VEGAN YOGA as Medicine

A M E R I C A’S L E A D I N G S O U R C E F O R C O N S C I O U S L I V I N G
FREE
healthy living • healthy planet
Alexandra Paul
on the Joys of
VEGAN
ACTIVISM
YOGA as
Medicine
GREEN
Stadiums
Research Proves
Health Benefits
Major League
Sports Lead
the Way
The Fun of
FREE PLAY
Kids Thrive in
Unstructured Settings
photo by Melissa Schwartz
September 2015 |
Broward County, FL | NABroward.com
Chakra Wisdom: Energy Centers of
Transformation
by Yogini Rina Ishwari
T
he chakra system was developed in India between
800 and 188 BC, and according to the yogi sages, each
chakra represents an aspect of
living, maintaining balance and
progression that mirrors human
evolution. Nowadays, the word
chakra is no longer foreign as
more and more people become
familiar with energy healing
modalities and yoga.
The focus today is on one of
the most important chakras—the
fourth or the Heart—Sanskrit
name, Anahata, meaning unstruck, the principle of equilibrium, with a yearning to find
unity, Self-acceptance away
from duality and social identity,
moving inward to a deeper, meditative
state, understanding the deeper connection with Self-loving and Spirit, joyful expansion through the element air.
Excessive characteristics of the
heart center: co-dependency, poor
boundaries, difficulty concentrating.
Energetic deficiency of the heart center
is isolation, feeling lonely, sad, bitter
and critical of self and others.
The goal is to keep balance,
cultivating the aspect of compassion.
The fourth chakra is the integrator of
opposites in the psyche: mind and
body, male and female, persona and
shadow, ego and unity. A healthy heart
chakra allows one to love deeply, feel
compassion, and have a deep sense of
peace and centeredness.
Learn forgiveness through relationships: love, compassion, dissolution
of the ego. Acknowledging the state
of consciousness you are in right now
will allow you to feel/find unity. Work
at a daily discipline of meditation practice—your own sacred space—which
will upgrade your personal development and your trust in the Universe,
the attributes of God as Light, deepening connection with Self I AM, cultivating not only individual but global
32
Broward County, Florida
peace, unity and balance.
Yoga practices: opening the chest,
breath pranayama, poses including
chest openers, shoulders, back bends.
Be aware if you encounter excessives:
co-dependent for love (deficient),
closed heart, fear of intimacy, judgment. Applying the Universal spiritual
law—as above so below—your world
will mirror your inner development, as
you gift yourself the rights to receive
love and be loved.
Centering Meditative
Exercise
Three simple steps to activate heart
center.
1. Close your
eyes, ask for guidance to bring
single-pointed light
of radiance to your
heart center.
Let the breath
flow in as a luminescent beam of light.
Now, intake breath
starting from the root
chakra and on up the spinal column
as far as it will ascend (aim for crown
chakra), and then down the spine to
NABroward.com
the root chakra. Do 5 to 10 rounds,
as needed, to get the energy flowing
unimpeded.
2. Inhale love, feeling the heart
pulsating with joy. Exhale Light up to
third eye, quieting the mind.
3. Inhale spiritual heart, exhale
global peace. Now, inhale from your
heart, and on the exhale, focus on
third eye chakra (point between the
eyebrows), pulsating the energy of
that command center, Sanskrit name,
Ajna chakra. Affirm, “I am open to the
wisdom within. Om, Om, Om.” Maintain silence and meditation as long as
possible.
All are invited to
meditate in the cave of the
Guru—The Heart. Listening
to the wind, wind chimes
or stringed instruments like
the cello or violin activates
this center. Visualizing the
opening of a rose is linked
to this center. Emotionally,
this involves transformation,
where the symbolic hexagram or Jewish star represents the prana in the chest region.
Pranamaya kosha, the second
sheath of consciousness, “Sheath of
Vital Air”, supports all mental and psychic energy and individual consciousness. As the prana maintains the life
force in the cellular body, the energy
merges with the three humors (doshas)—vayu, pitta, kapha. Vayu, the air
element, works with the body through
the five ranas (energy life forces): Apana–intestinal region; Samana–stomach
region; Prana–chest region: Vyana–entire body; and Udana–head and throat
region. The yantra (sacred geometry)
six pointed star symbolizes the air element merging the union of male and
female energies representing Siva male
energy and Shakti feminine energy
motivated by love and the desire qualities of the heart, giving and receiving,
forgiveness and letting go mundane
experiences to validate qualities in
this lifetime for transformation from
the individual self to Universal Self or
ananda/bliss.
The color green with twelve lotus
petals is the transformation to spiritual
fulfillment, which moves as a four
directional wheel upward and downward. The symbol is sacred geometry,
composed of two overlapping, intersecting triangles representing Siva
and Shakti, motivated by love and the
desire for sharing.
Activating the Heart
Karuna-Compassion and
Bhavana-Intention
Air as the vital life force prana
aids function of the lungs to the heart,
circulating fresh oxygen and vital life
force energy. In addition to the heart,
the heart center represents the vertebral column or cardiac plexus, with the
element air getting in touch with all.
Kundalini practice: The Mangala
Charn Mantra surrounds the magnetic
field with protective light. Translated
into English: I bow to the primal wisdom. I bow to the wisdom through the
ages. I bow to the true wisdom. I bow
to the great, unseen wisdom.
This mantra brought me to an empowering experience meditating on the
heart, projecting the energy from heart,
sitting in easy pose with palms together
at the heart, thumbs crossed, chanting:
Ad Guray Nameh, extending arms
60 degrees
Inhale powerfully as the arms return to the Heart Center, and continue
extending them again, chanting Jugad
Guray Nameh, inhaling and returning
arms to the heart.
Sat Guray Nameh, repeating the
chant.
Siri Guru Devay Nameh, focusing
the mind on Source.
During my experience, the prana
energy in my heart felt like a cosmic
pulse, awakening the dormant energy
sheath of the plane of energy (pranamaya kosha), the lokas lotus planes
of perception. I saw the vastness of
the Milky Way. As the bija seed sound
(yam) vibrated in my heart, all physical body sensation disappeared, the
sense organ of anahata chakra became
nadam (unstruck), and I felt prana life
force in every cell, saw light and heard
Om, energetically accessing the plane
of balance or maha loka, as the ruling
planet Venus gave me the feminine
power of compassion. It felt like a
bubble of air burst open my heart, as
I repeated the Buddhist mantra, “Om
mani padme hum.”
According to one of my favorite
yogis, Sri Chinmoy, “A soulful heart has
discovered a supreme truth: To meditate on God is a privilege not a duty.”
Yogini Rina is an advanced
chakra yoga teacher, having trained
with Anodea Judith, Tod Norian and
Yogi Raj Alan Finger. She has been
teaching yoga for 16 years, including
her chakra wisdom workshops offered
at The Yoga Joint, Weston Yoga, Kate
Yoga, Jaya Dev teacher training and
Namaste Yoga Salon. As a Reiki Master
and Certified Healing Touch Practitioner for 20 years, she works on chakra
balancing, clearing, and uses doTERRA
certified pure therapeutic grade essential oils in her work. Attend her chakra
yoga classes, 10:30am, Tuesdays, at
Namaste Yoga Salon. For more information, visit RinaIshwari.com. See ad
page 51.
COMBINED EFFORTS
CREATE RESULTS
JOIN US!
How does your product, service or project
support our local or global community?
Be a part of our special
Working Together October Issue
To advertise or participate in our
next issue, call 954-630-1610
natural awakenings
September 2015
33