The Solar Plexus - Manipura Chakra
YELLOW – the colour of mental energy
This Chakra is extremely complex. It is the Chakra of the mind, ruling rational thought, discernment and individuality. Yet it is also a very physical Chakra, governing your digestive system, liver and spleen as well as your back. It is the Chakra from which your moral judgements emerge, and from which you draw the moral courage to stand up for what you believe in.
The Sanskrit name for the solar plexus means, “jewel in the city” and the jewel it refers to is the mind. When your solar plexus Chakra is in balance, your mind is also in balance. You are in control of yourself and the challenges and decisions that you face in life. As well as being warm in nature, people with balanced solar plexus Chakras tend to have a healthy intuition, they can generally rely on their hunches or “gut instincts”, and they can express themselves well.
When your solar plexus Chakra is in balance, you are discerning, disciplined and assertive, and you face life’s challenges with courage and integrity. Your ego will no longer need continual gratification. You will discover a moderation in thought and action; you are able to listen to people without being overwhelmed by them. You instinctively find a comfortable relationship with the world. Your character becomes gemlike: solid, multifaceted, filed with life.
The fire in this Chakra gives you your “glow”, burnishes your ego, and illuminates your mind; it helps you to see the world around you clearly. This fire also creates the necessary heat for the metabolism of food, cellular transactions and thought.
An overly dominant solar plexus leads to bullying, egotistical and aggressive behaviour. These people believe they are always right and get angry easily, and seek to control others through their anger.
A weak solar plexus Chakra results in depression, guilt and lack of confidence; it becomes hard for you to see your life clearly, leading to feelings of heightened vulnerability.
Ailments resulting from an unbalanced Solar Plexus Chakra include ulcers, irritable bowl syndrome, liver and digestive problems.
Because the solar plexus is the centre of the intellect and decision-making, it is important for the health and development of this Chakra that you make your own choices, rather than have them made for you. The development of the solar plexus is hindered if you have a feeling of powerlessness in life.
You can have, be and do anything you choose in your life...anything, you just have to choose wisely and believe in yourself. So don’t settle for second best and please don't give your power away. Chakra is a powerful receiver and transmitter of energy, as you give, so you receive, so balance is essential here.
If you are giving out feelings of being a failure then this will be reflected straight back at you, if you give out feelings of being a success then this will be reflected straight back at you. Give to yourself first and foremost otherwise you won’t have anything to give to others.
This Chakra can be energised with colour like wearing bright yellow or eating yellow foods such as yellow peppers, lemons, bananas and sweetcorn. Plus enjoying the sunshine. Crystals for this chakra include citrine and yellow jasper.
In your yoga practice, work with core strengthening poses such as Navasana (boat pose) and Santolanasana (plank pose), or with twisting poses such as Ardha Matsyenasana (half fish pose) and Jathara Parvartanasana (revolved supine twist - also a core strengthener).
You can also work with Uddiyana Bandha, which is the abdominal lock and is mentioned in the ancient scriptures as being the most powerful way to positively influence and affect the solar plexus. Please ensure you only practice this under the guidance of an experienced teacher and never if you have abdominal issues or are pregnant.
Notice where you give your power away in life. Notice also your posture, especially on your mat, do you engage your core muscles or allow your stomach to stick out and thereby giving your power away? Draw in and up, energise and retain your power (healthy power) within.
The Sacral Chakra - Svadhishthana
ORANGE – balances the red of the physical energy with the yellow of the mental energy.
The second Chakra, Svadhishthana, is linked to taste in the broadest sense - your likes and dislikes. It is the seat of creativity, pleasure, attraction and, in particular, sexuality. The sacral Chakra is also the seat of our emotions.
This Chakra is the most feminine of the 7 Chakras. It is profoundly connected with fertility and is ruled by the moon, which pulls not only the seas and oceans, but also the waters within our own bodies.
A balanced sacral Chakra is characterised by physical fluidity and grace. People with a balanced sacral Chakra tend to be friendly, open and trusting, in touch with their feelings and able to express them, willing to see the positive rather than the negative, and able to turn problems into challenges.
When this Chakra is out of balance nothing and no one is ever enough. Life has no constancy. You feel fragmented and volatile. Your desires dominate and oblige you to seek satisfaction through the senses – sex, food, material possessions, status. An out-of-balance sacral Chakra brings about guilt, self-pity, manipulative behaviour and envy.
If the Chakra is too open you may forget your own needs and occupy so much with the needs of others that you end up feeling like a martyr. Lack of balance can also give rise to sexual problems, jealousy and obsession.
In essence, it is sexual expression – the most powerful and fundamental of your creative energies - that characterises the sacral Chakra. It guides our sexual identity, our ability to bond with a partner and to take pleasure in our sexuality.
When in balance it gives us profound sexual and emotional happiness. It is worth reflecting that the word “sacral” comes from the same root as “sacred”. Sex is not meant to be a casual, meaningless event, but nor is it meant to induce guilt. Rather with openness and empathy, it is something that brings great joy and pleasure.
This Chakra is situated in the bowl of the pelvis, directly over the ovaries and testes. It governs the spleen, reproductive organs, kidneys, bladder and all the bodily fluids. In order to find lightness and balance in this Chakra we must seek to balance the pelvis.
If you are not using this energy internally then you need to be expressing your sacral energy externally through writing, drawing, painting, singing, anything that encourages your creativity and encourages the energy to flow strongly and smoothly.
To enhance tour ability to feel this chakra in alignment then work with the following yoga poses to seek a balance through this centre:
- Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2) - this pose strengthens your legs and brings greater awareness of how your legs interact and stabilise your pelvis.
- Upavista Konasana (seated wide angle pose) - this pose helps you to find the balance in this Chakra, because you can feel how the position of your pelvis influences your ability to find a neutral spine.
- Bhujangasana (cobra pose) - in this pose you do not want to feel any pressure in your lumbar spine. Internally rotating the legs widens the lower back and creates space so that you can then lengthen your tailbone down toward your heels. This action balances the Chakra and supports the back bend in your thoracic spine.
Furthermore to energise and encourage greater balance to the sacral Chakra, try wearing orange, investing in some carnelian gemstones and keeping them close to your sacral area of the body, connecting with the moon and keeping a journal to write and express your emotions.
The Root Chakra - Muladhara
Muladhara Chakra is the first in the line of Chakras. It is the grounding Chakra, the one that connects you to the earth and your own physicality. Our most basic instinct – for survival – lies within this Chakra, as do our needs for food, sleep and shelter.
Muladhara Chakra is your source of power. When it is out of balance this affects everything related to your personal stability, safety and security. It controls how you deal with money, your body and your family: your roots.
An imbalanced root Chakra, which is low in vital energy may mean that you may suffer from low self-esteem, feel out of touch with your body and sexuality, you may constantly worry about money or never feel satisfied with your work or home. It can also lead to self-destructive or addictive behaviour – eating disorders, smoking, drug taking – or to illnesses such as lower back pain, depression, sciatica and constipation.
On the other hand a root Chakra which is imbalanced by being too strong can lead to isolation, materialism, bullying behaviour or selfishness.
When this Chakra is balanced you feel physically secure, confident, healthy and happy with your body and sexuality. You trust the Universe to take care of you and the world does not seem a scary place to be, you begin to realise that just for today you have a roof over your head, food on the table and some money in your pocket. Life is great – all your primary needs are met.
Physically, the root Chakra is located at the base of the spine between the pubic bone, tailbone and sitting bone. Its centre is the perineum, in the middle of the pelvic floor between the anus and genitals.
The pelvic floor is influenced and affected by the muscles of the legs and the feet. The integrity of the pelvic floor depends on the proper alignment of the legs and the balance of the feet, which act like the roots of a plant. We need our feet and legs to be firmly balanced in order to find grounding and stability.
This is where yoga can really help, especially poses like Virabhadrasana I, II and III (warrior 1,2 and 3) which help to strengthen the legs and root them firmly to the earth. Lengthening the backs of the legs can help too in poses such as Supta Padagusthasana (reclining hand to big toe pose) and strengthening the legs in Setu Bandasana (bridge pose).
To do a few other practical things to help to energise this area encourage red into your life, like wearing red underwear, eating grounding foods like beetroot, parsnips, carrots and potatoes etc. Furthermore do not underestimate the grounding effect of hugging a tree, or allowing your feet to sink into soft sand or spending time in nature to re-connect to the earth.
In short, to build a solid life, we need a solid base.
What are the chakras?
I love working with the Chakras, be that through Yoga or indeed Reiki, they fascinate me. Those of you who come to yoga class or have a Reiki session with me - or indeed with others teachers/practitioners - will hear us talk about the Chakras and energy centres but may have very little awareness what these are, let alone how they affect how you feel or the impact their health has on your life. So over the next few postings I shall share with you a little about the Chakras, beginning today with a definition.
The word “Chakra” literally means “wheel” in Sanskrit and it is symbolised as a spinning wheel of light through which life force energy (e.g. Prana, Chi, Ki etc) moves. You cannot actually see the Chakras in your physical body because they are fields of energy.
There are 7 major Chakras and each one represents an important energetic centre of the body and the mind, as well as a stage of spiritual development.
The Chakras are aligned from root to crown as a ‘column’ of energy and they are both conduits and generators of energy. Life force energy flows through the Chakras and the rest of the body along a network of channels known as nadis. There are said to be 72,000 nadis in the human body.
When life force energy flows freely through the body the Chakras spin brighter and faster and the body and mind are in a state of health. This is when we feel most at peace, grounded and balanced in life – healthy in mind, body and spirit.
If life force energy does not find sufficient room in the body there can only be one reason: it is being forced out by something that really doesn’t belong there – the “rubbish”, which creates blocks within our energy channels. Such blockages affect the functioning of the Chakras so that life force energy cannot flow so freely and “dis-ease” of the body, mind or spirit may result.
When people have more life force energy outside of their body than within they can become troubled, restless or confused. Furthermore too little life force energy within the body can be expressed as a feeling of being stuck or restricted, of lacking in drive or motivation creating a sense of listlessness and depression - plus we may suffer from physical ailments too. On the other hand, the more peaceful and well balanced we are, the less our life force energy is dispersed outside the body.
Through the process of energetically balancing the Chakras we have the opportunity to release the “rubbish” and the blocks on all levels – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual – so that the life force energy can flow freely again. We need to understand that Chakras are energy centres, regulating the flow of energy throughout our body. The correct functioning and balancing of the Chakras reflects in our health and wellbeing.
The Chakras are also linked closely to the endocrine system which produces the hormones that act as chemical messengers. It is believed that when you balance the Chakras, you also regulate your hormones. Furthermore the Chakras are also related to the organs of the body where they are positioned and are associated positively or negatively with their healthy function. Needless to say the body often reflects imbalances, acting as a mirror through which you can gauge how each Chakra is functioning.
Chakra energy work is holistic: it involves the body and mind equally. By working with Yoga and holistic therapies such as Reiki to balance our Chakras we also open up to our potential in life. We not only improve our physical health, but we achieve a sense of emotional wholeness, a deeper connection with those around us and a sense of harmony with the world and our part and purpose in it. On an aside it should be noted that just as we are aiming for a sense a peace and harmony with the Universe, the Universe’s energy is ready to support us – all we have to do is recognise this.
My next posting will be all about the base chakra, Muladhara.
x
Ayurveda - removing obstacles!
So I returned home from 3 days of wonderful Ayurvedic treatments to find Elijah weaned. Just like that. No drama. No tears. Nothing. All that questioning I did about breastfeeding or not breastfeeding and it was done just like that.
Admittedly the first thing he said at the airport upon seeing me was "nooners", his word for Mama's milk, before showing greater interest in the "Welcome to Guernsey" booklets than at me at all!
Back home a little while later he asked again and I told him that I thought Mama's milk would not taste quite the same after Mama's treatments and he lay down to feed but must have got a sense that something had changed, or maybe I smelt different, or maybe he just decided, "nah, I'm done with this", because all of a sudden he moved away from me, no drama, no milk.
And that was that. I put him to bed that night without feeding him to sleep easy peasy. And he slept through until 3.30am, which is unheard of. In fact the silly thing is I kept waking up waiting to hear him cry for me!
Things are a changing. And gently too. As I always intended. Just not in the way I intended. But isn't that always the case! Note to self - remember to get out of your own way, stop being the obstacle. Ha! Funny really that I should have found myself practicing a whole 2 hour yoga session in honour of Ganesha with Stewart Gilchirst only a few or so ago now, see there is some benefit in sweating and surrendering in front of this deity (not that one realises it at the time!).
That Ayurveda is truly wonderful. I can highly recommend it. I thoroughly enjoyed all 9 hours of delicious treatments with all manner of oils and pastes in a wonderfully warm and womb-like room with gentle and ambient music played in the background so that I feel clean on the inside and out and with renewed energy and clarity. And a happy weaned son!
To me, Ayurveda is truly inspiring, the most ancient and authentically recorded health system in history, over 5,000 years old, it was created by yogis who spent their lives studying nature and the human condition.
Meaning “the science of life” it is exactly that, viewing health in four dimensions of physical, sensory, mental and spiritual and is centred on preventative medicine and bringing a person back to balance. It shows how an imbalance in one part of a person’s being will affect them in another, i.e. if a person isn’t being true to their life path (dharma) then physical and mental illnesses can arise which cannot be effectively treated with modern medicines but can be helped by Ayurveda.
Ayurveda uses elemental medicine which means that they balance out earth, fire, water, air and ether in the body. These are divided into three doshas, Vata, Pitta and Kapha, which are the basis of a person’s constitution and also the factors that can create imbalances.
Ayurveda places great emphasis on diet, lifestyle, yoga, meditation, massage and herbal medicines to bring a person back to health and keep them there - and health, to quote from the Ayurvedic Health Home in Kathmandu, Nepal (where I stayed many years ago now) is “a dynamic process, an inner joyfulness, like a flow of the river or a breeze of the wind.
Dr Deepika was recommended to me about 10 years ago now from a London-based friend I met on a yoga retreat in Bali and I have seen her a number of times ever since. I usually know when I need to see her because life has lost its flow or I am feeling a little out of sorts and usually my pitta gets deranged so that I start really pushing myself and getting angry and my skin isn't great and the thoughts are all consuming!
I have been feeling like this for a good old while, perhaps not surprising off the back of the IVF drugs, but also on some level, I suspect I was probably just exhausted by the feeding and also feeling a pressure to stop and angry at my inability to make a decision about it...the body has been trying to tell me for some time, but one can be ever so stubborn an caught in one's mind!!
Still we get where we need to be, even if we do make it a whole heap more challenging for ourselves in the process. And actually that is where Elijah is by far my greatest teacher, so much wiser than me, because he decided he wants to stop feeding and that's it, done and dusted...whereas I have been thinking about it way too much and giving it far too much energy and holding on to it...aren't children just amazing the way they just move on..."move on Mama", I can hear him say.
I am so grateful to Dr Deepika for sharing her gift, she certainly helps me (and others I know!) to keep our feet on the ground. And to Elijah for making me laugh at myself and my ridiculous resistance to change - despite praying for it (and more sleep in a gentle manner, no crying it out for us) on the other hand! It seems that grace works in ways beyond our control (and ability to control the process to reach an outcome), we are our own obstacle hey, thank you then Ganesha, Remover of all Obstacles. Ha!!
http://www.theayurvedicclinic.com/dr-deepika-rodrigo
Love and gratitude!
xx
Healing with crystals
I am absolutely passionate about crystals and am always keen to share them with others. I was initially introduced to crystals many years ago now by my Reiki Master who was a big fan and had them placed in every room of her house. To be honest I cannot believe it took so long for them to appear in my life.
We studied crystals during our Reiki 2 training and very soon they started to appear around my house too. In fact these days we have them in every room in the house, I even have a few in my car and I never travel without a few in my bag. I also wear them as much as I can, selecting those that resonate with my mood.
We even place them in plant pots to help energise the plants and assist their growth - Mum and Dad even have them in the greenhouse.They are magical and I am always keen to give crystals to others so that they too, can be touched by their healing and transformative qualities.
Crystals and frequencies
We live in a world of constant vibration, intelligent vibration actually, because everything that exists is really energy information, or energy in-formation – vibration.
These vibrations form matter, substance or intangible things. The key frequency of vibration of an object or an animal is known as its resonant frequency. Vibrating or oscillating systems will absorb energy if the energy is delivered in the resonant frequency.
Although they may seem like inert objects crystals are very much alive, they are both filled with energy and are conduits of energy – that is one of the reasons crystals are used in watches, radios and modern medical devices.
Crystals amplify their own energy as well as the Divine universal energy, which we already know as Ki, Chi, Prana, Love and Reiki. Crystals have been used for healing since before Egyptian times. With advances in geology and quantum physics, the structure and energy of crystals is beginning to be understood.
Like human beings that vibrate on their own individual frequency crystals vibrate on their own individual frequency. We have all had the experience of meeting a perfect stranger and either liking that person immediately or feeling an antipathy towards them – without in any way being able to explain our feelings or emotions – well that is all down to the resonance of vibration.
Choosing crystals
Crystals should be chosen in the same way. It is important that the crystals, which we choose and use should vibrate on a frequency as close as possible to that of our own. Individual methods of choosing crystals may vary from person to person but would normally include:-
Close your eyes and quietly meditate for a few moments. Then open your eyes and pick up the first crystal to which your eye becomes naturally drawn.
Run one of your hands over all the crystals available for selection. You will soon discover that one will cling to your hand – this is your crystal.
Intuitively you will “know” which crystal you should choose and which is right for you. You may feel as if the crystal is vibrating and sense that the crystal is saying ‘choose me, I am yours’. Or you might sense or even “see’” a strong crystalline light radiating from the crystal and attracting you like a magnet. Sometimes you will feel as if the crystals are actually choosing you!
If you have experience in dowsing then you will be able to select the most appropriate crystal by using your dowsing techniques.
Should you wish to choose a crystal for a friend, follow the same guidelines as if you were choosing a crystal for yourself but visualise as strongly as possible a picture of your friend within your mind’s eye. With a little practice you will soon realise that it is very easy to select a crystal for any of your friends.
Cleansing/energising crystals
Having chosen your crystal it is now important that you cleanse it. Crystals often attract all kinds of energy vibrations both negative and positive. Remember that your crystal may have travelled many thousands of miles and been handled by many people before you received it. Therefore your crystal may have acquired some negative energies.
It will not come as a surprise to you, therefore, that before you start to use your crystal it is very important that you remove all of these negative emotions and vibrations and re-energise it before you begin to use your crystal for healing purposes. This is to ensure that only the most natural and pure energies remain within your crystal. Choosing how and when a crystal needs cleansing is a personal decision as is the time required for cleansing. Be mindful of cleansing crystals after each client to release any energy residue.
There are several ways to cleanse crystals including placing them in sea salt, or in a natural water source (sea, stream, river), burying them in the earth, infusing them with sunlight or moonlight (particularly on a full moon), or holding them in your hand and setting your intention that they be cleansed by Reiki. Be careful if you cleanse them at the beach, I almost lost quite a few sinking in the sand of a rock pool once!
Crystals and colour
Another of the great things about crystals is their colour. Colour, through crystals, can be used to rebalance diminished chakra energies.
Putting the elements of natural earth product, colour and light together, we begin to see the mechanism by which crystals can help us to heal. It is said that there are almost 50,000,000,000 vibrations per second in the human body. Here are some examples of some individual body ‘parts’:
Blood – 82,500 million v.p.s.
Lungs – 67,250 million v.p.s.
Ear – 47,750 million v.p.s.
As the number of vibrations is so high a unit of 10 million vibrations per millimetre was established by Jonas Angstrom an astronomer and physicist, just over a hundred years ago. It is called the Angstrom Unit and has simplified the calculations of cosmic energy vibrations.
Colours are a woven network of vibrations and converted to Angstrom Units, the following are the colours of the chakras;
Base chakra, red, 8,000AU
Sacral chakra, orange, 6,500AU
Solar Plexus, yellow, 6,000AU
Heart chakra, green, 5,000AU
Throat chakra, blue, 4,750AU
Third eye, Indigo, 4,500AU
Crown chakra, white, 2-4,000AU.
Essentially crystals are a combination of colour and light therapy sending out the vibrational rate equivalent to their colour. Various types of crystals and gemstones are said to have special and subtle energy and healing properties. Certain crystals, most notably quartz, are also thought to be subtle energy amplifiers.
Healing with crystals
The simplest method of using crystals for colour healing (emphasis on resonant frequency) is probably the chakra layout pattern, which involves lying in a supine position on your back and placing the 7 different coloured stones on the 7 corresponding chakra centres of the body. It is suggested that you rest with the crystals in this position for a period of 15 to 45 minutes, but as with everything, it is best to use your intuition.
The following are examples of crystals that relate to your energy centres and what their properties are:
Clear quartz – crown chakra – this is the most powerful healer. It generates electromagnetism and dispels static electricity. It connects the physical dimension with the mind and will also stimulate the immune system.
Amethyst – third eye – this is a powerful healer and protector that can enhance psychic abilities and spiritual awareness. It calms the mind and can enhance meditation and visualisation, relieving physical and emotional pain.
Blue Lace Agate – throat chakra – this calms, cools, lifts thoughts and will work on the throat, heart, third eye and crown to encourage attunement. It is used to treat arthritis and strengthens the skeletal system. You can also use Lapis Lazuli
Jade – heart chakra – this crystal is a symbol of purity and serenity and it will release negative thoughts and soothe the mind. It will aid in emotional release and helps to remove toxins and thus heal. You can also use Aventurine.
Rose quartz – this is the crystal of unconditional love. It will heal and open the heart, calming, reassuring and giving deep inner healing. It aids in self-trust and self-worth, teaching us how to love oneself by encouraging self-forgiveness and acceptance.
Yellow Jasper – solar plexus – this protects us during spiritual work and physical travel. It will channel positive energy and energise your endocrine system, it will also help you to overcome exhaustion and revitalise you. You can also use Citrine.
Carnelian – sacral chakra – this grounds and anchors us to our present surroundings, improves analytical abilities, clarifies perception, motivates in business and will dispel apathy. It has the capacity to cleanse other crystals, heal lower back problems, rheumatism, arthritis and depression.
Red Jasper – root chakra – this grounds energy and rectifies unjust situations, also aiding in dream recall. It will strengthen the circulatory system.
Enjoy your crystals and share them with others as they do really enhance life.