If you are familiar with chakras, then you can tell from my logo that I love chakras. The rainbow-colored spheres within my logo are representative of the chakra system within the body.
If you are unfamiliar, here’s a quick lesson: There are seven energy centers called chakras (literally “wheels”) that store energy/life force/prana. They are along the spinal column and correlate to major nerve ganglia branching forth from the spinal column. Each has a different relationship to a gland in the body’s endocrine system. Each stimulates different organs and systems in the body. Hatha Yoga activates these energy centers releasing the energy that flows through the spine. Yoga helps these energy centers/nerve bundles to function correctly clearing blocks that may be there. Each chakra also is associated with a mental/emotional focus. In each newsletter I’ll highlight how you can work with a particular chakra to correspond with the season.
I already dwelled a bit on chakras in the opening using the dream message, “Be with air, add water—physiological weather.” I equated air with the heart chakra and water with the sacral chakra focus. So those are the obvious choices for my Charkascope this month.
Every good thing in your life always begins with love and expands when love is added. Abundance cannot be obtained without love. When you do anything as a service out of love for others, your actions will always be abundant.
“Be with” or “focus on” doing things as a service to others with love, then release control by surrendering to the flow of life—allow life to deliver to you in its own natural time and way. This will create/transform into the abundance you are looking for—be it financial, spiritual, or other. How you define abundance for yourself will be what comes to you. How you feel about abundance is your physiological weather.
Other interpretations got to the same end message. For example, to “be with air”—to be present with what you are, what you already have inside. This is your gift—the gift of your heart. You can’t follow someone else’s bliss. If it isn’t what brings you joy, it will provide you less of the abundance you are looking for. “Add water” became a call to relax your effort and flow like water to cool the heat and fire of wanting to control and do too much.
I was told once by Cyndi Dale, another well-known chakra energy expert, that in matters of my heart chakra, if I could figure out how to add pink and gold to the green color there, it would help. She prefaced it with, “I know this may not make sense right now, but..” This was said during a 15-minute break in a presentation at a class she was presenting and I was in a long line of those waiting to ask her a question. So I didn’t push for more. I didn’t want to abuse her time. After all, I’d paid for a class presentation and not a one-on-one! No, I didn’t schedule that one-on-one for various reasons, but I’ve dwelled on what she told me many times.
The other day, at the request of one of my yoga students who had just broken her ankle, I was researching what the body language of ankles, etc might mean. I went to The Secret Language of your Body, by Inna Segal. Among a vast array of emotions to work with, it also reviews working with the healing vibrations of color. “Color healing is brilliant: you can do it anywhere, anytime, and it often works instantly. Color is also a vibration that you can actually feel in your hands, and different colors have different effects on the body.”
One of the colors recommended was pink. As I read this color’s attributes, I remembered Cyndi Dale’s words to add more pink. I knew I needed to “add more pink”. Here are just a few of pink’s attributes I knew I needed. How about you?
Brings Self-acceptance: The desire for self-acceptance came to me in my dream message as “be with what is. Be with the gifts inside. Be with how you are.” remember?
Brings tranquility: Who doesn’t need this in today’s world?
Helps:
- with the manifestation of dreams—Creating abundance was a theme brought out in my dream message as well. If abundance isn’t a manifestation of dreams, I don’t know what is.
- those who suffer from low self-esteem—I think we all find it “easier to believe the bad stuff”, to quote Pretty Woman. Believing in our special gifts is always harder.
- let go of old patterns—I know when my wheels are spinning. Don’t you? Old patterns? They’ve become constant companions. I work on severing the ties with my writing, my yoga, and my prayers.
- release fear—I am in the midst of much change ever since I decided to step out of the corporate world and into making yoga my world. “Change of any sort requires courage.” –Mary Anne Radmacher. I am reminded today by a class I’m taking from Susi Hately of Functional Synergy that just because it’s hard doesn’t mean the Universe is telling you not to do it. I don’t have to be afraid of change.
- to heal your heart problems such as anxiety and stress—the desire for tranquility mentioned earlier would be the antidote to this.
Doing the research for student reminded me how much I enjoyed this book. So I re-read it.
Here’s just some of what “gold” had to tell me:
Attracts abundance and increases awareness—I’ve dwelled on abundance as a goal throughout this newsletter adding that it starts with the heart.
Helps us
- get in touch with wisdom, profound knowledge, self-confidence, inner strength, courage, and joy—low self esteem and courage was mentioned in the pink section. Self-confidence is the other side of that coin. Work on one and you’ll work on the other. Finding joy is the same as finding abundance, and using inner strength is a reminder, again, that it’s already inside of you—be with it.
- cut us loose from feelings of frustration, inadequacy, and futility—I mentioned fear in the pink section. Fear of being inadequate to the challenge and the frustration of living with that fear as it holds me back has been one of those old patterns I want to let go of (also from the pink section). So yes, cut loose from that!
Creates a sense of well-being—we all want well-being. We often confuse that with monetary goals; but as mentioned over and over in the opening section, what creates a feeling of abundance (well-being) for you is built into your personal DNA—your physiological weather. How you create your sense of well being will be your personal life’s mission, and once you do that—you’ll be bringing it to others.
“A powerful protective energy, gold strengthens all fields of the body and spirit, and helps you accept what is happening in your life. Use gold for clarity, decision making, and connecting to the spiritual realm.”—I’ve mentioned fearing change. Accepting that the path I’m on is my own path and no one else’s means I look within myself for the gifts there and create what is mine to create. I look within my heart and creatively bring forth the gift. That’s heart chakra combined with the sacral/creative chakra. That’s adding pink and gold to the green.
Notice the water/sacral chakra element that pink and gold empowers?—Cutting loose of inadequacy and frustration, letting go of old patterns, releasing fears. Working on one energy center will always affect the others. So by adding the pink and gold vibrations/energies we empower not only the heart and sacral chakras but the whole chakra system.
How about you? Looking for a way to boost your chakra energies? Try adding the attributes of pink and gold. Adding color to the palette always affects the other colors. Working on one energy center will always affect the others. Happy color blending!
Breathwork and Visualization:
White/Pink Bubble Technique:
This technique is good to use when you are feeling vulnerable. My “meditation to go” section suggested visualizing surround yourself and others in white light. This section suggests adding pink into your life. This technique can be used with either color! You choose!
1. Assuming you’re not in immediate danger, prepare yourself with deep breathing.
2. Visualize yourself completely surrounded by a big white or pink energy bubble that extends six to twelve inches away from your body. Feel yourself being cleansed of negative energy and protected from any negative energy around you.
3. You can also visualize the bubble around another person, place, or situation.
Source: Color Energy. How Color Can Transform Your Life—Cristina Bornstein and Anthony Gill
Affirmations:
- I totally and unconditionally love and approve of myself at all times.
- I trust in my own perfection.
- I am good enough to have what I want.
- It is safe to have life easy and pleasurable.
- I allow abundance and prosperity into my life.
- I trust the Infinite Intelligence to give me everything I need for my growth
and development. - I love who I am exactly as I am.
- I am grateful for the joy of being me.
- I trust the process of life.
- I love myself exactly as I am right now.
- I am adequate at all times to do that which is required of me.
- I love who I am.
- I am willing to love everything about myself.
- I trust in love.
- I open my heart to love.
- I forgive myself
- I forgive those who need forgiving for not being what I wanted them to be.
- Love is the purpose of my life.
- Love is everywhere.
- I open myself to the healing powers of love.
- I follow the path of the heart.
- I delight in sharing my joy.
- Joy is my reason for living.
Sources:
The Book of Chakras, Ambika Wauters.
Diet and the Heart and Sacral Chakras: For the heart chakra add green—green tea, green leafy vegetables, green herbs like basil, coriander, marjoram, oregano, parsley. And remember to add pink—apples come to mind. For the Sacral Chakra to balance the body’s water element add lots of water! Also add fruits and vegetable juices.
Aromatherapy and the Heart and Sacral Chakras: For the Heart Chakra try jasmine, rose, bergamot, and lavender among others. For the Sacral Chakra try frankincense, jasmine, clary sage, and patchouli, among others.
If aromatherapy interests you, I use Young Living Essential Oils™ which are therapeutic, food-grade oils. Please inquire if you are interested in purchasing a favorite scent and I can add your request to my personal monthly order. Essential oils raise the vibrational frequency of the body. When the vibrational frequency of the body drops, we become more receptive to ill health: http://justalist.blogspot.com/2008/03/vibrational-frequency-list.html. Therapeutic-grade essential oils are great to have in your arsenal of health promoting natural products.
Gem therapy and the Heart and Sacral Chakras: Gemstones amplify the energy when placed in contact with your chakras. For those of you unsure on this subject, consider that it’s scientifically proven that everything is energy. Nothing is really solid. Why wouldn’t the energy of a stone work effectively with the energy in our bodies just as some research speculates that the energy of computers, cell phones, and microwaves may affect our bodies? At the very least, I find that holding a favorite stone is like a talisman for me, or a “worry stone”. As my favorite author, Wayne Dyer, likes to say, “If it’s a placebo effect, I’ll take two”.
Heart Chakra gems: Rose Quartz (add pink!), Diamond, Peridot, Malachite, Green Tourmaline, Boji stone, among others.
Sacral Chakra gems: Carnelian, Tiger’s eye, Onyx, and Citrine among others.
If gem therapy interests you, you can find a great selection at www.crystallinelight.com. I’ve known Jennifer, the owner, for many years and love her products!
Yoga poses for stimulating the Heart and Sacral Chakras:
All yoga poses are essentially grounding and activate the chakras. Heart chakra poses include the Highlighted CD’s focus, Hanumanasana/monkey pose. Also try back bends that open the heart center area like camel pose and bow pose among others. Bridge pose is also a back bend to try which also works with the sacral chakra.
This month’s highlighted pose, extended side-angle stimulates sacral chakra. Other sacral chakra poses include fish pose, butterfly/cobbler’s pose, and pelvic tilts, among others.
