Yoga for Healing and Well-being
Week Four: WIND
In urban societies, we seem to be experiencing a terrible excess of anxiety. Because movement and communication are both qualities of air or wind, and modern societies move and communicate far more than traditional societies, wind can accumulate within the energy body and cause a pervading sense of un-groundedness. This can in turn cause insomnia and other emotional challenges.
Balancing and soothing wind element in the body and energy can profoundly improve our overall wellbeing. One simple way to soothe wind element is to create as much regularity and structure in our daily lives as possible - eating, sleeping, and exercising in predictable rhythms. Because touch can be considered an aspect of wind, another powerful practice for balancing and soothing wind element is to give yourself a massage with oil.
It is my desire that the postures we will practice this week may also help.
Affirmations: I am inspired, creative, joyous, free-spirited, and unattached. The breath of life moves through me. I give and receive freely.
Anahata chakra is said to be located behind the center of the chest in the inner wall of the spinal column. Yogic texts differ as to the color of Anahata. In the mainstream view, it is commonly referenced as green, whereas Swami Satyananda Saraswati experiences it as blue, and Tantrik texts say that it is a shining crimson. In my depiction, I settled on a combination of these.
For me, the most profound symbology of Anahata chakra is the star at the center of the twelve-petaled lotus, made up of an upright and an inverted triangle. Together, they symbolize the union of Shiva and Shakti. Shakti, represented by the inverted triangle, is the Divine Feminine, the creative force of the Universe. Shiva, represented by the upright triangle, is the principle of universal consciousness. Together, they are all of creation, conscious of itself, in all of our heart centers.
As we deepen our awareness of our heart center and soothe and still the wind element within us, we awaken our capacity to give and receive universal, unconditional love, and bring our creative flow to life.
BODY: Heart to third eye, hands, and arms
NERVOUS/ENDOCRINE SYSTEM: Thymus, Creative/Artistic Centers of the Brain
CHAKRA: Anahata
SEED MANTRA: Yam
SYMBOL: Smokey blue-grey hexagon or six-pointed star
SENSE: Touch
“In yoga the heart center is also known as hridayakasha, which means ‘the space within the heart where purity resides’.”
Balancing WIND energy
+EXCESS WIND+
overly talkative, communicative
hyperactive
anxious
forgetful
easily begins many projects, but does not finish
can be cold, dry and closed-off
-DEFICIENT WIND-
lacking vitality and inspiration
stagnant
withdrawn
-BALANCED WIND+
creative and inspired
loving and expressive
clear and cool
joyous
free-spirited
sequence
Video
Session III
Session II
Session I
