Tag: moving meditation

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Express yourself!

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Have you ever walked away from a conversation where you felt you just weren’t heard?

Whether you were silent or you tried to speak but your words just came our wrong, there is something so disempowering about not being heard. Often it brings back painful memories of childhood when we were told our voice was not welcome, too silly, too loud, too childish.

Many of us carry years of these kinds of interactions in our memory bank, in our body memory, and much of this is energetically stored at the Throat Chakra.

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The Throat Chakra is the centre of communication. From a conversation at the grocery store to saying “I do” at the altar, every conversation you have adds or depletes energy at this point in your body.

But communication is a relationship. It involves listening as much as speaking. The Throat Chakra also rules the ears. When you hold back from saying what you want or stop listening, your Throat Chakra can become blocked.

This may manifest in the form of a physical irritation, dry throat, blocked ears, aversion to wearing things around your neck, or it may come out in your dreams. It will definitely affect your ability to communicate.

Our words, and the intention behind them, hold vibrations and therefore impact our entire being. When we complain, gossip, lie, or talk negatively, it is as though we are putting toxins into our bodies and into our energy systems. The negative energy of our words also affects other people.

After I danced the Heart Chakradance this week a heaviness had settled on my heart. I knew it was the energetic residue of this recent interaction that had left me so thwarted in my expression.

I put the Throat Chakradance Journeying music on and entered the mantradance – this is a practice of chanting a mantra whilst dancing, the movement and the sound creating a wonderfully hypnotic experience, where we can slide into a deep meditative state.

Sound and movement are natural partners. Unfortunately many of us feel inhibited to make sounds, let alone to move at the same time.

It was such sweet release. Just that pure self expression, that freedom to express sound without restraint.

Chakradance Journeying will take you deep into your Throat Chakra the seat of your creativity, to give you the opportunity to work with any ‘stuckness’ that you may feel in the throat area.

This stuckness can be about a life situation in the present or the past. It can relate to something ancestral or global.

Allowing your body to move the sounds through space as freely as you wish helps you get in touch with a time when your voice was strong and visible, and movement flowed freely. Let this dance become a vehicle for the creative expression of your true essence.

The dance will help you tune into the power of vibrations. When you become more aware of the world on a vibrational level, you open up to communication on a different level – you ‘tune into’ the vibes. You can feel when something, someone, or a place ‘resonates’ with you.

We begin the Throat Chakradance with gentle neck movements (moving neck slowly from side to side) and begin to sense how we feel in the Throat Chakra. The dance is based on a mantradance. Each chakra has a mantra which when chanted acts as a doorway into the chakra.

The mantra for the Throat Chakra is “ham” (pronounced hum). We will begin with a few minutes of purely focusing on sounding the mantra – inhale through your nose and exhale with the mantra sound of “ham”.

And then we will move into the mantradance, where we weave together sound (ham) and movement. This is a practice inspired by Tibetan culture, where monks carry out mystical rituals combining chanting with delicate movements of the body.

This dance will begin to activate inner experiences – it is almost like entering into a waking dream. You may see images in your mind’s eye while you are dancing, or recall memories or gain insights. You may experience feelings, emotions or physical sensations.

It’s an organic unfoldment of what’s inside this chakra. In Chakradance we ask you to be mindful of your experiences, to observe them, witness them, be present to your own experience. This is the way we shift our energy.

Join me for Throat Chakra week at Raw Mojo Chakradance.

Hari om tat sat. Namaste. Blessings!

ॐ

Upcoming events at Raw Mojo Chakradance here

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What is Chakradance? Throat chakra

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In Chakradance we use sound and movement to connect in with our subtle energy or chakras, releasing stuck energy, activating and cleansing our vital life force energy for vitality and wellbeing.

Vissudhi, or the throat chakra, is located in the throat. It is the source of verbal expression and governs our ability to speak our highest truth. When balanced, our actions, thoughts, and speech are fully integrated.

Here’s a little video I made to show you a taste of the Throat Chakradance. Why not try it for yourself… ❤

Join me for Chakradance here

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Detox your mind and body through the 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 the Chakradance Summer 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 selected Tuesday nights over Summer, journeying 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.

We start at the base chakra, where a tribal Elder will guide you in a sacred dance journey to awaken your base chakra, through your connection with Mother Earth.

Starts Dec 19. Come to one, some or all. Bookings essential as spaces are limited.

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 events at Raw Mojo Chakradance

Base Chakra Freedom Summer Series

Chakradance – Rhythm for your soul

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Getting your heart unstuck

This week we journey into Anahata, the heart chakra.

There is a light that shines beyond all things on Earth, beyond us all, beyond the heavens, beyond the highest, the very highest heavens. This is the light that shines in our heart. Upanishads

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 while I was researching this post. 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 my heart chakra.

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

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, as reflected in dances from ancient Spain, Egypt and China. Many of these dances used exaggerated arm movements to gently whirl into deep states of joyful harmony.

The dances of China symbolised balance, where mimetic movements expressed the union of heaven and earth.

In Chakradance, we have drawn inspiration from these dances, and move the arms to feel uplifted, light and free. Inspired by the whirling of the ancient ones, 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!

ॐ

Upcoming events at Raw Mojo Chakradance here

Enjoy a free heart meditation by clicking here

Art by Elena Ray 

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The dance of the spiritual warrior


As the days become longer and the sun returns to our skies, what better time to ignite your inner sun.

This week we journey through the solar plexus chakra, our centre of 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 solar plexus chakra is where we experience our gut instinct, that inner knowing. Here we tap into the intelligence of the spirit.

From the energy of this chakra emerges the ego, our sense of self-identity. Concerned with assertiveness and personal power, it is easy to see where this chakra can be out of balance. Either in excess feeling a desire for material power and control over people, or deficient in allowing ourselves to be dominated by others.

When the solar plexus chakra is inactive we may feel lethargic, afraid, anxious, or withdrawn. There is a fear of taking risks, confronting people or issues, taking charge, and a lack of energy. An overactive solar plexus may cause us to be overly controlling, domineering, or even a bully.


To dance the solar plexus chakra is to call on the ancient dances of the warrior. In Chakradance, fast, dynamic and vigorous movements of the arms and legs, activate our core and ignite the fire in our belly, fuelling our dance with energy and strength.

Reining all this fiery energy in, movements then become strong, purposeful and clearly defined as our inner warrior emerges triumphant, brave and strong.

The solar plexus Chakradance is an inner journey with the Warrior archetype. What does being a ‘warrior’ mean in our world? Integrity? Standing up for ourselves?

The archetype of the warrior – standing strong in their power – is the vision of the healthy solar plexus chakra. It is not aggressive, but it will not diminish itself either. Pema Chodron talks of the tender-hearted bravery of the spiritual warrior. This warrior has the courage to face themselves in whatever they experience, no matter how afraid or uncomfortable they feel. 

Our fiery natures can get dampened by an excessive need for social conformity and a focus on relating to others. The epidemic of depression and anxiety in modern cultures could reflect a loss of connection to the vital core of spiritual power in the solar plexus chakra.


This chakra is known as Manipura in Sanskrit, which means lustrous gem. Many cultures associate this solar plexus energy with our life force.

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.

Krishnamacharya says that it is the prana that ‘connects everything in and of this universe.’ 

The ‘prana vayus’ are the ‘currents’ or ‘winds’ of the great prana (life force) within us. They are located in different regions of the body according to the direction of flow of that vayu. 

When prana enters the body it is the movement of the vayus that carry it to the different areas of the body so that the energy can be used to maintain the vitality and health of the body.

Prana vayu and apana vayu are like two opposite forces – the in and out breath, respiration and elimination – and it is said that these two forces alone rule the body. 

Samana vayu – is also known as the ‘middle’ breath and balances the energy of prana and apana. Samana governs digestion and the absorption of nutrients, bringing vitality to the pancreas, liver and digestive tract. Samana is the pause between the ‘in’ and ‘out’ breath and resides at the solar plexus.

Samana holds the flame that burns off the toxic residue of bodily functions. Samana has the ability to conjoin prana and apana and push the energy up through sushumna nadi (the central energy channel from which the chakras flow) which increases our pranic capacity and raises our consciousness.

Physically activating the solar plexus chakra promotes these vayus, allowing them to energise and revitalise our bodily systems.


The dance of Manipura begins with a flame, and as the music intensifies, and the fire increased, I found myself dancing like wildfire. I became one with the fire, I was fire, flickering and wild. It felt incredibly liberating and powerful. 

The fire burns away all that is no longer needed, and fuels us energetically to face life with purpose, passion and empowered will.

Dancing the solar plexus chakra was the catalyst for allowing myself to release all the ways I had been disempowered in life. And to step into my authentic power.

Without realising it, we may unconsciously give away our power all the time, in our choice of lifestyle, where we spend our money, the kinds of relationships we are in, what we choose to do with our time.

A balanced solar plexus chakra enables us to move through life with genuine confidence, inner strength and self-esteem.

Our inner warrior emerges when we create space for autonomy, instead of constantly worrying about others, we follow our own inner guidance. In this way, we are more likely to find our true purpose and direction in life and have the courage to pursue our goals.

If we don’t tend to our spirit, and to our life’s passion, if we don’t ignite and tend to our inner fire, part of our self is diminished, we have abandoned ourselves, and the lustrous gem we hold within. 

“Begin by visualising your solar plexus as a beautiful golden jewel, like a yellow diamond shining out.” Natalie Southgate

Join me for the Dance of the Spiritual Warrior – Solar Plexus Chakradance journey this Sunday at Raw Mojo.

Namaste,

Christina at Raw Mojo 

ॐ
 

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Experience Freedom – the brand new Chakradance journey

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Would you love to awaken your inner vitality and wellbeing? To feel calm, centred, joyful and free?

Sometimes all you need is a map or a practice to guide you back to your inner sense of authenticity, vibrancy and freedom.

Chakradance is designed to do just that.

Chakradance is a holistic (mind, body, spirit) wellbeing modality – a fusion of ancient wisdoms and modern music. Think of it as a kind of musical sister of yoga, but without the set asanas.

It uses very specific music, created to resonate with each in turn of the 7 major chakras, with free-form movement and mandala art-making at the end of each class, to help integrate whatever has come up for participants in the dance.

I am super-excited to be offering my first cycle of the new Chakradance Freedom series. This is a magnificent new cycle with masterfully composed music designed to resonate to each chakra with beautiful new guided meditations. 

The feedback from participants is that this series is even more powerful and exquisite than ever. I can’t wait to share it with you.

Freedom is an in-depth Chakradance experience.

Over an 8 week cycle, you will experience transformational soul work through your chakra system, which can create shifts in all areas of your life, from love, success and confidence to happiness and inner peace.

Every one of us has seven major chakras and each chakra influences an aspect of our lives – from our instincts, sexuality and personal power through to how we love, communicate, use our intuition and connect to our deepest source of spirituality.

Dance is a powerful way to move and shift our energy, allowing blocks to surface and be healed. Chakradance combines the power of the shamanic dance journey and the wisdom of the chakra system to create a system of soul healing like no other.

This is a deep dive into your energy system, your essence, your spirit. Held in a beautiful sacred space, with a small group, this is an opportunity to journey deep into your innermost self and rediscover your sense of freedom and vitality.


Join me on a brand new Chakradance Journey. Dance your way into your authentic self through your seven chakras.

Meet with seven spirit guides to take you deep on an inner voyage to the seven different landscapes, seven different, inner worlds of your subtle energy body or chakras.

At the base chakra a spirit Elder will guide you in a sacred dance journey to deepen your connection with Mother Earth.

A Divine Goddess will lead you on a sacred water journey diving deep into your sacral chakra.

Entering the Solar Plexus dance, you will meet your Spiritual Warrior who will guide you through a powerful solar fire dance, connecting you with your divine protection, power and inner strength.

Immersing yourself in the delicious, healing energies of the Heart dance, you meet an Angel guide who will guide you on a journey to connect with the deepest yearnings of your soul.

In a sacred cathedral of sound, your Ethereal Being guide will take you on a journey of sound and vibration. You become a clear channel for your soul.

At the peak of a mountain, your Seer guide invites you on an initiation journey, to activate your Third Eye vision, your portal to the insight of spirit.

Finally a Light Being escorts you on a journey to celebrate your soul’s journey, to remember who you truly are and your divine connection with all the other souls on your journey.

In the final week, we integrate all these divine rituals into one dance. You reflect on the divine being that you are. You celebrate all the support from your beautiful spirit guides. You feel the freedom of truly being YOU.

I do hope you will join me on this truly exquisite journey.

Bookings are essential as spaces are limited.

For those of you who are new to Chakradance, there is also an Introductory session on Tuesday 16 May or Thursday 18 May

Session times:

Every Tuesday or Thursday night for 8 weeks from 23 May or 25 May, 7:00-8:30pm
The Chakradance series consists of 8 x 90-minute workshops (a workshop on each of the 7 chakras, and an integration workshop).

This cycle is run over 8 weeks.

Each workshop begins with a white light  moving meditation, then each week a specific Chakradance journey for the chakra in focus, followed by a mandala art exercise, and finally a closing meditation.

This is a deep dive into your energy system, your essence, your spirit. Held in a beautiful sacred space, with a small group, this is an opportunity to journey deep into your innermost self and rediscover your sense of freedom and vitality.

Bookings essential as spaces are limited. Book here on eventbrite 

***Early bird prices finish on May 7***

Hari Om Tat Sat. Namaste. Blessings.

Christina at Raw Mojo