Week Four - Manipura Chakra, Moving Light
Hello everyone,
I am sending some warm, soft light your way on this considerably dark and windy January day. It can be hard to remember that every evening is getting that bit longer now, and that spring is hanging in the air like a promise. I am lighting all the candles around the house this morning. It's really helping.
Thank you very much for being there last Sunday for our Hatha and Soft Stretch yoga classes at Thrive. This Sunday we have a LIGHT themed practice for both sessions, which is perfect for this long winter time and the weather (and dare I say the magic of the northern lights we witnessed a few evenings ago over Greystones! Wow!)
At the moment the Soft Stretch Yoga this Sunday at 6:30pm is fully booked, but if you would like to join us please let me know and I can add you to a waiting list in case there's any cancellations. I do have three spaces available in the earlier Hatha Yoga class at 5pm, if you'd like to sign up for that one, just send me a little message!
As we continue working our way up the primary chakras this term, we now arrive at the manipura chakra - the solar plexus energy centre. This subtle body wheel spins around the area of the belly button, and links to these physical functions of digestion, immune support, metabolism, blood sugar levels, energy levels, the muscles of the diaphragm and the sympathetic nervous system. This is the energy centre of fire, associated with the colour yellow - an ghrian álainn. The sun. Sūrya. Think of a powerhouse individual. Enthusiastic. Passionate. Playful. Full of courage. Daring. Curious. Always looking for fun. A person who expresses anger in a healthy way. I can think of a small few personalities who match the bill...albeit that they're toddlers...
A great teacher I once had named Julia McCabe once told me that, in her experience, everyone who came to yoga seemed to be there - whether they knew it or not - to heal their relationship to manipura chakra. It's our centre of: I feel worthy. I am enough. I deserve good things. I can. In our culture, this is the big one. Our relationship to food. How we look. Our work. Careers. Energy. Burn out. Stress... It all lives here in the manipura chakra.
In my eyes, this practice is the necessary stripping away of 'yoga for the sake of looking fit' and the dreaded 'I need a yoga body' complex. Of course it's okay to come to yoga wanting to work on the physical body - that was me originally! I was an insecure thirteen year old and all I wanted was to stop hating my body. And you certainly do strengthen and tone your muscles with regular practice. And feel healthier. And feel more confidence. But the true yogic benefits come from understanding that you have some power over how you feel, and that your power exists in your ability to witness what is and respond - ideally with love and kindness. Choosing to accept yourself as you are. Choosing to know and feel that you are enough, even before any transformation has occurred. Choosing to show up; to not hide. To know that you are the one writing the story, and that you're the only one able to shift the narrative. You don't always need a bright, sunny day outside to feel warm on the inside - you can do small and mighty things. Light a candle. Sit up a little taller. Take a loving breath. Follow it all the way in. Hold it there. Let it out as slowly as you can. Repeat. It may not be the solution straight away, but it's a strong start.
Manipura chakra is about power, experience, and having fun. It's the fire centre; agni; the place of transformation. How your body digests food and nutrients, yes, but also how your psyche processes and experiences life. What you do with what you have. You can expect some gentle core strengthening and lots of detoxifying twists in the Hatha practice this Sunday, and in the Soft Stretch you can look forward to a few supported warrior shapes and some lovely restorative poses to aid digestion. I can't wait to see you there! Thank you so much.
"If you stopped existing, there would be an empty space in the universe, and the whole universe would collapse into that empty space."
Rhonda Byrne
Le grá,
Macha
