Category: meditation

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The Heart Chakra

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, you need to decide what difference you want to make.” Jane Goodall

This week we journey into Anahata, the heart chakra. This is the chakra of love and compassion.

When the heart chakra is open and balanced, we are able to walk through life with heart. Walking with heart means walking through life with loving kindness and generosity.

Throughout our lives, it is inevitable that we experience pain in our hearts. We get hurt in relationships. This is part of the human journey. 

These sufferings can cause us to shut down our hearts so that we don’t feel the pain. But when we close our hearts for protection, we also close our hearts to the flow of love, forgiveness and compassion.

The Sanskrit word for the heart chakra is अनाहत, Anāhata, meaning “un-struck.” This name conceptualises the idea that the heart is resonant, an ‘unstruck’ instrument echoing the sounds of the celestial realm, as they manifest in our own unique being.

Anahata also means unhurt and unbeaten. Which is a nice image for those feeling a little weary of heart.

I must have read that word  – unstruck – about a hundred times, but every time I read it as ‘un-stuck’. So I’m going to go with that. It makes sense to me that I could get ‘unstuck’ through opening my heart chakra.

So how do I get my heart unstuck? How do I get unstuck from the past and into present moment awareness?

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” Dalai Lama

Movement, sound and breath are the keys for me. Moving freely with my arms open, breathing deeply, expanding my chest and lungs, as I dance to harmonious music, always brings me back to my heart centre.

As Anahata is related to the element air, it is accessible through the breath. 

Visualising breathing through your heart centre, imagining love-filled light entering your body via your heart is a wonderful heart-opening exercise.

In Chakradance, to dance the heart chakra is to move with lightness, joy and compassion. 

In this dance we have the intention of gently beginning to let go of the hurts in our hearts so that we can open to pure love. The Heart Chakradance is like a ritual for healing your heart.

We begin with the ‘white light’ moving meditation, before moving into the dance. We will finish by creating a mandala artwork, and we’ll have a short time for feedback and sharing, before our closing meditation.

In Chakradance, we move the arms to feel uplifted, light and free, we dance a soaring journey of love, compassion and joy.

“Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.” Confucius

Through your heart chakra, you have the choice to expand your consciousness through the power of love, openness and receptivity, or contract your consciousness through the power of fear.

The heart is so much more than the source of romantic love, many cultures believe the heart chakra is the seat of your soul in your body.

The heart is the ‘other’ mind of our body, the wisdom centre of the soul, and it is far more responsible for governing our lives and actions than we give it credit for.

Meditating on the heart chakra helps to shift from ego-based, fearful actions, or karma, to resonating with the energy of our higher self, and what yogis might call dharma or higher purpose.

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

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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)

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My Journey

Let me share a little of my journey to Chakradance.

Five years ago I had just turned 40. I was a single, working mum, having navigated several difficult divorce years, I thought life was about to get good again.

Then I crashed, physically, emotionally, every which way. I was exhausted, depressed and physically suffering from all these mystery illnesses.

I was so tired I couldn’t wait for the kids to go to bed so I could lie down and rest. I even woke up tired.

It was a very frightening time and all I wanted was to get my ‘mojo’ back. At the time I was writing about wellness, the irony, I know! And in my research I discovered Chakradance.

I have always loved dancing, but I was more of a dancing by myself around the lounge room kind of girl than dancing in public.

Chakradance was perfect because we danced in a gently lit room with our eyes closed.

For me, it was an hour just to myself. The music was beautiful, I closed my eyes, let the music flow through me, listening to the gentle guided meditation and just moving my body however I liked.

Afterwards I always felt fabulous. I had more energy and I often felt that in the deeply relaxed space of the dance, I gained insights into my life and found that the answers to things that were bothering me came quite intuitively.

But what if I can’t dance…?

That’s okay. 

Chakradance is a gentle yet fun practice that meets you where you are. It doesn’t matter if you think you can’t dance, if you feel self-conscious about your body or if you have mobility issues. Chakradance is just about letting the music move your body and energy in whatever way feels right for you.

For me Chakradance restored my ‘mojo’ – that vitality and engagement in life. I feel so much more present in my life. It connects me to an experience of calm, clarity, healing, releasing, and balancing, that flows into all aspects of my life.

Chakradance is some time just for me – an hour of free-flowing dancing in a safe and softly-lit space with other like-minded women (and men).

Do you know someone who could use a little mojo in their lives? Why not grab a friend a give it a go?

The gorgeous new wellness hub, The Revitalise Centre in Glen Iris is offering a special deal to bring a friend to Chakradance for free.

Try Chakradance and bring a friend for free!

Thursday’s at 7.30pm from July 26

Bookings essential at www.revitalisecentre.com.au/classes

Christina is a chakradance facilitator, shamanic practitioner and wellbeing writer. She is passionate about wellbeing and brings her extensive knowledge though studies in the chakra system, yoga, shamanism and reiki to her practice.

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Detox your mind and body through your chakras

People often think the chakras are all mystical and esoteric, but the chakras have some really tangible effects in our lives.

When out of balance, they can stagnate with emotional energy from fear, shame and anxiety. What we want is to keep our energy moving and over the next few posts, I am going to talk about some ways to do that.

Do you know that your physical body stores your blocks and fragmentations? All that unresolved ‘stuff’ – held emotions, toxic beliefs about yourself, programs from childhood, they can all be stored as energy at a cellular level in your body.

Do you know that you have innate capabilities for changing your life through working with the energy portals in your body? Every aspect of your life, relationships, family, business, health, wealth.

All change that happens in your life goes through your physical structure, your body. ALL change in your life happens through your body. Unawareness of this process can cause fragmentation, dis-ease and stagnation in your life, because of the stuck energy trapped in your body.

In Chakradance, what we are doing is allowing you, gracefully and with ease, to transform these blocks so you have clear access to achieve your life goals. Whatever that may be for you, greater vitality and health, being more present and mindful in your life, success, joy. You may be unknowingly blocking yourself off from these wonderful things, because of these held energy patterns in your body.

In Chakradance we use movement and sound as a way to activate our energy centres, and move this stagnant energy, naturally shifting any stuckness or blocks as the key to freedom from what holds us back.

Movement through your body allows energy to flow, it can trigger blockages to shift and cause accumulated energies to be released or redistributed and balanced.

Movement brings you into your physicality, brings your energy down from your head into your body, allowing a real connection with not only your physical self, but the physicality of the world around us. When you become fully present in this way, great healing and transformation flows effortlessly through you.

You don’t have to know how electricity works to turn the light on, the good news is you don’t have to know how chakras work for them to work. (Like most things your body does, it’s all working away quietly in the background anyway.)

Chakras can be described as processing centres of energy and information, as well as gateways for this energy and information to flow into, out of, and through.

Linking the chakras are a series of energy channels that, in their purest and unimpeded form, constantly flow and spiral up and down the spinal column, keeping our energetic system in connectivity to both the earth and ethereal energy above, with the chakras like little hubs in between.

Note that when I refer to ‘energy’ I use the term to describe the concept used in many traditions of the vital life force energy, or also known as prana or qi. The same kind of energy used in techniques like Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture and yoga. There’s a reason why these energy techniques have been around for millennia, because they work!

Chakradance is an easy way for you to shift so much stuff, so quickly and easily. Chakradance is a joyful experience, so you can enjoy the process, without the treatment table, just dancing!

Raw Mojo Chakradance gives you a safe and intimate space where you are guided to allow yourself to flow while you explore your energy body with this simple method. The room is candle-lit, you move with your eyes closed, so there’s no need to feel self-conscious. This is an inner journey.

Chakradance is a simple, safe and effective self-healing modality. Once you are familiar with the practice, you can even do it at home.

Want to try it?

I am offering weekly classes of the Chakradance Freedom Series. You can come to all seven chakras, one each week, or just the ones that appeal to you. The series will focus on specific areas of your life, each chakra will relate to aspects of your life.

On Tuesday and Thursday nights, we journey into a different chakra each week.

For those who have done Chakradance before, you will find the Freedom Series a little different. For one, it’s a shorter and more concise session. Starting with a white light meditation to really get your vital life force energy flowing, and then in a guided moving meditation, you will meet a spirit guide to take you into the energy of the chakra.

Over the series, you will meet seven guides to take you on a deep, inner voyage into the seven inner worlds of your subtle energy body or chakras.

The most important practice is the one you do in your aloneness. As you go into your own meditation, the world starts to fade, and what starts to happen in you is the celestial glow of self starts to get established. And it is of paramount importance that we really cultivate this self-practice. Take the time out. Anand Mehrotra

Hari om tat sat. Namaste. Blessings.

Christina at Raw Mojo

ॐ

Upcoming classes at Raw Mojo Chakradance

Thursday night Chakradance classes at The Revitalise Centre in Glen Iris
Chakradance – Rhythm for your soul

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Mantra your Sacral Chakra

Moving from our root into our sacral chakra. Here we begin to explore how we feel, in our body, in ourselves, and in the world around us.

This is our sensory domain, translated in sanskrit as “our own inner place.” Svadhisthana. ‘Svadha’ in sanskrit also means sweetness or pleasure. This is our own sweet spot.

The sacral chakra relates to our desires. This is where we seek comfort and succour.

While desire and sensuality are beautiful things, when excessive they can become addictions. In its deficient state, this energy can deny its own needs and become blocked, its watery nature literally dries up.

The lesson of this chakra is to be able to go within, to dwell in our own self, to flow from this sense of inner succour and to experience life with relish and joy, but not the extremes of grasping need or denial of our sensual desires.

Water is the element associated with the sacral chakra, so play the video, either stare at the ocean there or close your eyes as I take you through a meditation adapted from one by Anodea Judith.(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)

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 pelvis and lower belly.

Settle into your own place. Focus on your breath, feel how it moves your chest and belly. 

Notice the sensations within you and around you, notice the ‘you’ that is feeling these sensations. 

Notice the temperature in the room, are there any sounds? Tuning into your feelings, are you tired, bored, restless?

Drop your awareness down into your lower belly, hips and pelvis.

Gently pull your lower belly in towards your spine as you exhale, and expand your lower belly out on the inhale. 

If you find it hard to physically do this, just imagine it.

Imagine you are breathing in and filling up your lower belly with water. Imagine your pelvis like a bowl you can fill up. It’s your own body of water.

As you breathe in and out with your focus on this body of water in your sacral chakra, begin to chant the mantra “vam” alongside the video.

You may find yourself intuitively swaying or rocking your hips. Go with it! This is the chakra of your inner ocean, let those waves roll.

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. Notice your sensations, sounds, tastes, feelings throughout the day.

Let your entire day become a chakra meditation.

Hari om tat sat. Namaste. Blessings.

ॐ

Try Chakradance – Rhythm for your soul

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 Manifesting the divine into our lives through the Crown Chakra

This is the real secret of life – to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play. Alan Wilson Watts

Our Chakradance journey begins at the base chakra where we feel a strong connection to our bodies and relationship to Mother Earth, in the sacral chakra we explore our emotions and feelings, in the solar plexus chakra we encounter our personal power, in the heart chakra we unite our masculine and feminine energies in a sacred union, the throat chakra allows us to find our truthful expression and the third eye opens us up to higher powers of perception. 

In traditional Tantric philosophy the crown chakra is simply depicted as the thousand-petaled lotus. It has no seed sound, no element or other associations. Awakening the crown chakra it is really a consummation of our experience of all the other chakras. 

The beauty of moving up through all the chakras to our crown chakra, balancing and clearing our energy centres along the way, is that we create an open channel for this divine energy to pour in and to nourish us and our lives.

The seven chakras are embedded into our nervous system. When aligned, they form a vertical channel along our core. Within this channel, two major currents of energy move upward and downward: the currents of liberation and manifestation. Anodea Judith

While much chakra work focuses on the ascending energy flow, there is also a descending energy flow where we bring this divine cosmic energy of source down into our chakras and into our lives, this is the energetic flow of manifestation, as divine consciousness becomes denser and eventually manifests into physical form through the actions we create in our lives.

In the process of liberation, we work to clear and open each chakra by letting go of fixed patterns, blocks and imbalances. In the process of manifestation, we bring energy down from the crown, condensing and focusing it into a denser pattern. We do this by expressing ourselves through each chakra, and moving the energy downward step by step toward the earth.

As we do in Chakradance, the upward liberating current should be cleared first, as it opens the pathway that makes manifestation easier.

We are now at the gateway to the spirit whose entrance is at Sahasrara, the crown chakra. The divine spark of inspiration is awakened at the crown chakra. It aligns us to our soul purpose -what we are doing here – who we are meant to truly be. This chakra connects us to the source of all creation. Take a deep breath and surrender yourself to the oneness. Chakradance

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. 

The dance of sahasrara is an invitation to the soul to enter the body through the crown chakra in the top of the head. 

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 crown chakra opens upward, like a funnel. This chakra is our avenue to higher states of consciousness. As we develop it, we become increasingly aware of consciousness itself – the eternal part of us that is beyond ego, thought, feeling, and body. 

From a psychological perspective, Carl Jung says that it is at the crown chakra that the ego and the self unite, the self being that inner spark of perennial wisdom whether that is God, Buddha or the white light. Awakening of this chakra is said to be the last step in the evolution of human consciousness.

Developing this chakra unifies us with the Divine Source, as well as everything else in the universe. This is unimaginably blissful.

As we are opening to higher levels of consciousness, we may start to receive spiritual insights or messages. Although these experiences may be subtle, they are deeply powerful.

In our modern culture many of us get caught up in our day-to-day living and often lose contact with the deeper significance of our lives. This can leave us feeling empty and our lives can begin to feel meaningless. This is why finding this spiritual connection is so important. The more connected we are to our spiritual source, the more harmonious our lives can be. Natalie Southgate

The more connected we are to our spiritual source, the more harmonious our life can be. Many chronic issues may just drop away; answers to deep questions and problems intuitively drop in. We come to know our spiritual purpose, our reason for being. We feel a sense unconditional love and oneness with all life. We feel truly liberated, seeing how we can live a life of great clarity, meaning, and value.

This divine spark cannot enter a full mind, so the state that precedes this is emptiness. Like Kevin Costner’s character in Tin Cup, who commands before each pitch of the baseball “clear the mechanism,” it is only when we can let go of our thoughts of what is that we can be filled with inspiration for what could be.

The crown chakra represents the spark of creativity that is transformed into personal consciousness. It governs the process by which we receive inspiration, and then ask ourselves how it relates to our life purpose.

Inspiration has multiple meanings: a divine influence, a moment of creative intelligence, or the drawing in of breath.

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

Anodea Judith describes the chakras as organizational centres for the reception, assimilation, and expression of life force energy. The crown chakra is the entry point of universal spirit into the individual body. 

This chakra represents consciousness itself, in the form of thoughts, intelligence, understanding, ideas, beliefs, thinking, interpretations, and intentions.

Consciousness enters the crown chakra from the divine source, the conscious universe of matter, space, energy, time, and awareness.

We begin the manifestation process when we open to the divine, invoking through prayer, meditation, worship, and devotion. We align with spirit and with our life purpose, ask questions and set our intentions. You may feel the presence of grace, a whisper of guidance, a sudden insight or idea, or receiving information that sparks your intention to create something new. Anodea Judith

This is the wisdom of the crown chakra – focusing within, focusing on our breath, focusing on our 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 being.

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

Affirming actions to open your crown chakra

Every day I read something insightful and inspiring.
Every flash of inspiration reminds me that my inner resources are all-knowing and all-powerful.
I accept my inner voice with reverence and respect.
I am ready to act on all inspiration that comes to me.
I ask that the work I do provide me with its own inspiration and energy.
I combine inspired thought with intelligent action.
I dare to follow my inner voice.
My inspirational signals are clear and strong.

Chakradance is sound healing, movement and meditation all rolled into one relaxing and enjoyable practice. Why not try it for yourself?

Hari om tat sat. Namaste. Blessings.

Christina at Raw Mojo

ॐ

Try Chakradance – Rhythm for your soul

Join us for the Crown Chakradance Journey on August 6

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Mantra your chakras 7 The Crown Chakra

anneliesolis

I hope you have enjoyed this series of bija chakra meditations. This week brings us to the crown chakra, located at the top of your head. 

According to the yoga tradition, the crown chakra connects your individual awareness with infinite consciousness.

Sahasrara in Sanskrit means “thousandfold,” so Sahasrara chakra literally means a thousand-petalled lotus. The thousand representing a number so big, it is infinite.

Traditionally, this lotus is visualised upside down with the stem and roots rising to the sky and the petals pointing downward. A lotus flower with its roots in heaven bringing down divine grace through the crown of our heads.

Considered to be of the highest vibrational frequency and the pinnacle of the seven major chakras, Sahasrara is regarded as a gateway to the energy of the universe itself. It is an energetic passageway that connects you to the divine.

Play the video – you many want to set a timer for 5-15 minutes as the video goes for an hour.

Divya-jyoti or Divine Light Meditation

1. Sit in a comfortable meditation pose with your legs crossed and your back straight.

2. Rest your hands in your lap, palms upward, with your left hand on top. This is the mudra (hand position) for receiving energy. Close your eyes and let your breathing become slow and even.

3. Visualize a thousand-petalled lotus at the crown of your head. Imagine its petals gently opening to reveal an intense light. Let this divine light flow down into you through your crown chakra.

4. Feel the light spiralling down your body. Enjoy the warm glow as it saturates your entire being. Feel the light slowly moving down and permeating every cell and pore of your body.

5. Focus your senses on the intensity of the light so that you not only see it, but hear, smell, taste, and touch it.

6. Feel like a pure channel for the light: allow yourself to be at one with it. In this state of oneness, intuitive thoughts and inspirations may enter your consciousness. Be thankful for this guidance. Rest in the blissful awareness for as long as you wish.

7. After 5-15 minutes, take a few deep belly breaths, wiggle your fingers and toes to ground your energy, and open your eyes.

Feel yourself connected to the source and yet grounded in this divine energy as you go into your day.

Hari om tat sat. Namaste. Blessings.

ॐ

Try Chakradance – Rhythm for your soul

Art credit: This beautiful feature image is by Annelie Solis

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Mantra your chakras 6 The Third Eye Chakra

There’s so much mystique around the idea of the third eye chakra and psychic abilities, so for me it really helped to simplify the concepts associated with this chakra into ones I can get my head around, like intellect, intuition and imagination.

Agya in Sanskrit means “centre of divine command.” This chakra is visualised at the centre of the forehead, in between the brows and just above the brow line.

Agya is the junction of the three main nadis or energy channels – ida, pingala and sushumna – that run alonside your spine. This is where all your subtle energy channels unite, making it a very powerful centre to meditate upon.

The traditional element associated with the sixth chakra is called mahat, meaning supreme, the culmination of all the elements into one. 

This element is often perceived as light, without which the third eye would be unable to ‘see’ or perceive things.

So let’s chant and meditate on our third eye. 

Play the video to begin. (Set your alarm for 5-10 minutes, or up to 20 minutes if you like.)

Sit in a comfortable cross legged position. You may also sit on a chair or lean against a wall for this meditation.

Elongate your spine upwards, lengthen your neck and subtly bring your chin back and in. This will align the spine with the back of your head.

To begin, take 5 deep, slow breaths though your nose. 

Keeping your head still, use your eyes to look up at an imaginary point in the middle of your forehead, just above the eyebrows. This eye position is called shambhavi yoga mudra. Close your eyes while holding this mudra. Do not strain excessively.

Rest your hands in any comfortable position, you can place them on your knees.

Try to remain as still as possible.

Now inhale deeply and begin to chant in a soft, slow, steady voice the manta OM (pronounced AUM). 

One chant of OM (AUM) Mantra should last for the entire exhalation. It’s a long “Oh,” followed by a semi-long “Mmmm” during each exhalation.

Once all the air has been expelled, inhale fully again and begin to chant the mantra once more. 

Visualize the OM sound coming from a point in the middle of the forehead just above the eyebrows and emanating throughout your entire body.

Continue for the duration of the meditation. If your eyes tire from shambhavi yoga mudra release the mudra but continue to chant the OM (AUM) mantra as above. Reapply the mudra again when ready.

Once you have completed the meditation, rub the palms of your hands together and then place them on your eyes as you open them slowly. This will relax and comfort your eye muscles.

Take a few minutes to ground and centre yourself. Be aware of the presence of your intuitive mind as you go about your day.

Hari om tat sat. Namaste. Blessings.

ॐ

Try Chakradance – Rhythm for your soul

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Mantra your chakras 5 The Throat Chakra

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.

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

Try Chakradance – Rhythm for your soul

The beautiful art work used is Throat Chakra by Qahira Lynn

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Mantra your chakras 4 The 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.

Hari om tat sat. Namaste. Blessings.

ॐ

Try Chakradance – Rhythm for your soul

Art credit: artist unknown