Don't Be A Barnacle

Before I tell you WHY you shouldn't be a barnacle, know that you're getting a double post this week, as I finish this cycle of talking about chakras, and how they can help guide your practice.

First a cheater - this was last weeks:

Chakra #6 of 7

I'm leaving you with simple words on this Saturday - the first of the new year.

Health is not hype. 
Its not something you can read in a magazine, or buy in the right pair of exercise pants, or get on an app. Health is a practice, its the way we see ourselves, the choices we make every day (or week... some days you just gotta get the Ben and Jerry's pint and eat the whole damn thing). Its the pits we fall into and then how we choose to either be thrown by them, or find a way - maybe a new way - to get out of them.

Your health is only yours to own and to practice. And with the freshness of the new year, this can be a great time to make an effort in that direction, whatever that means for you. This is what yoga has given me time and time again. Yoga is the the thing I can count on no matter what to treat me well, give me space, and help me find the light.

Change in unavoidable, but choosing to evolve with the change is easy to avoid. And that's why we have community, trial and error, and ultimately, ourselves.

Tomorrow we welcome the new year with a brief description of Ajna - the 6th Chakra which helps us observe the inner and the outer as a witness, an observer. It is a great place to start the new year and attempt something new without beating ourselves up for what we have done, or not done, before.

And now  Chakra #7 of 7

We're at the top, folks! The crown of the head, the point in the body where we no longer exist only physically, but where we start to understand a sense of greater connection - that we really are all a part of something larger than ourselves. I don't mean to get all Avatar on you guys (though I will completely admit to being a cheeseball about how much I LOVE this movie), but truly the challenge in accepting that we are a part of a larger unit is attachment. 

And enter the CROWN CHAKRA - SAHASRARA. This is the place where thought ceases, and is taken over by the sensations of peace, bliss, serenity, joy, and a feeling of the deeper meaning of life. The challenge of realizing these sensations is that they are just that - sensations. You can think about it, you can't muscle your way into it with logic - it is a letting go of our logical need to put it in a box, to control. You have to allow the thoughts to go, and the feelings to take over, and this is not an easy task. 

Do you see why I say don't be a barnacle? Not to sound like such a stereotype, but you gotta just let go...man.  Tee hee. This is why we breathe. It's why we practice being in our bodies and get out of our minds. There is value in unplugging, allowing the brain time to rest and not be in a state of work, and damnit if this isn't a huge tool towards greater happiness, and health. Which is kiiiiiiiiind of the point. We're all working on this together, one big happy (amongst other emotions) humanity. 

Yoga with Calley at Yoga Garden Minneapolis:

Sundays @ 10:00am - Abbreviated Ashtanga (great for beginners!)

Your Heart is Waiting

Well, kids - we're technically only half way there on this Chakra series, but in terms of my motivation for the series...

We've ARRIVED! Your HEART is waiting!

I started thinking about all this as the Holidays came sneaking upon us back in November, and it started because the Holidays are all about giving and receiving love. So I thought it appropriate to mention our heart center, where we conceptualize love...

But before there is access to this central point of our nervous system (literally, this is where your spinal cord connects with all the nerves around your heart and thoracic region), in yogic thinking and approach to the body, we start with the ground / root / bottom and work our way up. The chakras all line up with different energetic points along the spinal chord. So three weeks ago we had Muladhara the root chakra at the base of the spine, governing the basic survival functions. Two weeks ago was Svadhisthana the sacral chakra in the abdomen governing the reproductive organs and pleasure. Last week was the Manipura solar plexus chakra located on the soft spot of our bellies above the naval and below the breastbone, governing our digestion and sense of self and personal power.

And so we've gone from our primal selves... to our ability to reproduce.... to our basic sense of "self" as intelligent creatures. And now we come to our power and ability to love. To give love and receive love. The heart Chakra Anahata.

As I have said more than once, I believe this is where we start to to designate ourselves from our friends and relatives the animals.

We have the ability to feel compassion, and love, and empathy. 

We can give and receive love as long as our previous three chakras are being well taken care of. Being able to give and receive love freely is a tricky thing, because it requires that we are taking care of ourselves enough to have enough reserve to give away. Love is not wearing a white dress, or getting a gift, or even spending time, if that is all done without being willing to freely give our love away with no expectation. This is our privilege as humans. It is not what we are owed. It is what we are lucky enough to experience.

Sooooooo, get ready to open up some FEELINGS on the mat this morning ya'll. I can't wait :)

Yoga with Calley at Yoga Garden Minneapolis:

Sundays @ 10:00am - Abbreviated Ashtanga (great for beginners!)

Bandhas, breath, chakras, sex organs?

I've always kind of enjoyed being that friend / relative / person who says the thing that you're not supposed to say because its sooooo unCOUTH. But see, that's the thing with yoga - its supposed to be about dealing with real feelings, emotions, physical characteristics, etc. no matter what they are. Its good to unbutton every once and a while in life. (Hey, if we can adopt "It's 5:00 somewhere," we can use the word procreation when talking about yoga - especially around the holidays when its getting nice and cold outside... and everyone is warm inside... yeah you get it.)

So on that note, this Sunday in class (12/7/2014), we'll briefly talk about the second chakra - SVADHISTHANA, or the LOWER ABDOMINAL / SACRAL CHAKRA - which means "dwelling place of the self," and is directly governed by - you guessed it - the sex organs. It's also about emotions, sociablity, and movement.
Why talk about this? Welll...

READ LAST WEEK'S POST

Yoga with Calley at Yoga Garden Minneapolis:

Sundays @ 10:00am - Abbreviated Ashtanga (great for beginners!)

Getting Your HEART Ready for the Holidays

I've been thinking a lot this week about the true meaning of the "holiday season" in our culture. We all know that the grinch's heart grew three sizes when he figured out that its not about greed, but about love. We all know that having our loved ones and/or family around us is the ROOT (alluding, alluding...) of what this time is supposed to be about. But the thing is, there's a few other elements tied in with these concepts of love: Expectation - a byproduct of the human experience; & Consumerism - a byproduct of capitalism.

Now, obviously can't get rid of either of these other factors - nor should we worry that its necessary. If yoga is about anything, its about finding balance, health, and happiness with the truth in front of you, whatever that may be. But often, the thing we forget in this season, is that can't nobody feel the love, if you
A) are doing it begrudgingly; and
B) have not been careful to take care of your own needs and heart.
Its easy as pie to get wrapped up in what you want, what your mother wants, what your partners' mother wants, what your boss wants, and then there's all the stuff.... gifts, decorations, baking, parties... we forget that a very important part of the pie is L O V E. So, for the next four weeks in my blogs and Sunday class, we'll be gearing up and getting you prepped to give and receive the love, unleash the power of BREATH, and get your body, mind, and heart ready with some tools to make it all happen.

Ok it's TERMS time.  If you don't care about the terms, skip down to the next fun colored section.

This is a timely little project, as I was just thinking its about time that I mention to my class the importance of both the bandhas, (or energy centers, often most easily thought of as a muscle group for starters) and the controlled breathing aspect of yoga, called pranayama. Which got me thinking how the heart center is activated by the breath. Which made me realize, well, if we're focusing on getting the heart ready for the holidays, I should talk about the heart chakra.  Except that the chakras (which are considered energy "wheels" or circles in constant motion which govern different parts of body functions and how they interact with the outside world) are "realized" from the bottom up, meaning its best to start with number one, get a concept of what the freakin thing is, start to feel it and think about it & understand its importance in life and health, and then move on up to the next chakra.

And wouldn't you know it -- the heart chakra is the 4th chakra, and there are four weeks till Christmas, and five weeks till New Years, and the fifth chakra is at the throat, which governs the intake and release of air. And when thinking of the throat region in terms of Vayus, which is another concept of how air and breath move through the body - the throat Vayu (called conveniently the Pranic Vayu) governs all the rest of the vayus, or air, throughout the body. Oh the circle of life. 

AND SO!  For the next four weeks - we'll spend a few minutes at the beginning of each class activating and getting familiar with the bandhas, practicing controlled pranayama, and thinking about how these help us to realize our chakras, one at a time, all the way up the heart (for loving yourself and others), and the throat, which is the access point for the breath, and source to facilitate allllll the other stuff.

So!  Tomorrow is the ROOT CHAKRA called MULADHARA. It means "foundation," influences the excretory and reproductive organs, and is ruled by the element of Earth.

Come to class over these next four weeks, and get ready to TREAT YOUR HEART WELL, so that you are goooood and ready for the holidays :)

I found this beautiful 

painting of Muladhara from 

California artist 

Jennifer Mazzucco!

Yoga with Calley at Yoga Garden Minneapolis:

Sundays @ 10:00am - Abbreviated Ashtanga (great for beginners!)