Australian_Yoga_Journal_2016_08_09_downmagaz.com

august/september 2016 yogajournal.com.au
52
Living
YOUR
dream
BY CHRISTINE CHEN / TEACHING BY MARY BETH LARUE
IMAGINE WADING THROUGH A RIVER choked
with mud and fallen branches. For many of us,
this is how reaching toward our life goals can
feel. We get blocked by dead-end career paths,
robotic daily routines, or too much drama in our
relationships and we feel stranded, without the
momentum to make change. That’s because we
can’t flow toward the life we want until the
debris is cleared. To demolish that dam you
need creativity, the power to turn dormant,
dusty thoughts and dreams into actions and
realities, and to find clever solutions to
relationships, work, and other life challenges.
So how do you tap into that truly
transformative, but often elusive, energy of
creativity? Via the chakras, first mentioned
thousands of years ago in sacred Hindu texts
called the Upanishads. Described as
interconnected nodes within the subtle-energy
body, the chakras run along your spine and
essentially map to your endocrine and hormonal
systems. It is the second chakra, svadhisthana
chakra, that holds the key to unlocking and
harnessing the energy you need to be
innovative and to make change. Energetically,
the second chakra rules creativity, emotion, joy,
enthusiasm, and sensuality. Physically, it’s
located near your sacrum and hips, below your
navel, and is said to be the seat of your
reproductive organs. When svadhisthana energy
is in balance – not too intense and not too laidback
– you can access feelings of abundance,
joy, and pleasure, and clear the way for creative
energy to flow freely.
However, when svadhisthana is blocked, by
emotional trauma or chronic stress, for example,
you are unable to connect with your passions.
You also tend to try to control everything, and
your life might lack zest. In addition to feeling like
you’re in a rut, you might be unable to connect
intimately or embrace deep self-love, explains
Christiane Northrup, MD, a board-certified OB/
GYN and author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s
Wisdom, a woman-centred book about the unity
of mind, body, emotions, and spirit. Physically,
the body can manifest these shackled emotions
as unexplained lower-back pain, tight hips,
sexual-organ dysfunction, and reproductive
challenges.
“If your second chakra is
balanced, it is much easier to
go into the world and create
the life of your dreams.”
Unfortunately, our modern, predominantly
desk- and car-bound lives can exacerbate
imbalance in the second chakra. We sit more –
and for longer periods – than ever, resulting in
restricted (and sometimes weakened) hips that
inhibit the second chakra’s creative energies. To
that end, one of the most accessible ways to
undo these restrictions and find second-chakra
balance is through asana. Yoga’s physical
postures allow prana (or life-giving breath) to
flow, activating and directing energy
appropriately, according to yogic philosophy.
“A hip-focused yoga practice can release
discomfort and help you look at everything as an
opportunity,” says Mary Beth LaRue, a Los
Angeles-based yoga teacher and co-founder of
Rock Your Bliss, a yoga-inspired coaching
business that helps people craft creative lives.
“Ultimately, hip-opening asanas teach you to
loosen your grip on life and let things ebb and
flow. And finding a sense of fluidity in your dayto-day
life transforms all of your relationships,
including your relationship with yourself.”
Try the hip-opening sequence on the
following pages, designed to help you spark
svadhisthana and tap into your creative potential.
“If your second chakra is balanced, it is much
easier to go into the world and create the life of
your dreams,” says Northrup.
1. Virasana (Hero Pose),
with a block
Kneel and slide a block between
your heels, so that the short edges of the
block centre on your ankles; sit back and
press the tops of your feet and toenails
evenly into the ground. Now sit tall,
lengthening the crown of your head
upward. Make sure the block evenly
supports both sitting bones. Place your
hands on your thighs or over your belly
as you roll your shoulder heads back,
then make your belly round with each
full inhale. After a few breaths, start to
cultivate Ujjayi Pranayama (Victorious
Breath) by sweeping your breath along
the back of your throat as you inhale and
exhale through the nose. Stay here for
2 to 3 minutes. By beginning in this
posture, you set a grounding tone for
your practice.
2. Hip circles
From Virasana, walk your hands forward
into Tabletop, with your knees under your
hips, and your wrists under your shoulders.
Make small circles with your hips, warming
up the spine and inviting a sense of fluidity.
As you grow warmer, you can expand your
circles to the point of melting all the way
back into Balasana (Child’s Pose) for a few
breaths. Spend at least 1 minute circling in
each direction. When you have finished, lift
your hips back into Adho Mukha Svanasana
(Downward-Facing Dog Pose).
3. Anjaneyasana
(Low Lunge)
From Down Dog, step your right foot
toward your right thumb tip and set your
back knee on the mat. Press the top of your
foot firmly into the mat as you lengthen
your tailbone toward your mat and draw
your lower belly in. Make sure your front
knee doesn’t drift past your front ankle.
Extend your arms alongside your ears.
Interlace all but your index fingers, and
press up through your palms, drawing your
shoulders away from your ears. Bring your
drishti, or gaze, up as you lift from your
sternum and breathe underneath your
collarbones. Firmly draw your hips in
toward your midline as you grow tall
through the sides of your waist and up
through your index fingers. Hold for 1
minute.
PHOTOGRAPHY: LAURA AUSTIN