In my classes this week, we're bringing in song.  This is one of my favorite ways to begin class~ there is so much in a few words and a tune...

If you are interested, this is a great place to start to begin learning about this particular string of words that roll together:

https://www.gaia.com/article/lokah-samastah-sukhino-bhavantu

November is all about gratitude~ in it's very honest form of asking us to consider that, if there is not gratitude present, perhaps we aren't really paying attention to this here and now? 

"It takes guts." - Pema Chodron

Love + So Many Thanks,
heather

Crown.
December completes the circuit of chakras that we have been weaving our awareness through on the mat for the last 6 months. 
We have spoken about how the crown represents an idea of connection~ with Source, with water, with Divine Nature, God, friends, kin, Dao, Earth.  Balanced for a moment in our roots, the techniques given to us in the yoga tradition, lead us toward a way of feeling stillness in the body, mind and heart so that we may contemplate Silence, and what it opens up in us.
I have so ejoyed learning alongside you, kula mates, about this deep and rich way of practicing through the lens of the energetic and subtle chakra system.  Here are a few things that I've loved this month:

"And as you pick up speed, let your life arc out
away from you.
Realize that you don’t know where you’re going
and that the weather changes often.
Steer between the stars
like songbirds coming back at night.
Listen to the whirring
of a thousand, thousand miles of dark.
Remember you are ancient,
that once you walked out of the sea
and in the trees became another thing.
Know you can again.
Be Hungry.
Want." ~ Susan Elbe

"In Sahasrara Chakra the prana moves upward and reaches the highest point. The mind establishes itself in the pure void of Shunya Mandala, the space between the hemispheres.
At this time all feelings, emotions and desires, which are the activities of the mind, are dissolved into their primary cause. The union is achieved. The yogi is sat-chit-ananda, truth-being-bliss."
~Tantra~Kundalini.com

ajna= third eye.  we have three eyes: two to look, one to see.

there's a story about a kung fu master who was asked what he wanted from life. his response: "peace". 
perhaps you too, like me, thought a more typical response would answer to a yearning of the heart, a desire to travel to some far off land, to live in a house on a river, in a desert, to have a great job, healthy family perhaps too. instead:  just peace.
when we choose peace, all of our actions are born from that foundation that desires harmlessness.  if we're buying a car, taking a trip, applying for a job, talking to our lover, our unhappy neighbor~ we're choosing peace.  in the kitchen, at the dump, at Target~ peace.  in sickness and health~ peace. 
it's so important to go within.  to literally turn your two eyeballs upward behind closed eyelids and peer into the space between the brows when you're stirring dinner, warming your face in the sun, resting on the couch.
what do you think? 
ajna's element is light.  it invites us to be light, move toward the light.  to feel light.  to feel.  hear.  eyes closed.  what do you notice? 
what is true today may not be true tomorrow. 
ajna invites us to be present since the truth lives in the present moment only. 
i hope you enjoy continued inspiration from your life~ as i will from mine~ through the mysterious third eye.

Rising up as we go, the beautiful and glowing month of August brings us to the 3rd level.  Manipura means 'city of jewels', referring to the solar plexus (and a handful of inches above and below it).  Place your widespread hand over the highest space between your front ribs.  Feel your sternum, or breastbone, under your thumb.  Press your hand into your body gently.  Manipura. 

Organs related to the 3rd chakra: stomach, liver, spleen, small intestine, adrenals and pancreas. 

The right use of our energy in general could be thought of as being born in this heat center, and we could focus it downward towards survival and gratification of the senses, or upwards toward the heart and our higher self.

"No man is free, who is not a master of himself." ~Epictetus
"I am not afraid of storms, as I am learning how to sail my ship." -Louisa May Alcott

I found this at www.chopra.com, beautifully written by Michelle Fondin:

"While meditation does connect you to a higher spiritual plane, it also serves to ground you. You may not always be able to trust that the world will give you what you need to survive, but connection to your higher self and trust in a power higher than yourself will give you what you need to feel safe.
It does not matter if you call that higher power Consciousness, Mother Nature, God, or Spirit. Connection to universal energy will bring you a sense of peace and stability. The animals in the forest have no idea if and when they will find food each day, yet somehow they trust in nature to provide for them."


I've also been digging on Michael Stone's offerings, and found this podcast particularly inspiring, gentle and helpful.  I think you too will love it.  If you have an hour to listen, awesome.  If you just get through the first minute, I think you'll be better for it:)
(A donation has been made on behalf of our kula, so listen and enjoy!  Feel free to donate more and share.  He's great.)
The title of the one Im inviting you to listen to as we consider Mula/Root is "Training Your Heart, Trusting Yourself, Getting Out of Your Own Way"

Copy and paste the link below:
https://michaelstoneteaching.com/podcasts/