To be honest, I have only briefly heard of chakras prior to attending this YTT course. In my layman’s impression, they are some sort of energy flow within us (气) Qi as what the Chinese name may be. I have never really bothered to understand how these chakras may affect my life because when you are young all these theory seem unreal and mystical.
Living and growing up in this fast-paced environment makes it harder for me to grasp the underlying spirituality and scientific prove of such theory. However, the more I read up on Chakras, it does make sense to me how our ‘chemical’ body can be affected by our choice of diet, Sattvic, Rajasic and Tamasic food, the asanas that we practice and our thoughts. Now I can relate to how I have been suffering from mood swings, feeling dull for no apparent reason probably because of my love for Tamasic food such as mushrooms. I too suffer from lactose intolerance like master Paalu, it could be my regular consumption of mushrooms. It is going to be tough giving up eating mushrooms but I will try and go for more Sattvic food instead. I am currently on low Sattvic, moderate Rajasic and high Tamasic food. This diet may have affected my chakra and moods to a certain extent.
The practice of yoga is not just about the shapes that we can make our body get into. To be a true yogi, it requires a lot of discipline and devotion in loving and taking care of ourself and others around us. Now that I understand why I am low on Maniputra, Anahata, Ajna and Sahasrara Chakras, I will make a conscious effort to change the ‘chemical’ inputs, the food that I have been eating, more Sattvic, less Rajasic and Tamasic, practice more on those asanas that will help me to activate these chakras in particular.
Asanas for:
Maniputra Chakra
- diaphragmatic breathing: Kapalabhati
- All twisty poses, Child’s Pose and Savasana
- Core poses such as Navasana
Anahata Chakra
- Backbending Poses
- Bridge Pose
Ajna Chakra
- Eye massage after meditation
- Dolphin Plank
- Garudasana
- Warrior III
- Dolphin pose
- Pincha Mayurasana
- Child’s Pose/ Savasana
Sahasrara Chakra
- Meditation with set intention such as vastness; limitlessness; unity; seeing yourself in all beings to cultivate compassion; accepting your place and your part in the universe; awakening of consciousness; opening to spiritual realizations.
Now I can finally understand why I felt so good after practicing some of the asanas mentioned above. The hardest to me is meditation with set intention. It is so hard to quiet my mind and so tough to ignore the numbness in my legs 😅 I am so glad that my accidental stumble upon yoga in instagram in September 2015 has spurred this passion in me to persevere in my practice. Connecting with like-minded yogis, the feel-good factor and guidance that they give me is priceless. I hope that through my little acts I can also inspire others to be mindful of their own well-being and live well. Through yoga, we can grow stronger and happier. It’s not just a career option, it’s a lifelong spiritual path.
Contributed by: Annie Chua