This term we are using the Manas Chakra as our guide for exploration, a little-known chakra which has 8 multicoloured petals, pointing to different points on the compass. See earlier posts for more information about this fascinating chakra and the ancient texts where it is described. This week we are focusing on the petal which points to the south. The universal mother text tells us “when attention comes to rest in the black southern petal then thought breaks up your anger.” It is important to understand that the usage of chakras was largely as visualization tools, as an aid to contemplative meditation practices. It is also important to understand that the chakras were thought to be threaded like flowers onto the central energetic stem of the body (in front of the spine), and therefore we should visualize them as three dimensional in the body, pointing front, back and to the sides, rather than 2 dimensional (which is how they are often drawn) with the petals just pointing up and down. The information on this chakra starts at the East. This makes sense as we know that in traditional yoga practice of the time, practices were done in the early morning facing the rising sun- to the east. Therefore, the Eastern petal is towards the front of the body and the western petal points behind. The Southern Petal then, by logic points to the right of the body. Why is this important? Well at about the level of this chakra, which is above the navel and under the diaphragm sits the liver…. The liver is a large organ and is important in digesting food and eliminating toxins from the body. In Traditional Chinese Medicine the liver is thought to be associated with anger, resentment, frustration, irritability, bitterness, and flying off the handle in rage. I find the co-incidence of this text pointing us directly towards the liver to dissolver anger interesting. It makes sense as we also remember that there was no distinction between the body and the mind. So how can yoga help dissolve anger? We start by listening to the wisdom of this text to bring our awareness to it. Once we are aware of something then we are able to allow it to soften and flow. Often emotions become stagnant when we avoid them or ignore them. Yoga by its nature helps us to be more intentional with where we place our attention. Once we can recognize anger, then we can soften, soothe and allow it to move through us. Turning towards ourselves with compassion, using massage on the liver and kidney area can be helpful to this. Gentle twists can also massage the connective tissues around the organs as can using the breath, especially longer exhale breaths. I've drawn a bit of a short sequence you can try to bring gentle awareness to the liver when angry- I'll explain these more in classes, especially the banana child pose!
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Today on Mothers day, I am revisiting and reflecting on my studies from a few years ago on the Universal mother. This teaching is a translation of an amazing tantric scroll, which dates to about 1000 years ago, translated by Sanskrit scholar Chris Tompkins in 2014. The scroll depicts a beautiful 12 chakra system, as well as teachings for embodying the Universal mother. I had the pleasure of seeing a variation of this scroll, and other similar artwork, when it toured Australia in 2009 as part of the Goddess- divine energy art exhibition. It was truly a remarkable piece of art and history that I am so pleased I got to see with my own eyes – it was just under 4 metre long and beautifully detailed. In my reflections today am reminded that mother is first and foremost an energy, not a person. All of us embody the qualities of mother at varies times as it is the universal energy of life. Many of us mentor, support, nurture and inspire each other, all qualities of mother energy. We also all contain desire for love and intimacy, also associated with mother energy. The Jagd Matr text poetically describes the chakras as a garland of lotuses strung on the central stem of the sushumna nadi (the central energy channel of the body). The soul is described like a bee, that resides in the top most chakra, and is encouraged through the practices described in the text to visit all the chakras, collect the nectar from each and then settle down in the chakra of the heart as the humsa (or unification of the in breath and the exhale breath in the heart space). The Universal Mother in this chakra scroll is understood to be the ground of being, the highest reality that contains the whole of the Universe in her very being. The scroll lists 50 “little mothers” which are the divinities of each petal of the 6 main chakras. The goddesses are represented by all the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet. The practices described in the text were previously lost (or not shared widely) and are based on mantra (sound vibration), pranayama (breathing practices) and meditation. Asana is understood to be the throne on which we sit to do the practices, and the practices were undertaken by householders who were likely to have been initiated, but not living away from their family and daily responsibilities. The recent translation of this scroll challenges some previously assumed knowledge of these practices, and gives us a different seed syllable sound for each chakra, as well as different deities than in other chakra writings from the last 100 years made popular by the Theosophical society. The text interestingly uses the term yoginam to refer to both male and female practitioners, in contrast to the later dated scrolls which only use the masculine term yogi, highlighting the feminist nature of the entire scroll, and the importance of the energy of mother to everyone. If you are curious about this chakra system and some of the practices it describes, I will be sharing some that I use from this at the Winter Solstice Kind-fulness retreat. Yoga practice assists us to develop new patterns and pathways for our mind and body. I talk a lot about yoga meaning connection, and often mention the components of ourselves we connect to:- body, mind, breath.
Yoga also helps us connect to that part of ourselves that always knows just what to do in any situation. There are many names to describe this; awareness, our essence, witness consciousness. I like "compassionate wisdom in action", as this to me captures that this is an active as well as a reflective state of being. What we practice, and call yoga are all tools to assist us to allow this state to naturally unfold within us. Yoga is therefore a state where we can freely act in the most wise and compassionate way in the moment. The question arises of why we need tools and practice to find this state of compassionate wisdom? Traditional Yoga psychology describes a process of Samskara, that prevent us from accessing this state. These are habitual groove like patterns of thinking and acting that we develop over our life. Some of these patterns may be helpful to us, and some aren't. Think about any addictive behaviour for example, or any unconscious behaviour that is triggered by past hurts, or even the tendency to round your shoulders when working over the computer while furrowing your brow – eventually when you think about work, your brow tenses and your shoulders round. These are all examples of Samskara. Modern Neuropsychology also recognises these patterns, and describes the ways brain neurons connect like paths through a forest. Feelings thoughts and actions often fire together in brain and the most trodden paths are easiest to find. Our brains love short cuts- it’s a very useful tool -not to have to relearn things like riding a bike, or driving a manual car each time. But perhaps these paths take us somewhere that no longer serves us, ways of thinking that are unhelpful, patterns of movement that create tension for example. Yoga Practice assists us develop new patterns and pathways for our minds and bodies. It gives us tools where we can begin to skilfully chose what we need, based on our own compassionate wisdom. This means we can over time release unconscious patterns that create physical, emotional and mental tension, and create new habits and patterns that better serve us. Just like forming a new path in a forest though, repatterning the body and mind takes time, and repetition. Initially it might seem exciting, but it can be challenging - and the old pathways seem more inviting and familiar. Practices that seem to work at first may not have the same effect. Perseverance is the key to changing these samskaras and meeting yourself at that place of compassionate wisdom in action. The yoga sutras describe a need for dedication and persistence to the tools of yoga, and a cultivation of the attitude of patience. One of my teachers, Hareesh, describes three things that are required to help re-pattern samskaras:
Committing to group yoga classes is great because these classes create an environment which supports openness in all of these areas. Physical practices help re-pattern muscle tension. Breathing and meditation practices can make us aware of emotional patterns, such as holding the breath when anxious. Self enquiry practices give us permission to explore these patterns safely, and to come to our own conclusions about the practices that are most suitable and helpful. This is also the reason why I emphasise being able to smile in any given practice, so that our body can tap into the state of compassionate wisdom in action- when you can smile without forcing, you know that you have accessed your compassionate wisdom. |