This moon I am working purely on the second chakra, and find it quite fitting that the peak pose is Turtle. Meek, mild turtle that likes to introvert when things get difficult. Ironic that this is a pose associated with the second chakra as we work on our ability to connect with others. Perhaps for a yogi, perfecting the art of introversion, like a turtle, is not such an illfitting metaphor around this chakra. Often what is true about ourselvs is true for others, and in many ways learning about the self is also learning about others.
I am struck by how much I am drawn to hip opening in general. It could be that my star sign Pisces is aligned with the second chakra, ruled by Jupiter, associated with the colour orange, as well as being connected to the water element? So I feel a particular affinity for the second chakra. Lotsof us store tension in the hips, so working on the hips is a popular focus in many yoga classes. Releasing tension in the body helps us move more freely and communicate with others more openly; the more we are at ease with ourselves, the more we are ease with others.
I am inspired by a description of pecans in Braiding Sweetgrass, and how the pollen from the male plant trusts the wind to carry its fertile seed to a female plant waiting down wind, in order for the tree to fruit. It is abeautiful miracle that in this way the plant has learned to survive. Through all the processess of evolution, plants and trees have come to trust the wind to fertilise them. I think this is the ultimate example of trust because without the wind, the plants would die out, yet the trees have little control over the wind. In fact many plants rely on a male and a female plant that grow separately, united only by the wind, they are called dioecious. Kimmerer writes that ‘[i]f the wind can be trusted with that fecund responsibility, why not with messages?’ as she introduces the idea that plants might talk to one another.
As I imagine the plants swaying in the wind, I imagine myself walking along the street absorbing and releasing prana from and to the people that I encounter. I’m not seeking to pollinate the people, haha, but there is something in the fluidity of a swaying branch that inspires me to move with confidence. Fixed, yet mutable, my flwoing self gets curious about the people that I meet. What are their stories, how are they today, what’s their style?
I think it’s no accident that water is associated with the chakra of reaching out to others. Water is fluid, curious and receptive, and in order to meet others with sensitivity we need to embody these characteristics. We need to open our eyes, expect the unexpected, and trust that the wind will bring us the people we need to take the next step. But in order to get along wth others we have to change ourselves a little, we have to pause to receive th e other.
By nature, others are different. As my yoga teaher says, ‘every wave is unique’ and so we are all unique. However similar we may seem on the outside, our imprint on the world, our persepctive and our character are different. It is these differences that make the world an interesting place, but it can make it challenging too. Things that make one person laugh can make another shout, and yet another cry. Pausing to look inside, to align with the moment, to know where the person is coming from because you have seen these feelings in yourself, to create a feeling of neutrality and quiet, in spite our differences, that is wherer connection can be found.
Our meditation on the mat, in the form of asana, teach us to watch the m ind move in challenging situations. We also learn to still the mind, and to be present in the moment through embodiment. We learn to wacth the breath and to apply the bandhas all helping to prepare us for those moments when we come into contact with others. Our yoga practice helps us to see the self in others as well as to embrace the differences.
Sarasvati Flow 