mantra Archives - Wild Grace Yoga and Healing

August 20, 2019August 20, 2019

The crown chakra – downloading the divine

The seventh chakra is the gateway to universal or divine consciousness. In this sense, we begin by “downloading the Divine.” Anodea Judith

This is the wisdom of the crown chakra – focusing within, focusing on our breath, focusing on our inspired creative vision, and setting intentions for each day to bring that vision from thought into being.

In this way we become a vessel, a unique expression of the divine source energy expressed through our individuality.

There is a time for action, but first, it is a time for allowing the inspiration to come and trusting it when it does.

This week, we explore the crown chakra, or Sahasrara, which means “thousandfold.” It implies the infinite nature of this chakra, which provides us with our most direct connection with the divine. It is from this connection that we can open to the divine spark of inspiration.

This chakra is always active, it’s just that our individual consciousness may not be refined enough to experience it.

Once the third eye master chakra is activated, and the lower chakras are balanced, and the upper chakras are flowing with life force and integrated, the crown energy becomes available to us and all of our chakras become lit up with this source energy.

The crown chakra is the highest of the seven chakras. Visualised at the crown of the head as a thousand-petalled lotus flower, which according to ancient Indian Hindu-tantric tradition, represents enlightenment, wholeness and infinity. The advait, the non-dual self. That singularity, that indivisible whole which is expressing itself as our individuality, totally merges here.

At conception, it is said the crown chakra creates the child’s consciousness, which then travels down to the root chakra, where it coils up as the Kundalini, our infinite potential. Through yogic practices we raise the Kundalini Shakti up through the chakras to the crown to once again experience this wholeness, of unity consciousness.

As we develop the crown chakra, we become increasingly aware of consciousness itself – the eternal part of us that is beyond ego, thought, feeling, and body.

All of our chakras are within the realms of our psyche. Sahasrara acts through nothing whilst acting through everything. It is the centre of supreme consciousness, where all polarities integrate, moving us beyond the fluctuations of the mind in a relative reality.

At this point all activities of the mind – thoughts, feelings, desires, emotions – are dissolved and the yogi attains a state of true bliss or Sat-Chit-Ananda (truth, consciousness and bliss.) Once this has been attained the yogi stays in this non-dual consciousness, both experiencing unity and the ability to function in the world. Every chakra – all aspects of our being – start to be imbued with the value of Sat-Chit-Ananda (truth, consciousness and bliss.)

Even to tap into this consciousness for a moment, is a moment of bliss. Join us this week as we explore this, quite literally, divine energy.

Hari om tat sat. Namaste. Blessings.

Christina at Raw Mojo

ॐ

Sattva Yoga Crown Chakra Flow this Friday 23 August 10am here

Try Chakradance – Rhythm for your soul

* Raw Mojo * Chakradance * Yoga * Meditation*

March 19, 2019March 19, 2019

“Weak gut, foggy mind.” How the Solar Plexus Chakra activates our gut intelligence.

The solar plexus chakra is known as Manipura in Sanskrit, which means lustrous gem. This truly is the shining jewel of your vital life force energy.

Manipura regulates our pranic – or life force – energy throughout our body, controlling our energy balance, vitality and strength. It governs our digestive fires and heat regulation in the body.

The solar plexus chakra is the seat of our personal power and will. Energetically, it is the fire that fuels our metabolism, and when activated it increases our energy, drive, and sense of purpose.

And really, who couldn’t use some of that?

The seed mantra for Solar Plexus Chakra is RAM. Its element is Fire. Manipura is considered the centre of dynamism, energy, willpower, and achievement (iccha shakti), which radiates prana throughout the entire body. It is also associated with the sense of sight and the action of movement.

Through meditating on Manipura, we can turn on this inner power and release this optimal flow of prana.

Scientists have begun to call the solar plexus and gut area the ‘second brain’ of the body. Serotonin, the neurotransmitter that is linked to depression, is largely found in the intestinal tract.

As my teacher Anandji says “Weak gut, foggy mind.” Our metabolism, digestion, growth, and healing all take place in the network of nerve plexus below the waist.

This ‘second brain’ is the place change and transformation is created.

In the ancient yogic texts, it states that “all yoga starts in the Navel Point”. The navel is an important centre of energy transformation in the body.

A strong navel brings many blessings including better circulation throughout the body, an overall feeling of well-being, more courage, and a deeper ability to meditate and transform on energetic levels.

A weak navel reflects a fatigued body, anxious mind, and restless spirit.

In Sattva Yoga we awaken the intelligence of your navel point through various simple yet sophisticated yogic techniques.

Navel activating kriyas and breath work have traditionally been used as a way to stoke the digestive fire, clean unnecessary fat from the belly, improve organ functioning, and balance the solar plexus chakra, manipura.

Ultimately this practice can bring you lots of powerful energy which can be used for very real transformation.

Let’s begin with a breathing exercise or pranayama called the Breath of Fire. This exercise will really tune you into your inner power source and get your solar plexus chakra pumping.

Place your hands on your belly. As you breathe in through your nose, your lungs fill with air and your belly pushes out.

Feel your belly pushing into your hands. As you exhale through your nose, empty your lungs and flatten your belly. At the end of your exhalation, gently pull your navel towards your spine.

Then, breathe in gently through your nose, feeling your belly expand. Exhale through your nose as you press your navel towards your spine, gently using your abdominal muscles.

Begin to do this quickly, almost like a dog panting, only through your nose. Feel your belly bounce. Do this rapid breath about 30 times, making sure that you breathe in and out of your nose each time. If you feel comfortable with this breathing, you can repeat the 30 breaths up to 4 times.

Fire breathing is a powerful way of cleansing and energising your solar plexus and your whole energetic field.

Now let’s centre ourselves for the mantra meditation. Play the video.

Begin by grounding yourself, either sitting on the floor or on a chair and feel your spine or your feet rooted to the earth.

Feel the crown of your head connected to the energy of the divine or the source.

Imagine the line of energy that extends from your crown to your root chakra, and then bring your awareness to a point on this line around your belly and diaphragm.

Now repeat the mantra RAM as you keep your attention on your solar plexus chakra. Manipura.

(Note: this video goes for about an hour so you may want to set a timer for a shorter period of time, say 5-10 minutes)

When you have finished. Again draw your awareness back to your root chakra and your connection to the earth.

Sit quietly for a moment before going about your day. Be aware of your energy, power and inner fire throughout the day.

Let your entire day become a chakra meditation.

Hari om tat sat. Namaste. Blessings.

ॐ

Try Sattva Yoga – Solar Plexus Chakra Flow on Friday 22 March

February 11, 2019February 11, 2019

Get your communication humming with mantra practice

As you rise up into the energy of the throat chakra, you will begin to notice a shift in energy. Each of the four lower chakras corresponds energetically to a physical element. By the time you reach the throat, you are moving out of the physical plane and into the non-physical realm of ether.

Vissudha, the Sanskrit word for the throat chakra, literally means purification. In the throat Chakradance, we chant and sing to cleanse the throat chakra, and enhance our ability for self-expression.

The non-physical element associated with Vissudha is ether, the field of subtle vibrations surrounding all things. The throat chakra, more than any other, governs our relationship with vibrations and resonance.

It is from the throat centre that you produce sound through vibration. As such it is incredibly susceptible to vibrational energy, and responsive to resonance of all kinds.

Chanting and humming, listening to vibrational sounds are among the best ways to clear and balance this chakra.

Physiologically this chakra governs the health of the throat, nose, ears, mouth, neck and vocal cords, as well as the thyroid and parathyroid glands, which are responsible for our metabolism.

The throat chakra carries the energies of truth, integrity, honesty and communication. It also governs the ability to listen, both to the words of others and your own internal dialogue within your body.

The throat chakra energy is resonant with authenticity and purification. Paramount to Vissudha, is the expression of self through speech and creativity. Finding your true voice.

With our words we create our world. In this energy of Vissudha you are called to correct your intellect and move towards greater clarity and understanding, to know the power of your words as a generator of meaning, that your communication may become a transmitter of compassion and the radiance of love.

In the words of Hafiz, “the words you speak become the house you live in.”

The Humming Breath is a wonderful pranayama or breath practice to stimulate the throat chakra.

Sit in a comfortable position with a straight spine.

Begin by exhaling as much air as possible from your lungs before taking in a deep, slow breath through your nose, refilling your lungs.

On your next exhalation, make a soft humming sound like a bee.

When you run out of breath, take another deep inhalation, continuing the humming sound as you exhale.

Begin with a few minutes practice, working up to 10-15 minutes at a time.

Now play the video and chant the mantra “ham” pronounced “hum” as you exhale.

When you have finished your humming breath and mantra practice, lie down and relax for a few minutes.

Let your humming throat chakra energy fuel your self-expression in your day.

Hari om tat sat. Namaste. Blessings.

ॐ

Sattva Yoga Flow + Chakradance classes

The beautiful art work used is Throat Chakra by Qahira Lynn

November 13, 2018November 13, 2018

Mantra Your Base Chakra

Mantras are specific sounds which have long been used to activate the chakras by chanting the sound that resonates to the particular chakra vibration.

Sound is probably THE most powerful way to activate and balance your chakra system.

When I was in India I visited an ayurvedic doctor who prescribed mantra meditation for me.

He noticed my base/root chakra Muladhara – which literally means root support – needed activating. An underactive root chakra had left me feeling dizzy, disconnected and unsupported in life.

So let’s start at the root and practise this daily for 7 days and each week I will guide you through the next chakra meditation using freely available videos on YouTube.

Here’s the video with the mantra sound you can chant along to.

To begin, sit comfortably with your butt or feet connected to the floor. Really feel that connection to the solid earth supporting you. As you breathe in draw energy through your root chakra at the base of your spine, around your pelvic floor for women and sexual organs for men.

Draw this energy into to your base chakra, located at the base of your spine. You may like to visualise the colour red here.

Tighten your pelvic floor muscles, sexual and anal muscles – or Moola bandha, the root lock – hold the breath and the energy at your base chakra. Then as you exhale chant the mantra “Lam.”

Let the sound be your exhale. Feel the sound vibrating through your base chakra. Imagine the sound pushing down through your root chakra as you connect with the earth.

If it feels like too much to focus on the breathing and the bandha and the sound, just focus on the sound and put your attention onto the base of your spine.

I find our energy body meets us where we are, responding to the intention and the sound vibration, so you don’t need to do it perfectly. You can always fine-tune the practice as you get used to it.

Having a balanced root chakra will help you feel secure, grounded and provide ease of physical movement.

It will also provide a good foundation for your whole chakra system.

Repeat this for a few minutes each day and notice how much more present and stable you feel.

Hari Om Tat Sat. Namaste. Blessings.

ॐ

Base Chakradance Journey this Sunday

Try Chakradance – Rhythm for your soul

August 19, 2018August 19, 2018

Mantra Your Heart Chakra

The Sanskrit name for the heart chakra is Anahata or ‘un-struck’ – in the Indian Vedic tradition there are two kinds of sounds, and ‘unstruck’ means an inner resonance or subtle vibration that is perceived through the heart centre.

The heart is the place of the awakened self. Here we move from group consciousness, defined by family, tribe, society into a more individual, self-reflective consciousness. Here we find our own heart truths.

This chakra builds a bridge between the physical and spiritual dimensions of your self. Carl Jung described the heart chakra as the centre of thinking and feeling, the beginning of reflections, values, and ideas.

Bring your hands palm to palm, in prayer position in front of your chest, connect the base of your thumbs to your sternum – this position is called Anjali Mudra.

Breathe into your belly and lightly close your eyes. Turn your focus to your breath.

Next, rub your palms together vigorously. Bring your right palm to the centre of your chest at Anahata and place your left on top of your right.

Feel the warmth and radiance of your heart and chest. Visualize the green, radiant glowing light emanating from your heart, in all directions.

Play the video and begin to sound the mantra “yam” pronounced “yum.” (This is the seed mantra of the element air. The heart centre is associated with the cosmic element of “prana” or “air.”)

(Note: this video goes for about an hour so you may want to set a timer for a shorter period of time, say 5-10 minutes)

Release your palms to face up on your lap. Direct some of your lightness and heart energy to someone in your life in need of compassion or healing. Finally, inhale your arms overhead and exhale your arms down to connect to the Earth before completing your practice.

Carry this open and loving heart energy with you into your day. Yum.

Come and dance the Heart Chakradance Journey with us, save your spot here

Hari om tat sat. Namaste. Blessings,

Christina

ॐ

Heart Chakradance this Thursday 23 August at The Revitalise Centre

Upcoming events at Raw Mojo Chakradance here

July 29, 2018July 29, 2018

Good vibrations – how sound balances our chakras

“Each of the seven chakras vibrates at its own frequency. Music is able to balance the chakras by using the sound vibrations to tune each energy centre. Chakradance music has a lasting effect. The vibrations continue to pulse outward into our energy field long after the sounds have stopped playing. The more we experience these healing sounds, the greater and the more permanent the effect. When the music is combined with spontaneous dance, the healing effect is magnified.”

Natalie Southgate

How does sound balance our chakras?

Everything around us is made up of energy and vibration. The atoms and molecules that make up the earth and the trees, our bodies, and everything in our world, are buzzing with their own unique vibrational frequency.

Everything has a frequency. Inside our bodies, our organs, bones, and cells, all vibrate at their natural frequencies.

We know that the external sounds we hear through our ears, and feel through our body, can affect our central nervous system. Just think of the fright you get when a door is slammed.

On the other end of the spectrum, harmonic sound can facilitate shifts in our brainwave state, synchronising our fluctuating brainwaves by providing a stable frequency which the brainwaves can attune to.

Using specific rhythms and frequencies, we can entrain our brainwaves in order to down-shift our normal brainwaves to a deeply calm level where spontaneous internal healing can occur – as it does when we meditate or sleep.

Particular frequencies of sound resonate with particular chakras, and in a similar way using specific sounds, we can synchronise and attune the chakra system to its optimal frequency, balancing and releasing any discordant energy.

Sound has always been a central element to working with the chakra system. The sounds of the Sanskrit – ancient Indian – language are seen as uniquely powerful vibrations that form part of a practice designed to bring about a spiritual awakening.

The role of the chakra system is to help regulate the human energy field

The human energy field, commonly known as the subtle body or aura, is a dynamic, energetic matrix, which includes the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of our being.

There is a kind of feedback loop which occurs between the energy of the chakras and the physical body. An imbalance in our subtle body can manifest as a physical or emotional issue.

Similarly, when we balance and harmonise our chakra system, it supports physical and emotional healing.

This kind of chakra balancing has traditionally been done using sound, whether chanting, singing bowls, drums or other musical instruments.

Many spiritual traditions see sound as the basic element of all creation. The ancient Indian Vedic texts described elemental sounds that resonated as the universe was in creation. By tapping into these sounds, it is believed that we can tap into these divine vibrations, and in doing so, align and balance our own vibrational subtle energy field.

The most common mantras used with the chakras relate to the element associated with an aspect of that chakra. So LAM is the seed mantra of the earth element, VAM of water, RAM of fire, YAM of air and HAM of space. And OM, is the universal mantra.

Chakradance creator, Natalie Southgate, noticed that certain music carried a unique resonance with different chakra centres.

As she danced to different frequencies of music, her free-flowing movements started to guide her into the inner power ignited within her chakras. The discovery that she could have direct experience with her chakras, through spontaneous movements to specific sounds, was the birth of Chakradance.

In Chakradance, we weave sound and movement in a ‘mantra-dance’ which intensifies our self-expression and creativity

In the throat Chakradance, we intone the mantra HAM as we dance in a world made purely of sound.

It’s a transportive experience, as the vibration of the music and the chanting, with the gentle movement of our bodies, releases us into a deeper state of consciousness and inner spiritual connection.

When the dance is over people are often surprised to learn they were chanting for 20 minutes, it seems like no time at all when we tap into that awareness outside of time and space.

The music in Chakradance is beautifully and artfully layered in sounds.

Beneath the beat and melody are layers of Tibetan and crystal bowls, bells, percussion, chants and other vibrational frequencies designed to activate each chakra. It’s like bathing your senses in sound.

From the deep resonance of Tibetan chanting in the opening meditation and the reverberating base tones of the didgeridoo in the base chakra, the sounds become higher and higher in vibration as we work our way up the chakras.

So Chakradance works on so many levels simultaneously, from the subtlest vibrations of sound to the beats and melody that inspire us to move our body and to make our own sounds.

As I dance, I imagine my body, all of my cells, my bodily systems, my energy body, is like a beautifully free-flowing dance troupe, twirling and leaping around in absolute unbridled joy and harmony.

As all these parts of my being move to these sound vibrations, energy shifts, tension is soothed, emotional blocks are released, stress dissipates. I emerge re-arranged, rejuvenated and transformed. It’s like a whole new me!

The Humming Breath

Try this simple sound healing technique which is a great throat chakra activator…

Sit in a comfortable position with a straight spine.

Begin by exhaling as much air as possible from your lungs before taking in a deep, slow breath through your nose, refilling your lungs. On your next exhalation, make a soft humming sound like a bee.

When you run out of breath, take another deep inhalation, continuing the humming sound as you exhale.

Begin with a few minutes practice, working up to 10-15 minutes at a time. When you have finished your humming breath practice, lie down and relax for a few minutes.

Namaste, Christina

ॐ

Upcoming classes:

Base Chakradance @ Revitalise (Thursday 2 August)

Throat Chakradance Journey (Sunday 5 August)

May 13, 2018May 14, 2018

Throat Chakra Mantra

Vissudhi, the Sanskrit word for the throat chakra, literally means purification. In the throat Chakradance, we chant and sing to cleanse the throat chakra, and enhance our ability for self-expression.

The non-physical element associated with Vissudhi is ether, the field of subtle vibrations surrounding all things. The throat chakra, more than any other, governs our relationship with vibrations and resonance.

It is from the throat centre that you produce sound through vibration. As such it is incredibly susceptible to vibrational energy, and responsive to resonance of all kinds.

Chanting and humming, listening to vibrational sounds are among the best ways to clear and balance this chakra.

Physiologically this chakra governs the health of the throat, nose, ears, mouth, neck and vocal cords, as well as the thyroid and parathyroid glands, which are responsible for our metabolism.

The throat chakra carries the energies of truth, integrity, honesty, and communication. It also governs the ability to listen, both to the words of others and your own internal dialogue within your body.

The throat chakra energy is resonant with authenticity and purification. Paramount to Vissudhi, is the expression of self through speech and creativity. Finding your true voice.

The Humming Breath is a wonderful pranayama or breath practice to stimulate the throat chakra.

Sit in a comfortable position with a straight spine.

Begin by exhaling as much air as possible from your lungs before taking in a deep, slow breath through your nose, refilling your lungs.

On your next exhalation, make a soft humming sound like a bee.

When you run out of breath, take another deep inhalation, continuing the humming sound as you exhale.

Begin with a few minutes practice, working up to 10-15 minutes at a time.

Now play the video and chant the mantra “ham” pronounced “hum” as you exhale.

When you have finished your humming breath and mantra practice, lie down and relax for a few minutes.
Let your humming throat chakra energy fuel your self-expression in your day.

Hari om tat sat. Namaste. Blessings.

ॐ

Chakradance classes

The beautiful art work used is Throat Chakra by Qahira Lynn

March 4, 2018March 4, 2018

Mantra your solar plexus chakra

The solar plexus chakra is known as Manipura in Sanskrit, which means lustrous gem. This truly is the shining jewel of your vital life force energy.
Manipura regulates our pranic – or life force – energy throughout our body, controlling our energy balance, vitality and strength. It governs our digestive fires and heat regulation in the body.