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Season 1 - Episode 6
Description
We explore Manipura or the solar plexus chakra. We begin with some breathing practices before playing with inversions, twists, and arm balances to stoke the fire of transformation and ignite our own personal will power. We finish with a talk and suggested reflection questions.
See the attached PDF chart for this chakra.
What You'll Need: Mat, Wall, Block (2)
About This Video
Apr 20, 2019
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Transcript
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Introduction
Welcome back to week three of our seven week chakra course. So moving from the first and second chakras as we've explored the elements of earth and water that really connect us to our roots, to the earth, to our creativity and our emotions, kind of what's inside and downward flowing energy it's called. We begin to move inward and upward through the third chakra, manipura and the element of fire and fire's main purpose is to transform. It's also to begin to create our own personal power and self-will. So the first two chakras so much have to do with our relationships to others, relationship to our families, our tribe, and then again our friends and creativity and sexuality, but this one specifically has to do with developing a very healthy personal ego and this relationship to ourselves. So I like to think about it because it's located right here at the digestive system and our navel centers. So it's kind of like this drawing inward and connecting as we did connect to our source of nourishment and energy when we were in the womb. This time the navel begins to draw in and really connects us in towards ourselves. So it's not at the expense of our connection to others, to our family, to our relationships with others, but then so that we don't get lost again and the element of fire can come in so well after some of the things we explored last week that we can get lost in this whole world of the senses and so to balance it out right away we begin to move the energy inward so that we can own ourselves and own our emotions and not get thrown as much and I think this is the greatest gift of this personal power to be able to choose and so also it gives us the confidence to begin to move towards our own personal life purpose. So again we're thinking about moving away from family and friends to who am I and what is my role in this world and so of course we have to take risks we have to develop a healthy sense of self and confidence and that comes from actually taking risks and so we got to shake off some of the criticism that we experience in this world especially when we're wanting to make big life changes and it doesn't have to be when we're younger this is at any point in life I'm going through one right now big you know you can think about a midlife crisis and people are like I've been doing this my entire life but now I think my life is calling me in a different way and we are we're so afraid of what maybe others might think so to be able to develop this healthy sense of who we are is so important really at any time so the practices that we're gonna do today and to really develop a healthy balanced and awaken this third chakra especially when we need it we need that extra self-esteem and confidence are twists because it begins to awaken the fire element there inside of the belly sort of like rubbing two sticks together to create a fire you need a little bit of friction and awakening this element there the digestive fire Agni at the belly and then also arm balances and inversion so these kind of scary poses we do them even if we can't do them so that we can take risks and further or maybe less fear shame which is the shadow element of courage and confidence that's at the third chakra you know fear of making mistakes all of that comes up when we try to take these big risks so let's go ahead and start with a mudra so you'rePractice
gonna take the left hand and place it right here at your navel your right hand you're gonna stick out the thumb the thumb expresses our ego personality and it's and it's very very very important sense first so first after you know to let go of our ego first we have to have a healthy one you're gonna place that right there at your belly this is the Shiva lingamudra Shiva's a great destroyer and that's great young energy with and us that can create change so from it we're gonna begin to light it I kind of like it it looks like a lighter or a candle or something right here so we're gonna take a couple breathing exercises to really ignite the navel center we were exploring a lot moolabunda which is the root lock and then this is Uddiyana Bandha and the awakening of our inner wings or flight might to be able to fly out of the nest sometimes you got to be pushed right so the first one's called Kapalabhati and that's the focus on the exhale the inhales passive and then the next one is Bastrika which is called breath of fire and that's equal in and out breathing and then we're just gonna take it into some twisting before we get moving okay so let's go ahead and start we're gonna start with Kapalabhati which means skull-shining right clearing of any blockages in our minds so go ahead and take a couple breaths into your navel you'll inhale feel it move away from the spine and then you'll exhale and naturally it's going to begin to draw in see if you can keep the spine long the shoulders backs up the hearts open and again breathing in it just has to do with discipline but it's out of the greatest self-love and then exhale to begin to draw it back so the heart stays open the face is soft and then inhale one more time into your belly and then let's begin with sharp exhalations through the nose and slow it down take another exhale exhale exhale exhale and then hold the breath out for a moment drop the chin in towards the chest feel your belly rise up into your heart again engage that mula bandha squeezing the pelvic floor holding this great self power and will and then take a deep breath in and then raise your arms up and into the sky you're gonna take your thumbs both of them out to the side that the shoulders melt down the back so that the heart lifts and this one's called the ego eradicator so it's kind of like a great V for victory and this is the unhealthy sense of ego that gets in our way as we begin to balance it we wake it up but we got to make sure it doesn't go over the top and especially those sense of self that keeps us from making change so again with the breath of fire it's in and out equal breathing so it looks like this are you ready take a deep breath in take a deep breath out and then let's get started and again slow it down inhale exhale inhale exhale inhale exhale take your palms up and above you let the thumbs touch hold for a moment again engage those bandhas this great self mastery and then take another inhale and then this time you're gonna take your thumb and index fingers together to Surya mudra so that's the Sun that's again represented by our navel we had the moon at the second chakra earth at the first and this is a great Sun at your belly so Surya mudra you're just creating oh no which one is it middle fingers sorry about that and then the elbows move out to the side the hearts open you know take a big breath in and then we're gonna begin taking exhales to the right first and then we're gonna propeller over to the left again it looks like this you can first watch for a couple and then join in it's kind of like a washing machine slow it down and exhale exhale exhale exhale inhale the arms up and then one more time take it over to the other side and we'll take it over to the right so you're gonna exhale over to the left this time sorry so breathing in and exhale exhale exhale exhale and take another big inhale stretch up up up up up and slowly release your hands down feel a sense of lightness and almost like you're radiating like the light shining so from here absolutely take out any props if you had them underneath you slide them over to the side and you're gonna take your legs out and in front of you maybe shake them out a little bit and then you're gonna root down through your hands in your feet planting your hands behind you your feet in front of you lift and open the chest and then you're gonna offer that light that we just awakened like the Sun rising or a great fire ceremony as you lift up through the hips take a deep breath in through the nose drop your head stick out your tongue lion that great courage and then soften your hips down to the ground give a hug of your knees in towards your chest this all-embracing hug great self-confidence and then begin to lengthen the legs you can start for a soft Navasana arms by your sides and then maybe you'll straighten the legs the legs are gonna shake mine always do that means you're awake and you're alive and it's the great energy radiating from you then cross your ankles take your hands out and in front of you you're gonna walk yourselves right into downward-facing dog if you get there take a couple moments your nice warm belly and right behind it all of those qualities of self-esteem courage important as we begin to take these risks your nice warm belly you can begin to take a couple breaths here feeling that lightness that you awoken or this tapas this great heat of your discipline and then you're gonna right away take the right leg up to the sky as you exhale come forward and through center and then take your right knee towards your left elbow so it's taking it all the way across and then inhale reach the right leg up into the sky one more time you're gonna take your right knee towards your right elbow that's again like that stoking of the fire you reach the right leg up and then draw the right knee in towards the nose press the ground away a little bit and then step right between your hands you can come onto your left fingertips if you need that the hips sink down and take it right into a twist so from the belly this transformative fire that you can begin to twist open up see if you can reach up through the inside of your left thigh radiate the chest open and then right from here you're gonna take your right hand down and step the right foot forward a little bit so you can pop the left knee behind your right ankle and we're gonna come into an early seated twist so take your right hand behind you your left arm up to the sky and then take it into a twist your left elbow can come to the outside of the right knee you're creating this mudra of protection as you sit up tall and then exhale to twist and wring it out a little bit deeper take both hands behind you again feet in front of you lift up share your light as you exhale through the mouth lion then hug your knees into your chest again for your boat pose navasana so like no matter what type of waves or water you can stay afloat as you ignite this inner tube of light one more big breath in and then cross your ankles walk yourselves back into downward dog right away inhale your left leg up to the sky draw the left knee towards the right elbow inhale it all the way up left knee to the left elbow inhale swing it up and then with some power and momentum step right between your hands allow the hips to sink down and then pick up your left arm twisting from the belly as the chest opens up towards the sky take a big breath in and then exhale to radiate your heart open a little bit more left hand down you can walk your left foot in just a tiny bit and then pop the right knee behind your ankle take your left hand behind you your right arm to the sky our damatsi andrasana half-seated spinal twist sitting up nice and tall and then exhale ring everything out twisting from the belly inhale you're gonna have to loosen it up a little bit to let the breath in and then use the exhale to twist a little bit deeper and take your hands behind you your feet in front of you one last big breath in lion's breath go ahead and roar sitting bones down knees in stay lifted for a breath and then cross your ankles and step back into downward facing dog take a big breath in and then again exhale and stay from here you're gonna begin to roll forward into your plank pose see if you can stay for the exhale so that you're lifting the ribs you're lifting the belly and then see if you can lower down in one piece it's almost like a hot air balloon lifting you up even as you lower down into the earth and then untuck your toes press down into the tops of the feet rise up for your cobra elbows in looking up and then come back onto your hands and your knees into downward facing dog then exhale and root down a little bit deeper into the hands and the feet but feeling the lift up from the belly so it's this balance of rooting down into the earth but then also feeling a lift up and into yourself and from here you're gonna bend your knees send your hips back towards your heels look forward to where you want to go and I don't know you got to take some steps to get there but we're gonna use a lot of those powerful exhales that we took to play around a little bit with jumping today so you can take a deep breath in maybe exhale hop your heels once twice and then the next time you're gonna see if you can hop your feet between your hands so one more big breath in and then exhale between your hands inhale and lift your chest up your hands and slide up your shins you can even bend your knees so that the spine is long and strong and then exhale bow in towards your legs into uttanasana from here you're gonna begin to rise up right into ukutasana so bend your knees it's called powerful pose your palms can come together or they can come apart but again it's drawing everything in all of your prana you begin to rain inward instead of the senses drawing us out begin to own our own power as you sink into it for a couple breaths and then inhale rise up and release your arms by your sides it's like the Sun you can stand up and shine when we can feel who we are in the midst of everyone else and our own greatness one more big breath exhale into your feet and then we're gonna do surya namaskar of course the honoring of this great Sun like energy within us so again exhaling inhale your palms up towards the sky and then open up your arms for today so you're allowing the rays to shine as you fold forward inhale your right leg back and then your left legs gonna go straight up into that three-legged dog so we're gonna add in to our surya a little bit of that spark of the navel come forward with your knee towards your nose as you exhale and then inhale into a plank let the chest lift and the belly at the same time and then begin to slowly lower yourselves down untuck your toes lift your chest cobra and come onto your hands and knees downward dog as you breathe out inhale your right leg up to the sky step forward between your hands and we're gonna take it right into a twist inhale your right hand down step forward as you exhale inhale rise all the way up to stand exhale Tadasana arms by your sides inhale your palms up as you exhale there can be a soft bend in the knees as you fold forward to Tadasana inhale your left leg back into that low lunge stay with the inhale so the right leg can float up high exhale the knee to the nose shoulders over the wrist hold for a moment and then plank pose breathing in breathing out lift the ribs lift the belly and then lower on down and tuck the toes inhale rise up and exhale downward facing dog inhale your left leg high step forward and twist release your left hand down step forward with the right inhale rise up exhale arms by your sides I'm gonna take one more round inhale your arms up exhale come forward with Tadasana inhale your right leg back your left leg high a little different step right into the lunge twist as you exhale plant the left foot down inhale the right arm up now from here you're gonna step right into your plank let's explore chaturanga as you bend your elbows see if you can hover over the ground a few inches you can even find a little bounce so that you can sweep the chest forward and up maybe for upward dog or a higher cobra and then exhale into your downward dog take a big inhale and exhale bend your knees again inhale to look forward press back so that you get in a little momentum and use the power of your breath to step step or hop lift your chest and exhale bow inhale rise up exhale arms by your side inhale your palms up bow forward as you breathe out inhale your left leg back and your right leg straight up where your three leg it right into that twist inhale the right arm up hips low and circle the hand down for your plank belly stays lifted as you hover chaturanga shoulders can stay open too and then sweep the chest forward and through shoulders back breathe in look up and exhale for your downward dog breathing in and breathing out one more big inhale to bend your knees look forward to prepare and then step step or hop lengthen your spine and bow down katasana on your way up a couple moments feeling the effects of again what's called this tapas personal fire that we can begin to develop radiating from the inside out and then let's think back down katasana uttanasana as you come forward and breathe out this time the play is going to be to hop into chaturanga so you do want to come onto your tippy toes bend your knees plant your hands in front of you so that you can get a little bit of bounce here take an inhale to look forward and then you're gonna shoot the legs back but the chest forward as the belly parachutes up so it looks like this as you breathe in and then you're in your chaturanga inhale burst the chest up and through downward facing dog as you exhale inhale your right leg up to the sky we're gonna step into warrior one so plant your foot between your hands root the back heel into the ground spin the right hip back to seal the left heel down and then sink down into that right foot so that you can rise up into warrior one it's great courage of the spiritual warrior as you sink down and reach up and then from here you're gonna release your arms by your side flip up the back heel towards a high lunge but then shift the weight forward and we're gonna transition into our warrior three so you can keep the right knee bend but lengthen the left leg and then slowly begin to pick up the back leg energy through the back leg the chest lift navel stays lifted and then begin to hug the left knee in towards your chest for a moment and again you're using all of this personal power from the belly as the heart lifts so maybe let go of the hands and be right where you are again the leg is gonna shake and do all sorts of crazy things katasana uttanasana you can step back into your plank if the jumping was too much or again begin to prepare by planting your hands lift the chest parachute the belly up cobra upward dog and downward dog inhale your left leg high step forward and rise up great warrior sinking down arms can come up they can come together as you sink down picking a couple breaths but the energy of the pose comes alive and then pick up the back heel take your arms by your side roll the shoulders back so that the chest can come forward and then again the belly is gonna fly up as you begin to look down kind of like the wings of a bird or something looking down at the earth hug the right knee into your chest stay here for a moment and then see if you can offer the leg up arms up hold for a moment you're back in your katasana last time to come forward like this preparing chest forward legs back stepping jumping walking we'll meet in downward dog take a big inhale and an exhale so we're gonna start out the same way and then we're gonna add on a couple poses so inhale your right leg high step forward let's check out one breath for movement so inhaling up into warrior one as you breathe in transition towards your warrior three and rise up inhale your knee up and in towards your chest and then lengthen your leg all the way forward this time as you bend your knee your inner thighs are gonna come towards each other so that you move towards a vertical split standing split as the arms come up as we prepare for our inversions so with your hands out and in front of you you can play with shifting the weight into the hands again maybe lifting your heel maybe there's a little hop and then you're gonna land into that high lunge so take your arms up to the sky let your hips sink down hug the front of the ribs in and reach your arms up and then take your hands to your heart center as we take it into a deeper twist a revolved extended side angle so your back knee can come to the ground I always like to start it here so I can first get that grounding of the first and second chakras and then find the twist so that my heart and chest can stay open and find the twist from the guts and then re-engage the back leg and add it into the mix so you can find yourself there and then begin to lift your leg allowing the hips to sink down your chest to open take one more big breath in and then exhale let it go reach your leg up into the sky your right knee is gonna come towards the left elbow again and this time you're gonna shoot your leg out to the side seal your back heel down and then lift open your left arm into a fallen triangle and then the play would be to see if maybe for a breath you can lift up that right foot and then step your right foot between your hands one more time so that you're really stoking this fire to prepare to go upside down the chest open and then you'll move it through you can leave out the vinyasa like I am move through it and take an inhale and an exhale and then it's the left leg that's gonna lift reach it on up step forward and rise up warrior one lift up the back heel shift the weight forward warrior three uttita hasta just with the breath standing split this is a long Sanskrit name urdva prasarita ekha patasana so you can shift the weight towards the top of the mat and just like we were playing with those jumpings you press down through the hands and maybe the heel lift so it's just a little prep again press down squeeze the sticky mat with your palms lift up maybe one more time shift the weight into the hands maybe a little play with the foot hopping and then land back down into your high lunge a little bend of the knees scoop the pelvis forward and then slide the chest in hands to your heart right elbow to the outside of the left knee again aligning the joint so we don't forget about that safety of the first chakra stability with the knees aligning over the ankles and the chest begins to rotate extend the back leg and when you're ready opening up through the chest twisting a little deeper and then release your hands swing your left leg up left knee to the right elbow slide on out into your fallen triangle and then the groins really have to deepen so again you're drawing all the energy in towards your belly to lift up your left leg and then step forward one last twist plank pose breathe in lower down or downward dog stay here and take a big breath out you can move your hips from side to side a little bit flutter your lips if you need and you can bend your knees inhale look forward step step hop or walk to the top of your mat lift your chest breathe in exhale fold into your legs rise up through ukutasana sinking down reaching up and then release your arms by your sides inhale exhale again these conscious moments of standing in who you are and your unique purpose life path it's so easy to lose ourselves when we compare compare and despair to other people's lives but what's our particular purpose this chakra calls on us to really embrace it so from here you're gonna spin around and actually make your way towards a wall in your house if you're not at one right now and then you're gonna come to face the wall and lift your right knee in towards your chest so just like we were doing with those leg extensions forward you're gonna find your right foot to the wall and make sure your left heel is parallel to your pinky toe it's like a lunge at the wall as the pelvis comes forward straighten the left leg as much as you can and then begin to lengthen the right leg so you're dropping the right hip down there's a lot of integrity in the pose because you have the support to stand up nice and tall and then let's take another twist our parvrita parangusthasana which is nice to allow your body to sink a little bit forward so that you can begin to find the twist through the belly and then look back breath in and a breath out then you're gonna take both arms to the sky and see if you can keep the right foot nice and rooted and then pivot on your feet for another warrior three so again we're trying to have the shape and the energy move in towards our center so we're doing a lot of internal rotation of the thighs through all of these poses and then your warrior three can actually move forward with your arms feeling the navel lift and then exhale to come forward over your left leg you can take a breath in here and out and then I really like to use a block for this pose it's one of the most challenging poses for me that's why I make sure to do it as much as possible it would be easy for me not to do it no one can see me but sometimes those challenges are the best medicine so you want to take the right hip back what is this my left hip and your right hands on the ground take it into one last twist parvrita ardha chandrasana so that your left arm lifts it's nice to kind of press back to the right foot breathing in and then release forward and down you move your block over to the side and then from here a bend into the right knee we're going to transition it right into a supported inversion just like you were playing with them at the top of the mat handstands going to be supported with your right foot to the wall and then your left knee can come in to meet the right so your thighs are drawing in towards each other and then it can come straight up to the sky for an L-shaped or supported handstand upside down tree take a couple breaths you can look up the front of the body to make sure you can see your toes and then take both feet to the wall lengthen the leg pick up the thighs inhale look forward now you can walk down because hopping is kind of scary or you can bend your knees and then hop your feet forward inhale and lift the chest exhale to fold forward shake it out if you need and then rise up to stand arms by your side okay left side so again you just have to find your legs distance away from the wall there may be a little bit of adjustment you have to make allow yourself to be kind of in a lunge allowing the hip crease to sink down take your arms up and then begin to draw the thighs nice and strong as you move the inner thighs together the navel lifts up and then take it into the twist your knee can bend pressing your outer edge of your right hand to your left thigh and then look back behind you inhaling to lift the chest exhale to twist and then here we go for our warrior 3 so bend the knees see if you can keep the foot as you draw the toes in maybe arms by your sides first so that the shoulders can lift the navel can lift and then your arms can come forward before you place it down block time take it out underneath your left hand and draw the inner thighs in so again it's this personal consciousness your hand can come to your hip as you lift the chest rotating it open allowing your chest to widen before you come forward and down so you have to walk your hands back almost towards your heel bend your knees so that you can find some momentum with that left foot sinking into the wall and then pluck the right knee in towards your chest as you extend it up for your handstand and you're lifting up so all the weight isn't dropping into the wrists and the hands you're using the wall and come on to the tippy toes so that it's very light and talking upside down is very special take both feet to the wall bend your knees a little bit look forward hop or walk lengthen your spine and then exhale fold down from here you can even walk your hands out and in front of you come on to your hands and knees even into a child's pose for a moment and feeling the energy that you woke up and basking in it like the Sun we crave so much or those we admire we'll take another big breath in and exhale and slowly begin to walk your hands back the seat on your heels for a moment and then do grab a blanket it's all gonna culminate here as we round off all of this work we did the steps we took towards being able to play with crow pose it's basically that same structure of the chaturanga we were working in and then the whole place to stay lifted as we come back down into the world and our connection with others that we don't lose it I think that's so powerful when we begin to work it in our asanas because the chakras exist in our bodies so the navel lifts as we come back down and especially even drop our heads down or maybe fall that we don't lose that sense of self so just that symbolism for me so powerful as I work on some of these poses that engage my mani pura so a blanket is really nice to have as a crash pad up against the wall and then for crow pose you can come up onto your tippy toes if crow pose is new you can even use the block to perch yourself on so this automatically lifts the hips lifts the knees a little bit higher up towards the arm bones where they want to be and you're already getting a little bit of extra lift so slide your hands underneath your blanket so that you can still use the traction of your sticky mat to squeeze your fingertips hug the upper elbows in and the upper arms with your knees and then play with shifting the weight forward into the hands again it's just a reaching forward and then tailbones in bellies lift engage the navel see if you can lift one foot and then the other foot pause for a moment and then maybe you'll come back down so if you're working on that work on that for sure and then the next step is to be able to again stay lifted so you're nice and light as you release your head down and it's not really crashing another important thing to remember is that you're coming to the crown of your head so you don't actually take a face plant so your chin really wants to move in towards your throat so one more time shift the weight forward you can first look forward focusing out and in front of you come through your crow by lifting up through your belly and then draw the chin in towards your chest as you release your head down so from here hug the elbows inside the shoulders back and then draw the knees deep in towards your chest the wall is there if you'd like to take one foot first and then lengthen the legs press into the hands draw the front of the ribs in the belly hugs back and then you have the strong base of a tripod to begin to play to maybe moving away from the wall take a breath or two you can keep the feet at the wall for support or one heel and then you're gonna slowly begin to come back down so you can start with the one knee you can start with the other knee we're gonna explore coming back up through crow pose so your knees have to hug the upper arm bones lift up through the belly so that the head can reach forward and then find your feet back to your perch and come off the block move it over to the side and then go ahead and take a moment in child's pose that your hips move from side to side your head roll into the ground and then rise on up and hopefully congratulate yourself for whatever you did it's a huge thing to be on your own side for the steps that you take so you're gonna use your blanket one more time we're gonna come towards Shalabhasana so we're gonna take a back bend all that work we did in our navels now we can begin it's been nice and contracted so now we're gonna create some space as we lower down onto our bellies so take a moment with some padding you can let your head release to the ground your arms by your side maybe here take a moment shake out your hips then start to roll the shoulders back chin in towards the chest lengthen the low back by drawing the pubis towards the navel energy out through the feet and then you can interlace your hands behind you especially sometimes after the arm balances the shoulders can roll up towards the ears so this will feel nice to start to lift the chest and then maybe lift the legs take a couple breaths into the belly rolling open through the shoulders lift up the right leg maybe the left leg and then lower down again take a couple of moments here allowing the hips to rock and again basking in your own beautiful warmth and then you can take the same shalabhasana again or if you're ready begin to bend your knees reach back for your ankles for Dhanurasana or bow pose so the same thing before you rise up that you set up the pose allowing the pelvis to sink down roll open through your shoulders the knees come towards each other rather than wide and then using your breath as you exhale get deep breath in and then peel yourself up it doesn't have to be so high as it is flexing the feet into the hands allowing your chest to open and then maybe rocking awakening this great digestion you can take your legs back maybe this time the arms come forward for a breath and go ahead and lower down and let your hips shake out a little bit one more time and then slide your hands on either side of your ribs rise up into a low cobra maybe a higher cobra and then come on to your hands and knees you can even leave the blanket here because we're gonna end up in downward-facing dog then extend your right leg up to the sky step forward and through and then soften your left knee down so I always like to have some padding here on the knees you can walk your hands up taking one last backbend allowing your chest to lift up as you sink down again tailbones come through so we don't lose the first and second as a tailbone drops the pubis lifts and kind of fuels the fire at the belly all of those desires can use this gasoline for that inner fire so lift your chest reach your arms up circle the right hand back taking it into a last rotation as the chest opens and then you'll take your left hand to the ground and then see if you can begin to bend through your left knee and reach back for your left foot with your right hand so that you can roll the chest open even as you sink down through the top of the quadricep allowing the chest to widen your forearm can sink down as a peel open the chest one more big inhale sinking down and then you're gonna release your hands to frame the right foot tuck your left toes under keeping your left knee on the blanket and then you're gonna begin to lengthen the right leg for Arda Hanuman Asana Hanuman was the great monkey god the son of Shiva and had some of these same qualities awakening to his own confidence as your head begins to release down and forward so you can absolutely stay here and breathe into the hamstrings continuing this inner rotation of the inner thighs into a half split if you'd like to move towards a full split blocks are again really wonderful to have nearby I like to use them all the time so from here you can begin to lengthen your right heel forward maybe even taking the blocks the highest way so that the chest can stay lifted inner spiral the thighs are gonna want to roll out but we have to you have to do the work and draw them back in so that the chest can lift find your happy spot so that you can take a couple breaths lift and open the chest that's kind of nice to use the blocks you'll find a little extra lift from the belly to step back inhale your left leg up step it through keep those blocks right there and then release the right knee to the ground inhale your arms up for your Anjana Asana and then into the twist so that you can drop that left hip down and back right hip forward as you reach up and then keeping your left arm behind you take your right hand down and even the block is sometimes nice to have underneath your hand as you begin to bend through your knee and reach back for your right foot with the left twist the chest open moving from the belly so that the heart widens and the top of your quadricep can release your forearms and option and then let go of your foot tuck your right toes under lengthen your left leg taking your blocks and take a breath or two and then begin to inch your heel forward your hands are more like upward dog so that you can externally rotate the shoulders and lift the chest taking a couple breaths and then step back into downward dog so we can even play here if you've got your blocks we were playing with all that great hopping the play is going to be to hop your legs all the way through so the blocks are actually really nice as you begin to come onto the balls of your feet inhale and look forward and then see if you can hop your heels all the way through from here you can remove your blocks and slide them over to the side you can even use the blanket to roll it up and maybe place it underneath your sitting bones so we're gonna take one last big bow over and through so inhale your arms up bend your knees so that you're really hinging forward at the hips and not rounding through the spine so much spine is long again and your arms are lifted and then begin to come forward so that you're placing your chest on top of your thighs and begin to reach your feet and slowly come forward and down you can keep your knees as bent as they need to be so that you can really take a few moments this is the sunset pose eastern side of the body as we begin to bow deepen in to our own unique path our Dharma our role in this world is a big a few conscious getting all those beautiful colors inhale and rise back up nice and slowly circle your arms up behind you and plant your fingertips to the floor behind you your hands you can come back up into a tabletop with your knees bent or begin to point your toes dig your heels into the ground and then rise up for pervo tenasana taking one big inhale and then exhale to lower down for Shavasana so your blanket can roll underneath your knees to support the low back slowly lower yourself onto the earth take a couple moments to arrive you can move your head from side to side all of that energy I feel like a little glass of champagne it's like the energy is bubbling over the edge of the class it's amazing that all exists inside but our practice can help us awaken so bask in your own beautiful warmth and Sun we don't have to go far you you you slowly begin to tune back into your breath take your hands to your belly this part of our body that so much of the time we have judgment about we get to re-own this power that exists inside of our own navel rise and fall and begin to move your fingers and your toes a little bit more hug your knees into your chest all of your efforts you can roll onto your right side or rock on up to sit and rise like the Sun it's a great quote and great yogic test the Bhagavad Gita better to owns one own destiny or personal purpose and do it less perfectly than to perfect the Dharma or the purpose of someone else so basically better to suck at what you're most passionate about and to be something you're not meant to beam or to do right in this life so take your hands to your heart your prayer like the Sun that by being itself rises lights up the world conscious honoring of your uniqueness as we chant the sound of home today I'd like you to raise your arms into the sky like great rays radiating out let's breathe in together your arms above you let's bow down to one another namaste let's explore ourTalk
third chakra a little bit more in depth so as we discussed it exists right here at the solar plexus in Sanskrit it's called lustrous gems so money put up money comes from the Sanskrit word maner which means jewel and I actually love how it kind of sounds like money or jewel or richness and it's really the value of who we are like the real value of our individuality in this world not even really necessarily what we have all of those things kind of come from the second chakra about owning things perhaps and our desires but really the value of who we are as an individual and our contribution to society so maner or money is right here at the Naval Center jewel who you are and then puta comes from like a city so it's just just this dwelling or this area of richness that exists within us some of those qualities that we've been going through so the element as we talked about is fire and that's the great warmth and the heat I'm sure you experience through your practice I sure did and again we can think about sometimes like the Sun we can't see it all the time that it may be eclipsed or covered by clouds but it's always there and it just needs to be stoked so there's so many ways in which we can stoke this inner fire the functions also that we talked about a little bit our personal power power not over someone right but a power within our personal power that we feel that we can make the changes that we desire in the world and to take action when we need so it's very much associated with action personal actions that we need to take so that we don't feel as victimized by life but that we can take actions when we need to and then also activism in the world how our actions can influence others so fire is this really powerful element to begin to awaken not at the expense of the others right we need the water we need the earth to be able to balance it so that the fire doesn't blow us up right so first we ground down through those two primal elements so that then like a candle right there's a candle there's the wick there's that fuel and then the light can burn beautifully and kind of dance a little bit and its main aim is transformation right so it burns away I know the low self-esteem or what's stagnant and so water and earth can get very stagnant if it's just mud that's why we need to balance it with this rising energy of fire the color is yellow like the Sun the planet is the Sun everything that the Sun symbolizes energy and light it can burn if it gets too much and if it's not it can be cold and lack energy so the with the Sun we can think the sense is sight to be able to see so once the light is on then we can see things we can become a little bit more conscious from the realms of the unconscious sight provides us light so that we can begin to see the changes that we need to make and so much light has been shed on things that need to be changed in our society of course in the same light we turn on that's why it's called becoming awake becoming conscious out of the darkness or what's called Avidya or ignorance and sometimes it can be cloaked over the sound I also like for this one is a ram r-a-m that's very let's actually do that together ram ram to me it sounds like a revving up of a motorcycle or energy or something like that and then also ram is a great deity that symbolizes the highest of values of living with ethics it's a great king also having to do with the Ramayana great Hindu text that Hanuman is a part of that we spoke about in the practice the great honoring of these high qualities within us the body parts it's a digestive system and the belly and the navel and again I feel it's so sad that such a huge portion of society has you know we want to change our bellies we're against our bellies where this is where our source of power lies we stuck in our bellies when we want to begin to embrace it and honor the sacred sacred place in our bodies so making peace with it and then embracing the power that exists within it is so important so the belly naval system and again the whole digestive system as a whole we need that fire to begin to burn so what we take in can be transformed into energy right there at the side of the belly the gland associated with the third chakra of course sometimes the adrenals can be associated with that flight or fight response that energy we get burst of energy but it's actually the pancreas that's mostly associated with it in the main job of the pancreas is that releases chemicals that help to process sugar and again energy so the carbohydrates we take in anything we take in that's transformed into energy but it can get toxic if it's and turn into things like hypoglycemia diabetes if it's not functioning properly and again a huge amount of the world's population right now is struggling with diabetes and I feel like it's directly links to this loss of personal power when society takes over anyway I could go on and on about that type of conversation we've been talking about the shadow aspect great quality of the first chakra or the positive quality like qualities of them of the confidence and self-esteem and power and the other side that eclipses our agency to be able to be who we are is a quality called shame and so it's it's devastating and it just will completely completely ruin a personality really when we're stuck in cycles of shame and blame so that's the other side of it and again fears of how we look or just disassociation with who we are and the shame of who we are to begin to awaken some of the more positive qualities of this chakra is really really powerful to begin to work towards the we've been talking a little bit about these universal rights that exist within the chakras and this one is our right to act we each begin to embrace and own our right to act personal actions in our lives that we can take and again this can be hard moving from tribe and what our social groups do and to be able to act on our own so to begin to embrace this particular right for ourselves and then again this activism and action in the world everyone's right and in this way shaking off again all the fears of rejection and criticism that come from others and be able to really own our personal power so with all of those qualities we can begin to see maybe how they can go off-balance physically and we talked about diabetes perhaps or hypoglycemia and helping process the sugars in our body but then ulcers are really big if the fire gets too hot all sorts of digestive issues can begin to happen whether it's low energy or then just excessive heat that is so painful with all sorts of esophagus dysfunctions everything having to do with the digestion and the burning of the stomach heartburn all of those conditions that can be pretty debilitating another dysfunction physical dysfunction that's associated with the third chakra is allergies and so this is when it can become when we can't really be able to process the pollens and things from the atmosphere and again we know allergies can be so debilitating and along with sometimes you see with people with very excessive third chakras that it can be there can be a little bit of excess weight around the stomach those are certain symbols that begin to express this dysfunction physically and how it shows up within the body and the mental emotional side again there's excessive and there's deficient and then the balanced way when our third chakra is nice and healthy what does it end up looking like and how can we experience it in the world so when it's deficient we can begin to imagine low self-esteem when we can't make decisions on our own lack of energy depression addicted to stimulating substances even caffeine can be really really stimulating or addictive cigarette smoking anything addictive to just like that external burst of energy that we get when it doesn't come from within and then another quality is a more submissive approach to life when we just give up our power for others and not feeling who we are and our great strength within groups because the whole point is to feel the uniqueness and confidence of who we are and appreciate who we are while celebrating everyone else and their uniqueness not lose the sense of self that we can begin to just divorce from when we go back out into the world so these are a few qualities that can begin to show up if it's deficient and if it's excessive it's the opposite so addiction to action people who are always on the go they can't stop moving and producing and doing they can't stop they can't slow down so that can be when it's excessive anger is another way in which it shows up so even people who are real bullies and who are over dominating and controlling and have issues with being dogmatic all of those qualities we again begin to see show up when it's excessive in a more mental and emotional quality within us when it's in balance is when we have control over our emotions about who we are and even because it comes right after the second chakra all of those different emotions is that we understand that they're there but they don't have the ability to drown us or to own us so whether it's rage or whether it's anything else sadness once we have a healthy third chakra we can begin to own our feelings and really be able to access and express them instead of them again going haywire we begin to have agency over our life and our emotions and our actions so it is very much about discipline it's about being able to control ourselves just in the best sense of the way whether it's with in our relationships with others or with the world we begin to live a little bit more of a disciplined life this agency over our life I feel like is really really important and you may know people like that in your life I love to have people who are mirrors for these qualities that I can begin to emulate or hang out with them especially if I need that particular type of medicine I feel everyone has these unique qualities maybe showing up through the chakras and so this is when somebody really owns themselves you know I think we think about somebody I don't know I feel like Barack Obama was somebody that emulated this owning themselves people would say all sorts of things and he would just kind of stay yoked in himself so whether it's like a somebody famous or somebody that you know really beginning to see who are these people how do they do it maybe read about people's great lives I love doing that kind of thing also when our third chakra is in balance we have a healthy sense of ego ego can get such a bad rap especially when we start to get into our spiritual practices about eradicating the ego but we have to have this healthy sense of who we are and this individuation of who am I and again what are my unique qualities so begin to celebrate things that are unique again coming out of tribes and out of our friends that we want to begin to see what are these unique qualities that I have and how can I really celebrate them without it getting over blown to where we're better or worse right because our ego can make us better than or less than always all right but never owning and accepting our unique place within the universe so again when the third chakra is in balance our Manipura we radiate love we radiate energy we have so much to give and are generous because it comes from inside and again a shining out of who we are this acceptance of ourselves and then very much so the acceptance of others as they are we begin to invite these practices back into our lives that enrich and awaken and balance and really grow these qualities inside of ourselves you can see you can live healthier happier lives so this week as you're finding a place to do your practices and adapting your altar to remind you of who you are these are we're thinking about the Sun so images of the Sun places that you've been where the Sun really shines bright things that are yellow things that are gold gold is so powerful because it's been transformed it's this alchemy of turning just basic iron into something so precious and the value of it so I'm very much into gold and I love gold as that image of our value in this universe so something gold on your altar and again an image of someone sometimes people do shine if we think about stars or people who are famous they've got certain energy that they radiate or those qualities be a politician it could be a great activist activists have a lot of their chakra because they're always creating change in the world despite criticism from others so somebody who's really you know woman man who's gone through great lengths to be able to take action despite challenges around them that's a huge one images to place on your altar and oh the most important thing to put on your altar is fire itself so since the beginning of time human beings have been honoring worshiping fire as the Sun on the planet this great giver of light and heat and energy there's great Sun gods you know Surya an image of Surya the Sun God that's why we do all the Sun salutations to worship and honor and give thanks for the source of light the Sun in the sky and then also on the planet and we can begin to honor so fire ceremonies are very traditional ones to be able to offer things into the fire Agni or fire God or fire itself has been to carry these messages over to the gods of course you offer it so your blessings and not that you have to light everything on fire I've done that many times in Sanskrit it's called a homa so it is this fire ceremony to worship and to make offerings not only of things that we want but of things we want to offer up we want to give away right so it's a beautiful purification maybe write things that no longer serve you go outside make a bonfire but even if you're just meditating you can offer it into the fire when you start your practice of something that you want burned away and then again a blessing that can be awakened so a candle or a gi lamp or any aspect of fire that you would like to worship on your altar itself and then also an image of yourself I think that's really really important first we put our family the last thing we want to honor is ourselves and put a picture of ourselves but you know a picture of yourself I think is really important to embrace your unique qualities being your weirdest unique self or what you like to do maybe you're in an introvert and you like to read books so it's to embrace who you are and those special qualities so you know begin to journal around what are those special qualities and then maybe there's an image or maybe of you as a baby when you're a kid to remember who you are to place on the altar as you begin to do your practice this week so for your homework this week here are theHomework
questions I would love for you to contemplate and also journal about a little bit so as usual they'll be available for download but to go through them really quick the first one I'd like for you to contemplate is what risk can you take this week I know that's a big one but things that you've been putting off I was just having a conversation with a friend that yes somebody a great spiritual advisor I was talking about something oh I want to do this and she's like we're doing it right now and I was like no no I didn't mean right now maybe next week maybe next month right but this urgency of okay let's do it is huge what risk is it what risk can you take this week and especially with another person right because a lot of the time it's a mirroring of other people that we give up our personal power in our relationship so as we begin to balance especially I keep bringing in the other chakras because they're so related and so in our relationship sometimes we give up our power we don't feel like we have agency to speak our minds or what we need you know or else I'm gonna go somewhere out you know something like that but a risk that you can take with somebody maybe it's speaking up maybe it's saying I want to do something different maybe it's coming out to your parents about something you know those types of things what risk can you take with a person with another person I mean I think that's a big one and maybe you write about it maybe you don't have to do it or maybe you do maybe you do it today the other one is about acting subserviently so this is when we want to really this is for when we want to awaken our third chakra so can you name a time recently that you've acted really subserviently and again when you've given up your power can you visualize a different outcome because when we give up our power and we just say yes but we really mean no or the other way around we say no when we really mean yes so to own our power again doesn't mean that we're better sometimes again power can mean that we're overbearing and especially as women we're given all sorts of names when we own our own power so that we don't give it up but imagine a different outcome if you would have acted in a more owning yourself what would it have been can you imagine that and then maybe take it into the next opportunity especially ways that you know you lose your personal power so that's a good thing to contemplate to when was this time last time so that we can see these repetitive patterns and our third chakra really allows us to flip it like the inversions we can turn things around and create change especially this week as you're working on it and then the third one has to do with what I already talked about who do you know that owns themselves and this one that you know again write it down put it on your altar see if you can if they can be mirrors for you and is there one thing that you can emulate somebody that you really feel like again has this agency over their lives or in the world that they can take action when they need because we need mirrors and inspiration that's why we need great teachers great activists and people that we look up to so that could be in your whatever it is you're drawn towards an art it could be guitar or piano music or art or anything but to be able to get to know how people do things and you'll hear it comes from a lot of adversity whether it's a musician or an artist or an activist and then the last one is about the healthy expression of your anger so this is when for those of us and we all have anger and anger is a very powerful tool it's transformative it's purifying when we put it to good use but how can we begin to express it healthy becomes the question so when did you a question to begin to contemplate do you kind of hold back your anger and again that can you know be flipped and we can take this anger out on ourselves we have to have healthy ways of expression of it so that it doesn't either burn out towards others and we snap and we literally take someone's head off it doesn't have to be to internalize this anger because it becomes so toxic so what are some healthy ways to be able to express ourselves with others the anger that we have in the world it's really important to have to even use this for so that we can create change but there are things we can do even though it seems kind of silly like when you're really mad and you just want to scream and yellow with the world and others you may have heard this one punch a pillow get it out healthy expression of anger is so important I like to sing as loud as I can I turn on music I just have to get out that extra steam or else I literally become red and start shaking so healthy expression maybe it's dancing maybe it's running running is awesome physicality is so important because it helps to get it out and to be able to diffuse it a little bit so then we can make have healthier actions rather than just reacting or if you're like me sometimes overreacting right so that we can have we can respond to these challenges or how people trigger us in healthier ways so it's a lot of homework but ways in which we can begin to create a more healthy relationship with our third chakra and so again try to practice this when it's an intense one it's definitely intense but try to practice it at least three times this week or maybe it's even the breathing practices if you don't have time for the full practice or a certain section of it especially on your way out the door to be able to increase your energy for the work that you do in the world so at least three times and then contemplate these questions create your altar don't burn your house down and I will see you next week as always comments and love questions and I'll see you next week namasteChakra Course
Mention
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Jasmine (Teacher) |
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Joni B |
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Alana Mitnick |
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Claire N |
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Julia A |
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Melissa B |
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Julie B |
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Stefanie S |
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Claudia K |
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Kate M |
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Christel B |
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Jenny S |
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Lauri K |
Comments
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So “stoked” for this week (pun intended!) 🔥I have a lot of investigating to do in this area and I have several ones very near and dear to me who hopefully will join in with me as we unpack this week’s questions. Good stuff!
Also, I love the way you are reminding us how each chakra builds off the previous ones, both during the asana practice and during your talks. The candle analogy for this one was perfect. 🕯
Also, I love the way you are reminding us how each chakra builds off the previous ones, both during the asana practice and during your talks. The candle analogy for this one was perfect. 🕯
6 years ago
Loved this session! Okay a question: Is it wise to have a repeating practice or is a varied one just as good? Maybe it just depends on who you are and what you need at the time. There's this natural desire for variety. I used to do Ashtanga which was totally repetitive but now variety is the rule with repetitions here and there. Ho hum...RAM
6 years ago
Christel my main practice has been Ashtanga too, and I have been drawn into a vinyasa flow practice... I think that there is a complementary aspect to these two. After all, Ashtanga is also a flowing practice, although with set sequences. I find it is nice to come back to, and also nice to be more creative sometimes : ) Kate.
6 years ago
I don't know why, but I have been resisting this one! Started the practice, gave up, started again this morning and got to the end, but missed out the head-stand. I did love the practices against the wall though. Read into this what you will! I will stick at it, maybe taking what I feel I am ready for from the practice, and coming back to it regularly. I loved the talk at the end. Thank you Jasmine.
6 years ago
It's wonderful how I am able to return to these practices and discussions and discover how deeply they relate to the ever-changing current of events in my life. Some intense, fire-y things happening now. This really does create a useful lens. Thank you, Jasmine.
6 years ago
Dearest Jasmine,
I am a graduate of your yoga school (2015). Laughing Lotus SF was my hOMe 
. I moved away from SF in 2016 and have since had a baby! I cant tell you how beautiful it is to learn from you even while living away from SF. Thank you for being my teacher then and being my teacher now. I am so grateful for your teachings!
. I moved away from SF in 2016 and have since had a baby! I cant tell you how beautiful it is to learn from you even while living away from SF. Thank you for being my teacher then and being my teacher now. I am so grateful for your teachings!
5 years ago
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