Fifth Chakra

The fifth chakra is located in the throat, and is called Vishuddha chakra.  It is associated with the ether, the color blue, and helps with self-expression, speaking your truth, identifying with others, purification, and self-fulfillment.

When this chakra is balanced, one might find a clear voice, healthy thyroid & thymus, good hearing, a clear throat and sinuses, good sleep and dreaming,  Also one might find the ability to transform negative experiences into wisdom and learning, ethical sense and ability to exert ethical choice, ability to speak up and/or listen as necessary, and honesty.

If it is imbalanced one might see thyroid imbalance, nose and throat issues, tooth decay, insomnia, weight problems, ear infection, and neck pain.  Emotionally, one might experience emotional insecurity, fear of others' opinions, inability to speak up or listen.

When this chakra is imbalanced one might try a pranayama technique of alternate nostril breathing to restore balance. One might also meditate on the mandala seen here.  Chanting the word "ham" might help as well.  It is said more like "hom". Physically, one might try the neti pot, gargle salt water, ear candling, singing, humming and neck rolls. For the asana that one might try to balance this chakra, try shoulderstand, fish, plow, or camel.

Blessings all,

Chess

Allowing ourselves to be human

I love to read, so I read A LOT of blogs throughout the week.  Lately, I have noticed a trend and decided I needed to write about it.  It seems that everyone is going through some rough times.  It happens.  We have ups, downs and some coasting throughout our lives.

The only real problem I see is that so many put a disclaimer on their articles that normally the writers are upbeat and happy, but they are having a rough time, so don't judge them on this one post.  It reminds me of the scene in How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days where Andie is sitting in a meeting with her boss and the whole team that writes articles for a women's magazine.  Her boss is talking about all the upcoming articles and describes each one as being informative and upbeat, or delving into a mysterious event and upbeat, or talking about tough issues and upbeat.  Notice that she always wants her articles to be upbeat.

It makes me sad.  We are so worried about being happy all the time, that we aren't allowed to be human. We aren't allowed to feel anything but guilt for feeling a little down right now.  And then because we all write and talk about being so happy, the people who are dealing with some difficulties feel like they are abnormal.  Like there is something wrong with them.

How about we allow ourselves to feel some of these feelings?  Humanity comes with it all, not just the good.  You have to have the good to compare the bad to, or you have this neutral place with nothing to live for.  Have you read or watched The Giver?  If not, I suggest you do, and then let yourselves be human.

Blessings everyone,

Chess

Body image and eating disorders part II

Earlier I wrote about the idea that maybe some of us feel like we are not heard or seen, so we eat to allow us to take up for space.  I went to a workshop the other night revolving around using Yoga to work through Trauma.

One of the concepts that came up really could apply to feeling like people don't hear us or see us. The idea is using certain powerful poses to make us bigger.  There is great research out there that suggests if we stand much taller, we feel more confident.  We are simply taking up more space, forcing people to take notice more.  A great video to watch is this one by Amy Cuddy.

So what poses can you use to make yourself feel better when you are having an insecure moment? Anything that will make you bigger.  Think Extended Mountain, Warrior I, II, and III.  Maybe some Triangle in there or a mini back bend from Extended Mountain, cactusing out your arms.  You can run through some Sun Salutations to work out the anxiety, to make you feel like you accomplished something.  There is a reason why you feel so good after an asana class.  You just spent a lot of time taking up space, making yourself more powerful.

Take some time and make yourself feel more powerful today.  Do some poses or think back to how many times you have survived some tumultuous times.

Bright blessings my friends,

Chess

Body image and eating disorders

I read an article about body affirmations that really got me thinking.  Before the author got to her list of body affirmations she uses, she spoke of her eating disorder history.  She had anorexia when she was younger, she claimed that she just wanted to disappear.  Now I know that that's not the reason for all people who have dealt with anorexia, but I wondered if the reverse were true.

Is it possible that some of us who eat more than we "should" feel like we are not seen or heard, and just want that, so we eat to make ourselves bigger?  I know some people claim that they gain weight because it creates a protective barrier, but what about the rest?

I admit that I am not a skinny chick, and that I eat more than I "should."  (I use "should" because that is based on what people think, not necessarily on anything else.)  I fight with my own body image at times, just like a lot of other people out there.  It's a byproduct of never feeling normal.  But then, am I eating so much because I want people to see the real me?

Just food for thought.

Namaste my friends,

Chess

Young Living Essential Oils

After a lot of thought, I decided to sign up with Young Living to sell their Essential Oils and other products. First, I wanted something to enhance my yoga classes.  I love the different smells you can obtain from incense, but I find the smoke irritates my throat.  Diffusing Essential Oils is a great way go bring in different scents, while not creating the issues I find.

I am just embarking on this journey, and have found them to be useful after a few days of use.  I love the scents and the benefits.  I know I have a long way to go, that my learning will probably never be done on this, but that is the same for teaching yoga.

If anyone is interested, please contact me and we can discuss the different oils and benefits, a different ways to obtain them.

Namaste,

Chess

Putting more power in our own hands

It can be difficult sometimes when we feel helpless and powerless, especially for those of us who are control freaks.  I've mentioned before that I have struggled with my weight, and maybe I've mentioned that I have Hypothyroidism.  I often feel sluggish, tired, overweight, etc.

While I don't advocate losing weight for vanity reason, health reasons are another matter.  My father-in-law has type 2 diabetes, and was hospitalized earlier in the year for severely high blood sugar levels.  That scares me a lot.  There have been studies that suggest it can run in the family.  My husband's mother also has type 2 diabetes.  The likelihood of my husband getting it is much higher than for some other people.  While my parents don't have it, I don't want to worry about getting diabetes.

Consequently, I have tried to eat more healthy, get more active, and try to lose some of this excess weight.  I have come a long way, from nearly 200 to 160lbs.  Maybe some of my sluggishness is due to carrying an extra 10, 20, 30 pounds around.  But, with my inactive thyroid, I often feel like I am fighting an uphill battle.  That no matter what I do, I will not be able to lose all this weight...EVER!

Nevermind the fact that I still make some poor food choices and drink far too many calories a day. Nevermind the fact that I have a desk job, and find it difficult to leave the office for more than a quick jaunt to the bathroom. Nevermind the fact that, aside from my belly dance classes or my yoga classes, I go home and sit on my duff at night.  "I'm just too tired to do anything," I say to myself, and cuddling on the couch with my dogs sounds like more fun.

I've been searching for new motivation in getting healthier overall, and I think I found it in a more unlikely place.  I was watching a business video where the woman said we have to change how we think about money to become successful, to give ourselves more power.  The example she cited was instead of saying "I can't afford that," change the phrasing to "I choose not to go into debt over this item."

Today I was linking that to eating better and losing weight.  Today I choose to forgo a mocha that is so very tempting, so that I don't go into debt more, money or weight.  Today I choose to take a brisk 1 mile walk on my 15 minute break, to work toward a healthier lifestyle.

Bright blessings my friends,

Chess

Making our own futures

After my yoga teacher training, I started teaching in a private studio with my own business model.  Spark of Life Yoga was my own little baby.  I tried also getting on at a couple of local studios, as I wanted more teaching and/or adjusting time.  One studio is now not offering classes and the second studio didn't have room for me.

I really want to teach beginners, and especially people who think that they can't do yoga.  I am not one to do crazy poses, I feel no need to do that.  I want to teach anyone I can that you don't have to be bendy in order to do yoga.

So what does this have to do with making our own futures?  I have decided to add a beginner yoga class to my schedule of classes.  The schedule opened up some so I am able to add this class on Wednesday nights. Despite a few closed doors, I am making my own doorway at this studio.  I hope you will come join me and make your own.

Bright Blessings,

Chess