Monday, May 4, 2009

5th chakra and Sattwa

This Week (6): The Fifth Chakra, The Vissudha Chakra. The Throat Chakra, The Meaning Chakra
Location: Throat -- Behind Larynx
Basic Right: The Right to Speak and Hear Truth
Bija Mantra: So Hum
Celestial Body: Mercury
Color: Bright Blue
Developmentally: 6 - 10 Years
Element: Space and Sound
Goals: Clear Communication, creativity, resonance
Guna: Sattwa
Major Psychological Life Area: Communication
Malfunction: Sore throats, stiff neck, poor communication
Plane: Total evolution in will-power and strength
Sense: Touch
Yoga Path:  Mantra Yoga
Yantra: Mauve petals with a dark Well, white shines up from the bottom

Wow, week 6 and the 5th Chakra -- we are more than halfway through and moving up to the higher realms.  Panditji says that if you get established in the first four you have a life well-lived.  Anything above the 4th chakra is rarified territory.  Well, let's talk about it and seek an experience of it.

We have been focusing on the 3 Gunas (Tamas, Rajas and Sattwa)-- the attributes; qualities that pervade our human experience.  They correspond to the chakras and Sattwa corresponds to the 5th and 6th chakras.  Sattwa is Being, Purity, Ease, & Light.  Sattwa is the Mission of Yoga -- to get a more clear and accurate perception of the world and what the world offers.  The goal of all spiritual traditions is to shine light so that we can see and be seen.

One way to look at these three gunas is that when mired in Tamas it is dark and we cannot see.  So we increase our light, do things to see more clearly through Rajas and finally, when we shine enough light into the darkness we can see -- resting in the purity and clarity of Sattwa.
Once you can see, you are awake and can see what's possible and take your destiny, your dharma into your own hands, realizing that, "I am the creator of my circumstances."  The reason we want to see more clearly is to have more choices and choose the more pleasant and joyful path.  You have to SEE the path first in order to choose it, of course.  Through Sattwa we choose the easy path that will make us happy in the long run.  

Emotionally, the three gunas play out very differently.  If you are in Tamas, you might withdraw and go into a state of paralyzed, inert, self-destructive behavior.  If in Rajas, you generally look outside yourself to place fault -- on the stock market or your partner, planning punishment or melodrama.  But when Sattwa reigns, common sense prevails and quickly the mind assesses, "What am I supposed to learn from this?  What do I need to do?"  You are able to examine the situation and react from a place of steady centeredness.

Whatever guna is dominant (activated) dictates our thoughts and reactions.  Our reaction is predetermined by whichever Guna is activated -- so how do we move into Sattwa -- establish ourselves in relation to Sattwa?

The practice this week to build Sattwa will focus on the Throat Chakra -- Vissudhi (which means pure).  In terms of asanas, a key piece is to do inversions to encourage the energy to move to the throat and head.  We'll also do laterals to lengthen the side body and effectively move the energy upwards; twists to balance all the energy; and extensions to create vertebral length and open the body and clear vision.  

The breath to focus on will be Sama Vritti (Equal Waves Breath-- the inhale and exhale the same length).  In the process of doing this breath, any areas that are out of balance reveal themselves -- if the inhale is longer than the exhale, if the beginning of the breath is catchy or flimsy, the breath will reveal it's tendencies and our job is to bring it mindfully even.  

The bandha that is new this week is Jolandhara Bandha at the throat -- you simply lengthen your neck with upper spine to keep energy from rising above the collar bones where it could activate your intellect (not the goal in yoga) -- or you can drop your chin to the breast bone -- either way you gently seal the energy at or below the throat.  

Meditation is all about the witness -- observing the mind.  Passively watch stream of thought and not get involved with what thinking (this is the essence of Sattwa).  A powerful way to anchor the mind is first to get established in circular breathing (sama vritti breath with no pauses) and then to begin Mantra - to hear the eternal vibration and align with the sounds -- the streams of Consciousness that point us to divine presence.

All this establishes us in Sattwa -- we practice aligning with Sattwa so that when the stuff of life inevitably hits the fan we can shift into Sattwa and navigate our way through it very mindfully and Consciously -- making the wisest most astute choices for all.

Hari Om.  Good night.
Kathy


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