Sharing Is Caring

I am someone who has had a few different "lives" in regards to a career. I was reflecting on it today, and even though at times I felt a bit concerned about jumping around, there was always a common theme through all of my work. I am a teacher/instructor/facilitator/guide and all of my jobs involved this element. Growing up in a family of a couple generations of elementary school teachers, the last thing I EVER wanted to do was teach. I tried as hard as I could to not be a teacher, but the ironic thing I've learned along the way is that instructing is one of my strengths. Oh life . . . . sometimes you can be so funny!

Spring Begins Now (or close to now!)

10:30PM tonight in Medicine Hat marks the vernal equinox .  At this time, the sun will cross the equator and shed equal amounts of light on each hemisphere.  All over the world, day and night will be balanced to about 12 hours for each.  However, nothing stays balanced forever and after this time, we in the Northern Hemisphere will begin our journey towards the light. 

The vernal or spring equinox is also known here in the North as the official beginning of spring. Sunrises begin to get earlier, sunsets begin to come later and temperatures begin to rise. Energetically, this is a time of new life, new beginnings, optimism and hope.  To add to the celebration, this year will be the earliest arrival of spring (or the earliest spring equinox) since 1896! Looking for ways to mark this special occasion?  Here's three suggestions:

This Is Where It Ends/Begins

The first chakra outside of the physical body is the 7^th chakra (also referred to as the crown chakra).  The journey doesn’t end here as there are more energy centres located higher up above this chakra, so there is continual energy flow moving upwards as well as energy moving back down into the physical form.  Like all things that seemingly end, it’s not so much an ending as it is a transformation.  All endings result in new beginnings. 

The Sanskrit term for this chakra is Sahasrara.  It is the only one of the seven major chakras that is located outside of the body, so it is where it all comes together.  By working on bringing all of the lower six chakras into balance we can more easily gain access to the crown chakra.  By bringing balance and awareness to all of these energy centres (which results in harmony and understanding of our bodies, minds and different areas of life), we can see how truly wonderful and amazing we are.  This is THE goal of the crown chakra . . . to help us identify our light.     

Can I See Clearly

How do you see yourself?  How do you see your life?  These are questions that are asked when working with the 6^th chakra energy center aka the third eye chakra aka Ajna.  Ajna, however, is not concerned with what you see on the outside with your physical eyes.  How do you see yourself and how do you see your life when you turn inward?  When there are no outer distractions, when there is no one or no outside influence to plant ideas of how you SHOULD look, feel, act or behave, how do you see your life?  How do you feel about yourself?

Tune in to Your Sounds

How do you communicate?  Are you direct?  Do you choose your words carefully?  What feeling do you try to convey?  Often when thinking about communication, we have a tendency to focus on the output - what was expressed out whether it was through words, music, illustration, etc.  We’re not as apt to think about the process.  A big part of communication, however, is the listening.  Do you really acknowledge what others are saying?  Do you recognize what you are saying to yourself?  Do you notice where these words that form in your head as thoughts come from (are they truly yours or are they coming from elsewhere)?  This area of communication is the realm of Vishuddha, which is also referred to as the throat or fifth chakra.

Glowing with Gratitude

This week is all about the heart – love, joy, compassion, kindness, connection,etc.  In other words all the good stuff in life!  This is the domain of the fourth chakra, aka the heart chakra, aka Anahata in Sanskrit.  The element for this energy is air, so physically it is fairly easy to connect with this chakra simply by breathing deeply and focusing on our breath.  Of course we will be doing breath work in class, but we’ll also work on expanding and opening up the chest.  How often do you let your heart lead?  Does it feel natural to allow your chest to open, or do you tend to hunch the shoulders and close off?

The Fire of Forward Momentum

I always find it interesting when doing these chakra journeys how much my life at the time seems to parallel the chakra that we’re working on.  This week we move to the third/solar plexus chakra or Manipura in Sanskrit.  The element for Manipura is fire, so it is a very dynamic centre.  It is about forward momentum and doing the things you need to do and taking the steps you need to take in order to get to where you want to go.  The element for this chakra is fire.  This month, but particularly this week for me has been about constant movement, one thing after the other . . . . go, go, go!!  I love what I do, and I enjoy being busy, but I am finding that I am starting to feel a bit off balance.

Flowing to Lightness

The second/sacral chakra, or Swadhisthana in Sanskrit, is about movement and flow.  It’s easy to physically experience this flow within our yoga practice especially with vinyasa flow classes.  Part of the purpose of flowing through vinyasas at various points throughout the practice is to link movement to breath, but also as a way to release stuck or stagnant energy (physical, mental or emotional) that is making it’s way up to the surface as we move.  Getting things up and out, moving and flowing so it doesn’t become stuck or stagnant is the domain of this second chakra.

Base Building

Another round of Chakra classes starting this week to bring in this new year.  One of the things I love about the Chakra system is how incredibly in-depth and varied it is.  No matter how many times I go through it, something new always seems to come up for me.  It has been no different this time around. 

We're starting this week with the root chakra.  The root chakra, or Muladhara in Sanskrit, is about building a strong foundation. So, it involves things like strengthening our bodies which is our foundation in this reality, examining the foundation on which we base our thoughts and habits or doing things to ensure we feel secure in our lives (a place to live, finances to support us, food to eat, etc.)  It’s an energy centre that is very much involved in the physical. 

Upcoming Workshops

Excited to share some of the things that have helped me along my path.  Feel free to connect with any questions.  See you there : )

I Am Love

Anahata chakra deals with heart related issues such as love, trust, compassion and acceptance.  We all thrive when we’re loved, but we are also easily crushed, defeated, closed off or guarded when we lose this love or we feel we never had it to begin with. Like the second chakra, this energy center is very much about letting feelings and emotions flow through.  It is about processing our emotions – both the “good” and “bad” – and not allowing any of these emotions to close us off and prevent us from making the connections that are so important to this heart center.