Have you ever asked any of these following questions?
What are the chakras? Are they real? What do they have to do with me? Can I really "cleanse" my chakras, or is that just something people say?
Would you like to really dive into the energetics of your practice, taking it far beyond the known benefits of the physical asanas?
This Physical and Energetic Anatomy of the Chakras course has been designed to enhance your connection to the subtle body and to take your practice to a much deeper level. Please join Laxman and Dari for this very SEVEN WEEK special program!
Each week you will recieve a mantra, a mudra, a meditation, a personal asana practice for that week's focus, and a personal reflection writing assignment for your own eyes only
Each week you will recieve a mantra, a mudra, a meditation, a personal asana practice for that week's focus, and a personal reflection writing assignment for your own eyes only
*link to buy this 24” x 30" poster by Nicolai Bachmann, MA below
This seven week course will cover, in great depth, the physical structures that correspond to each chakra, moving from your tailbone up to the crown of your head. We will explore physical asanas, breathwork, mudras, mantras, chanting and chakra specific purification methods. Learn about the Nadis and how they correspond to your physical spine. Learn both dynamic and restorative practices for each chakra. Discover the physical structures and organs that each chakra governs and/or regulates, and how to best cleanse and support your physical body and it's rich landscape of energetic systems. We will also inquire into the Vayus, Bhandas, and Koshas as complete systems and also as they manifest their powers as we work our way up the spine.
Our Program Blueprint
Week 1 – The Mūlādhāra Chakra, your "Root" or "Support" Center
The First Chakra is associated with your bones, skeletal structure, adrenals, and physical and survival needs and impulses. For the Root class, you will learn both restorative and mobilization poses for the physical sacrum and how to support your adrenal system. We will explore the subtle body energetics of the nadis, the spinal column, and the central energy channel. We will also seek personal meaning about the body's life force, the primal "shakti" energy that originates at the base of the spine known as kundalini, through discussion, meditation, visualization, mudra and chanting.
Week 2 – The Svādhiṣṭhāna Chakra, your "Sweetness" Center
The sacral chakra rules the sexual organs, the bladder, the prostate, and the womb. It rules the areas of sexuality and a strong and supported Second Chakra leads to a place of comfortable emotional balance. Together we will explore both dynamic asanas and restorative poses that support the entire entire cranial-sacral system and the linking energetic systems. We will explore how our personal sense of strength and stamina that we gain through our asana practice supports our mental clarity, and how the second chakra's clarity is directly linked to our personal sense of joy and satisfaction with our lives.
This class will allow you to further delve into meditation, mudra, and chanting in order to activate and support not just your physical health but also your profound psychic body.
Week 3 – the Maṇipūra Chakra, your "Lustrous Gem" Center
The belly is the fire of the body. The Third Chakra rules the digestive system, the muscles, the pancreas, and corresponds with personal power, self-will and self-esteem. This class covers uddiyana bandha, how to build core strength in the abdomen, the digestive center and the power stored in the kidneys. as with all the other chakra specific classes, we will practice both dynamic asana and restorative poses and consider through meditation and reflection how our "Fire" affects us and how we present ourselves to the world.
Week 4 – The Anāhata Chakra, your "Unstruck" Heart Center
Your Lotus Heart is the "go-between," and ideally the harmonizer, for all the upper and lower energy centers. Physically, the Fourth Chakra rules the heart, lungs, thymus, and the circulation system. In addition to the asanas, we will do both a forgiveness practice and very specific heart opening and cleansing meditation.
Week 5 – The Viśuddha Chakra, your "Purification" Center
Our throats are the crossroads where all sustenance, breath and major arteries travel. Physically, the throat chakra involves the mouth, throat and ears and corresponds to the thyroid and parathyroid. Energetically, the Fifth Chakra governs communication, self-expression, sound, hearing, and how comfortable we are with our own authentic truth. We will investigate and practice neck releases, and gentle throat openers like baby cobra and supported fish pose. We will also study bridge pose and shoulderstand in greater depth and consider the best variation for you.
Week 6 – The Ājñā Chakra, "to Percieve," or "to Know," and The Sahasrāra Chakra, meaning "Thousandfold"
In this class we inquire into the both of the Crown Chakras, corresponding to the eyes, the skin, the pituitary and pineal glands, and the entire cranial-sacral system. The Ājñā Chakra is associated with wisdom, intuition, and our "sixth sense." We will work with techniques of both psychic development and also psychic protection The Sahasrāra Chakra is linked to our sense of spirituality. Imbalances of the Seventh Chakra can lead depression, disorientation, inattention, demoralization, and unprovoked agitation. These imbalances can exhibit themselves outwardly, ranging in severity from simple chronic disorganization and clutter, to extreme sensitivity to environmental pollutants. It has also been suggested that extreme energetic disturbances to the Seventh Chakra can lead to epilepsy and Alzheimers. The two dynamic portions of asana on this day will both be short in length, concetrating more on chakra balance through restorative poses, meditation, visualization and mantra.
Week 7 – The Vayus, Bhandas, and Koshas
Our last day in study and reflection together will focus on the Vayus, the energetic "wind channels" of the body, the three main Bhandas that regulate the flow of energy through the body, and the five Koshas, our subtle sheaths that define our very being. The final jewel of this chakra anatomy program will be a practice of chanting the sounds of the chakras, the Bija Mantras. When these bija mantras are chanted aloud, they activate the energy of the chakras in order to purify and balance them all.
*The Chakras Poster that hangs in our shala was created and designed by Nicolai Bachmann, MA, and could be purchased from the Himalayan Institute Institute by clicking this link The Chakras Poster by Nicolai Bachmann
