowly begin to collapse out.

•Om: Wolfs howl at the full moon in recognition of its perfect fullness. As you Om at the end of class, allow it to be your howl recognizing your own perfect fullness.

Throughout the class I read two quotes on perfection (remember perfection is not this idea of striving for the best, but it is being perfectly content with where you are in your existence, in your life, and in your yoga pose):
•I read a chant from the Shavasya Upanishad:
“purnamada purnamidan
purnaat purnamudachyate
purnasya purnaamadaya
purnameva vashishyate"
My favorite translation:
“This is perfect, that is perfect
Perfection comes from the perfect.
Take the perfect away from the perfect,
and only the perfect remains."

•I read a poem by Dana Faulds, Perfect Emanation:
"The perfect emanation is
alive inside each one of us
right now. I'm not denying
my imperfect translation,
my stumbling fits and starts,
or my dark side.

Yet look at what is
manifesting! Witness how
the thread comes off
the spool without tangles,
how the tapestry of life
weaves itself
using me a loom."

SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI,
Namaste

I found wonderful information about Purnatva from Katrina's blog, Katrina is an Anusara® inspired teacher (http://www.yogawithkatrina.com/purnatva-yogic-view-on-perfection/)and from Olga Rasmussen whos is a Certified Anusara® Yoga Teacher
(http://aligningwithgrace.blogspot.com/2010/03/purnatva-perfection.html)

Aligning with the universe allows us to ride the winds of grace toward the center of our heart.

Practice staying connected to your heart as we introduced challenges into our asana practice! This was the theme of the Level 2 yoga class I taught at Kula on Tuesday night 7:30-9pm last week….

Rumi..."On a day when the wind is perfect the sail just needs to open and the world is full of beauty. Today is such a day."

I took a Ayurveda lecture from Aaron Leitko at Flow Yoga on sunday. Aaron briefly summarized Ayurveda, which translates to mean the science of life. Ayurveda focuses on the 5 elements including earth (prithvi), water (apas, jala), fire (agni), wind (vayu), and ether (akasha, akash). Through this science we learn how to create harmony between the five elements in our body, our emotions, and our situations…When talking about the 5 elements Aaron briefly used a metaphor about a sail boat that went something like this…when we create balance between these elements, we align with the universe and through this harmonious alignment the universal winds blow our sail boat in the “right” direction. Isn’t that lovely? I am going to expand with this metaphor.

This reminded me of our yoga asana practice and more specifically Anusara yoga. Anusara (a-nu-sar-a), means “flowing with Grace,” “flowing with Nature,” “following your heart”. When we use precise alignment with our physical body in asana poses we are also aligning our mind, our heart and our spirit with the universe, as a result the universal winds blow our sail toward the center of our heart, and the center of our being. It feels like life is working with us instead of against us.

However so much of our life off the matt doesn’t align with the universe. Sometimes our actions, intentions, wants, and needs are in such contrast with each other that instead of not having the help of the universal wind, it’s like we take out the oars in our boat and start rowing away from the center.

How can our actions on and off the matt better align us so may ride the universal winds of grace toward the center of our heart? How can we not pick up the oars and row away from the center, if anything how can we oar toward the center?

Finding this alignment in our asana practice has two stages. The first stage is finding the alignment of our body, mind, heart, and spirit and noticing the harmonious effect it has on our being. The second stage is coming into this alignment and then introducing various challenges and seeing if we can maintain this clam, heart centered and luminous feeling. I love practicing this second stage because life off the matt is full of challenges. When we practice confronting challenges and maintaining a lightness of heart on the matt, when we are faced with an obstacle off the matt it becomes easier and we are more aware of not losing our center.

Suggested asanas… These poses are already challenging, remember you can practice the first stage by just maintaining alignment. Adding the variations creates more of a challenge but so is staying connected to heart. When challenges confront you in life how do you respond? Do you constrict out of the heart? Or do you use the challenge as an opportunity to connect to life more fully while maintaining balance?

•Vrksasana (Tree pose):

1.Ardha Chandrasana variation: bring the sole of the right foot to the left inner thigh with your hands in anjali mudra, experience your inner radiance. Keeping this inner shine reach your left hand toward sky, and spread your right fingers like the sun with the thumb at heart center and palm facing the left, so the right hand resembles your heart budding open like a flower. Now begin to reach your left hand toward the right, contracting the right oblique muscles and puffing the lefts ribs up as you turn the chest toward sky. Maybe switch your drishti past the left arm pit. (picture of this variation the leg is in 1/2 lotus)
2.Twist variation: hands in anjali mudra begin to twist the torso to the right, and take your drishti over your right shoulder, then twist to the left brings the drishti over the left shoulder.
3.Back bend variation: with the inner thighs moving back scoop the tail bone scope the tail bone as you lift the heart and do a bend backward, take your drishti up toward the sky. Smile
4.On a block variation: stand on a yoga block and do the same variations, quite a challenging being 2-3 inches above the ground.

•Pincha Mayurasana (foararm balance):
1.Twisting variation: while balancing on your foararms start to twist your torso to the right and then toward the left.
2.Back bend variation: while balancing on your foararms melt your heart, bring it forward, integrate shoulder loop, lift up your head smile. Then begin to reach your feet toward the front of the room.

•Hanumanasana (splits): doing a pose like hanumanasnas is challenging and we normally run into our ego and self judgment. When in Hanumanasana, no matter how far you are in the pose, can you cultivate an attitude like “where I am is perfect and beautiful!” Find your inner sparkle within this difficult pose.

•Bakasana (crow pose): balancing on your hands is a challenge, but add the extra challenge of a longer hold. Can you stay heart centered and luminous 5, 10, 20 breathes. Keep smiling.

For more information on regular Ayurveda talks visit: http://flowyogaslc.com/classes.html#vedic-lectures

A lesson from the story of Nataraja...offer something authentic

I have been learning about the story of the Nataraja, and listening to the lecture Douglas Brooks has on CD and re-reading The Yoga Sutras. I love how every time I return to this wonderful story a different part of the myth sticks out and teaches me a different lesson. Today this is what I was reminded of:

Shiva comes in three forms, a riddler, a gambler, and a dancer. The story of the Nataraja is the story of Shiva as the dancer. In this story Shiva dances the cosmic dance the ananda tandava (the blissful dance). At the beginning of the story a serpent is laying with Lord Vishnu, and Vishnu starts to weigh more and wiggles around. The serpent was startled and asked Vishnu why he was wiggling. Vishnu smiled and said “I am witnessing Lord Nataraja dancing the Ananda Tandava or Ecstatic Cosmic Dance in Tillai Vanam on Earth. This is making Me expand in bliss. That is why you feel that My weight has suddenly increased. Why don’t you too watch this glorious vision and enjoy the bliss?” After hearing this the serpent decided he must too experience this blissful dance. However in order to experience the dance you must have 5 senses and be human. Through performing anjali mudra the serpent turns into Patanjali, a sage who is half man and half snake. Patanjali then went to the pine wood forest where Vishnu said Shiva danced the ananda tandava.


Patanjali searched for a very long time, looking all over the forest trying to find Shiva. One day Patanjali came upon a Shiva lingam. A Shiva lingam is a holy symbol for Lord Shiva that is considered sacred and worshipped. This lingam that Patanjali came across in the Pine forest was especially worshiped, adorned with ashes, incents and flowers. Patanjali noticed particularly beautiful orchid flowers, he had never seen such beautiful flowers and he decided that he wanted to offer these same beautiful flowers to Shiva because he thought they were so magnificent. He wandered the forest looking everywhere for these wonderful flower, but he couldn’t find them anywhere. Instead of getting frustrated, Patanjali realized that the flowers were someone else’s authentic offering and that he needed to find something authentic to himself to offer to Shiva. Since Patanjali is half snake he borrowed deep into the forest floor and found seeds, a very rare sacred seed, and he offered these lovely seeds to Shiva.

We later learn that the sage who offered the orchids for Shiva was the Vyaghrapada, the tiger-pawed saint. Since he had tiger paws he can climb to the top of the Tillai trees that make up the pine forest and at the top of these trees is where the rare orchids grow. So both the Vyaghrapada and Patanjali made an authentic offering to the Shiva linga. When the two sages meet at worship at the linga in the pine forest with their offerings, the linga exploded into the form of Nataraja, the dancing Lord Shiva.

I think this is a important part of the story to remember and practice in our yoga asanas, and how we live our life. When we practice yoga asana it is easy to want to look like our neighbor, the teacher, a person from a magazine… But this isn’t necessarily authentic to you. Every yoga pose we do is an offering, it is an opportunity to express a heartfelt quality of the heart and shine this beauty outward. When we try to make the same offering as someone else we go against ahimsa (non-harming) and staya (truthfulness) even if we can push into a pose that looks more like someone else’s offering, it’s not authentic and is not a pretty offering. It is so much more beautiful to respect where we are in yoga asana with a compassionate nonjudgmental heart. While here we can cultivate an attitude of santosha (contentment) knowing that where we are in the pose when practicing authentically is so, so wonderful and so, so magnificent, just like the Vyagarapada and Patanjalis offering! And since yoga asana is such a great way to practice for life, we can also practice this off our matt. Maybe we want to look like someone else, or draw like someone else, or sing like someone else….These are all offerings, but when we want to offer what someone else is offering it diminishes our own shine, and we all have something so beautiful to offer, that no one else can offer, becuse its ours!

So smile and shine and know that you are beautiful, magnificent, radiant, and lovely, and no matter what others offer, you also have something to offer that is so special and so unique to you. Be proud and shine it out!

(I am thankful to my wonderful Sources: Douglas Brooks, The Yoga Sutras, http://www.shrinimishamba.org, Zhenja La Rosa blog)

The variety of weather is so divine.

Lately in SLC, UT we have been experiencing a variety of weather rain, sun, wind, sun, snow, slush. sun... And this variety of weather has reminded me of the tantric philosophy that underlies Anusara yoga, (my last blog entry talked more about the tantric non-dual philosophy). This non-dual philosophy believes that there is one divine auspicious essence and through creative expression this one energy creates the vast variety we see in the world. Like shinning a light on a crystal which shines out many different lights of many different colors, however they are all an expression of the one original light. We can see this variety everywhere in the world for example the way people look, flowers look, and the variety in weather just to name a few. This gives us an opportunity to choose how we will perceive the variety. Will we choose to resist it, judge it and label it “good” or “bad”? Or will we choose to see that variety as a beautiful expression of the divine that this one lovely energy brings about the diversity we experience in life.

Focusing on diversity and variety with in a yoga asana class is fabulous. Because with in a class there are a variety of elements, the poses scheuences is unpredictable, there are poses that require a variety of strength, flexibility, and balance, our ability differs from pose to pose, and our mental qualities change throughout class. This variety that presents itself in an asana class gives us an opportunity to choose how we will respond. Will we get frustrated, and judge ourselves, get frustrated, label the pose “good” or “bad”, label ourselves “good” or “bad”, or label our emotions “good” or “bad”.

Instead can we smile, can we choose to create a compassionate space where our experience exists and in this space our ability can change yet we still enjoy this variety because we know it is an expression of the divine. We can even do more than just enjoy this creative expression of the divine, we can marvel in it, we can allow it to intrigue us and interest us. So not only can we enjoy the variety but we by allowing our self to be fascinated with the oneness of life and the creative expression through diversity, this fascination connects us to the present moment.

This was my class theme the other day and the universal alignment principles (UAP) we focused on were muscular energy and organic energy.

Muscular energy: we choose to embrace the oneness, to accept the diversity we see and experience in the world as the divine’s artistic expression. We hug this blissful essence into or focal point ( or midline) hugging the muscles to the bones, and we fill our self with this supreme essence. In muscular energy we allow grace to flow into us.

Organic energy: from hugging in our muscles and drawing in this blissful energy of the universe, through muscular energy we find the active resistance we need to expand back out. So from this drawing in we then shine back out from the focal point, we add our own beauty back out into the world. In organic energy we then shine grace back out.