Tag Archives: chakra yoga

All Are One

7 – 1 The final in a series of fourteen practices, this moonth’s routine is all about activating sushumna nadi – from the tips of the toes to the crown of the head. Reclining hero and tiptoe fish help overcome fear of opening up your aura to the world… A few days ago, I wasContinue reading “All Are One”

The Seventh Chakra and Karma Yoga

Unlike the popular use of the term Karma, which means ‘what goes around come around’, Karma yoga strictly means yoga in action. The world karma derives from the root Kr in Sanskrit meaning ‘to act’, ‘to perform’, ‘to sacrifice’. Another Sanskrit word that I use in a similar context to karma is seva, which meansContinue reading “The Seventh Chakra and Karma Yoga”

Universal Consciousness and Bliss

The Yoga Upanishads describe five sheats, or five bodies: annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya, jnanamaya, and anandamaya. These equate to the food body, the energy body, the mind body, the wisdom body and the bliss body. Just like the chakras, the koshas (Sanskrit for sheath/body) are on a spectrum of subtlety. The lower the body (the earlierContinue reading “Universal Consciousness and Bliss”

Om and Om

April has raced by and I am bringing this blog to you rather late in the day. As we spend our final moonth on the sixth chakra and start to focus on the seventh, we begin to approach the sea of universal consciousness and bliss The primordial sound, Om, is a bridge between the worldContinue reading “Om and Om”

What Do You See?

Two birds of beautiful plumage, comrades Inseparable, live on the selfsame tree. One bird eats the fruit of pleasure and pain; The other looks on without eating. Shvetashvatara Upanishad IV.6 The ajna chakra is another name for the third eye. Its powers of introspection can be awakened through meditation and asana. Ajna chakra is atContinue reading “What Do You See?”

Sat-chit-ananda: Finding Truth, Consciousness, and Bliss in Gandha Bherundasana

The peak pose of this moonth’s routine is the advanced pose Gandha Bherundasana. It relies on core strength to enter and exit the pose, and is challenging even using the wall as support. The weight of the body is on the chest and chin with legs in a locust variation. The pose is a throatContinue reading “Sat-chit-ananda: Finding Truth, Consciousness, and Bliss in Gandha Bherundasana”

Two Keys of Awareness: Proprioception and Interoception

Two essential concepts in the yoga world: proprioception and interoception. Both terms relate to a process of turning inward. Proprioception means awareness of the physical body, as it moves through space. Interoception means having awareness of the spiritual, or mind, body. Both in proprioception and interoception, rather than looking at our body we sense it.Continue reading “Two Keys of Awareness: Proprioception and Interoception”

Love and light, between the heart and the crown

From the heart there radiate a hundred And one vital tracks. One of them rises To the crown of the head. This way leads  To immortality, the others to death Kathe Upanishad [3.16] (1) This moonth I am working on the throat chakra. It is connected to the heart below and the ajna chakras above.Continue reading “Love and light, between the heart and the crown”

Chant and Be Happy: The Fifth Chakra

In the way that water needs earth to be carried and shaped by it, sound needs air to travel and be heard. In the presence of ether, sound cannot travel. Many people believe that the elements of sound and ether are interchangeable at the fifth chakra, but they are in fact mutually exclusive, sound dependsContinue reading “Chant and Be Happy: The Fifth Chakra”