Your Own Sweet Abode

This week in my classes I've been focusing on Svadhisthana Chakra, the second chakra. The word "Svadhisthana" means 'one's own sweet abode,' your home, where you live. Located between the navel and the pubic bone, this chakra is said to be associated with the color orange, the element water, and the sensory perception taste. According to my teacher, Anodea Judith, this is our biological program for emotions, desire/pleasure and sexuality, all of which can be difficult to understand, confront and/or express. In the context of the path of yoga, these aspects of being human are often suppressed or ignored. This only seems to strengthen the power of these energies, and they find unconscious and often egregious means of expressing themselves. Pretending they don't exist doesn't make them go away.

Water needs to flow. When it gets dammed up, the power becomes unpredictable; when it doesn't move, it becomes stagnant. This is such a lovely metaphor for our emotions: they need to flow. We often welcome 'good' emotions, but deny 'bad' ones. This means that we 'let ourselves feel' generous, happy, kind, but not so much things like jealous, greedy or angry. Since emotions can have a watery feel to them, I've definitely felt like I could drown in that sea and so have pushed down and denied emotions that have felt too dangerous. Thanks to Irene Bojczuk, I've learned a method called "The Sedona Method" which very simply teaches the skill of acknowledging and inviting emotions as they arise. You don't need to express every emotion, and certainly there are times and situations where doing so would be totally inappropriate. But you allow yourself to feel what you feel, which is incredibly liberating. Emotions give meaning and color to life, and often they make you feel alive.

As for pleasure and desire, these terms in our culture often take on a very sexual nature. Pleasure is registered through the senses, but it doesn't have to always be lustful. Taking a walk along the river, preparing and enjoying a good meal, and, for me, watching my new doggie play with other dogs at the dog park, are incredibly pleasurable experiences. Consider if you allow yourself to actually enjoy your food, or if you mostly stuff something in your mouth while driving or sitting at your computer; if you allow yourself to enjoy the beautiful weather we've been experiencing, or if you move robotically through your day, accomplishing your tasks with the efficiency and joy of a machine. The senses are said to awaken consciousness in the body. We live in a vivid, magical, sensational world. Not fully appreciating that is surely a crime.

Desire points you in a direction. Once you know what you want, you then can create a plan of action to manifest that. Wanting to feel happy and healthy, to practice yoga, to fully awaken in this lifetime: these are desires. Can you get clear about what it is you want, allow yourself to want what you want, and then move toward realizing that, without feeling guilty? Guilt, again according to Anodea Judith, is what she calls the 'demon' of the 2nd chakra. We have built into our language the notion of 'guilty pleasures.' I admitted in class this week that months ago, on a weekday afternoon, I went to the Ritz movie theatre in the middle of the day to watch a French movie by myself. When admitting this to my husband, I felt guilty, as though I should have been at work earning or somehow contributing to our life together. Perhaps it's no surprise to you to consider that 'workaholic-ism' is a symptom of a 2nd chakra imbalance.

Of course it's true we can't 'indulge our desires' all the time; what we're looking for here is balance.

As for sexuality, between you and yourself, get clear about how you relate to your own sexuality. Do you regard this as sacred or profane? Do you have any traumas to address? Anyone you need to forgive, including, perhaps, yourself? There is clearly so much sexual abuse in our culture ... maybe all cultures. Clearly seeing what you have to deal with will liberate all the energy you've invested in containing or suppressing it so you can heal. To heal means to make whole. Here you work to remove all of the internal barriers you have erected that create the feeling of separation so you can discover the wholeness that always already is.

Characteristics of a balanced second chakra include the ability to nurture self and others, emotional intelligence, appropriate boundaries and the ability to experience joy. This is certainly worth working toward!

Holy "MA" Phase!

In the continuous, colliding cycle of OM, beginnings, middles and ends are always occurring. As my teacher, Cyndi Lee expressed, life is a series of 'things' arising, abiding and dissolving. There are big beginnings, like weddings, birth, the start of a new school year or the opening of a new business venture. Beginnings often feel exciting and hopeful, ripe with possibility. The 'middle' or 'abiding' part is often where the real energy and effort is invested; it's where we realize success and confront disappointment, and where our mettle is tested and many lessons are learned. The 'middle' can feel tedious or boring, but it's also where we can savor the satisfaction of applying ourselves and making a meaningful contribution to the community and/or the world at large. And, of course, we realize that any 'thing' that has a beginning will eventually have an end. Endings are often sad, and are sometimes quite painful. There might be bitterness, resentment, and even a tendency to look for someone to blame. It has occurred to me, however, that the manner with which we navigate the "MA" phase of the OM cycle, the dissolving/end part, gives us the raw material with which we create the next new beginning. When we attend to the ending with tenderness, compassion and clarity we create the conditions for an inspired, energized and creative new beginning.

Of course, I've been sitting with these thoughts lately following the decision to close Wake Up Yoga West. Many factors have contributed to this ending, and, truthfully, it feels less like a decision and more like the only choice. Even so, those of us who have loved that space and the cOMmUNITY that has been nurtured and growing there for nearly 6 years, feel quite sad that this is the case.

In our efforts to attend to the ending with grace and compassion, we intend to offer classes through the 6 pm class on Tuesday, April 17th. We recognize that many students have invested in class cards specifically because the West studio fit naturally with their daily flow, and that the other Wake Up Yoga studios may be less convenient. If students keep coming, we will keep teaching. If, however, class size drops off dramatically, we may have to close our doors sooner. We hope to go out on a high note, and recognize that any sadness and disappointment that result from this decision only exist because the space has been so special for so many people. Our March schedule is slightly modified, and a few classes toward the end of the month will have to be canceled. I am so grateful to and inspired by the teachers who are committed to continuing to tend to their classes as we ride out this ending. Of course, students who have remaining classes on their class cards are invited to use them at our other two studios. Both Rebecca Hooper and Victoria Ladd will teach a final workshop at Wake Up Yoga West in March and April, which will be beautiful and inspired ways to maximize the positive, life-affirming resource this studio has been.