You Become What You Think You Are

The path to success or achieving a goal is never easy. Every task or goal has its unique challenges and roadblocks. Merle Miller says: “Everyone has his burden. What matters is how you carry it.”
 Quotes of people who have achieved monumental success in different walks of life serve as a source of inspiration and help in keeping us in good stead. Despite repeated failures and all sorts of adversities, they never gave up hope and continued to work hard with the ‘never say die’ spirit. Showing a positive attitude during stressful times at any point of time in our life will make a big difference. 
Why do negative thoughts hold sway at times?  Swami Sivananda says that   uncontrolled thoughts render the mind weak as a result of which negative thoughts dominate. If you carefully observe your thought patterns, you will find that many thoughts are inconsistent. The mind wanders at random aimlessly. There will be some thoughts of household issues, some thoughts of   bank balance, some of eating and drinking, some of going to a movie, and so many others. 
It has often been observed that when you are absorbed in studying a book at 7 pm the expectation of pleasure at watching a cricket match on TV at 8 pm distracts your attention every now and then. When it is time to meditate, one thinks instead of sleep, and when the head nods one dive into bed and starts snoring and that is the end of meditation!  The will is thus buried. Paramhansa Yogananda says that   man’s brain is full of ‘cant’s’ which have to be cauterized in order to be successful in life. You have within you the power to accomplish everything you want; that power lies in the will.
It is therefore of paramount importance that one  should analyse dispassionately  one’s  thought patterns for at least fifteen minutes every day,  preferably early in the morning. Introspection will tell us that each of our habits creates a specific ‘groove’ in the brain and that these patterns make us behave in a certain way, often against our wish. However, through the practice of concentration and meditation, one can neutralise the dictates of these bad habits by creating thought patterns of good habits.
For example, thoughts of hatred and anger should be controlled by generating thoughts of  forgiveness, mercy and nonviolence;  thoughts of pride and  arrogance   should  be eradicated  through  inculcating thoughts of humility and a down-to-earth attitude;  greed and possessiveness should be dispelled by pursuit of  magnanimity,  contentment and non-covetousness; jealousy and meanness should be replaced with thoughts  of love and generosity; and, above all, delusion and infatuation are  best  overcome by constant Self-inquiry and developing the power of discrimination.

Aristotle says: “The energy of the mind is the essence of life. It is our attitude which brings in thoughts and shows us the true outlook of life. Lots of patience is required to maintain a positive attitude. One must remember that we become whatever we think. So, we must give everything to prevent negative thoughts replacing positive thoughts”.  

Indeed, it has been rightly said: “As a man thinketh, so he becometh”!

To Change....

The companions, the relationships, the work, the ideas, and the beliefs and the dogmas that we hold have produced a monstrous world, a world of conflict, misery, and perpetual sorrow. We accept it as normal condition, we put up with it day after day; we never inquire into the necessity, the urgency of a revolution that is neither economical nor political but much more fundamental.

 

No inquiry is ever possible when the mind is tethered to any kind of dogma, tradition or belief. The difficulty is not that we are not capable of inquiring, not that we are incapable of investigating, but we are apparently totally incapable of letting things go, putting things aside and therefore with a fresh mind, with a young, innocent mind, looking at the world and all the appalling things that are taking place in it.

Only when you can destroy completely everything that you have held sacred or right or virtuous that you can find out what is truth.

 

If one has observed sufficiently the things that are happening – not only mechanically, technically, but also in our relationships between people – when one observes that progress throughout the world is denying freedom, the strength of society in which the individual has completely ceased to be, and how nationalities are dividing themselves more and more, one will see that some kind of deep revolt must come about.

Society controls our minds, shapes our hearts, our actions, whether you live in a communist, Hindu or Christian world. Society with its structure shapes the mind of every human being, consciously or unconsciously. The culture in which we live – the traditions, religions, politics and education –past and present, shapes our thought. And to bring about a complete 

 

We are concerned with bringing about a different action, mind, a different entity as a human being; and to go into that profoundly, we must not be slaves to words.

Society is relationship. And that social structure, as it is now, is based on ambition, greed, envy, seeking power, position, prestige, and all the things that man has set up as being extraordinarily significant in life. That is the actual fact – not your gods, not the Gita, not your guru, not your saints and saviours, but the daily life in which you are, which is your ambition, your greed, your envy, your pursuit of power and wealth and position which you want. And, without altering that radically, without breaking down the whole system, you cannot have a religious revolution. 

 

A religious revolution is not concerned with reaction at all. It is concerned with dealing with a fact and destroying that fact; that is, being aware that our relationship, our social structure is based on this extraordinary sense of values – on ambition, greed, envy – and destroying that completely in ourselves, to tally, wholly eradicating it. That is the beginning of a religious revolution – not the pursuit of an idea, which you call God.

You need a new mind because a new world has to be created – not by politicians, but by you and me who are just ordinary average persons, because it is we that have to change completely, it is we that have to being about a mutation in our minds and hearts.

 

It is only when the mind is completely quiet, free of conflict – it is only then that the mind can go very far into the realms that are beyond time, thought and feeling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lotus Of Kundalini Shakti

Swami Vivekananda, among the foremost disciples of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa, was of the view that each soul is potentially divine and the purpose of meditation is to manifest this divinity within through awakening of the dormant Shakti or power, kundalini. In his ‘Raja Yoga’, Swami says, “Rousing of kundalini is the one and only way to attain divine wisdom, super conscious perception, realisation of the spirit”. Why did he attach so much importance to rousing of kundalini to attain Self-realisation?

Shakti, in the process of manifesting as Brahmanda or Universe, divides herself into two polar aspects -- static and dynamic. This implies that any given sphere of activity would have its corresponding static background. In the human body too, which is referred to as kshudrabrahmanda or microcosm, the same polarisation can be observed.  Mahakundalini, in Supreme form is at rest in the highest spiritual centre in the sahasrara or brain, coiled around and one with Shiva-bindu.   Then, by her own free will, she begins to uncoil herself in order to manifest.  As she continues to uncoil, the tattvas and the matrikas emanate from her. She first creates mind and then matter and goes on uncoiling until earth or prithvi, the last of the tattvas, has been evolved.

After having created prithvi, earth, Shakti again assumes static form, meaning thereby that at muladhara or root-support, the seat of prithvi tattva, Kundalini is at rest as the residual power -- the power that is left over after the process of creation has been completed. Just as mahakundalini coiled around Shiva (before manifestation) is static potential, similarly, the kundalini power  in each body is the power at rest or the static centre round which every form of existence as moving power, revolves. 

The tattvas mentioned above are embedded in the body in a subtle form, within the sushumna which in yogic terminology are referred to as chakras. The first five chakras, namely, muladhara, swadhishthana, manipura, anahata and vishuddha, are centres of the five tattvas -- earth, water, fire, air and ether respectively. The sixth chakra, ajna, is the seat of the mind.  From each of these radiate thousands of yoga nadis, conduits of pranic force, in different directions.  Swami Vivekananda says that among these, only three nadis are of prime importance, namely

ida associated with moon that ends up in the left nostril, pingala associated with sun that ends up in right nostril and sushumna, the hollow passage that runs through the spinal cord and ends in brahmarandhra, the tenth opening in the brain.  At the lower end of the hollow canal is what Swamiji calls ‘Lotus of the Kundalini’. 

The purpose of arousing the dormant kundalini, says Swamiji, is to get the prana out of ida and pingala and make it enter sushumna, the hollow passage. Through regular practice of meditation and pranayama and by leading a chaste life, the mass of energy stored in muladhara begins to travel along the sushumna with tremendous force, being drawn to the other static centre in the sahasrara.  In the process,  the chakras get pierced and considerable amount  of  ‘ojas’ or sexual energy gets  transmuted into spiritual energy and gets stored in the brain, enabling the seeker to experience the vision.   

Finally, says Swamiji, when the awakened kundalini unites with Consciousness at sahasrara, the summit, the seeker enters the sublime state of nirvikalpa samadhi wherein he experiences infinite bliss and “the full blaze of illumination, the perception of the Self”.  

Understanding The Shiva Mythology

This vast emptiness which we refer to as Shiva is a boundless non-entity that is eternal and always, since human perception is limited to form, we created many wonderful forms for Shiva in tradition and culture. The enigmatic, non-perceivable Ishwara; the auspicious Shambho; the disarmingly naïve Bhola; Dakshinamurthy, the great master and teacher of the vedas, shastras and tantras; the easily forgiving Ashuthosh; Bhairava, the one tainted with the very blood of the creator; absolute stillness, Achaleshwara; the most dynamic of dancers, Nataraja – as many aspects as there are to life, that many aspects have been offered to him.

Generally, in most parts of the world, anything that people refer to as divine is always referred to as good. But if you read through the Shiva Purana, you cannot identify Shiva as a good person or a bad person. He is everything – he is the ugliest, he is the most beautiful; he is the best and he is the worst; he is the most disciplined, he is a drunkard. Gods, demons, and all kind of creatures in the world worship him. So-called civilisation has conveniently eliminated all those un-digestible stories about Shiva, but that is where the essence of Shiva is. Completely contradictory aspects of life have been built into the personality of Shiva. Such a complex amalgamation of all qualities of existence has been placed in one person because if you can accept this one being, you have crossed life itself. The whole struggle with life is we are always trying to pick out what is beautiful and what is not, what is good and what is bad. You will not have a problem with anyone if only you can accept this man who is a complex amalgamation of everything that life can be.  

In the Shiva Purana stories, you will see that the Theory of Relativity, Quantum Mechanics – the whole of modern physics – has been very beautifully expressed. But somewhere along the way people dropped the science and just carried the stories, and the stories were exaggerated from generation to generation to a point of being absolutely ridiculous. If you put the science back into the stories, it is a beautiful way to express the science.

The Shiva Purana is the highest science of elevating human nature to the very peak of consciousness, expressed in beautiful stories. Yoga has been expressed in the form of a science without stories attached to it, but if you look at it in a deeper sense, yoga and the Shiva Purana cannot be separated. One is for those who like stories, another is for those who are willing to look at everything scientifically, but the fundamentals of both are the same.

Shivoham

From Distress To De-Stress

Stress is a disease of 21st century. Everyone seems to be in stress- from child to a retiree. The only time you are free from stress is when you are inactive. So you look for long weekends and holidays to escape from stress. The moment activity begins mental agitation returns. Vedanta speaks of your birthright  as a human being to combine dynamic activity with perfect serenity of mind. Then perfect action emerges.  You are successful and happy.

What disturbs the mind? You believe a bad boss, nagging spouse or the weather causes you grief. The truth is that nothing in the world can disturb  you except yourself. Stress is defined as mental turbulence caused by unfulfilled desires. As long as a desire remains unactualised you will be in stress. Yet desire is being recklessly fueled and people are in stress.

Unbridled desire  makes you unhappy. When desire is fulfilled you want more and the greed leads to defussion. Fulfilled still further, you are envious of those who have more then you and arrogant towards those who have less. If desire is obstructed the thought flow going from you to the object of desire gets deflected towards the obstruction. This is called anger. All this creates a lot of misery and tension.

Unrestrained desire prevents enjoyment. A person obsessed with money can never enjoy his money. He has the best that money can buy but he is so stressed that he doesn't enjoy any of it. Desire puts you on a collision course with others which prevents you from having meaningful relationships. And desires forces you to compromise your values. When you cross the line set by your own conscience you become a slave of your own weaknesses.

Rampant desires unsettles the mind. The mind rambles to the past and future, unable to concentrate on the present. This leads to failure. When the intellect holds the mind on the present action without allowing it to meander to past worries or future anxieties you are concentrating.The moment a desire is fulfilled your attention shifts to something else you do not have. Thus you no longer enjoy what you have. Lastly, the mind gets attached to what you have. The Law is - attach you lose, detach you gain. Possess and enjoy the world but never get bound to it. Wherever there is attachment the interaction becomes painful and in the end you lose the object. Hence desire is your greatest enemy. Yet this very enemy you pamper, nourish and encourage.

Vedanta says desire obstructs your gaining the object of desire. A person obsessed with marriage finds it difficult to find a partner. A man lusting after money does not gain it. When you rise above desire and work for something beyond, the object of desire comes to you. Then you can enjoy it thoroughly with a calm mind.

So what is the way out? The first step is to manage desire with intellect. If the intellect approves, go ahead and fulfill the desire without fear or guilt. But if the intellect vetoes it, keep away. This gives relief. The next step is desire reduction by upgrading desires. Pick up a higher desire. The lower one drops. Finally, when the lure of the Infinite grips you, all desires vanish.
You are in Bliss.        

Setubandha Asana

Position of Readiness

Lie on your back with your arms at your sides, palms facing downward. Bend your knees, bringing the soles of your feet close to your buttocks. Look straight up. Breathe normally.

Steps

Bring up the squeeze and press your pubic bone upward. Allow the pressing to lift your hips and the waist upwards while keeping the shoulders and the feet on the floor. When the hip has been raised upwards, support it with the palms on both sides.
Raising the waist upwards as high as it can be raised without strain with the support of hands. Interlace your fingers and press your hands toward your feet, walking your shoulder blades closer together. Allow your chest to open. Keep breathing normally. Retain this position for 6 to 8 seconds.
Now start lowering the hip towards the floor while still supporting the body weight on the palms, but do not let the body drop on the floor. Bring it down slowly. When the hip, the waist and the back are on the floor put your palms on the floor on both sides of the body. Stretch out the legs on the floor and rest for two to three normal breaths
After resting for a few seconds repeat the asana by following the same process as you did during the first round.
 

Daily Practice
Initiate with four rounds daily during the first week gradually increase to maximum 6 rounds.

Benefits
Sethu Bandhasana or the bridge pose increases flexibility and elasticity of your body. It mainly strengthens the lower back and abdominal muscles and opens the chest. 
It is strongly recommended to people suffering from pain either in any part of the spine or in the hip joints. It has curative and corrective effects on the disorders of the shoulder joints, neck, arms and the palms. So it creates flexibility in the spine, removes wind and gastric troubles, and corrects respiratory disorders.
Calms the brain and helps alleviate stress and mild depression 
Stimulates abdominal organs, lungs, and thyroid 
Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause , Rejuvenates tired legs, Relieves menstrual discomfort when done supported .
It reduces anxiety, fatigue, backache, headache, and insomnia 
From a medical point of view, it acts efficiently on the parasympathetic nervous system from the sacral area. The parasympathetic system ensures the control of the genital and urinary organs.

Note

Persons suffering from Neck injury, lumbar spondylitis should consult yoga expert.

The Cat-Cow pose

	STEP 1: Start on your hands and knees. Position your hands directly beneath your shoulders and your knees directly beneath the hips. Have your fingers fully spread with the middle fingers pointing straight ahead. Make your back horizontal and flat. Gaze at the floor. This is your "neutral" position. When your pelvis is in neutral, your spine will be at full extension, with both the front and back sides equally long.
	STEP 2: As you wait for the inner cue, do not sag into your shoulders. Instead, create a line of energy through each arm by pressing downward into your hands and lifting your shoulders. Go back and forth like this several times to make sure you understand the movement.
	STEP 3: When you are ready to begin, breathe in deeply. As you exhale, turn your hips into "Cat Tilt". Do this by gently pulling the abdominal muscles backward toward the spine, tucking the tailbone (coccyx) down and under, and gently contracting the buttocks. Press firmly downward with your hands in order to stay lifted out of the shoulders, and lift the middle of your back toward the ceiling, rounding your spine upward. Curl your head inward. Gaze at the floor between your knees.
	STEP 4: As you inhale, turn your hips into Cow Tilt. Do this by releasing the grip of the buttocks, reversing the tilt of your pelvis, and curving your spine into a smoothly arched backbend.

This posture can remove fatigue, improve breathing, improve circulation of blood to the brain, and rejuvenate the entire body. You can also improve by bending the elbows and lowering the forearms to the floor.

This posture is not advised to people with recent injuries on their back, hips, arms or shoulders. People with high blood pressure must consult their doctors first. 

Warning: We encourage everybody to try and practice each Yoga Pose by yourselves at home or in the office. However, if you are feeling uncomfortable or are not able to complete a posture, do not push yourself. Yoga Exercise is not a competition, so just relax and try again. Nonetheless, it might be helpful to actually sign up for some class where a professional teacher will guide you through each yoga pose and make sure you are doing the exercise correctly. 

Sarvangasana

Posture: Sarvanga-asana  The Shoulder-stand Pose Translation: The Sanskrit word sarvaanga means limb or body.sarvanga therefore translates as either "all-limb" or "whole-body posture". It is so named because of the benefit it provides to the entire body. It is commonly referred to as the "shoulder-stand" because one is essentially standing on one's shoulders. Pronunciation: sar-vong-ah-sa-na Difficulty: (5) "As inumerable cups full of water, many reflections of the sun are seen, but the sun is the same; similarly individuals, like cups, are inumerable, but spirit, like the sun, is one." The Shiva-samhita I.35 II.42-43. The Shoulder-stand Pose (Sarvanga-asana ) Instruction: 1 Lie flat on the back in the shava-asana. 2 Inhale through the nostrils. Place the palms face-down on the floor. Keeping the hips on the floor, bend the knees and bring them up toward the stomach while exhaling. 3 Inhale slowly through the nostrils, press down on the hands and lift the torso from the waist up off the floor, arching the spine backwards and straightening the arms. Keep the hips on the floor. 4 Inhale, then while exhaling, raise the legs straight up perpendicular to the floor. You may support your hips with your hands or leave the arms flat on the floor, whichever is most comfortable. 5 The legs should be together with the knees straight and toes pointed straight up. Keep the head straight without turning it to either side. The chin should be pressed against the chest. 6 Breath gently through the nostrils while the posture is held. 7 Reverse the steps to return to the shava-asana. Comments: The sarvanga-asana is considered by many to be the most beneficial of all yoga postures. Because of its many benefits, if you find that your time is limited in the course of Yoga practice at home, it is recommended to place special emphasis on the sarvanga-asana.When performed in the morning thesarvanga-asana relieves fatigue caused by sleeping too much or too little and when practiced in the evening it helps to promote deep, restful sleep. It strengthens the back and helps to relieve lower back pain. The increased blood flow to the head and upper body helps to heal many disorders such as headaches, nasal congestion and sore throats. The entire endocrine, digestive, nervous, and venous systems of the body are stimulated in ways that no form of diet or conventional exercise can perform. Because the body is inverted a rich supply of oxygenated blood is sent to the organs and glands in the upper part of the body, such as the brain, thyroid and pituitary, and heart thereby stimulating them. Pressure is relieved from the lower body extremities relieving pain and/or swelling of the feet and legs. The sarvanga-asana also provides great benefit to the abdominal organs helping to relieve gas and constipation and stimulate digestion. Regular practice of this posture invigorates the mind and helps to calm the nervous system. Durations/Repetitions: Hold the sarvanga-asana anywhere from one to five minutes depending on comfort. Repeat the posture two or three times. Variations: There are two common variations to this posture. One is called theshalamba-sarvanga-asana. Sa means with and alamba means prop or support and refers to the use of the arms to support the legs and torso as they are inverted. The other variation is called the niralamba-sarvanga-sana. Nir means without and thus this variation is done without the support of the arms. Who should not perform this Asana? I f a person has ear problem like pus in the ears or a person suffers from epilepsy or if he suffers from cervical spondylosis, that person should not perform Sarvangasana. Those who have high myopia should also not perform this asana. It is advisable that children under age of 12 years should not perform this asana because thereby their natural growth may be held up.

All About Chakras.

 

What Are Chakras?

Chakras are our energy centers. They are the openings for life energy to flow into and out of our aura. Their function is to vitalize the physical body and to bring about the development of our self-consciousness. They are associated with our physical, mental and emotional interactions. There are seven major chakras. The aura is often referred to as the eighth chakra. The first chakra (root) actually hangs outside of your body. It is located between your thighs, about halfway between your knees and your physical body. The seventh chakra (crown) is located on the top of your head. The remaining chakras, (sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, and third eye), are aligned in sequence along your spine, neck, and skull. Individually, your chakras look similar to funnels with petal-like openings. Chakras are invisible to the human eye, but they can be perceived intuitively by trained energy workers.

Introducing the Seven Major Chakras

In the next seven features we will be focusing on each individual chakra. We will talk about the colors associated with each chakra, learn the physical location of them, explore what purposes they serve, discover which physical dysfunction's are associated with each chakra, learn what types of information is stored in each of the chakras, etc. This should prove to be an educational and enjoyable journey.

Root Chakra.

The Base or Root Chakra is associated with the color red. This chakra is the grounding force that allows us to connect to the earth energies and empower our beings. Focusing one's attention on the color of a cherry popsicle or a juicy red apple can help bring our energetic body "down to earth" and in alignment with our physical body when we find ourselves energetically fleeting or in other words....."Spacing off."

Chakra One - Associations

·                        Color - red

·                        Sanskrit Name - muladhara

·                        Physical Location - base of the spine

·                        Purposes - kinesthetic feelings, movement

·                        Spiritual Lesson - material world lessons

·                        Physical Dysfunctions- lower back pain, sciatica, varicose veins, rectal tumors, depression, immune related disorders

·                        Mental and Emotional Issues - survival, self esteem, social order, security, family

·                        Information Stored Inside Root Chakra - familial beliefs, superstitions, loyalty, instincts, physical pleasure or pain, touch

·                        Area of Body Governed - spinal column, kidneys, legs, feet, rectum, immune system

Sacral Chakra.

The Sacral Chakra is associated with the color orange or red-orange. I usually visualize the Sunkist orange that has been dyed to attract the produce buyer, or the orange red of an evening sunset when I'm focusing on spinning my second chakra. This chakra often offers us the opportunity to lessen our "control issues" and find a balance in our lives, teaching us to recognize that acceptance and rejection are not the only options in our relationships. The process of making changes in our life stream through our personal choices is a product of second chakra energy. A well-functioning second chakra helps one to maintain a healthy yin-yang existence.

Chakra Two - Associations

·                        Color - orange

·                        Sanskrit Name - swadhisthana

·                        Physical Location - lower abdomen to the navel

·                        Purposes - emotional connection

·                        Spiritual Lesson - creativity, manifestation. honoring relationships, learning to "let go"

·                        Physical Dysfunctions- low back pain, sciatica, ob/gyn problems, pelvic pain, libido, urinary problems

·                        Mental and Emotional Issues - blame, guilt, money, sex, power, control, creativity, morality

·                        Information Stored Inside Sacral Chakra - duality, magnetism, controlling patterns, emotional feelings (joy, anger, fear)

·                        Area of Body Governed - sexual organs, stomach, upper intestines, liver, gallbladder, kidney, pancreas, adrenal glands, spleen, middle spine

Solar Plexus Chakra.

The Solar Plexus Chakra is associated with the color yellow. This is the area which defines our "self-esteem". The personality that develops during puberty is housed in this chakra....otherwise known as the "EGO". Anyone experiencing dysfunction of the third chakra is having difficulty obtaining or maintaining his/her own "personal power". This intuitive chakra is where we get our "gut instincts" that signal us to do or not to do something. Strong self-esteem is a required for developing intuitive skills.

Chakra Three - Associations

·                        Color - yellow

·                        Sanskrit Name - manipura

·                        Physical Location - solar plexus

·                        Purposes - mental understanding of emotional life

·                        Spiritual Lesson - acceptance of your place in the life stream. (self-love)

·                        Physical Dysfunctions- stomach ulcers, intestinal tumors, diabetes, pancreatitis, indigestion, anorexia/bulimia, hepatitis, cirrhosis, adrenal imbalances, arthritis, colon diseases

·                        Mental and Emotional Issues - self esteem, fear of rejection, oversensitivity to criticism, self-image fears, fears of our secrets being found out, indecisiveness

·                        Information Stored Inside Sacral Chakra - personal power, personality, consciousness of self within the universe (sense of belonging), knowing

·                        Area of Body Governed - upper abdomen, umbilicus to rib cage, liver, gallbladder, middle spine, spleen, kidney, adrenals, small intestines, stomach

Heart Chakra.

The Heart Chakra is associated with the color green or the color pink. This love center of our human energy system is often the focus in bringing about a healing. Thus, the words "Love Heals All" have great truth. Hurtful situations that can affect our emotional being are divorce or separation, grief through death, emotional abuse, abandonment, and adultery. All of these are wounding to the heart chakra. Physical illnesses brought about by heartbreak require that an emotional healing occur along with the physical healing. Learning to love yourself is a powerful first step in securing a healthy fourth chakra. The "wounded child" resides in the heart chakra.

Chakra Four - Associations

·                        Color - green, pink

·                        Sanskrit Name - anahata

·                        Physical Location - center of chest

·                        Purposes - emotional empowerment

·                        Spiritual Lesson - forgiveness, unconditional love, letting go, trust, compassion

·                        Physical Dysfunctions- heart conditions, asthma, lung & breast cancers, thoracic spine, pneumonia, upper back, shoulder problems

·                        Mental and Emotional Issues - love, compassion, confidence, inspiration, hope, despair, hate, envy, fear, jealousy, anger, generosity

·                        Information Stored Inside Heart Chakra - connections or "heart strings" to those whom we love

·                        Area of Body Governed - heart, circulatory system, blood, lungs, rib cage, diaphragm, thymus, breasts, esophagus, shoulders, arms, hands

Throat Chakra.

The Throat Chakra is associated with the color sky blue. This chakra is our will center. The healthfulness of the fifth chakra is in relation to how honestly one expresses himself/herself. Lying violates the body and spirit. We speak our choices with our voices (throats). All choices we make in our lives have consequences on an energetic level. Even choosing not to make a choice such as in repressing our anger (not speaking out) may manifest into laryngitis. We have all experienced that "lump in our throats" when we are at a crossroad of not knowing how to speak the right words in any given situation, perhaps even stuffing our own emotions. A challenge of the throat chakra is to express ourselves in the most truthful manner. Also to receive and assimilate information. Seek only the truth.

Chakra Five - Associations

·                        Color - blue

·                        Sanskrit Name - vishuddha

·                        Physical Location - throat, neck region

·                        Purposes - learning to take responsibility for one's own needs

·                        Spiritual Lesson - confession, surrender personal will over to divine will, faith, truthfulness over deceit

·                        Physical Dysfunctions- sore throat, mouth ulcers, scoliosis, swollen glands, thyroid dysfunctions, laryngitis, voice problems, gum or tooth problems, TMJ

·                        Mental and Emotional Issues - personal expression, creativity, addiction, criticism, faith, decision making (choices), will, lack of authority

·                        Information Stored Inside Throat Chakra - self-knowledge, truth, attitudes, hearing, taste, smell

·                        Area of Body Governed - throat, thyroid, trachea, neck vertebrae, mouth, teeth, gums, esophagus, parathyroid, hypothalamus

Brow / Third Eye Chakra.

The Brow Chakra is associated with the color indigo. It is also often referred to as the third eye or the mind center. It is our avenue to wisdom - learning from our experiences and putting them in perspective. Our ability to separate reality from fantasy or delusions is in connection with the healthfulness of this chakra. Achieving the art of detachment beyond "small mindedness" is accomplished through developing impersonal intuitive reasoning. It is through an open brow chakra that visual images are received.

Chakra Six - Associations

·                        Color - indigo

·                        Sanskrit Name - ajna

·                        Physical Location - center of the forehead

·                        Purposes - action of ideas, insight, mind development

·                        Spiritual Lesson - understanding, reality check point, detachment, open mind

·                        Physical Dysfunctions- brain tumors, strokes, blindness, deafness, seizures, learning disabilities, spinal dysfunctions, panic, depression

·                        Mental and Emotional Issues - fear of truth, discipline, judgment, evaluation, emotional intelligence, concept of reality, confusion

·                        Information Stored Inside Sacral Chakra - seeing clear picture (symbolic or literal), wisdom, intuition, mental facilities, intellect

·                        Area of Body Governed - brain, neurological system, eyes, ears, nose, pituitary, pineal glands

Crown Chakra.

The Crown Chakra is associated with the color violet or white. We use the seventh chakra as a tool to communicate with our spiritual nature. It is through these vortices that the life force is dispersed from the universe into the lower 6 chakras. It has been referred to as our "GOD SOURCE" - but this terminology might be confusing to anyone who equates God with religious dogma; because of this I choose to call it a spiritual connection or communicator. This chakra is often pictured as a lotus flower opening to allow spiritual awakening in an individual. The crown chakra could also be considered the well intuitive knowing is drawn from.

Chakra Seven - Associations

·                        Color - violet, white

·                        Sanskrit Name - sahasrara

·                        Physical Location - top of head

·                        Purposes - intuitive knowing, connection to one's spirituality, integration of the whole

·                        Spiritual Lesson - spirituality, living in the NOW

·                        Physical Dysfunctions- mystical depression, diseases of the muscular system, skeletal system and the skin, chronic exhaustion not associated with physical ailments, sensitivity to light, sound, environment

·                        Mental and Emotional Issues - discovery of the divine, lack of purpose, loss of meaning or identity, trust, selflessness, humanitarianism, ability to see the bigger picture in the life stream, devotion, inspiration, values, ethics

·                        Information Stored Inside Crown Chakra - duality, magnetism, controlling patterns, emotional feelings (joy, anger, fear)

·                        Area of Body Governed - top center of the head, midline above the ears

Simple Chakra Exercises (Chakracises)

1.                Crown Chakra Exercises - Chakracise your crown chakra through prayer or meditation.

2.                Brow Chakra Exercises - Chakracise your brow chakra with visualization, remote viewing, and lucid dreaming.

3.                Throat Chakra Exercises - Chakracise your throat chakra by gargling with saltwater, singing, or screaming.

4.                Heart Chakra Exercises - Chakracise your heart chakra by doing push ups, swimming (breast stroke), and hugging yourself.

5.                Solar Plexus Chakra Exercises - Chakracise your solar plexus chakra by dancing (do The Twist, hoopla hooping, and belly dancing).

6.                Sacral Chakra Exercises - Chakracise your sacral chakra with pelvic thrusts and circular pelvis movements.

7.                Root Chakra Exercises - Chakracise your root chakra by stomping your feet upon the ground, marching, and doing squats.

8.                Aura Cleansing Exercises - Chakracise your aura by cleansing it by showering, soaking an Epsom salt bath, smudging with sage wand, or deep cleansing breaths.

Foods that Fuel Your Chakras

When you think about your chakra system you probably aren't considering the types of foods that you consume. Because our chakras are energy vortexes and invisible to most of us one might well imagine that chakras would thrive on energy, prayer, or other such spiritual stuff... you know, those things that we can't see with the human eye. However, the chakras cannot sustain our human body without our help. It is important to feed and nourish the flesh in order to help support and fuel our chakras. Whenever one or more of your chakras is misaligned you might do well to look and see if you are not eating or possibly overeating the foods that fuel that particular chakra.

Chakra Foods

Check out the foods under each of the seven primary chakras below to help you determine how your current diet might be deficient or over-indulgent. We can do our part in helping bring balance to our chakras by eating a balanced diet.

Feeding Your Root Chakra

Grounding

·                        Root vegetables: carrots, potatoes, parsnips, radishes, beets, onions, garlic, etc.

·                        Protein-rich foods: eggs, meats, beans, tofu, soy products, peanut butter

·                        Spices: horseradish, hot paprika, chives, cayenne, pepper

Feeding Your Sacral Center

Nourishing the Sexual/Creativity Center

·                        Sweet fruits: melons, mangos, strawberries, passion fruit, oranges, coconut, etc.

·                        Honey

·                        Nuts: almonds, walnuts, etc.

·                        Spices: cinnamon, vanilla, carob, sweet paprika, sesame seeds, caraway seeds

Feeding Your Solar Plexus Chakra

Boosting Self-Esteem and Encouraging Self-Love

·                        Granola and Grains: pastas, breads, cereal, rices, flax seed, sunflower seeds, etc.

·                        Dairy: milk, cheeses, yogurt

·                        Spices: ginger, mints (peppermint, spearmint, etc.), melissa, chamomile, turmeric, cumin, fennel

Feeding Your Heart Chakra

Healing Emotional Hurts

·                        Leafy vegetables: spinach, kale, dandelion greens, etc.

·                        Air vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, squash, etc.

·                        Liquids: green teas

·                        Spices: basil, sage, thyme, cilantro, parsley

_{Heart Chakra Soup Recipe}

Feeding Your Throat Chakra

Speaking One's Truth

·                        Liquids in general: water, fruit juices, herbal teas

·                        Tart or tangy fruits: lemons, limes, grapefruit, kiwi

·                        Other tree growing fruits: apples, pears, plums, peaches, apricots, etc.

·                        Spices: salt, lemon grass

Feeding Your Brow Chakra

Awakening Third Eye Senses

·                        Dark bluish colored fruits: blueberries, red grapes, black berries, raspberries, etc.

·                        Liquids: red wines and grape juice

·                        Spices: lavender, poppy seed, mugwort

Feeding Your Crown Chakra

Opening and Clearing the Spiritual Communication Center

·                        Air: fasting / detoxing

·                        Incense and Smudging Herbs: sage, copal, myrrh, frankincense, and juniper 
Incense and smudging herbs are not to be eaten but are ritually inhaled through the nostrils or can be smoked through a ceremony pipe for purification purposes.