I must say I enjoy practicing with the cycle ofthe moon. It’s the first quarter moon this bank holiday weekend, so I know I’m a quarter of the way through practicing the root chakra routine. This moonth, I am working on Bird of Paradise. Strictly speaking, Bird of Paradise could be taught in a sacral focussed class because it demands flexibility in the hip flexors. It also calls on a lot of core strength, associated with the third chakra. But when taught in the root class, the focus in Bird of Paradise is on the grounding leg, and encourages the student to ground down into the earth, to “lift up”. Lift up means both physically, where other parts of the body reach for the sky, and spiritually, to raise the spirit from the heart centre.
It is hard to find a purely root focussed peak pose. I am still wondering if I am missing a more fitting peak pose than Bird of Paradise for the root chakra class. That’s said, its imagery of th tropical flower is a beautiful, delicate, unusual shape that reminds me that my yoga practice is more than just physical exercise; it is about positively engaging the natural world and enjoying the essence of life carried through the yoga poses.
I am enjoying the easy warm up that accompanies this routine. The root chakra, as approached in the sun salutaitons and warrior sequence, are not the most popular yoga moves, but they are important because they tackle our relationship with the earth, as wel as our most intimate relationship with ourselves. Our feet connect us to the earth day in day out and it is easy to forget about them and the work they do for us. Working on the root chakra is all about creating a stable base from which to go out into the world. My motto for this first root chakra based class, is ‘know thyself’. But it is not always easy to confront the self, and I know that these moves can feel sluggish, or even stir up latent anger and fear. So I’m keeping the warm up easy with some pawanmuktasana and a foot massag: the aim isas we enter the space of the root chakra, the student is grounded and secure. In a root chakra class, by enagaging with the lower half of the body, our feet and our l egs, we can sometimes sense what is bugging us, or even scaring us, away from that sense of lightness that we seek on and off the yoga mat. The shadow emotion associated with the root chakra is fear. If we find our connection to the earth is unstable, it is likely that we are going through a difficult time, or someone near us is going through something that is having an effect on us.
I have learned more by watching my own mind move, possibly than any other yoga practice. Yoga asana is a moving meditation, it is said to prepare the body for a seated mediation practice, but it also cultivates awareness in movement. I am experimenting with practicing the same routines each year, because the aim is to watch the self move and think. Abhyasa means practice, and also repetition; it through repetition of our practice that magic is revealed. It isn’t always about being wowed by getting into a peak posture, although I do enjoy that as well. By working on the chakras sequentially, I can build on the knowledge gained at each chakra. Root chakra work always combines knowing the self, with making time to appreciate and care for the earth.
Grounding down is a process whereby we use our feet and legs to enhance our connection to the earth. This connection changes depending on what is going on in our lives. The root chakra relates to family, work and home, the core things that we need to feel secure in life. When we can’t achieve perfection in these areas, it canbe helpful to cultivate acceptance of what is. It is rare to feel that everything is going perfectly, but a certain amount of acceptance can lead us to feel balanced enough to go out into the world. If we cannot accept things as they are, it could be a signal that we need to take action.
The environmental damage caused by our material consumption of goods affects how we feel about life on earth. Many people are immune to the earth’s suffering. Personally, I find my yoga practice shows up shortcomings in my immediate surroundings, or circumstances. By connecting with beautiful creatures and plants in my yoga routines, as well as harnessing the moon’s power, I hope to create a method that awakens the practitioner to the pain of the earth. It is only be feeling the tragic loss of habitats, the suffering of animals, the displacement of humans thanks to climate change freak weather, and so on, that we will reach critical mass. By becoming vegan, or flexitarian, we are doing what the earth needs us to do to protect it. On a very subtle level that makes us more at home on planet earth, and we should feel it when we practice.
When I work on the root chakra I am learning to read my own position, but I hope in time that I will one day read the earth. Taking time to care for the earth is a central tenet of yoga practice, it is karma yoga, or yoga in action. The earth has a soothing vibration, it inspires awe in so many ways, which nourishes the human spirit. In a very physical way we connect to the earth through our legs and feet, and it is especially relevant that we when work on this connection to earth that we consider what we are doing to protect and love our home, the earth.
Sarasvati Flow 