Month: December 2023

Vishuddhi: Meet Your Throat Chakra

Note: This article is part one of a series focused on chakras in yoga. Below is a summarization of concepts, which I have stickied to each article. If you’re familiar with chakras, or have already read the intro, feel free to jump below the pic to skip straight to the Throat Chakra!

The concept of chakras can be traced back to the early (ca. 1500 BCE) Vedic texts of Hinduism, and there are believed to be over 100 in each of our spiritual energy fields. According to modern yogic philosophy, there are 7 chakras located in our body; they are in ascending order: root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, and crown. Each chakra is thought to support us physically and energetically as we navigate our lives.

It’s worth mentioning that the location of each chakra in our body corresponds to part of the endocrine system, which is pretty cool when you consider how much time spanned between the conceptualization of chakras and the discovery of glands/organs. The endocrine system is responsible for regulating our hormones via a complex system of messaging and feedback loops, and is comprised of (in corresponding order as above): gonads, pancreas, adrenal glands, thymus, thyroid, pituitary, and pineal.

Chakras are thought to be spinning energy discs within the subtle (metaphysical) body, which overlaps with our physical bodies. Much like our breath can link our minds and bodies, or our endocrine system links our organs and brain, the chakras link our energetic self to our physical self.

When we work on our chakras, we are thought to be manipulating our prana, or life force energy. Often times, chakras are said to be “blocked;” when we talk about opening our chakras, we are aiming to allow unrestricted flow of prana within our subtle body, in other words, “aligning our chakras.”

Chakras can be worked on in a number of ways, including meditation, mantra, diet, reiki, and of course yoga! Other modalities for chakra work include tapping, aromatherapy, and color therapy. I will do my best in this series to touch on as many of these approaches as possible for each chakra.

Chakra meditation is really very beginner friendly once you know the basics, and can be a really fun way to add mind-body work to a busy routine. It doesn’t need to be complicated!

Color therapy: blue evolvus from my back yard

Throat Chakra

  • Sanskrit: vishuddhi
  • Bija mantra (“seed sound”): Ham
  • Color: blue
  • Essential oils: eucalyptus; pine; cedarwood
  • Symbol: sixteen-petaled lotus
  • Element: air
  • Endocrine analogue: thyroid
  • Pranayama: Lion’s breath
  • Mudra: Granthita mudra

Located at the center of the throat within the chakra column, vishuddhi (throat) chakra, regulates our communication, creativity, and authenticity. Much like the fourth chakra, the fifth chakra is thought of as the bridge betwixt the more intellect or spirit-oriented chakras above and the lower chakras, which govern more basic, physical needs.

When the throat chakra is blocked, communication becomes erratic; some may speak out of turn too often or find themselves talking excessively, while others may find it difficult to speak even when they feel that they should. A propensity for dishonesty is also an indicator that vishuddha needs attention. The throat chakra is also associated with the execution of our creatitivity; as such we may feel a lack of purpose or calling when the throat chakra is blocked.

Opening the vishuddhi chakra promotes the full expression of one’s authentic self and inner truth; both verbal and non-verbal communication is affected by the throat chakra, and as such, balancing this chakra will allow one to express their creativity fully, taking ideas from conception to reality. This can be
accomplished in many ways, including breathwork, mudra, mantra, asana and meditation. As usual, I recommend whatever combination speaks to you personally. There are no wrong answers when you listen to your own instincts!

Asana for vishuddhi opens up the throat space, allowing energy to freely flow in and out. Here is a simple series of poses to balance the fourth chakra: seated neck rolls, cat/cow, up dog, bridge, fish pose. Remember to be authentic to yourself and honor your body when considering your range of motion and supporting with props, please. : )

To set up a throat chakra meditation, select any essentials oils and color therapy that speak to you. Color therapy includes all shades of blue, whether you prefer to don the color, sit under a clear sky, or gather a collection of blue items from nature. The vishuddhi chakra element is space, so clearing out a
little extra room for yourself may prove beneficial. Choosing a mudra, such as granthita, is also an option.

If you’d like to incorporate aromatherapy, you can try eucalyptus oil in a carrier, or scoop up one of my exfoliating lotion bars for chakra activation!

The bija mantra or “seed sound” for this chakra is “Ham” (pronounced “hum”), but any mantra that resonates with you is perfect. Here are some common mantras:

-I speak my truth freely
-I know when to speak and when to remain silent
-I use my voice with compassion

To meditate in your home for throat chakra balance, find a pleasantly open space. Gather your sensory elements, mantra, and mudra as desired, using the bulleted list at the top of this article for reference. If you’d like to bring in aromatherapy, you can try one of my chakra-themed lotion bars for a little self-care boost! Begin your lion’s breath, practicing 3-5+ rounds before settling into whatever breathing technique is comfortable for a visualization practice.

As you take your next pranayama(which can be as simple as easy breath), visualize blue energy moving through the throat space, where your fifth chakra resides. Choose to chant the bija mantra or another mantra/affirmation, stimulating the chakra with sound. If using a mudra, visualize the energy entering and exiting with the aid of your fingertips. Remain in your pranayama as long as you like, closing your practice with an OHM, a sweep of the arms into anjali mudra, or a nice savasana.

So, to recap, our throat chakra is associated with our communication; when it’s off balance in some way, we can feel muted, stunted, or as if we are unable to properly express ourselves. Spending some time working with your throat chakra can help you feel confident, in touch with our outer and inner worlds, and connected to our creativity.

An aside for my skeptical hearts: if you’ve never done this kind of work, you may be thinking “I don’t think that there’s a spinning disco puck in my throat, dictating the quality of my connection to the physical realm, that needs to be fed eucalyptus oil or it’ll give me anxiety.” To which I say, “Completely fair.”

But what if I told you that the throat chakra is an idea; the idea of a fully expressed creative mind, and that all of this asana and meditation is a ritual to tell our senses and nervous system “you are capable of changing the world with your words”? In this sense, balancing the throat chakra is simply self-care for your ability to communicate effectively, both internally and externally.

In fact, I view the entire chakra column as a choose your own adventure of mind-body work that can be utilized at any time to bring your awareness and focus to a specific idea or emotion. Conditioning your nervous system to relax through breathwork while centering your awareness on something you would like to improve in your life can be a powerful exercise for skeptics and practitioners alike.

Does anyone have any favorite affirmations or poses for the fifth chakra? Let me know in the comments!

Love and light,

Erin

Manipura: Meet Your Solar Plexus Chakra

Note: This article is part one of a series focused on chakras in yoga. Below is a summarization of concepts, which I have stickied to each article. If you’re familiar with chakras, or have already read the intro, feel free to jump below the pic to skip straight to the Solar Plexus Chakra!

The concept of chakras can be traced back to the early (ca. 1500 BCE) Vedic texts of Hinduism, and there are believed to be over 100 in each of our spiritual energy fields. According to modern yogic philosophy, there are 7 chakras located in our body; they are in ascending order: root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, and crown. Each chakra supports us physically and energetically as we navigate our lives.

It’s worth mentioning that the location of each chakra in our body corresponds to that of an important part of the endocrine system, which is pretty cool when you consider how much time spanned between the conceptualization of chakras and the discovery of glands/organs. The endocrine system is responsible for regulating our hormones via a complex system of messaging and feedback loops, and is comprised of (in corresponding order as above): gonads, pancreas, adrenal glands, thymus, thyroid, pituitary, and pineal.

Chakras are thought to be spinning energy discs within the subtle (metaphysical) body, which overlaps with our physical bodies. Much like our breath can link our minds and bodies, or our endocrine system links our organs and brain, the chakras link our energetic self to our physical self. When we work on our chakras, we are manipulating our prana, or life force energy. Often times, chakras are said to be “blocked;” when we talk about opening our chakras, we are aiming to allow unrestricted flow of prana within our subtle body, in other words, aligning our chakras.

Chakras can be worked on in a number of ways, including meditation, mantra, diet, reiki, and of course our physical yoga practice! Other modalities for chakra work include tapping, aromatherapy, and color therapy. I will do my best in this series to touch on as many of these approaches as possible for each chakra, but remember that yoga is infinitely flexible: you can always choose your own meditative adventure! I hope to provide a creative jumping off point for readers to construct a truly personal chakra balance meditation.

Color therapy: yellow bougainvillea from my garden

Solar Plexus Chakra

  • Sanskrit: manipura
  • Bija mantra (“seed sound”): Ram
  • Color: yellow
  • Essential oils: grapefruit, neroli, lemongrass
  • Symbol: ten-petaled lotus
  • Element: fire
  • Endocrine analogue: adrenals
  • Pranayama: Breath of fire
  • Mudra: surya mudra

The solar plexus chakra is the third in the column, located just below the xiphoid process. Manipura translates from Sanskrit to “jewel of the city” and is associated with the sense of self, inner power, and self-confidence.

If this sounds similar to the sacral chakra, good catch! The first three chakras (root, sacral, and solar plexus) are often grouped together by yogis as those which relate us to the physical world via our basic survival needs and our sense of identity, both physically and emotionally.

When your solar plexus chakra is blocked, you might feel sensitive to judgment, or lacking in self-confidence in general. If you find that you are experiencing self-doubt often, your manipura might be asking for a little attention!

Spending time in the sun can be a wonderfully passive way to balance the solar plexus chakra, since the element of this chakra is fire. If you are able to practice in a sunny spot in your home, this is also a great way to stimulate manipura. If outdoor practice is not viable for you, incorporating something as simple as a candle can add solar plexus energy to your practice or meditation.

Other ways to help open up the solar plexus chakra include following a meditation for manipura, bringing yellow objects into your space, chanting the Bija mantra (pronounced “rum”), or using essential oil aromatherapy. I dose a small amount of carrier oil like jojoba with lemongrass oil, and massage that into my wrists, shoulders, or hands/feet. You can do this before any asana practice to add some sensory depth to your practice.

If you want to give your skin a deep treatment, try my chakra-themed lotion bars!

Poses for the solar plexus chakra stimulate our inner fire and are typically focused on the midsection of our body. Warrior I, boat pose, revolved side angle pose, standing crescent moon, and camel pose all stimulate the third chakra and can help to clear a blockage or balance an over- or under-active solar plexus chakra.

A quick and easy solar plexus chakra flow vibe check could be: easy sit, boat pose, standing crescent moon, warrior one, camel pose, corpse pose. Take 3-5 breaths (or more!) per asana, and be sure to modify as your body needs. Remember to do both sides where applicable!

To meditate in your home for manipura balance, find a sunny or otherwise bright spot. What’s most important is that the pose makes you feel sunny and bright; this could look different from one yogi to the next.

Similarly, any scent, mudra, or breathwork that makes you personally feel connected to your inner self is the right choice. One of my favorite aspects of yoga practice is its customizability, and chakra work is immensely personalizable. For the sake of illustration, I’ve chosen my favorite elements for the following meditation.

Bring your focus to the space between the belly button and the sternum, and spend a few moments drawing your focus toward your breath, mind, and body. Any comfortable seated position will do for this. Practice breath of fire to help draw your energy inward and toward your physical and energetic center.

Whenever you are ready to move on from breath of fire, you can take your pranayama of choice, perhaps finding surya mudra. You can use the “rum” mantra at this point, or choose a mantra that resonates with your sense of identity. A simple one could be “I believe in my inner power.”

So, to recap, our solar plexus chakra is associated with our identity within the physical and emotional world and our inner confidence. Spending some time working with your solar plexus chakra can help you feel more confident, centered, capable, and powerful.

An aside for my skeptical hearts: if you’ve never done this kind of work, you may be thinking “I don’t think that there’s a spinning disco puck in my butt, dictating the quality of my connection to the physical realm, that needs to be fed sweet orange oil or it’ll give me anxiety.” To which I say, “Completely fair.”

But what if I told you that the solar plexus chakra is an idea; the idea of confidence, inner fire, and the fulfillment of worldly desires, and that all of this asana and meditation is a ritual to tell our senses and nervous system “you got this, you can do this”? In this sense, balancing the solar plexus chakra is simply self-care for your mental needs.

In fact, I view the entire chakra column as a choose your own adventure of mind-body work that can be utilized at any time to bring your awareness and focus to a specific idea or emotion. Conditioning your nervous system to relax through breathwork while centering your awareness on something you would like to improve in your life can be a powerful exercise for skeptics and practitioners alike.

Love and light,

Erin

Svadhisthana: Meet Your Sacral Chakra

Note: This article is part two of a series focused on chakras in yoga. Below is a summarization of concepts, which I have stickied to each article. If you’re familiar with chakras, or have already read the intro, feel free to jump below the pic to skip straight to the Sacral Chakra!

The concept of chakras can be traced back to the early (ca. 1500 BCE) Vedic texts of Hinduism, and there are believed to be over 100 in each of our spiritual energy fields. According to modern yogic philosophy, there are 7 chakras located in our body; they are in ascending order: root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, and crown. Each chakra supports us physically and energetically as we navigate our lives.

It’s worth mentioning that the location of each chakra in our body corresponds to that of an important part of the endocrine system, which is pretty cool when you consider how much time spanned between the conceptualization of chakras and the discovery of glands/organs. The endocrine system is responsible for regulating our hormones via a complex system of messaging and feedback loops, and is comprised of (in corresponding order as above): gonads, pancreas, adrenal glands, thymus, thyroid, pituitary, and pineal.

Chakras are thought to be spinning energy discs within the subtle (metaphysical) body, which overlaps with our physical bodies. Much like our breath can link our minds and bodies, or our endocrine system links our organs and brain, the chakras link our energetic self to our physical self. When we work on our chakras, we are manipulating our prana, or life force energy. Often times, chakras are said to be “blocked;” when we talk about opening our chakras, we are aiming to allow unrestricted flow of prana within our subtle body, in other words, aligning our chakras.

Chakras can be worked on in a number of ways, including meditation, diet, reiki, and of course yoga! Other modalities for chakra work include tapping, crystals, and color therapy. I will do my best in this series to touch on as many of these approaches as possible for each chakra.

Color therapy: orange desert mallow from Red Rock Canyon, NV.

Sacral Chakra

  • Sanskrit: svadisthana- “where your being is established”
  • Bija mantra (“seed sound”): Vam
  • Color: orange
  • Essential oils: sweet orange, tangerine, patchouli
  • Symbol: six-petaled lotus
  • Element: water
  • Endocrine analogue: pancreas
  • Pranayama (breathwork): kapalabhati
  • Mudra: jala mudra

The sacral chakra is the second in the column, originating in the space just below the bellybutton. Svadisthana chakra governs our emotional expression and creativity. This chakra is associated with our inner child, sense of physical well-being, and our sexuality.

When your sacral chakra is blocked, you might feel disruptions in your creativity, sexuality, or self-confidence. An overactive sacral chakra can result in emotional highs and lows, misplaced affection, and escapism. If you find yourself engaging in pet bad habits or body shaming(ack! nonono!), then you may benefit from some sacral chakra work.

Balancing the sacral chakra involves self-reflection regarding your sense of creativity and sexuality, as well as your emotional state. The element of the sacral chakra is water, an ever-changing, fluid element, which parallels the ever-shifting properties of human emotion. Introducing some water elements to your space can help to remind us to listen to our inner emotional selves, which are often shifting and evolving regardless of whether we are actively feeling them.

A meditation for the sacral chakra could utilize many elements; a simple repetition of the bija mantra “vam,” or choosing an affirmation is a good start. Sacral chakra affirmations can focus on relationships outside the self, embracing your own creativity and/or sexuality, or letting go of past trauma and accepting the new.

To set up a short meditation, choose or visualize some orange objects, and find a space to set yourself up, preferably near some water elements. A votive candle or orange flowers floating in a bowl is an easy approach. If using aromatherapy, incorporate your chosen essential oils by adding to a diffuser, using a carrier oil, or one of my chakra lotion bars to slough off some old skin while you slough off some spiritual or mental negativity!

If you’d like to flow first, a good series for sacral chakra might look like: cat-cow, crow and/or Hindi squat, triangle, goddess, triangle (other side), childs pose. Hold each pose for 3-5 breaths, and transition however you see fit.

If you’d like to add some breathwork, breath of fire is a great way to invigorate the senses and stoke that sacral inner fire! In fact, nose breathing techniques may increase production of nitric oxide, which has many physical benefits, including improved cardiovascular health!

An aside for my skeptical hearts: if you’ve never done this kind of work, you may be thinking “I don’t think that there’s a spinning disco puck in my butt, dictating the quality of my connection to the physical realm, that needs to be fed cinnamon oil or it’ll give me anxiety.” To which I say, “Completely fair.”

I’ll also say, however, that the entire chakra column can be viewed as a choose your own adventure of mind-body work that can be utilized at any time to bring your awareness and focus to a specific idea or emotion. Conditioning your nervous system to relax through breathwork, while centering your awareness on something you would like to improve in your life, can be a powerful exercise for skeptics and believers alike.

Love and light,

Erin