A brief overview of the Chakras

This Spring session focuses on the Chakra System and how it relates to the Gunas.  You've probably all heard of the Chakras, but what in the world is a Guna?  

Chakras are centers of consciousness -- 7 are widely accepted as the main ones and they run up the spine and past the top of the head and they represent 7 states of consciousness.

The Gunas are three qualities of prakriti (nature which always changes): 1) tamas (darkness), 2)rajas (light) and 3) sattwa (clarity).  The gunas govern our emotions and relate to the chakra system.  

For now, let's go over the chakra system in general.  There are (conveniently) 7 weeks of class ahead of this session and each week we'll focus on a chakra.  The 7 chakras are Muladhara (Root); Swadhishthana (Abdomen); Manipura (Navel); Anahata (Heart); Vissudhi (Throat); Ajna (Eyebrow Center) and Sahasrara (Crown of the Head).  Chakras are spinning vortexes of energy vertically stacked within the center of the body and receive, integrate and transmit energy from consciousness to the physical body.  

Each chakra specializes in managing the energy of a specific area of human experience (survival, sex, power, love, communication, imagination and spirituality) and there are layers of other correlations to each chakra in the realms of gemology, color, elements, herbs, planets, secondary chakras and foods, to name a few.  There is also a correlation with the 3 Gunas -- Tamas is dominant in chakras 1 & 2; Rajas in 3 & 4 and Sattwa in 5 & 6.  The 7th chakra is beyond Prakriti and the changing world and is the realm of Parusha, the Soul, which is universal, infinite and beyond space and time.   

There is a tremendous body of knowledge around chakras, but we are interested in them as a framework for experiencing life with greater clarity and awareness.  By acknowledging each aspect of ourselves; activating and clearing our energy centers with techniques from the yogic tradition and visualizing the energy centers dynamically interconnected, we take a step toward connecting from this physical world (of change, aches and pains, ups & downs; Prakriti) to the realm of Parusha and connection to infinite source and joy.  This connection is at the philosophical heart of yoga -- the whole goal is to unite with the divine -- to remember our true nature and merge in oneness with source.

Just a few major ideas and philosophical tenets to digest in here, aren't there?  A good start, I hope.   Send any questions or comments my way.  Yoga is a spiritual practice.  It is not a religion, but should support you in any religious beliefs you have.  The key word is practice -- on the mat we practice observing, moving and mastering energy and that begins to shift our experience of life right away and informs our view of the world.

Hari Om.  Om tat sat.

Spring Session: March 31-May 23, 2009 The Chakras and The Gunas

I am back from India and so glad to be home in Viroqua!  What a time I have had -- 14 plane rides; many pilgrimmage sites with incredible energy and intense images searing my psyche; incredible lectures from Panditji who truly is an extraordinary thinker and yogi of our time; a jarring phone call from home revealing my father-in-laws passing my first week in India; profound conversations with my husband; a long trip home across 12 time zones and 4 nights; a short home reunion and a trip to New Mexico for John's funeral and a sacred trip to the beautiful canyon where he fell and died in my husband Matt's arms; a week home alone with the kids reconnecting with them, routine and home life; and just this past weekend an integrating, healing weekend with my teacher, Yogarupa Rod Stryker.

And today, the first class of the Spring Tapestry Yoga Session.  How wonderful it is to be back.

There are a hundred things (at least) to blog about, to catch up on, to delve more deeply into.... There are many days to put those words together.  For now, the most pressing is this class session for Spring: Class times remain the same -- Tuesdays 8:30-10:00 am; Wednesdays 6:45-8:30 pm and Saturdays 8-9:30 am.  March 31- May 23.

The theme of this session is The 7 Chakras.  Focusing on 1 chakra per week, we'll explore the 7 energy centers of the body and their relationship to the Gunas --  the qualities of energy that govern our emotions and our perception of life. Tantra Yoga is an energy management scheme with many techniques and tools to help us shape our experience of the world so that we live in it with greater clarity, mindfulness, courageousness and joy.  Each week I will sequence the class to connect with the energy of one chakra in particular culminating in a short meditation to bring the balanced, positive energy of the energy center more consciously into our awareness.  We will also integrate all 7 energy systems along the sushumna nadi; the central channel in the spine through visualization and sound.  By the end of the session we'll know the names of each chakra, their main energetic vibrations; their bija sound; their corresponding Guna (and the gunas themselves); the three maha bandhas to seal energy in the body; and explore several meditation focal points and several pranayamas.  We'll be busy, for sure.

My adventure in India and the intense shake-up in my family life were a profound opportunity to face the greatest hurdles life can throw at you.  Seven years of yoga practice prepared me to face the challenge of it all with equanimity and a sense of connectedness to source; to my family 12,000 miles away, to my father-in-law on the other side; to clarity and a deep sense of expansive joy and light.  Returning home after all this reminds me of the value of a regular practice; how deeply an understanding of the deeper practices beyond asana allow us to manage the fluctuations of life; and a deep knowing that energy is everything.

So, let us come together and have fun with this ancient wisdom and apply it practically to the mundane day to day so we are ready for the twists and turns we inevitably face.  Soon, I will announce a day for my India Feast to complete my pilgrimage and bring the energy of Kamachya home to my kula, my community here.  

With deep love and respect,

Kathy