Muladhara Chakra - The Temple of the Body

With the spectacular Full Moon Lunar Eclipse this evening (15th June), my sutra (thread) for this weeks classes is grounding, rooting and building a strong foundation as we feel connected and earthed to our planet, Gaia / Mother Earth...

So, the theme is Muladhara (Root) Chakra...

Happy grounding :-)
With love & Goddess flow,
Anil xox

Muladhara Chakra
1st Chakra
Base, Root
Located at the base of the spine

Red, Black

Stability, grounding, physical energy, will, security.

First Chakra---Root located at base if spine area of coccyx.

Issues: survival, security, safety, ability to be grounded to earth plane.
Physical functions influence: excretion and digestion; small intestine and colon; kidneys; sex glands/drive; reproduction; hips, legs, lower back rectum uterus.
Ailments: constipation; diarrhea; colitis; knees; sciatica; vaginal; hemorrhoids; prostate; ovarian; uterine; chronic fatigue.
Root Issues: accidents; homelessness; suicidal tendencies; panic.
Blockages: not belonging; not belonging (no roots); not able to make a living; not able to materialize goals.
Your Root Chakra: Balanced Foundation
Located in the energy field at the base of your tailbone, it provides the firm foundation necessary to living, establishes personal access to everything needed in order to survive and grow, and offers a basic sense of security and safety.
Your first chakra's main role is to help you meet your basic needs for survival-smoothly, certainly, and with grace. It focuses attention on your daily needs and stimulates your ability to fulfill them. The result is confidence - in yourself and the Universe - and connection, a true sense of spiritual heritage and community kinship.

Root Chakra Facts:
·   The first chakra governs eating, the need for shelter, warmth, and comfort and the   
    desire to feel protected.
·   A well-balanced root chakra results in a feeling of calm and an aura of quiet strength and
    confidence.
·   In your body, the first chakra governs the bones, blood, immune system, colon, rectum,
    legs, and feet.
·   An apt image for the first chakra is a plant or tree rooted firmly in Mother Earth.
·   The root chakra vibrates with the color red.
·   The root chakra's mission statement is: I want, I need.

Maintaining a balanced foundation is an ongoing and sometimes challenging process. Life is ever changing, and you must be able to go with the flow, bending like the branches of a tree in an unpredictable wind. Because it is impossible to control your external environment, you must concentrate on creating an inner environment that is both solid and flexible.

Muladhara Chakra

Muladhara is the root centre of physical experience, located at the base of the spine, the sacral plexus.

The square represents the earth itself, the four dimensions and the four directions. Four allows for completion, and earth embodies the elements and conditions for human completion on all levels.

Patience and greed are the attributes of this element, survival its desire, collecting and saving are its activity. Muladhara Chakra is the meeting place of the three main nadis: Ida, Pingala and Sushumna. The downward-pointing triangle indicates the downward movement of energy and the three main nadis.

The seed mantra is Lam, the yellow square represents the earth element. The chakra governs the vital breath Apana. An inverted triangle in the centre of the square encloses the unmanifest Kundalini in three and a half coils around the svayambhu (self born) linga. With her mouth open, facing upward, she is connected with the path of Sushumna, the central nerve canal that runs along the spine.

Asanas

Yoga poses that correct first chakra imbalances, bring us back to our body and the earth and helping us experience safety, security, and stillness. Muladhara Chakra is associated with the element earth, representing physical and emotional grounding, and with the color red, which has a slower vibration than the colors that symbolize the other chakras.

Calf openers, hamstring stretches, and standing poses help to open and strengthen the lower body and root the energy downwards.

The Radiance Sutras...

My favourite texts on Tantra Yoga Teachings by Lorin Roche...

The real purification with water
is to bathe in the essence of eternity.
Stunning autonomy, radiant bliss,
invisible consciousness permeating you
always and in every direction.
The flowers, the candles, the honey
that are offered in worship are
made out of the same divine stuff as you.
Who then is worshipped?
As the breath flows in, and as it flows out,
it travels always the curving path of the goddess.
Breath flows in and out spontaneously of its own will,
thus all breathing beings continually worship the goddess.
Be conscious of this unconscious prayer,
for she is the most holy place of pilgrimage.
The breath flows out with the sound sa,
The breath flows in with the sound ha.
Thus thousands of times a day,
Everyone who breathes is adoring the goddess.
Know this, and be in great joy.
Listen to the ongoing prayer that is breath.
Life shall dance in you
a dance of ever-renewing delight.
                                                        - Lorin Roche
 
... Simply beautiful...

... Look for the Goddess everywhere,
You can find her presence all around you..
Goddess radiance and sparkles,
Anil xox

Ray of Surya..

Soaking up the radiant sunset in my beautiful spiritual/physical home, magical India...

and catching the glowing sun rays in my most special place in England, on top of the Tor in mystical Glastonbury, Isle of Avalon..

Goddess love & radiant flow,
Anil xox

Yoga in Catania, Italy - Aom Ayurveda Massage Course 2011

Website:
www.aomayurveda.org

Embrace your Inner Shakti...

... an inspiring article on Shakti by a beautiful Yogini and Goddess...


Women Hold the Shakti of Dharma - Yogini Shambhavi

Love & shimmering Shakti energy,
Anil xox

Get Hip - An article/sequence for opening your hips

Get Hip..
The sutra for my classes this week is hip openers, so here’s a wonderful sequence I extracted from Yoga Journal which you can practice regularly at home...

Enjoy your practice…
Happy hip opening…
Anil xx


http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/2753?print=1

Anil Jangi, BWY, Yoga Alliance - My Yoga CV

Profile:

I have been practising yoga for 17 years and teaching for 5 years.  My teaching draws on the Hatha Yoga style with emphasis on the breath, fluid flowing movement and alignment. 

Qualifications:

· Teacher training with YogaCampus, London

·  British Wheel of Yoga Certified

·  Yoga Alliance Registered

·  Fully insured with the BWY

·  Intensive Yoga Teacher Training in Siem Reap, Cambodia (72 hours Yoga Alliance)

·  First Aid certified

·  Qualified Pregnancy Yoga Teacher

Yoga Teaching Style:

Hatha Flow Yoga

I teach yoga classes for beginners (Level 1) and advanced students (Level 2 and 3) in the style that has come to be known as “vinyasa (to place, in a special way) flow” which is an intense and creative yoga form that strengthens, opens, and detoxifies the body.

Flow yoga offers a rhythmic and energetic approach to yoga. Dynamic, intelligent sequences of postures are linked by breath, integrating self-awareness and alignment while creating a unique balance of strength and flexibility. Exploring the harmonious sensation of allowing the breath to initiate and inspire movement, this creative yoga practice rejuvenates body and mind.

Vinyasa Flow classes combine classical and diverse sun salutations to warm-up the body with breath awareness to focus the mind. Gentle flows build up gradually to more vigorous sequences, and conclude with deep relaxation. Variations are offered to allow participants to modify the practice to individual levels of fitness and experience, and to accommodate any injuries or specific challenges. Through rhythmic, circular and spiralling movement, students will learn to liberate poses that are often rigidly held, allowing them to grow stronger and more flexible with grace. The classes include music to enhance the flow and rhythm.

Vinyasa Flow is often referred to as "meditation in motion". Opening to the natural rhythms of life through the breath creates a deeper awareness of reality and the nature of change. Understanding how one pose leads to and compliments another is central to the transformational process of yoga and the evolution of consciousness. The breath-driven movement leads to the stillness of deep relaxation, allowing the physical practice of yoga to serve as an invaluable tool for self-realization and reflection.

Pregnancy Yoga

I also teach Pre-natal yoga. I find it incredibly rewarding to help mothers prepare for birth, and give them the tools to birth consciously, and then greet the babies on the other side!

Prenatal yoga can ease the discomforts of pregnancy, such as moodiness, shortness of breath, and can relieve minor ailments such as swollen joints, heartburn and constipation; can give women time to bond with their babies; and can help them prepare for the rigors and mysteries of labor by relieving any pain that may occur.

In the physical body it can keep the body supple and strong, can relieve stress and anxiety and can promote relaxation and a restful sleep.

Prenatal yoga classes can provide a chance to spend time with other pregnant women sharing experiences and concerns, especially helpful if a woman is feeling stressed, unsupported, or fearful.

Asanas, the physical poses, can help build strength and stamina and improve circulation. Meditation can improve the abilities to relax and to concentrate. Pranayama, breathing exercises, can help manage the pain of contractions.

Teacher Training Intensives / workshops attended:

Yoga as Therapy Teacher Training Intensive with Doug Keller (Jul 2007)

An alternative approach to posture work workshop with John Stirk (Apr 2007)

Structural Yoga Therapy Teacher Training Intensive with Mukunda Stiles (Apr 2006)

The Skills of Adjusting workshop with Mark Ansari (March 2006)

Kundalini Yoga with Yvonne Karle (Feb 2006)

How Yoga can help manage 21^st century conditions with Dr Ruth Gilmore (Dec 2005)

Embodying the Flow: Foundation to teaching Prana Vinyasa Flow Yoga Teacher Training Intensive with Shiva Rea (Jun 2008)

Vinyasa Flow Yoga Teacher Training Workshop with Claire Missingham (Aug 2008)

Heart Flow Vinyasa Workshop with Claire Missingham (Feb 2009)

Riding the Vinyasa Wave (aka Fluid Power II) with Shiva Rea (Jun 2009)

‘Shaktified’ Pregnancy Teacher Training for Vinyasa Flow with Claire Missingham

(Nov 2010)

Fireflow Yoga Workshop with Claire Missingham (Jan 2011)

Sunburst Vinyasa Flow with Claire Missingham (Jun 2011)

Teaching Contracts

LA Fitness, Isleworth (2007 – present)

Regular weekly classes, plus cover teaching

Virgin Active, Uxbridge (2009 – present)Regular weekly classes, plus cover teaching

Cover teaching at: Roko Healthclub, Chiswick, The Special Yoga Centre, Kensal Rise,

Flex Healthclub, Uxbridge, Lambtons (Pregnancy Yoga), Westbourne Park

Teaching in Europe: Aom Ayurveda Centre - Palermo, Sicily -  www.aomayurveda.org