Light your Manipura Fire - Ignite yourSelf for the coming winter.
Happy Halloween!
Today we celebrate all the shapes we can take and the masks we can don to obscure our identities - Remember your most important shape: yourSelf.
Halloween has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, this day marked the end of summer / harvest time and the beginning of the cold, dark winter. The Celts celebrated their new year on November 1. On the night of October 31st (“New Years Eve”) it was believed that the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead became blurred. Winter was associated with death both in the landscape surrounding the Celts and as an extension, human death.
Liminal Time
This was considered to be a Liminal Time for the Celts. From the Latin word Limen: meaning Threshold. On this day, individuals “stand at the threshold” between the previous way of structuring their identity and a new way.
To celebrate this time, Druids (Celtic Priests) would build huge bonfires, wear costumes and prepare for the transition to from harvest to winter. When the celebration was over, the Celts would return home, and re-light their hearth fires from the sacred bonfire, to connect to community and protect them from the coming winter.
Ready to flow?!
As we look ahead and prepare for our coming winter: Lets remove our masks and step firmly into the beautiful shape of ourSelves - time to ignite our inner fire! This week’s flow will center around the 3rd Chakra: Manipura or Solar Plexus Chakra.
Image source: https://blog.mindvalley.com/solar-plexus-chakra/
The solar plexus chakra is just below the sternum and is the center of energy associated with: personal power, self-belief, and self-worth. This is governed by the element of fire: Fire is action and transformation - when resonating with the 3rd chakra we take action to step into the best versions of ourSelves and we have the courage to leave behind what no longer serves us.
The third chakra takes some SERIOUS will, power, and strength to face. When you took off your Halloween costume tonight, how did you feel in the shape of you? This liminal time ( as we stand at the threshold of what was and what can be ) is the perfect time to evaluate the relationship you have with yourSelf. Be honest about what is missing in your life, what do you need to leave in the ash, and then have the courage to IGNITE your inner fire.
As you flow, envision the bright yellow light of the Manipura Chakra and say to yourSelf: I AM THE FIRE!
Listening to: Halestorm's "I am the fire" More metal and yoga to rock out to \m/
Key postures from this flow to create your own fiery chakra work:
Navasana - High boat pose
Plank holds, low to high push ups —> for more core activation!
Utthita Ashwa Sanchalanasana - High crescent lunge, added twists for core activation
Virabhadrasana II - Warrior II, reversing the warrior also activates the core and allows the solar plexus to shine toward the sky.
Utkata Konasana - Goddess Pose - STAND IN YOUR POWER!
Kapalabhati pranayama or breath of fire
I know it looks like I was rocking out to Halestorm \M/, but I was actually doing the Surya (sun) or Agni (fire) mudra (see below :)
Surya (sun) or Agni (fire) mudra
Surya mudra is a hand gesture that increases the fire element and eliminates the earth element in the body. A Sanskrit term, surya means "sun" and mudra means "gesture."
Surya mudra is performed by bending both ring fingers and placing the tips of them on the bases of the thumbs. By a gentle pressure of the thumbs on top of the ring fingers, the earth element residing in the ring fingers is eliminated and the fire element residing in the thumbs is increased.
source: https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/6869/surya-mudra