Blissful Body Yoga and Wellness: Chakra

Showing posts with label Chakra. Show all posts

Monday, April 6, 2009

The Subtle Body, An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy

BOOK REVIEW

The Subtle Body, An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy, by Cyndi Dale.

I've been interested in the study of subtle energy systems since I was a young girl. My father used to do a form of Polarity Therapy on my legs whenever I got a leg ache, I started meditation at the age of five, yoga at age ten, etc., so a deep understanding that these energy systems exist has been a part of my paradigm for as long as I can remember. As a result I have accumulated a lot of books on these subjects. I have books on the chakras, Shiatsu, Polarity Therapy, Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, Reflexology and many more. The Subtle Body, An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy could replace a whole stack of them!

They put the word "encyclopedia" in the title for a reason; at 487 pages this book covers all the major energy systems I have been exposed to, plus a few I knew nothing about (you can take a peak at the table of contents here.)

The book is well organized and filled with clear and detailed color illustrations and extremely useful reference charts. Author, Cyndi Dale does a great job not only outlining complicated subjects that range from modern physics concepts, to acupuncture and the chakras, but also illuminates the deep interconnectedness of these different ways of understanding our "Subtle Universe." As a yoga teacher this is an awesome reference book to keep on-hand in my studio, and I think it would be incredibly useful for anyone studying or working in fields that deal with the subtle energy systems.

So, if you've been looking for a few great books on Sacred Geometry, Tibetan and Hindu chakras , Chinese, Ican and Cherokee energy systems, Shiatsu, Reflexology, Kabballah, Auyurveda and color and sound healing, save yourself some money and bookshelf space and pick up this book where you will find all of those subjects and many more.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cyndi Dale has been a natural intuitive since young, and offers these gifts to clients and groups seeking to make real and positive change.

Cyndi is an internationally renowned author, speaker, healer, and business consultant. Her books to-date include bestselling New Chakra Healing, now published in over ten languages, and Advanced Chakra Healing, The Four Pathways Approach; Attracting Prosperity Through the Chakras; Attracting Your Perfect Body Through the Chakras; Advanced Chakra Healing Heart Disease, Advanced Chakra Healing: Cancer, The Littlest Christmas Star, and Illuminating the Afterlife.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Asanas at the Kitchen Sink

I often hear the lament from my yoga students, "I have so little time for practice!!" Believe me, I understand, I never feel like I have enough time for sadhana; and practice is the most important element of Yoga. We can read a hundred books, go to lots of workshops, but unless we practice every day, progress will not take place.

So, one thing I have done in my own life that I would suggest, is to look for opportunities for practice in the activities of your daily life. The "have tos", like washing the dishes, doing the laundry, picking up a child, sitting at your desk, are all opportunities to bring Yoga's principles of strength, balance and focus into practice in your daily life. Yoga is all about mindfulness, so when we bring awareness into our actions and movements, moment to moment, we are "practicing," and expressing yoga, in the very fullest sense.

Here are some examples from my daily life, that you can bring into yours:

Tadasana at the kitchen sink: while you are standing and doing the dishes, notice your body position. What are your feet doing? How are your shoulders articulated? Where your pelvis? Press your feet firmly into the ground so that you can feel all four sides of your feet making contact with the earth. Take a deep breath as you do this, and feel the rest of your body rise up out of the firm base. Continue to elongate though your crown chakra (top of your head). Notice also your feelings about this activity. Do you feel rushed? Irritated? Acknowledge however you feel, and then, if your feelings are hurried or negative, see if you can bring them in a more positive direction with mindfulness. Just do what you are doing. Just do the dishes. And savor every minute detail of this activity.

Uttanasana and hair dryer: ...no, seriously...you'll love this one. Most women (and some men) that dry their hair with a hair dryer lean into a forward bend so their hair will hang down and they can dry underneath. This is a great time for uttanasana (standing forward bend!) Again, begin building your posture from the ground up: press your feet into the ground, feel all four sides of your foot; feel the energy move up from the earth into the legs, and create a circular inward rotation of the thigh bones to make more space in the sacrum. Take care how you move in this posture as you are drying your hair, bend the knees a little or don't come forward so far if the movement and weight of the dryer make this posture awkward and straining for your back. Let your back stay long and light.

Sukhasana wherever you sit: any where you sit, and whether you sit cross-legged, as in the posture sukhasana (easy pose), or with the feet on the floor as you sit in the chair, you still need to employ the same basic postural elements. The next time you are sitting in your chair at work come forward on the seat a bit so that your feet are flat on the floor and you can feel your sitz bones firmly against the seat. In the sitting position your sitz bones are your base, so press them firmly against the seat, as you would push your feet firmly against the floor. Notice how this immediately causes your torso to lengthen, your shoulders to drop and your neck to elongate. This will give you the same open line of energy from the base of your spine, through the crown of your head, and the same openness in the rib cage for breath to move, that we cultivate in all the sitting asanas.

There is no substitute for cultivating a vigorous, and focused Yoga practice in our lives, but bringing our awareness of how the postural components of Yoga asanas translate into the everyday movements of our lives, can add a whole new dimension to our practice.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Awesome Kundalini Yoga DVD

Jai Bhagwan my beloved. A quick post for you this morning.

If you've been reading this blog you know I am a huge fan of Kundalini yoga (Kripalu actually comes from this lineage, Swami Kripalu was a major Kundalini Yoga practitioner.) I encorporate a lot of it into my teaching, and I practice many kriyas as part of my sadhana every morning. When I want to take a Kundalini class and can't get to one, I do this DVD:

Chakra Yoga for Mental Clarity (1998)

Starring: Gurutej Kaur Rating:

Format:

It is SOOOO great and only 60 minutes long. The exercises completely clear and balance my energy and always set me on the path for a great day. I was feeling so tired and scattered this morning (results of a poor night sleep, because my poor Michael has got a terrible cold and was tossing and turning like mad) and now I feel focused and 100 % better.

Give this one a try, you won't be dissapointed.

Sat Nam, Sat Nam, Sat Nam

GIVEAWAYS!