***image1***”All knowledge is false unless the soul is experienced throughout the body.” Dance forms have been used by many spiritual cultures as a form of Kundalini Yoga. From the wave like motions of the spine, in the African traditions, to the spinning In the Sufi tradition, movement has been used to move energy, transform one’s state, and elevate awareness. We can make the dance of our lives flowing and creative by tapping into the principles of movement and physical energy inherent in each chakra. 1st Chakra – Grounding This is the first and most important principle. If a tree’s roots do not dig energetically into the earth to secure itself, the branches cannot reach towards the sun and play in the breeze. The earth is our support, our springboard. Gravity is our ally. A favorite teacher emphasizes over and over, “The floor is your friend.” Many try to bypass this important grounding principle and pull away from the floor as a shortcut to grace. But only when a dancer fully commits to the earth, and learns to give in to gravity, will she blossom into true gracefulness. As in life: you must go down before you go up! 2nd Chakra – Balance of Strength & Flexibility – Fluidity Freeform dance is often a part of Kundalini classes, and an excellent way to free up energy. Of course, Kundalini Yoga is all about energy and spirit, and what better way to move the energy and raise the spirits high then lose ourselves to the unique rhythm of our own soul? Once we are grounded we can start to move and explore our world. This chakra relates to the water element. A free-flowing Second Chakra balances strength and flexibility. The pelvis is our girdle. It’s what holds it all together. We need that strength, but we also need to unlock the pelvis so we can move gracefully and fluidly towards fulfillment. 3rd -Chakra – Balance and Rhythm The Manipura chakra (solar plexus) relates to balance and rhythm. The navel is our core strength and where all movement originates. When the solar plexus is tight it is hard to feel our center and is impossible to find our “soft” balance. Balance is not rigid or static. It’s an interplay between opposing forces. When a baby first learns to stand steadily, he/she is not gripping or tense but performing continuous lightning quick movements to continually catch itself to stay upright. This is our true strength, our moving intelligence. One sign of a head-centered person is inhibited or small movement. We avoid extending ourselves when coming from the head. Too much thinking drains the navel’s energy. When you dance let your thinking mind rest and the navel’s wisdom take over! 4th Chakra – Grace The beat of your heart is the rhythm of your soul. When the solar plexus is opened, the physical heart is free, and we can be guided by the cadence of our life’s pulse. All of life is constantly pulsing. Every cell, every molecule within us is beating with life’s ebb and flow. When the navel is strong we can allow ourselves the vulnerability to let our heart lead us. As long as you are guided by the rhythm of your own heart, it is impossible not to be graceful. 5th Chakra – Energy -Inner Guidance, Listening to Ourselves The Third Chakra is the body’s moving wisdom, the Sixth Chakra is the body’s intuitive movement. The Fifth supplies the energy and joy in the dance. When the Fifth Chakra is balanced we are less apt to feel negative which can make feeling like dancing impossible! Also, the Third Chakra, the solar plexus, is where we “take in.” It is our subconscious. The Sixth Center is where we process and fine tune this information. The nerves which join these two centers crisscross in the Fifth Chakra, behind the neck. When this area is balanced, one’s head and heart are connected, and we can express the inexpressible. The Fifth Chakra also relates to song, or vibration. May your molecules dance with Infinity! 6th Chakra – Focus – Intuitive Movement When we move our bodies in unaccustomed ways, we create new neural pathways in our brains and open new doors, or possibilities, we haven’t been able to conceive otherwise. So much of life involves repetitive, linear, and habitual movement. Whether driving a car, folding clothes or training on a treadmill, these robotic movements have a limiting effect on our psyche. It is just like connective tissue in the joints which, when we are not consciously increasing our range of motion, shrink-wraps to fit a sedentary lifestyle. Our life feels “smaller” somehow when we are not extending beyond our everyday movement patterns. 7th Chakra- Feel Heavens Pull An energetic body always has opposing energy forces at work. Whether you are standing on your feet, or sitting on your heels or sit bones, reach actively upwards through the crown of your head. Aspiration is our human mandate. Reaching upwards through the crown of the head and backbends are often used as a yogic cure for depression. Simple standing, or Mountain Pose, is a good practice to feel rooted and uplifted at the same time. 8th Chakra – Presence Our body is not our boundary. Energy propagates through movement into the space around us and we transform that space. At some point in your dance you should extend arms and fingers fully upwards to the heavens and all the way down towards the earth. When energy is flowing freely through all the chakras, our radiance extends into the world. Like a starfish, or sun, feel your energy extending out in all directions, radiating, making you positively magnetic. Exercise: Put on any music that moves you. Have fun. Dance! AB ***image2***Meditation of the Month – Regenerating the Pranic Body The Pranic Body is our energy inflow. It’s also our ability to hold a charge. It could be said that energy is our Destiny, and where there is energy there can be no fear. Most people live at an energy deficit, they expend more than they generate. Breath is the key to not letting daily stress age us before our time. Breath is an energy delivery system. The following technique will help you overcome fears and neuroses. It will regenerate you and give you a new relationship with energy. The energy surplus this generates will translate into healing, abundance, and new life. Your hands are in fists with the thumbs pointing straight up. The elbows are bent, forearms parallel to the ground. The hands in line with each other with the right hand 2 inches above the left thumb at diaphragm level. The eyes in this one are 1/10 open looking down toward the tip of the nose. Inhale, exhale. Hold the breath out for 26 counts. The breath should be held out at least 15 seconds. Build up to 11 min. over time. Then do it for 40 days. Everything in your life will renew. POEM

fire escape and locust tree July dusk the air a soporific for the setting sun so much of us co-opted by search for perfection this poem has been made possible because you here cooking dinner is a fact of life and of existence marriage is freedom for the artist you say embodiment is ascension process is direction I am going to do a violet enzyme mask to eat away the acids of the day you say poetry is pure transcription in other words who needs inspiration when you make everything true.

-RS

Have a great summer! Ravi & Ana

As always you can contact us at 1.800.243.9642 or through www.raviana.com E-mail us at ravianayoga@aol.com

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