During this uncertain time, more than ever, our yoga practice has a LOT to offer us. The challenges we’re facing are various and different people will, of course, be suffering in different ways and to different degrees.
But if you practice yoga, or are interested in it, now is a really good time to find new ways of taking your yoga off the mat and integrating it into your way of life. Really, that’s what yoga is — it’s never just postures on a mat. Sometimes, we need the motivation of new challenges to make us see that.
Autumn is a transformational time. Nature sheds its summer colour and welcomes the deep, nourishing hues that mark the start of rest or rejuvenation.
In Ayurveda, autumn is a time of lightness; of airiness; of brittleness and change.
It holds the potential for creative inspiration and productivity — if you feel grounded and well.
Do you need to catch up on what the chakras are and how they work? Head over to An Introduction to the Chakras to read the basics.
Now, we’re going to explore the qualities of Swadhisthana — the sacral chakra. It is the second chakra and the name roughly translates from Sanskrit to English as ‘dwelling place of the self’.
Sunday, April 7th, is World Health Day. The goal of this annual global campaign is to promote access to good health and healthcare for all people, all over the world.
Part of the campaign is focused on helping individuals and health care providers understand more about protective factors for good health, including nutrition, exercise, lifestyle and stress reduction.
Mooladhara, the Root Chakra, is a powerful source of strength and steadiness. It is associated with security, money, possessions and reproduction.
Although Mooladhara is the first chakra, it’s important to note that if you're just starting to incorporate chakra work into your practice, you should begin with Ajna — the sixth chakra.
This will allow you to develop your ability to witness, observe and process any intense emotions that might arise before you start creating profound shifts through intensive work with the other chakras.
Ready? Read on to demystify the qualities of the root chakra!
If you read An Introduction to the Chakras you’ll know that the chakras are seven energy centers situated at certain points in the body. These centres are like transport hubs for your energy — they receive, restore and direct energy through the 72,000 nadis (energy channels) that run through you.
Here we look in more detail at Ajna, the Third Eye Chakra. It’s actually the sixth of the seven chakras. But it’s useful to study Ajna first, because it allows you develop the transformative and regulatory ability to observe and process emotions.
This means that when you go deeper into the other chakras you will be ready to manage any deep emotional shifts that may arise.
Asana means ‘seat’ in Sanskrit, and in yoga it is used to refer to any physical yoga posture. Asana is just one of the eight limbs of yoga. But it is perhaps the most well known, as most people in developed countries think of postures when they think of yoga.
So why is yoga asana so important? Can moving your body through a series of poses really make that much difference to your health and wellbeing? To your quality of life?
Delving into the wonders of pranayama is amazing, because you come to realise not only that your breath can change your physical, emotional and mental state — but also that different breathing techniques have completely different effects.
You can use pranayama to create heat, energy, calm — and even coolness.
Summer is Pitta
Each of the year’s seasons is associated with a dominant dosha in Ayurveda; a characterisation which outlines the key qualities which must be balanced in order to maintain good health and steady energy. Summer is dominated by the Pitta dosha.
This means that the qualities of the season are hot, sharp, forceful and penetrating. Summer is intense! And so the secret to staying well during these warm months is to balance the heat and sharpness with food and activities that are imbued with different qualities: cool and gentle.
Do you feel as though the chakras are a bit of a mystery — or perhaps too ‘out there’ to be relevant to you? Don’t write them off just yet.
When you spend a little time getting to know what the chakras really are, they actually become an incredibly useful way of thinking about your energy and your body. Crucially, you discover how a deeper understanding of chakras can, in turn, help you deepen your yoga and meditation practice and enhance your wellbeing.
The chakras are seven energy centres located at different points through the body; they radiate, receive and direct energy through all of the nadis, or energy channels.
We live in a fast-paced world, so much so that it is not uncommon for most of us to live a life constantly on the go…
Running from here to there engaging in one thing after another - at the end of the day, it stops one from being able to just be….
Does getting caught up in all the things you “must do” sound familiar?
