Tuesday, December 18, 2012

When it gets too heavy, lighten up with chanting!

There's few bigger transitions in life then the ones required of us in childbirth.  And whether your enduring the title wave contractions of  active labor or the slower, more choppy waters of the first year at home with your newborn, feeling grounded can give you the confidence you need to ride it out and get to the other side, ready to take on the challenge of a new way of being.

In the circle on our yoga mats we learn to feel the experience of being more grounded  by actively pushing the bones of our feet or hands into the earth, and being receptive to the rebound force that helps to stabilize our foundation. We can use the same principle to feel more grounded in light by expressing ourselves vocally wih chanting, humming or even singing.  Called chakras, our body houses subtle, concentrated areas of energy, and it's our third chakra, in the throat area that when activited can hold our awareness evenly through the core of our being, vertically, acting like a tunnel of lightness for us to ride.

It is our bones that have a strong affinity for gravity, and they help to keep us down, earth bound.  In contrast, our expression of sound has a strong affinity for our awareness, and helps move us up, to lighter fare.  Together, the two opposing forces help keep us balanced, at center ground.

Too, we can deepen our experience of  "core lightness" by using the corresponding cobalt blue color of the throat chakra and its related influence on our skeletal system. So as we chant the sound a-u-m, we imagine our bones the color of the caribbean waters or that of  a clear blue sky.

Enduring the most difficult challenges in our lives like those of childbirth can open up new pathways in our being. So when the opportunity arises for us to take our next step, we can reach for it, and knowing all of you the way I do, we simply can't miss!

Together,

Maurene