Traveling

Hi Everyone!

I am heading to Maine this morning and probably won't have internet for several days.  Next time you hear from me I should be all moved into my new place!  Talk to you soon!

Namaste

The Chakras

Last Friday we discussed the cosmic vibration, Aum.  In that post I promised to talk about the chakras, so here we go!

Image from www.angels-earth-and-energy.com

Chakras are energy centers in the astral body.  They each have a corresponding center in the spinal cord and nerve plexuses in the physical body.  Swami Satyananda Saraswati describes the chakras as "vortices of pranic energy at specific areas in the body which control the circulation of prana permeating the entire human structure. Each chakra is a switch which turns on or opens up patterns of behavior, thought or emotional reactions which may have been unconscious in our everyday life."


There are seven major chakras:


1. Muladhara Chakra
Location: Lower end of the spinal column, corresponding to the sacral plexus
Presiding Deity: Brahma
Resonating Sound: Lam
Element: Earth
Sense: Smell
Behavior: Basic needs


2. Swadhisthana Chakra
Location: Genital organs, corresponding to the prostatic/vaginal plexus
Presiding Deity: Vishnu
Resonating Sound: Vam
Element: Water
Sense: Taste
Behavior: Positive/negative thoughts, physiological needs


3. Manipura Chakra
Location: Navel, corresponding to the solar plexus
Presiding Deity: Rudra
Resonating Sound: Ram
Element: Fire
Sense: Sight
Behavior: Motivation/Ego


4. Anahata Chakra 
Location: Heart, corresponding to the cardiac plexus
Presiding Deity: Isha
Resonating Sound: Yam
Element: Air
Sense: Touch
Behavior: Cosmic love


5. Vishuddha Chakra
Location: Throat, corresponding to the pharyngeal plexus
Presiding Deity: Sadasiva
Resonating Sound: Ham
Element: Ether
Sense: Hearing
Behavior: Power of speach, the ability to make people hear and understand you


6. Ajan Chakra
Location: Between the eyebrows, corresponding to the cavernous plexus
Presiding Deity: Paramasiva
Resonating Sound: Om
Element: Avyakta (primordial cloud of undifferentiated energy and matter)
Behavior: Liberation and intuition based knowledge


7. Sahasrara
Location: Above the crown of the head
Presiding Deity: Siva
Behavior: Pure consciousness

Summer Sweet Tooth

I found this great recipe on the Vegetarian Times website!  Super delicious!


Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

Vegetarian Times Issue: July 1, 2008   p.72 

Feel free to try this recipe with different jams (blueberry and apricot work well). You can also add 1/2 cup nuts to the batter for extra protein and energy on long hikes.

Ingredient List

Makes 16 bars

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, divided
• 1 cup raspberry jam

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 9-inch-square baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.
3. Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla and almond extracts until smooth. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; mix until combined. Stir in 13/4 cups oats. Spread 2/3 of batter on bottom of prepared baking dish. Spread raspberry jam over the batter with back of spoon.
4. Add remaining 1/4 cup oats to remaining batter. Crumble over top of raspberry jam. Bake 30 minutes, or until golden. Cool, then cut into bars.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I personally like rain, but after two weeks of nothing but gray skies and drizzle the weather is starting to get me down. Although yoga teaches us to be content regardless of outside influences, I think we all start feeling the lethargy inherent in endless days of rain. So how do we step out of the gloom when even the sun doesn't want to come out?  It's all about individual balance.  To get started, we should take a look at Ayurveda to better understand our change in energy. 

There are three doshas, or mind/body types, in Ayurveda; Vata (air), Pitta (fire/water), and Kapha (earth/water). (If you have some extra time you can take this quiz to find out what your dominant dosha is: http://www.whatsyourdosha.com/quiz/) Although everyone has a dominant dosha, they are constantly changing within you.  Ayurvedic medicine and treatments seek to balance all three for optimal health. The following is a simple breakdown of the energy of each dosha when it is out of balance:

Vata (air) - Flighty, anxious

Pitta (fire/water) - Irritable, prickly

Kapha (earth/water) - Lethargic, stubborn, prone to overeating 

With the sun hiding behind the clouds, and the weather lingering between warm and cold, most people will experience an imbalance in Kapha. Knowing this, there are simple things we can do to pick ourselves up and regain balance:

1. Get moving! Even though you really don't want to, get some exercise. Feel the burn as you enhance Pitta.

2. Drink lots of warm water infused with warming spices such as turmeric, dried ginger, and black pepper.

3. Go to bed early and get up early, before sunrise. 

There is a great website with recommendations for balancing all of the doshas.  I used it as a source for the above information and strongly recommend everyone read it! http://www.ayurbalance.com/exploreindex.htm

Hopefully this rain will let up soon and we can all get a little sunshine!

Aum

'Aum' is a sound we've all heard, whether in a yoga class, a meditation course, or just joking around about yoga. But what is 'aum'?  Why this sound?

Aum is the cosmic vibration uniting matter and spirit. 

Yeah, ok Stephanie, what the heck does that mean?   'Pranava, the sound of the creative Aum vibration, is the mother of all sounds.' I do not want this in any way to become a religious discussion, but being raised with biblical stories I am going to use a bible verse to illustrate, in a hopefully relatable way, what is meant by creative sound. Something I believe everyone has heard, from Genesis, "God said, 'Let there be light' and there was light." This is the Aum, the creative vibration present in all things.

In meditation, the meditator hears specific vibratory sounds emanating from each of the spinal chakra centers (which we will discuss later). Aum is the basis for all sound.

In the microcosmic universe of the body of man, the Aum vibration works through the vital activities in the astral spinal centers of life with their creative vibratory elements of earth, water, fire, air, and ether. Through these, man's body is created, enlivened, and sustained. These vibrations emit characteristic variations of Pranava as they operate. The devotee whose consciousness becomes attuned to these inner astral sounds finds himself gradually ascending to higher states of realization. (Paramahansa Yogananda)

Celebrate the creative sound of Aum this weekend!  In the space you practice yoga, meditation, relaxation, whatever it is, sing the sounds of Aum. As loud as you can (this is a celebration!) repeat the "AH" sound 9 times. Then the "OH" sound 9 times. And the "MM" sound 9 times.  Done in any space this practice will lighten the energy of the room. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

AUM! and Namaste

Ujjayi Pranayama - Sleep Soundly

Ujjayi pranayama is traditionally practiced throughout an entire Ashtanga Vinyasa practice due to its heating effect on the body.  When performed alone, it soothes the nervous system and calms the mind. It is relaxing at both the physical and psychic levels, making it ideal for those suffering from insomnia.

• Sit comfortably, or lay in savasana
• Begin taking even, steady breaths (always through the nose)
• Bring your concentration to the back of the throat
• Gently contract the glottis to make a soft snoring sound, similar to the sound you hear when placing your ear against a conch shell
• Inhalation and exhalation should be slow, steady, and even in length, producing the sound throughout
• Begin with 5 minutes, gradually increasing to 20 minutes

Some have trouble understanding the sound that should be produced in Ujjayi pranamaya. The book, Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha, by Swami Satyananda Saraswati describes the technique as follows:

Feel or imagine that the breath is being drawn in and out through the throat and not through the nostrils, as if it is taking place through a small hole in the throat.

Ujjayi pranayama can be practiced as often as you like.  For those using it to help with insomnia, it can be practiced while lying in bed before sleep.

Self-Reflection

We talk about self-reflection a lot in yoga. Most understand that it's a good practice, but it can be a bit daunting at first.  Adding a little structure to the process can help.  Yesterday, I read about keeping a reflective journal. I think it's an excellent idea that can help train you to think and solve problems more effectively.

From the Communication Skills Manual of Childbirth International:

Reflection is a process through which we look not only at what happened in a situation, but why. Reflection enables us to go beyond the surface of our experiences and to explore the reasons why we and others acted in certain ways, what influenced us, what choices we made, and whether those choices supported our goals. With reflection, we are able to see a whole range of alternatives we may not have identified at the time of the event in question, and can examine why we did not identify and/or choose any of those alternatives. Reflection helps us to be aware of our own power, even if at times we realize that we didn't use our power.

Once you've worked through some simple daily trials in reflection, you can apply the technique to bigger events in your past. The purpose of this isn't to dwell on the past - we know that yoga is about living in the now - but learning from your actions and the actions of others in order to avoid future conflict.