Muladhara Chakra: Earth

Can we be strong without being rigid?  Can we own our own space without being overbearing?  Is our relationship with our body healthy?

These are just a few of the issues encompassed by our first chakra. Located at the base of the spine, muladhara chakra is the “root” of the chakra system.  Like the foundation of a house, the health of this chakra affects all the others above it.    Anodea Judith describes the first chakra as reflecting our “right to be here,” which includes our “right to establish individuality” and our  right to take care of ourselves” (Eastern Body, Western Mind).

The element of the muladhara chakra is earth and the chakra resonates with the part of ourselves that solid and physical.  Judith estimates the development of this chakra during the first year of life, in which we first learn if we can trust the outer world to meet our essential needs.  This primal experience shapes our future interactions with our environment:  do we have enough to sustain us without hoarding?   On a more psychological level, can we allow ourselves to take up space  without becoming impermeable?

In our asana practice, can we be strong without becoming rigid?

As we practice, we can connect to the strength of the earth through any part of our body that is connected to the ground. As we press into the earth, the strength of the earth radiates back into our muscles and bones.  In standing poses, the feet and legs to draw up the strength of the earth into the core of our body.  In downdog, uttanasana, and chaturanga, our hands become like a second pair of feet, anchoring us into the solid girth of the planet.  Explore becoming more animal in your practice.  Get low to the earth and play with the weight and rebound of gravity.  And as you connect to the deep stability and safety of the ground, can you trust enough to let go of any hard edges?

When you feel spacey or ungrounded, explore some slow, steady standing poses like Warrior II or chair that work the hips and legs…or simply lay in savasana for a few minutes and give the floor your weight.  As you connect to earth, be reminded that you are of the earth.  Embrace your right to be here.

Your Practice Serves Your Life

I first started practicing yoga so that I didn’t get fat.

I was a fairly neurotic, athletic, 20-something, looking for a way to stay flexible, “healthy” (skinny), and (sure, why not?) centered.  Living in NYC with a healthy competitive streak and a does of obsession, I was determined to get “good” at yoga.  Handstand, shoulderstand, arm balances!  I wanted to take the hard  classes.  I craved the challenge.

Was my yoga practice serving my life?  Well, sure in a way, and rather inadvertently.  Although my ego was in the driver’s seat, the inherent benefits of the practice gradually began to seep in.  Since savasana and meditation were part of the classes, I began to calm myself and become aware of the incessant chattering of my mind.  After a few years of yoga, I eased up on the sthira (effort) and started to cultivate some sukha (sweetness).  I started to love restorative classes.   While yoga had started as another form of exercise, it slowly became a way to move deeper into myself.

After we practice for awhile, it’s time to ask the deeper questions.  How can my practice truly serve my life, and my life’s purpose (dharma)?  Can I connect my practice to my greater spiritual evolution?  How is my soul’s intention fed and nourished through my practice?

Our intentions can be simple.  Perhaps we need to open the body and breath so that we can do our daily job and stay well.  Perhaps we need to practice being present so that we can make conscious decisions.  Maybe yoga makes us kinder to other people because we’ve been able to take some time for ourselves.   Or maybe we want to take a challenging class because it makes us feel more alive.  Your reason can be simple – and it is absolutely your own.  But take a moment before you practice to consciously set an intention.

Let your Practice Serve your Life.

Moving Into Light

Ah, New Year’s Resolutions!

As we turn the corner into the New Year and the days begin to become longer (even if we don’t quite notice yet!), NOW is the fertile time to initiate profound change.  Before we dive in, though, it is important for us to take the time to distinguish between reflexive and conscious change.

Reflexive change isn’t really change at all. These are the intentions that we habitually set  – and break – every year (eat less ice cream, be nicer, get up early, lose five pounds….insert your favorite chestnut here).  Usually these are symptoms of some deeper disconnection with ourselves.  The eating ice cream or staying in bed late may be because we’re not properly taking care of ourselves or we are hiding a deeper dissatisfaction under a distraction.  Reflexive intentions feel good, but they often falter after just a few weeks.  Usually they’re ego driven, rather than heart driven.  If this sounds familiar, give yourself a pat on the back. Congratulations, you’re human!  You are in stellar company.

In conscious change, we go beneath those initial voices.  Beneath the ego and the blaming (or just as enticing, the validation) and instead ask ourselves, “what change would really serve my life’s purpose?”

Take a moment and let this sink in.

Maybe you don’t quite know what your life’s purpose (dharma) is yet.  If so, again, no worries.  As Aadil Palkhivala writes in Fire of Love, “exploring your dharma is your dharma.”  Take a few moments every day to sit and ask the question, “What is my life’s purpose?  And what change would really serve my life’s purpose?”

Wait for the answer to arise.  Not from your head, but from your heart.  Have the courage to listen to the quiet voice.  You’ll know it when you hear it.