23 Jan Learning From a Great Yoga Teacher About Chakras
I have had the good luck to be friends with and taught by someone who is an extrodrinary yoga teacher. Thomas Amelio [Shivananda] taught me about Advaita yoga in the 1980’s. A long time monk who is now a layperson. Currently a teacher in the New York City area you can check out his site by clicking here. This guest post below is from Thomas. I’m delighted to share his wisdom with you in his blog post below.
“Fantasy and imagination is a product of the body. The energies that bring forth the fantasies derive from the organs of the body. The organs of the body are the source of our life, and of our intentions for life, and they conflict with each other. Among these organs, of course, is the brain. And then you must think of the various impulses that dominate our life system—the erotic impulse; the impulse to conquer, conquest and all that; self preservation; and then certain thoughts that have to do with ideals and things that are held up before us as aims worth living for and giving life its value and so forth.”
I heard Joseph Campbell, in an interview say this quote above some years ago. At the moment I heard it I thought it an odd statement. The organs in conflict? The kidney fighting against the liver? The lungs against the stomach? Later it occurred that Campbell was well-versed in Eastern philosophy and was also referring to the Chakras–plexuses in the “subtle” body, that embody various aspects of our psyche. The Chakras can be taken as metaphysical realities, or simply as metaphors of varied human impulses and expressions.
There are a lot of terms, in modern times, associated with Chakras–”balancing,” “harmonizing,” “aligning,” etc. I find that students are confused by such terms. It might be helpful to think of each Chakra as an aspect of ourselves that has its own agenda and purpose which are sometimes at cross-purposes.
Forgetting about chakras for the moment, think about how many of us decide to take up,say,an exercise program on a regular basis, but stray from our resolve in order to remain in the secure, familiar and comfortable patterns. In Chakra language you could say your third Chakra (energy, resolve) seeks the energy and strength needed to fulfill and complete the creative ideas of the fifth Chakra (creativity and calling). In this case the fifth and third chakra are working together, but the first and 2nd chakras are pulling for a warm familiar feeling of security (first chakra) and pleasure/comfort (2nd Chakra).
But why bother putting things in the language of the Chakras?
Why not just work with the conflicting impulses through known psychological and self improvement techniques?
You can, of course.
The main benefit of being aware of Chakras is that you can then apply tried and true yogic practices to first uncover the agendas of your Chakras, and then to make direct energetic change in these areas.
The key word here is “energetic.” Once you understand Chakras well enough you can make direct changes–through sound, mantra, breath, concentration, and meditation–that can immediately reveal a greater harmony–a working together–of the impulses that previously were in conflict. Very often intellectual and psychological insight follows spontaneously, without the need for the usual analytical process.
Easy Exercise
An easy exercise is to breathe deeply while you imagine energy rising along the spine starting at the coccyx, then to the areas of: the reproductive organs, solar plexus, center of chest, throat, point between eyebrows, and finally the top of the head.
Hold the breath at the top of the head for a moment, and let the breath descend back down the spine in reverse order. You can even imagine light going up and down the spine as you do this.
Do at least seven of these breaths up and down the spine, paying close attention to any changes in energy as you do this. You can end this practice with an Ommmm sound, or any other sound, from any tradition, that appeals to you. Try this for seven days and you might also want to write a few lines daily about it.
For those of you who can come to my drop in class tomorrow, Tuesday night, we’ll deepen this inquiry about Chakras, and of course, I cover a full fledged Chakra meditation in most of my class series at the NY Open Center, Dobbs Ferry, etc.
Blessings on your practice!
Thomas