Читать книгу Chakra Healing for Vibrant Energy - Michelle S. Fondin - Страница 10
ОглавлениеDelving into the world of the chakras is like learning a new language. In a sense, you are. You will be learning many new words in Sanskrit, the ancient language of India. But you will also be immersing yourself in a whole philosophy. In this introduction, all the new terminology might seem overwhelming, but rest assured, the concepts will be explained in great detail throughout the book. Also, you can always turn to the glossary in the back of the book to find out what a term means.
Chakras are energy centers within the body. The word chakra means “wheel” or “disk.” Think of the chakras as spinning vortices of energy. Everything is composed of energy and information. Every object emanates from movement and vibration. The seven main chakras align along the spine, starting at the base of the spine and moving up to the crown of the head.
In the ancient Indian texts called the Vedas, we learn that the physical body is made up of the five great elements called the mahabhutas. Those five elements are space (akasha), air (vayu), water (jala), fire (tejas), and earth (prithivi). The elements are the building blocks of nature and therefore build our bodies as well.
Ancient texts go on to explain that we also have a subtle body. This subtle body is nonphysical and energetic in nature. The subtle body is governed by prana, or vital life force. Prana circulates throughout the body and mind. It is responsible for the flow of energy and information. In the subtle body, prana travels through channels called nadis. Nadis are circulatory channels within the body such as veins, arteries, the respiratory system, the nervous system, the digestive system, the excretory system, and the reproductive system. Think of nadis as the information highway to your mind, body, soul, and spirit, just as the internet is the information highway that brings information to your browser.
If you have a difficult time grasping the concept of the subtle body, reflect on your mind and thoughts. Thoughts are nonphysical entities. Yet ask anyone who thinks (and that would include all of us), and they will tell you that thoughts are quite real. Scientists have been able to pinpoint areas in the brain where thoughts originate or take place, but slice open a human head and you won’t find one thought in there. According to Vedic texts, the mind, intellect, and ego also reside within the subtle body.
Now let’s go back to the example of the internet. When you want information, you want it fast, right? You’re doing research for a work project or a school report, or getting the scoop on a guy you want to date, and you don’t want to wait forever. In the infancy of the internet, with dial-up modems, you could log on, go get a cup of coffee, use the restroom, do your nails, and then the AOL voice of “You’ve got mail” would finally vibrate in your ever-so-waiting ears. But today, in the world of fiber-optic cables and Wi-Fi, information comes pretty much as quickly as you can type in your question. And when it doesn’t come that fast you get frustrated.
For your body to work at an optimal level, the channels through which information travels must be open for that information to get quickly to its destination. If they’re blocked, or if there is an abnormality where the information pools in a given area, you won’t receive the information you need when you need it. So the nadis are the highways or the fiber-optic cables, and prana is the package of information that needs to be carried.
In total, we have around 88,000 chakras in the body, and the seven main chakras are the information hubs. They gather information on certain aspects of your body, mind, spirit, health, and life. When adequate energy flows to these chakras, that energy fills the area with the information each chakra needs to perform its unique specialty.
Like a highway, your body is constantly moving, changing, growing, and being modified by outside influences. While you may intend to keep the energy and information flowing throughout your body at all times, your lifestyle choices, life experiences, and outside influences may hinder the flow. Fortunately, certain practices can help keep these channels open and information flowing freely, and in this book you will learn what you need to do to achieve this goal quickly and easily.
The concept of the chakras comes from ancient Indian texts of the Tantric tradition. Tantra is a complicated and important nonreligious philosophy. The Tantric texts are separate from the famously known Indian texts, the Vedas, from whence Ayurveda came.
In the West we tend to associate the word Tantra with sex. While sex is mentioned in the Tantric texts, it’s meant to be reserved as a practice for only the most advanced yoga practitioners. The main goal of Tantra is to explore the deep mysteries of life and to become liberated within the confines of this world.
The word Tantra means “to weave.” Tantra is the process of weaving together the body, which has great wisdom, and the mind, which has immense power. By heeding the wisdom of the body and by harnessing the power of the mind you can find the enormous beauty in life on this planet and achieve self-mastery.
The symbolism and stories of the chakras, including their deities and mysticism, are beautiful, colorful, complex, and certainly worth exploring. For the sake of brevity, I will teach you the basics of the chakra system. The foreign words I present come from Sanskrit. For the most part, Sanskrit is no longer spoken but is rich in the roots of language, as many modern English words stem from Sanskrit root words.
The Marriage of Tantra, Ayurveda, and the Yoga Sutras
In order to cognitively grasp the journey into the chakras, it’s important to understand a little about the story behind them. According to the Upanishads, a collection of ancient Hindu texts, purusha (spirit) is pure universal consciousness. Purusha is formless and unchanging. Out of purusha, prakruti, or physical matter, is formed. Prakruti is subject to change and influenced by cause and effect. Everything is a creation of purusha: sun, moon, stars, planets, trees, animals, and humans. Therefore every living thing contains the very essence of the Creator. In a sense, this philosophy isn’t much different from the Judeo-Christian view of God expressed in Genesis 2:7: “and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the foundational text of yoga philosophy, the main goal in our lifetime is to find our way back to self-realization. The word self in the act of self-realization does not refer to our individual selves with our unique personalities and individual bodies but rather the awakening to the Self with a capital S, the one from which we originate.
We’re born into this world with these bodies, seemingly disconnected from our Creator, so how do we manage?
The second-century sage Patanjali explains in the Yoga Sutras that we have to deal with the three psychic forces of the mind called the gunas, which govern the subconscious of all prakruti. The three gunas are sattva, rajas, and tamas.
Sattva is balanced, pure, peaceful, alert, clear-minded, and filled with light.
Rajas is the moving, active energy that is ever-changing.
Tamas is inertia, decay, heaviness, dullness, darkness, and obstruction.
These three qualities of prakruti are necessary in our lives at different times. For example, your spiritual practice is sattvic, and there is a time and place for it in your day. When you need to work and accomplish your goals, you need rajasic energy. When you need to sleep at night, you need tamas so you can get your rest.
In addition to the three gunas, Ayurveda teaches that we have three mind-body types, or doshas, which manifest out of the five great elements. The three doshas are Vata (space and air), Pitta (fire and water), and Kapha (water and earth). Each of us has our own unique makeup of the three doshas, which creates our strengths and challenges.
Through the knowledge of the three gunas and the three doshas, we can begin to navigate our body, mind, and life here on earth and start to move toward self-realization.
Since the chakras are part of our physical and subtle bodies, they’re also influenced by the gunas and the doshas. The first end goal in the pursuit of self-realization is to live a balanced life. As Tantra teaches, our goal is not to deny the body and the physical realm but to embrace it fully and draw everything good out of it that we possibly can while working our way toward an enlightened state of being, which yoga philosophy refers to as moksha, or liberation.
When you’re no longer bound by the confines of the gunas and the vacillating and changing nature of the doshas, and you can move through the chakras openly and seamlessly, you have reached enlightenment.
Imagine what it would be like to be in love with every aspect of what it means to be human. True liberation is when love emanates from your being at all times. You’re awakened to the gift of each moment and in love with every one. Nothing is a burden, for everything is light, love, and infinite being. You don’t need to be anywhere or do anything; this awareness is always with you. For you are it and it is you. That is what we’re all here to achieve.
According to Tantric texts, we have around 72,000 nadis, or circulatory channels, in the body, which transport prana. In our study of the chakras, we will focus only on the Shushumna nadi, the Ida nadi, and the Pingala nadi. The Shushumna nadi is the energy channel that starts at the base of the spine in the area of the first chakra. It’s where the Kundalini Shakti (creative energy) sits like a serpent, coiled up in three rings, waiting to spring forth into action and wake up the chakras. The Shushumna nadi travels up the length of the spine in a channel behind the spinal cord to the crown of the head at the seventh chakra. From the base of the Shushumna nadi arise two other nadis, the Ida nadi and the Pingala nadi. The Ida nadi is lunar in nature: passive, gentle, and feminine. The Pingala nadi is solar: warm, stimulating, and masculine. The Ida nadi starts and ends on the left side of the Shushumna nadi, and the Pingala nadi starts and ends on the right side. The Ida and Pingala nadis cross at every chakra, and all three of these nadis meet at the sixth, or third-eye, chakra. In our bodies the Ida and Pingala nadis alternate in dominance. Generally the Ida nadi dominates the right side of the brain, and the Pingala dominates the left side.
Kundalini energy is awakened through purification of the body and mind. There are many practices to cleanse the physical body, including eating a clean diet; abstaining from impure substances; detoxifying through Ayurvedic daily practices such as tongue scraping and nasal washing with a neti pot and nasya (infused oil); and the Ayurvedic seasonal cleansing practices of panchakarma, or five actions. In addition, one must practice yoga asanas (physical postures, what we in the West generally think of as “yoga”) and pranayama (breathing techniques). Purifying the mind comes with the practice of the eight limbs of yoga: the yamas, niyamas, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, darana, dhyana, and samadhi.
In the following chapters I will describe many of these techniques as they pertain to each chakra.
Understanding the Dual Nature of the Chakras — and of Life Itself
In this world of duality, where everything has its opposite, we must strive to understand both sides. It can be destructive to have only light without darkness, only wakefulness with no sleep, and only full bellies with no hunger. Through our trials and tribulations on our earthly journey, we seek to enhance the pleasurable and try to minimize the unpleasant. However, living a balanced life is about recognizing both sides. As you look back at your past, you may notice that unexpected beauty erupted and developed in your moments of strife and anguish. For example, you may have met your husband when you had a flat tire and he offered to change it for you. Or maybe you overcame an addiction and are now helping others overcome addictions and live sober and clean lives.
Often when we’re on a spiritual journey, we want the outcome of enlightenment and spiritual connection without understanding where we came from. You were born into the physical realm through your earthly mother. You chose this incarnation, and there is nothing wrong with it. When you signed up to come here, you promised to fulfill certain duties, called dharma, and take on certain responsibilities. Unless you fully embrace the dualistic nature of your existence in this life, you will continue to have a difficult time reaching the spiritual heights you seek.
In every chakra, as in life, there are two possible states: a balanced state and an excessive or depleted state, which indicates an imbalance. As we have learned through life’s lessons, too much or too little of anything can be destructive and unhealthy. You may have heard the expression “Money is the root of all evil.” The expression implies that having too much money and hoarding it can be detrimental. And too little money, which leads to lack, poverty, theft, hunger, and depression, can also be ruinous. Both extremes can lead to a life you don’t desire.
I received a reading from an astrologer friend last fall. He had an interesting and truthful perspective I had never heard before in an astrology reading. In my astrological chart I have an unfavorable aspect from the planet Saturn, which is omnipresent in my life. If you know anything about astrology, no one wants Saturn to show up all the time and interfere in their life. Saturn is a huge, slow-moving planet that can create delays, reduce potential, and be a huge obstacle in accomplishing things. As my friend explained, Saturn also has rings, which are binding. He gave the example of a wedding ring. He explained that a wedding band symbolically binds you to the other person and puts a certain number of restrictions on your life. So as he gave me this “bad news,” I was thinking, Holy cow! That’s why I’ve had such a hard time getting my career off the ground. But at that moment he gave me another perspective, the opposite side of a Saturn aspect.
He explained that while Saturn creates obstacles and delays, it also has a positive side to it. For example, a Saturn aspect can make you humble and inclined to show humility to others and not be boastful. Saturn can make a person hunker down and get things done, such as conducting research for a term paper or writing a book. It can give you the discipline to focus on painting a picture or building a house. In other words, he displayed the beauty of a Saturn aspect to me.
Then he taught me how to work with Saturn versus fighting against it. He suggested that when I see Saturn arrive with its delays, closed doors, and seemingly immovable boulders, I should welcome it in, offer it a cup of tea, and thank it for its wisdom. He offered me the wisdom that the more I accept Saturn as a part of my life, the more Saturn will offer me its gifts. As a result of my acceptance, I was able to change my perspective on a force I thought had been ruining my life. It’s now a force of strength for me.
The chakras — especially the first three, which are the chakras of matter — work in the same way. Oftentimes when we’re presented with the aspects of the chakras, we see only the imbalances or challenging sides to them. We want to rush through the first three and skip ahead to the more spiritual chakras. It’s important to remember the blessings in each chakra, even when we struggle with them. The power comes in embracing them and bringing awareness to their beauty. What we consider to be the ugliness of human existence is also what brings us joy.
This reminds me of an old saying I once read: “Laughter is like changing a baby’s diaper; it doesn’t solve anything, but it sure improves the situation.” If you have ever changed a baby’s diaper, you know this. The act of wiping the baby clean, applying some lotion, and putting on a clean diaper is part of this sometimes smelly human existence. On top of it, you know that in a few hours you’re going to have to do it all over again. But boy, doesn’t that baby smell marvelous? And you have great memories of hugging, snuggling, and enjoying your baby during this mundane and kind of gross experience. That is duality.
Reasons the Chakras Might Get Blocked
A blocked chakra means energy is stuck or hindered. You might think of it as a blocked artery. In order for energy and information to flow, the channels through which they flow must be open. You will have difficulty getting to work on time if the roads are blocked by traffic. In the same way, the chakras cannot work at optimal levels when the pathways have blockages. These blockages can be physical, emotional or psychological, spiritual, karmic, or energetic.
The blocks can be physical, in the literal sense, such as fatty deposits in the arteries, a tumor, a cyst, or excess waste. We can create blockages in the physical body through poor dietary choices, lack of exercise, overexertion, and lifestyle choices such as overwork, drug use, or lack of sleep.
Blocks in the chakras can also be emotional or psychological, such as stored emotions from the past or mental illness such as anxiety, depression, or addiction. We accumulate emotional toxins and residue from not properly processing and digesting emotions and experiences. These toxins result in blocking the energy flow of the chakras.
Blocks can be spiritual in nature. They can come from outside spiritual forces or from within. If we refuse to honor the spiritual side of who we are, we block the higher chakras. Being spiritually rigid and strict can also restrict the flow of energy. Remember, whether the forces are external or internal, without your conscious awareness they can create harm.
Blockages can also come from our karma. The word karma in Sanskrit literally means “action.” In life we perform actions that are good or nourishing, bad or harmful, or neutral. An example of a good action might be giving money to charity. A bad action might be intentionally lying or deceiving. A neutral action might be making the bed (which, if you dig deeper, can also be considered a good action, depending on the circumstances). In the East, certain religions and philosophies adhere to the principle that we accumulate karma throughout lifetimes, and we carry it forth into our current life. The definition of karma, in this sense, assumes a belief in reincarnation and asserts that karma is not simply the action performed but also the consequences of that action. Good karma carried forward can give us favor in our current lifetime. Bad karma is a debt we must repay in this or future lifetimes.
Whether or not you believe in reincarnation or the explanation of karma, you can learn to appreciate and grasp the concept. Have you ever heard anyone say that they constantly suffer from bad luck? The bad luck may be more about paying back a karmic debt of which they aren’t even aware. You’ve surely heard the adages “What goes around comes around” and “You reap what you sow.” These expressions explain the essence of karma. Often, in our minds, karma has negative connotations. But note that you can accumulate good karma through good actions or service to others.
Finally, the blocks can be energetic. I explained a little about energetic blockages when I spoke about my astrological chart. We are a part of this earth, our solar system, and the universe. The influence of the earth’s energy and elements, as well as of the energy of the sun, moon, and planets in our solar system, is strong and undeniable. Ayurveda, the five-thousand-year-old medical system from India, recognizes these energetic forces and acknowledges them as a means of healing. You can learn more about Ayurveda by reading my book The Wheel of Healing with Ayurveda: An Easy Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle. Ayurveda works on the principles of the five elements — space, air, fire, water, and earth — which work together to create the three doshas, or mind-body types, of Vata (space and air), Pitta (fire and water), and Kapha (water and earth). These elements and mind-body types are relevant in recognizing energetic blocks within your body and the chakras. This awareness will give you more tools toward your healing of the chakras and provide a superspeed highway to creating energy flow.
In any spiritual practice, awareness is the first key to awakening. When you come out of a holiday, realize that you can’t fit into your jeans, and get on the scale, you become aware that you may need to lose weight. Without this awareness, you will do nothing to change. Awareness means coming out of the dark and stepping into the light. Most often awareness is for our greater good at the time it’s revealed to us. Yet we are sometimes afraid of what we might find. Awakening can mean we find ourselves in a place where we don’t want to be. Awareness can mean we now see the mess we must clean up. Sometimes our friend awareness comes as a slap on the face that doesn’t feel too good. Then our friend denial comes in and coaxes us back to what feels good but may not be right.
You are human. You have a physical body, an emotional body, and an energetic body. You are also a spirit with a spiritual existence that is currently bound by a body. Awakening can come only when we accept the entire package. Yet our other friend, the mind, also comes in and tries to convince us that one way is better than another. For example, the mind tries to say, “If only you had better parents, you might be in a better financial situation.” Then the ego comes along and adds its two cents: “Yeah, and if your boss treated you better, you might have gotten that raise you deserve.” So all these parts create who you are, and balance comes from accepting every part.
As you work through the chakras, things will come up. Grievances, hurt, past afflictions, and present discomforts will arise and make themselves known to you. This is a good thing and what you want for healing. You certainly don’t have to accept them right away. Just make yourself aware of them. Notice them. Say hello. Watch them as you would a movie on a screen. Sometimes awareness alone will heal that which ails you.
Your exploration of healing through the chakras can add a layer of beauty and depth to your health and well-being. Imagine choosing a wedding cake. You could probably get by with a yellow cake and white frosting. But the beauty comes in when a pastry chef infuses chocolate ganache into the center, layers the cake in creative ways, and adds intricate decorations to each layer and an eye-popping topper. You then have a work of art to display at your wedding rather than a plain single-layer cake. The intricacy of that wedding cake mirrors the depth of layers in a marriage and the magic of its beginning at the wedding celebration.
The layers of your health are no different. You can focus on the physical body and have allopathic or Western medicine fix it when something goes wrong. Or you can focus on preventive health through diet, exercise, yoga, meditation, and other healing practices such as emotional and spiritual healing.
I will give you tools to balance the seven main chakras, with one chapter devoted to each chakra. For each of the chakras I provide descriptions of pranayama (breathing) techniques and yoga poses. You can check out demonstrations of all of these on my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/c/Michelle FondinAuthor. While healing your chakras, practice these poses once in the morning and once in the evening. I have also included dietary recommendations, a guided meditation, thoughts to ponder for the day, and other areas to explore for emotional and spiritual healing, with practices such as prayer, visualization, and chanting. I also offer suggestions for taking your energetic healing a step further through work with colors and gems: you can wear the color of the chakra you’re healing, and carry with you throughout your day the crystal or gem associated with that chakra.
Through these practices you can heal your chakras in seven days. You can repeat these seven days every week for a year, going deeper into your awareness and healing each week. Or you can take seven months and dedicate your practice to one chakra for each month. Or you can go at your own pace, spending more time on certain chakras than others, as needed. There is no single best way to go about this healing practice. I know that many of you are good, disciplined students and will try to do every single suggestion in each chapter. Instead of attempting to do everything in one day, see which healing practices call to you most, and try those first. If you let it, your intuition will guide the way.
As with the practice of yoga asanas, you don’t need to adhere to any particular religion, sect, or spiritual belief to heal with the chakras. You only need to be open to your body’s inner wisdom and the energy field that surrounds you. Now is the moment you might ask, “How do I tune in to my energy field?” The answer is, you are already tuned in to your energy field.
Have you ever walked into a room filled with tension and felt that the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife? Or have you felt a rush of energy when walking into a sports stadium or rock concert? You’re perceiving energy all the time, but you’re not often aware that you’re aware.
Expanding your perception is something that happens naturally as a result of spiritual practice. As you go through life on this physical plane, you get accustomed to a narrow vision, seeing only things that are in your pathway. We all do this, as it’s a way our brains filter out the “noise” to get us through our days without getting distracted all the time. However, it’s not so useful when it comes to your health and well-being. A broadened perspective is an asset and will allow you to notice subtle changes in your body.
Body awareness, mindfulness, and learning how to direct your thoughts are ways in which you can start to attain better health. Working with your chakra energy can help you with early detection before an illness becomes full-blown, or it can help in your healing in the midst of a disease, as it did in my case.
Finally, it can be helpful to look at the ailments associated with each of the chakras. When I was ill with thyroid cancer, my healing ultimately took place when I took a good look at the fifth chakra. I believe all diseases are messages from the body indicating that something is off. In looking at diseases you might be experiencing, you can take a deeper look by knowing which chakra is out of balance. Taking medicine or removing a tumor or even an organ or body part might be necessary to stop the spread of the disease, but it won’t help you get to the root of it. Considering the “why” is important to achieve complete and total healing. Sometimes you don’t get an answer. But often you do. Through chakra balancing you learn to listen to your intuition, that still, small voice inside you, and it will give you an inner knowing of how to heal.
