Tag: health & wellness

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An Intro to Chakras – Overview

Today I am going to give a quick overview of the six chakras and sahasrara (the crown chakra) and then beginning June 3rd (we’ll take Memorial Day off) will begin going through each chakra one at a time.

In last week’s post I mentioned that Kundalini sleeps at the base of the tailbone and that when the chakras are activated, she rises, ultimately reaching the crown of the head.  It follows that the chakras are discussed from the bottom up.

The mandala of each chakra contains several elements:

  • One central Sanskrit syllable (or mantra) at the center and a varying number of lotus petals around the perimeter, each containing the symbol of a Sanskrit syllable.
  • A geometric shape representing an element.
  • The representation of an animal.
  • The representation of deities.
  • Various colors.  There are different interpretations of the colors of the chakras.  In the older works (Serpent Power, Jung’s lectures, etc.) the colors are very complex (ex: within one mandala one part is vermillion, another part is a smoky color and the animal is black) but in our modern interpretations they have been simplified into basic rainbow colors.

Today I will explain the location of each chakra with relation to the physical body and give a few key components of the symbolism of each.

Muladhara – the root chakra

Muladhara is referred to as the root chakra as it grounds us to our physical reality.  Its location in the subtle body is near the base of the tailbone – Kundalini sleeps below muladhara.  The element of the chakra is earth (grounding, foundation, root).  The mandala of muladhara includes a yellow square (symbolizing earth), an elephant, the syllable lam, and is surrounded by four petals. 

Svadhisthana – the chakra of creativity

The next chakra, Svadhisthana is found in the region of the reproductive organs and is considered the chakra of creativity (consider the proximity to where life is created).  Its mandala has six petals.  An eight-petaled lotus inside the mandala with a white crescent moon symbolizes water.  The mandala also contains a sea monster (sometimes referred to as an alligator) and the syllable vam.  This chakra is associated with unconsciousness and emotion and is closely connected to muladhara.

Manipura – the solar plexus chakra

Above svadhisthana is the power chakra of manipura.  Manipura is located in the solar plexus region (above the navel but below the diaphragm).  Manipura means “lustrous gem” and this chakra is associated with the element of fire. The mandala is surrounded by ten petals and contains a triangle shape (representing fire) as well as both the syllable ram, and a representation of a ram.

Anahata – the heart chakra

The word translates to “unstruck” which relates to the sounds of the celestial realm where there are no hard sounds, as well as “pure” referring to the state we achieve when we are able to become detached by activating this chakra.  It is associated with balance, calmness, and serenity. The anahata mandala is surrounded by twelve petals.  Inside, it contains two triangles creating a six-pointed star, the syllable yam, and an antelope.  The element of this chakra is air.

Vishuddha – the throat chakra

Vishuddha chakra is located in the region of the thyroid gland.  Sixteen petals surround this chakra’s mandala and within it is a sky-blue, downward pointing triangle that contains a white circle (representation of the full moon), symbolizing the element ether.  The mandala also contains a white elephant and the syllable ham.  Stress caused by the fear of speaking up can affect this chakra.

Ajna – the third eye

Associated with the pineal gland, the ajna chakra serves as our link to the subconscious and the brahman (the ultimate reality underlying everything).  Activating this chakra connects a person to her intuition. The ajna mandala is surrounded by two petals.  The seed syllable contained within this mandala is om, the primordial sound and most sacred of all syllables.  There is no element connected with this chakra, because by this point corporeal reality has been transcended.

Bonus chakra content: Sahasrara – the crown chakra (thousand-petaled lotus)

Sahasrara is included in the Description of the Six Centres, and in some interpretations is referred to as the seventh chakra.  This is the point at which Kundalini connects to the energy of the universe and pure consciousness is achieved.  Sahasrara is described as a 1,000 petaled lotus flower.  The petals are arranged 20 rows of 50 petals, so all of the 50 syllables of Sanskrit are repeated 20 times.

In the coming weeks, I will go through each chakra in more detail and get into Jung’s interpretations of the symbols in terms of archetypes.  I’m also going to work on finding some images of the mandalas that I can share with you.

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An Intro to Chakras – Preface

I had this idea that I would do a whole Health & Wellness Monday series on the chakras.  The chakras are a concept from Kundalini yoga that pertain to a series of energy centers within the body.  My intention was to introduce the concept one week, then elucidate a different chakra every week. I liked the idea so much that I decided to use the same topic as the subject of a speech for my Toastmasters club.  That is how I went down the rabbit hole of chakra/Kundalini yoga research which has been fascinating and has also put me way behind on my writing schedule.  At some point, its time to stop researching and just get down to it, so here we go!

The first thing that I found was that there was a great deal of interest in this subject among all sorts of different people who I know.  One friend mentioned that he thought that there was something in the air that made this idea have a lot of resonance with people at this time (hold that thought, we’ll be coming back to it in a bit).

As I mentioned, the term chakra describes a series of energy centers within the Kundalini yoga paradigm.  Kundalini yoga is a branch of yoga that comes out of Tantric philosophy.  In some usages, Tantra and Kundalini are used interchangeably to describe the style of yoga practice; however, Tantra refers to an entire subset of the Hindu/Buddhist cannon.

It is a rich tradition, full of iconography and symbolism.  It is also complicated, and the classical Tantric texts are intentionally opaque.  I’m going to try to strip things down as much as possible without simplifying the concepts too far.  You’ll have to let me know how I do.

Kundalini an aspect of the goddess.  She exists within everyone in the form of a serpent that is coiled three and a half times at the base of the tailbone, asleep.  The object of Kundalini yoga is to “activate” the various energy centers (chakras), waking Kundalini and allowing her to rise through the body, ultimately connecting an individual’s consciousness to the universe.

In the course of conducting research for my speech, I re-read a book called The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga by C.G. Jung.  This book contains the transcription of a series of seminars that Jung gave on the subject of Kundalini yoga in 1932.  Jung had already established his ideas on the collective unconscious and archetypes and reading the ways that Jung relates the concepts and symbols of the chakras to universal themes gets really interesting and overwhelming.  One point though did feel like a sort of life-line, when the way that Jung was explaining the chakras related directly to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (even though Maslow was much later).  I’m really interested in exploring this idea more after laying the groundwork by spending some time considering each chakra, I hope you’ll bear with me.

I’m listing the sources from my research so far here, but I will also tag references in future posts.

Sources:

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Got Hay Fever? Have you tried the Neti Pot?

Here is another health remedy from the strange-yet-effective file.

Have I told you before about how I went through that phase with terrible allergies?  About how I was miserable all the time and even gave up yoga? One thing that helped me survive that phase (and I continue to use now) is the Neti pot.

One day, I was watching random Oprah reruns and there was Dr. Oz.  He was promoting/demonstrating the Neti pot – a little tea pot style thing that you would use to wash out your sinuses.  Basically, you make a little bit of warm saline solution, then you pour it in one nostril, and it comes out the other.  You do both sides, then you are good to go.

I knew that saline solution could be helpful – I remember rinsing with salt water after getting my wisdom teeth out, it made sense that it could help flush and reduce inflammation in your sinuses.  It still seemed like it would be terrible.  But I was so miserable that I decided to try it.

I headed to Whole Foods where the nice gal in the health and beauty supply area knew all about it.  Her tip was to make sure that you really blow your nose well after you rinse.  Then I picked up a container of regular NON-iodized table salt and headed home to try it out.

And…

It was life changing!

Seriously, it really does help.

I became a Neti pot evangelist.  I would tell anyone with allergies to try it.  My sister always has terrible allergies and I really gave her the hard sell.  She wasn’t having any of it.  Finally, I told her that one day she would be so miserable that she would be willing to try it.  That day came and she has never looked back.  These days she is the one who reminds me to use my Neti pot when I start complaining about sniffles and sinus problems.

Here’s what you do:

  • Take your little Neti pot.  Here is an Amazon link to the one that I have.
  • Add ¼ teaspoon salt (non-iodized table salt).
  • Fill with warm but not hot water (should be close to body temperature).
  • Stir.
  • Lean over the sink (just a little, you don’t need to bend way forward) and tilt your head to one side.
  • Breathe through your mouth.
  • Put the spout against your top nostril and pour.
  • The water will come out your bottom nostril.
  • The package recommends using one pot-full per side, but I usually just do half-and-half.
  • After you’ve done both sides, lean over the sink some more.  After all the water has drained out of your nose, give it a good blow.

Few warnings:

  • Make sure that you are using processed water.  I use tap water, but if your municipal water supply is questionable, you might want to use bottled, distilled water.
  • If you are completely stuffed up, it won’t work.
  • If you use too cold or too hot water, it won’t feel good.  Shoot for water around body temperature.
  • If your sinuses are really unhappy, it might be a bit uncomfortable (like a slight burning feeling) but you will still feel good afterwards.
  • I also don’t recommend using it before going to yoga class or any other kind of exercise class when you will be bending over.  I’ve had surprise reminders that I just poured a bunch of water up my nose (drip!).

Let me know what you think!  Happy Hay Fever Season!

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Just Kidding! Happy April Fools’ Day!

Happy April Fools’ Day everyone!  I hope that your day is filled with shenanigans that everyone can laugh about when you get to the part when someone says, “just kidding!”

When I was working on my blog schedule and I saw today was April 1, I immediately thought that I would come up with some sort of practical joke for today’s post.  The more that I thought about it, I began to get this icky feeling.  What about X? No, what if someone actually tries it.  What about Y? That just seems mean.  What if I claimed that some big, hairy, audacious goal of mine had come true, and then at the end said, just kidding?  It seems counterproductive to turn a goal into a joke.  And so on.

Maybe I’m superstitious. I just couldn’t come up with something that I didn’t feel uncomfortable about putting out there into the universe.  And we all know how things can take on a life of their own on the internet.

So, I chickened out.

I’d rather use my energy to give the universe stories about kittens.  I don’t mind sharing my failed attempts at gardening or achieving a flat stomach.  And I have no compunction about giving lackluster productions a less-than-stellar review. Having fun and joking around is wonderful, but I just felt uncomfortable about trying to play a practical joke here.

Then, I decided to google “April Fools’ Day.”  The first thing that came up was an article about how Microsoft has banned pranks. In an article on The Verge, they report that a memo has gone out stating that, “the data tells us that these stunts have limited positive impact and can actually result in unwanted news cycles.”

Apparently, it’s not just me. Massive tech companies are trying to avoid pranks that could be taken the wrong way as well.  Why is it so hard to try to joke around these days?  Does no one have a sense of humor anymore?  Is it political correctness?  Or the culture of busy-ness?  People are likely to react first and think later, potentially blowing anything into a massive issue.

Once, many years ago, I instigated a harmless practical joke on my beloved boss.  We asked the receptionist to warn us when she was arriving, then left a ransom note on her desk and the entire staff absconded to the break room. Since she would arrive most days to a lively and productive workplace, the ghost town environment was unexpected to say the least.  Shortly, she arrived at the breakroom to find us all with bagels or doughnuts or something.

I don’t remember if this was before or after the time that she returned to work after knee replacement surgery to find that we had replaced her desk chair with a wheel chair, but she certainly seemed to take that joke in better humor than us pretending to have kidnapped her whole staff.  Probably because we were all diligently at our desks when she arrived to the wheelchair surprise.

I guess that the moral of this story is that if you want to play a practical joke on someone, know your audience and do it in a controlled environment, like in person as opposed to on the internet.

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Are You Recovering Today?

Well, yesterday was Saint Patrick’s Day, a day when everyone claims a percentage of Irishness (real or imagined) in order to justify indulging in beer (green or not), whiskey, corned beef, and wearing green.

So how did a day commemorating the arrival of Christianity to Ireland, become a drinking holiday?

Ah, ha!  Because Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking would be lifted for the day.  If Lent is your deal, then I hope that you made the most of St. Patrick’s Day because now Lent is back on.

Traditionally, St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated with religious services and feasts.  Modern celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day began as a way for the Irish diaspora to celebrate their heritage.  Eventually, it became a tourist holiday within Ireland and many of the practices common in international celebrations were adopted there.

What about the snakes?

It seems unlikely that Ireland ever had any snakes (too cold for reptiles).  At some point, the lore about Patrick’s efforts against the Druids (the Celtic professional class – spiritual leaders, healers, judges, and teachers) became his vanquishing of snakes from the island.  Poor Druids.

What’s the deal with shamrocks?

Three was a significant number in pagan Ireland.  It is speculated that this helped Patrick with his evangelical efforts – the legend is that he may have use shamrocks to help illustrate the holy trinity to the pagans.

Not an actual shamrock

Sunday Funday

This St. Patrick’s Day also happened to be Sunday Funday, a somewhat recent designation for Sundays spent brunching and partaking in other day-drinking activities.  The term first appeared in the Urban Dictionary in 2006 (what did we call it before then, just Sunday?). Sunday Funday traditionally should begin with mimosas (preferably bottomless) and/or Bloody Mary’s.  The objective is to party hard enough to pass out early enough to be fresh and ready to start your week on Monday morning.

So, my question for you is: are you recovering today?
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New Moon Sound Bath

My first experience with a sound bath was at a yoga class in downtown LA years ago.  During shavasana at the end of class, suddenly there was this incredible, roaring hum.  It pushed all of the random thoughts out of my mind and filled the now hollow cavity at the top of my neck.  It was amazing.

After class, I learned that the big gong in the corner wasn’t just for show, it was the source of this wonderful, mind-clearing noise.  I would make a point of going to that class even when I really wasn’t in the mood just to experience the gong at the end.

If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.  – Nikola Tesla

Last month I joined my dear bar (method) friends for a new moon sound bath event.  The organizers schedule these events to coincide with the moon cycles – either the new or the full moon.  I made sure to get myself on their email list so that I would always know when the next one is coming up and was so thrilled when they did it again last week.

The organizers are these really lovely women, Consuelo and Arvindjeet.  Consuelo leads us through the yoga postures at the beginning with her sweet, smiling voice.  When she speaks, she sounds like she is just so full of love and happiness for her fellow human beings that it can’t help but pour out of her.

Arvindjeet is very soft-spoken, but in a very grounded way.  She leads us through three oms with power and confidence and is responsible for all the sounds in the sound bath.

Side note: the practice of chanting om in yoga class has fallen out of fashion in recent years and I wish that it would come back into style, it really is centering and helps to focus the energy of the group.

The workshop begins with a bit of restorative yoga – just a few gentle postures held for a while, yin style.  Interesting things happen when you hold an easy, comfortable yoga posture like child’s pose for two minutes or longer.  The poses help work out some kinks, relax the body, and quiet the mind.  Then into shavasana for the sound bath.

Arvindjeet has these beautiful singing bowls, different chimes, this wonderful drum that sounds like rain, and an amazing gong that she will use to make different sounds.  It’s called a sound bath because the sound feels like it washes over you.  You don’t just hear the sounds, you feel vibrations all throughout your body.  Consuelo and Arvindjeet refer to the sound bath as, “giving sound healing.”  If you go back to what Tesla said about frequency, vibration, and energy, these sounds could be the keys to the secrets of the universe.

I know that I always feel different/better after one of these experiences.  Keep your eyes open for an opportunity near you and don’t be shy to check it out!

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Flabdominals Follow-up

Flabdominals (noun): flabby abdominals, particularly the kind that jiggle when participating in high-impact exercises and/or solicit congratulations on a person’s non-existent pregnancy.

A month ago, I wrote about my quest to vanquish my flabdominals. My daily exercise plan was not overly ambitious but potentially effective.  I’m sure that you are on pins and needles for a flabdominals follow-up. So, how did I do?

I have a six-pack of course!

Or not.  Sigh.

The blame doesn’t lie with the plan or the exercises.  It falls squarely on the execution.

What?  Am I telling you that I didn’t go from never doing ab work outside of exercise classes to doing it on my own, at home, on a daily basis?

Yes, that is exactly what I am telling you.  Sad, but true.

Things started off well.  The series that I had prescribed for myself was challenging but not overly strenuous.  It was quick but I felt like I had accomplished something when I was done.  All good things. 

One bonus benefit that I hadn’t expected was that it required more articulation in my spine than I was in the habit of doing.  Of course I had to engage my abs to do that.

The first five days were a piece of cake!  I was going to be un-flabdominal-ified in no time.  I was adding reps an feeling the exercises more deeply.  I felt like I was standing taller.  My shoulders were more relaxed because my core was more solid and they could relax on top of that.  This was going to be great!

And then…

I don’t know.

The bottom line is that I didn’t accomplish my goal.  All told, out of 28 days, I’m going to say that I did eleven days of abs.  Not even half. 

What now?  I could decide to tell myself that I’m a failure and give up on my quest to vanquish my flabdominals.  Why even bother?  I didn’t do it perfectly the first time.

Or, I could give myself credit for trying and acknowledge the difference that I noticed from just doing a little bit.  Something is not everything but it is more than nothing after all.  I didn’t do everything that I wanted to, but I did something and I noticed the difference.

This next month, I’m going to see if I can double that number.  I know that eleven days of ab exercises make a difference, let’s see what happens.

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Restorative Yoga

As I get older, I gain more and more appreciation for restorative yoga.

When I was younger it felt like a waste of time.  Why would I want to spend time relaxing in comfortable postures when I could be sweating?  I usually found myself spending those last few moments of class in shavasana (corpse pose, the traditional last posture of yoga class) thinking about what I was going to eat after I left.

In my previous post about yoga, I mentioned that I am more interested in doing less strenuous yoga these days.  I still like my regular yoga practice to include a good sweat and at least a few moments of “yikes!”  But I also have an appreciation for the occasional restorative yoga class.

My neighbor around the corner goes to the same gym as I do and one day we were chatting about our various workouts and the different yoga classes that our gym offers.  He mentioned that sometimes he likes to take this one restorative yoga class that uses lots of bolsters and blankets – it was like having nap time.  I admitted that I have fallen asleep in restorative yoga classes before.  One time I am pretty sure that I was snoring!

Usually restorative yoga classes will move through a few postures in a slow and gentle manner, then transition into an extended shavasana (or, as I seem to think of it, nap time).   Substituting a quick nap for your workout is not the point though.  The ultimate purpose of any style of yoga is to prepare you for meditation.  Restorative yoga just chooses to go about this in a different way than more active, physically strenuous styles.

Props

A restorative yoga class will tend to make extensive use of props such as blocks, bolsters and straps.  As someone who was once young, aggressive and extremely flexible in yoga class, I have only recently developed an appreciation for using these kinds of props.  Using props in various postures as a sort-of bridge to connect your body and to the ground isn’t about making something “easier.”  The connection enables the body to release tension and you can experience a posture more fully, if not more deeply. 

Yin Yoga

One restorative yoga class that I would take from time to time was a yin yoga class.  In yin yoga, you hold each posture for at least two minutes.  Fortunately, the postures are not balances or inversions, but mostly seated and laying-down positions.  It is a really interesting practice because you when you spend so much time in a posture, you really have the opportunity to look into all the dark corners that are easy to ignore when you aren’t holding the position for as long.  I discovered things that I didn’t like about postures that had been my favorites like baddha konasana (aka bound angle pose, or butterfly stretch).  Even holding child’s pose for two minutes can be intense.

When I don’t fall asleep in shavasana, I do still find my mind wandering.  But another advantage to restorative yoga for me is that it doesn’t have to be done on an empty stomach, so I can often coax myself out of obsessing about food for at least a few minutes.

Wisdom, kindness, and love. Namaste.

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Coconut Oil Pulling

This is another topic that we can credit to my holistic guru.

For some reason, I kept seeing posts about coconut oil pulling on my Pinterest feed.  It looked interesting but also disgusting.  I couldn’t imagine putting a spoonful of oil in my mouth.  Period.  But when I talked about it with my guru friend, she convinced me that it would not be too horrible to just try it and easy enough to get out of it if I was totally grossed out.  So, I decided to give it a shot.

Full disclosure: this information is all my own personal experience OR things I learned from reading various random Pinterest posts.  This is not scientifically proven or professional advice.

First, I guess that you could use different kinds of oils.  I know someone who does this using sesame oil.  I tried and really like using coconut oil because that was what was big on Pinterest and also because I generally find anything coconut wonderful.  It makes it interesting because the consistency will change depending on the time of the year.  For me, I like putting a spoonful of solid coconut oil in my mouth and sort of chewing it until it melts.

So, what you do is you put a spoonful (it doesn’t have to be a very full spoonful) of oil in your mouth.  Then swish it around for 5-20 minutes.

According to Pinterest this is detoxifying because the blood vessels in your gums are very close to the surface.  Allegedly the oil will pull toxins from your bloodstream.  Also, according to Pinterest, it takes 15 minutes for your blood to circulate through your whole body, so if you do it for at least that long, you will have cleansed your whole blood stream.

I will do my coconut oil pulling first thing in the morning before I go to the gym.  I shove a spoonful of oil in my mouth and then go about my business getting ready for the gym.  I will usually keep it in my mouth for 15-20 minutes before spitting it in the trash, brushing my teeth and heading out the door to the gym.

Public service announcement: do not spit coconut oil down the drain.

Here is what I feel are noticeable results for me from coconut oil pulling:

  1. My dental cleanings are easier.  My teeth are cleaner, and the hygienist doesn’t have to go to town as hard on my gums.
  2. I feel like it helps clear my sinuses.
  3. I think that it makes the skin under my eyes and across my cheeks smoother and clearer.  I know, weird, but I swear, if you do it for 5 days in a row for 20 minutes, you will notice a difference.

I also think that having the oil in your mouth and swishing around is probably good for your face because you are working your face muscles.  I haven’t spent any time seriously trying to measure this, but it makes sense, right?

Have you tried this before?  What was your experience like?  Are you thinking about trying it now?

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Foam Rolling

foam roller

Again, I have to credit my homeopathic guru for introducing me to foam rolling.  She actually gave Mr. Man a foam roller for Christmas many, many years ago (it might have been before we were married).  Since then, foam rolling has gotten sort-of mainstream.  It is something that I appreciate and am always happy to have done, but something that I certainly don’t do as often as I should.

The cool kids these days are referring to foam rolling as “self-myofascial release” because it is a type of deep tissue massage that you do to yourself.  Fascia release is becoming a big thing these days, just watch, you’ll start hearing a lot about it.  I met someone through my homeopathic guru whose entire chiropractic practice is dedicated to myofascial release.  It is a really interesting modality, no neck cracking involved.

I would certainly rather have a professional myofascial release me, but it is nice to be able to do it myself at home.

My favorite foam rolling position is to lay on top of it with the roller positioned along my spine (head resting on one end and tailbone at the other, knees bent and feet flat on the floor).  I will roll side to side a little bit but prefer to articulate my lower spine a few times until I feel that arch in my lower back flatten out.  Then I like to do cactus arms (elbows in line with shoulders, hands in line with ears) and just hang out.  Some days it is REALLY painful because my trapezius are too tight/overdeveloped, whatever you want to call it.  There was a good stretch of time (get it, stretch, ha-ha) that my elbows wouldn’t even reach the ground.

Boy, do I feel better, taller, and straighter once I spend a few minutes like that.

That position is also a convenient opportunity to do some ab work.  I can really feel my spine connecting to the roller easier than the floor.  I will sometimes do crunches as well as heel lowers (a balance challenge) from this position.

I have to admit that I am not a fan of actually foam rolling my whole body.  Because it hurts!  Sure, you feel great when you’re done.  I’m just a wimp.  Will do hips/glutes, sometimes.  The other week, I was SUPER sore from Glutes, Guns, and Guts and decided to foam roller my quads.  It did not feel good.  After a few passes, (not that many, maybe 4-5 times) I could actually feel the muscles loosening up.  It really, really helped!

I did some research about foam rolling to make sure that I wasn’t giving you any bad information.  The big thing to be careful about is your lower back.  While you can put the foam roller perpendicular to your spine and roll out your upper back/shoulders and your glutes, you should not roll your lower back.

Do you foam roll?  Do you actually roll or just lay on it while watching TV like I do?