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Chakras The system is thousands of years old, but it is a relatively new concept to the West and its cultures. Unlike the cardio-vascular, muscular or nervous system, it isn’t visible using the standard methods of observation used in scientific analysis and so it isn’t easily studied by Western science. This elegant and complex system serves as a channel of the life force in the body and interconnects with all the body’s other systems—an integrated whole—body/mind/spirit. The word chakra means wheel or disk. are depicted as variations on the lotus flower, each chakra having a different number of petals. There are many chakras in the body but the seven main chakras follow the body’s energetic center line—the sushumna and its two main “arteries”—the ida and the pingala, which exit out of the nostrils. The seven main chakras are anchored within the sushumna, which flows from the base of the coccyx to beyond the crown of the head. The ida and the pingala intertwine the sushumna. The chakras, in turn, are connected to thousands of nadis or energy points/conduits throughout the body. The chakra system cannot be detected from a gross physical standpoint as it operates within an energetic vibration field linked to areas within the physical, emotional and spiritual being. What does rising mean? Kundalini is the name of the Hindu goddess who is often shown as coiled around the first/root chakra. As the Kundalini is awakened by the universal life energy traveling up the sushumna—each chakra is awakened. It is said that once each chakra is fully awake and energy is flowing out of the crown of the head, enlightenment or oneness is achieved. Below is a list of the Chakras in ascending order, from the root chakra to the crown chakra.

Chakra Names Gland Suggested Color

Muladhara - Root Adrenals Red

Svadhisthana-Sweetness Ovaries/Testes

Manipura-Lustrous Gem Pancreas

Anahanta-Unstruck Thymus Green/Pink

Vishuddha-Purfication Thyroid

Ajna-Perception/Knowing Pituitary Purple/

Sahasrara-Thousandfold Pineal /White/Multi

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Each of the seven chakras is associated with a myriad of different areas. Here are some: body parts, planets, astrological signs, senses, fragrances, crystals or stones, animals, archetypes, physical dysfunctions, emotional dysfunctions, rites of passages, sacraments, foods and developmental stages in one’s life. Each of the seven chakras vibrates at a different rate or speed related to the number of its lotus petals with the Root chakra vibrating the slowest. Each one can be activated by different Bija or seed sounds. Symbol Chakra Sound Location

Muladhara Lam (Lang) Root

Svadisthana Vam (vang) Sacrum

Manipura Ram (Rang) Solar Plexus

Anahanta Yam (Yang) Heart

Vishuddha Ham (Hang) Throat

Ajna Kham (Kshang) or

Sahasrara OM Crown

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Chakra Meditation Script by Stephanie Estice

This meditation is done sitting upright. Students can sit in a chair, cross-legged on the floor, in full , or in any other comfortable seated position as long as the spine is upright, with its natural curves, to allow for open energy flow. There is repetition in this meditation, as you move up the chakras. It isn’t necessary to always repeat exactly the same words, but it is also alright to repeat the words, maintaining the rhythm of the words in this chakra exploration. Be sure to tune into the location – to the chakra – within your own body and being as you lead others through this exploration. If you don’t yet have an experience of the energy of chakras in your body and your life, record this and practice it yourself, bringing your attention to each chakra and gently holding it as you follow along. See if it’s possible to be alright with not having a concrete understanding of the experience, to rest with not knowing. One day you will begin to notice or sense your own experience of energy, possibly a sensation of movement or pulsation, or maybe you will see colors. It is a valuable practice to come back to whenever you feel called. As you read this meditation, the double spacing between the chakra sections is intentional – allow an extra moment of rest and tuning in, without words, to each chakra, before moving the attention up the spine to the next one.

Find your most comfortable seated position to allow for an upright spine…

..this may be on a chair, on the floor, on a cushion…

…with knees at or below the line of hips…

…be sure that the position of the pelvis supports the natural curves of the spine…

…you may want to rock the pelvis forward and backward until you have a sense of the spine having more space…to be as comfortably upright as available in this moment…

…if you need the support of blankets, cushions, pillows…take time at the start of this meditation to settle in to what is most supportive for your practice…

Tuning into what is available for you in this moment…

…weight of the body releasing, any amount, into the support of what you are sitting on…

…the spine lifting up from the floor…

…through its curves…

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…along the way to the top of the spine in the center of the head…

…and follow that to the top of the head…

…any experience of gentle lifting at the top of the head…

…any experience of the head resting at the top of the spine…

…the shoulders softening, any amount…

…the arms releasing with gravity…

…maintaining this upright shape…noticing any possibility now for rest in this shape…

Now, bring your conscious attention to the base of the spine…

…gently allowing your attention to rest at the base of the spine…

…noticing any sensation… at the base of the spine…

…any experience of pulsation…

…the Root Chakra…Muladhara…

..some may see a wash of red…

…perhaps it is an experience of frequency…vibration…at the base of the spine…

…as your attention rests here…hold the intention to allow the optimal flow of energy in this 1st chakra…the optimal flow for this practice today…

Now, bring your attention up the spine just a bit, to the center of the pelvis, in the spinal column…

…gently allowing your attention to rest where it is drawn in this area…

…noticing any sensation…along the spine at the center of the pelvis…

…any experience of pulsation…

…the Sacral Chakra…Swadhisthana…

…some may see a wash of orange…

…perhaps it is an experience of frequency…vibration…along the spine at the center of the pelvis…

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…as your attention rests here…hold the intention to allow the optimal flow of energy in this 2nd chakra…the optimal flow for this practice today…

Now, again bring your attention moving up to a point along the spine a few inches above the level of the belly button…

…gently allowing your attention to rest where it is drawn in this area, along the spine a few inches above the level of the belly button…notice where your attention is called…

…noticing any sensation…along the spine a few inches above the level of the belly button …

…any experience of pulsation…

…the Solar Plexus Chakra…Manipura…

…some may see a wash of golden yellow…

…perhaps it is an experience of frequency…vibration…along the spine a few inches above the level of the belly button …

…as your attention rests here…hold the intention to allow the optimal flow of energy in this 3rd chakra…the optimal flow for this practice today…

Now, move your attention up the spine to space of the heart center…

…gently allowing your attention to rest where it is drawn along the spine at the center of the chest…

…noticing any sensation… along the spine at the center of the chest …

…any experience of pulsation…

…the Heart Chakra……

…some will see a wash of green…

…perhaps it is an experience of frequency…vibration… along the spine at the center of the chest …

…as your attention rests here…hold the intention to allow the optimal flow of energy in this 4th chakra…the optimal flow for this practice today…

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Now, bring your attention up the spine to the center of the neck…

…gently allowing your attention to rest where it is drawn along the spine in the center of the neck…

…noticing any sensation… along the spine in the center of the neck…

…any experience of pulsation…

…the Throat Chakra…Vishuddha…

…some may see a wash of blue…

…perhaps it is an experience of frequency…vibration… along the spine in the center of the neck …

…as your attention rests here…hold the intention to allow the optimal flow of energy in this 5th chakra…the optimal flow for this practice today…

Now, bring your attention up to the top of the spine, the center of the head…

…gently allowing your attention to rest where it is drawn in this area in the center of the head…

…noticing any sensation…at the top of the spine in the center of the head…

…any experience of pulsation…

…the Third-eye Chakra…Ajna…

…some may see a wash of indigo…

…perhaps it is an experience of frequency…vibration…at the top of the spine in the center of the head…

…as your attention rests here…hold the intention to allow the optimal flow of energy in this 6th chakra…the optimal flow for this practice today…

Now, our final stop on this chakra exploration, follow the line upward as if the energy continues to move up above the spine to the top of the head…

…gently allowing your attention to rest where it is drawn at the top of the head…possibly noticing just below or a little above the top of head…

…noticing any sensation…at the top of the head…

…any experience of pulsation…

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…the Crown Chakra…Sahasrara…

…some will see a wash of violet or white light…

…perhaps it is an experience of frequency…vibration…at the crown of the head…

…as your attention rests here…hold the intention to allow the optimal flow of energy in this 7th chakra…the optimal flow for this practice today…

Now release the gentle holding of attention in the crown…

…allow your attention now to rest in the entire being…

…and bring attention to the rhythm of breath in this moment…

…noticing the texture of the breath…

…any temperature…

…any experience of the breath moving in and out of the body…

…you may have a desire to breathe more deeply in this moment…

…follow any desire your breath is calling for…

…and listen to your physical body in this moment…

…perhaps your fingers or toes want to wiggle…wrists and ankles to bend and flex…

…or maybe your body is calling for a larger movement…the arms stretching upward…

…or giving yourself a hug…

…the legs stretching…

…the hands pressing on the thighs…

…the feeling of the weight of the body where you are sitting…

…listen to the calls of your physical body in this moment…

…notice the sounds around you…

…the light in the room you are in…

…and when you are ready…gently open the eyes for the completion of this practice…

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Sacral/2nd Chakra Meditation Script by Michele Vinbury

[Intro]

Settle into a comfortable position. Close your eyes if that feels comfortable. Notice the felt sense of the supports beneath you… Feel your body breathing...For the next 3 to 5 breaths, focus attention on your exhalations. Invite each exhale to bring with it the sense of settling and grounding…Each exhalation feel yourself arriving in this space, right now.

[Physical Exploration]

Place your hands on or near your second chakra: hands resting on the low belly…You can leave your hands here for as long as you like. Know that you can return your arms to your sides at any time. For now, feel the weight of your hand or hands on your belly. Perhaps a sense of warmth, comfort, connection. . The palms of the hands acting like gentle magnets, drawing your attention to this area of your experience.

[Energy Exploration]

Let your attention be drawn to the area beneath your palms. At first you might sense the skin boundary of the body, and then if it is okay, feel more deeply inside your body. Notice sensations here. Perhaps a hum or a vibration, a sense of flow or waves in this area. Feel any undulations of energy and light that are present here at the sacral chakra.

Some people experience this energy center as orange, notice if any color is here for you.

[ + Breath]

If not already there, place your hands, palms down on your low belly. Bring the thumbs tips together, just below the belly button. Invite the pointer fingers to move away from the thumbs on a diagonal, allowing the tips of the pointer fingers to touch very low on the belly. The configuration of the fingers creating a triangle. As it feels right, begin to breathe as if you could direct air and energy in and out of your second chakra through the center of this triangle. Inhale, air and energy flow into the second chakra, exhale, feel the orange sphere grow. Again, know that you can return your arms to your sides at any time.

Svadhistana means sweetness, you might invite in the taste of honey or watermelon, the scent of honeysuckle or sweet roses…perhaps invite in a pleasurable memory or the felt sensation of delight, sensuality, connection.

Inhaling into any sweetness here and as you exhale feel the orb of energy shimmer and grow.

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At some point you might wish to add one of the chakra statements here*. As an example: Inhale: I feel pleasure, Exhale: I release shame. Choose whatever rhythm and words feel just right. Truly, there is no wrong way to do this, let the practice unfold in whatever ways feel right to you today.

[Grounding Conclusion]

When this feels complete allow the practice to fade away. Notice sounds around you, inside and outside of the room. The sense of ground beneath you, the weight of your body on the props. As you’re ready, slowly begin to enliven your breath and again, when you’re ready, open your eyes and reorient to the room. As you continue to go about your day, you might pay attention to how the mantra(s) and sensation(s) of this meditation may weave their way back into and through your waking experience.

Namaste.

*Possible /Chakra statements/Inquiries:

I feel.

I enjoy my body and the gifts of pleasure and sensuality.

I am enough, just as I am.

I allow pleasure into my life.

I am free to create.

I am capable of sensual and/or sexual fulfillment.

I release any shame about my body or sexuality.

I am capable of genuine intimacy.

Note: I tried to create this meditation so that it could be used as a modular (mix and match) practice. You might just teach the first portion: Intro + Physical + Energetic Explorations with a closing. You could also add in the Mudra + Breath practice with the Mantra practice, just as it’s written here. Or you could choose to teach one or the other of these depending on time and needs of your students. Finally, if you were doing a 7 chakra mediation, you might choose to just use one of these sections for the svadisthana section and create similar sections for each of the other energy .

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The Nadis The Nadis are considered main points of energy exchange or conduits in the energetic body. We can think of them as being similar to nerves, though on a subtle level. means “conduit” or “nodule” and is considered to be an astral tube made up of or life force energy. In theory, astral tubes are part of a larger which contains all the emotions and desire. The chakras are thought to connect all of these bodies--physical, astral and causal. There are three main nadis; the Ida, the Pingala and the Sushumna, which is the main and central channel. The Ida and Pingala are intertwined around the Sushumna and exit out the nostrils. The left nostril and left side of the body is thought to contain the cooler or lunar energies and is more aligned with the parasympathetic nervous system. The Pingala, the right nostril and the right side of the body features masculine and warmer energy. The Sushumna is the channel for all of the energies and contains the flow of prana. When the energies are balanced, the Sushumna is sattvic (balanced) and steady. There are thousands of smaller nadis throughout the body which are mapped differently by different interpreters. If one is familiar with and the meridians, one can picture how the energy lines and nodules might be depicted. practice was developed to help clear and strengthen the nerves and the nadis, among other things. In Ashtanga, the primary series is devoted to Yoga Chitkitsa, or cleansing of the nadis, although asana and breath practices in other lineages do that too. The first of ’s , “Yoga chitta vritta nirodaha” translates as yoga is the cessation of the turnings of the mind. Cleansing the nadis assists in the ability to sit quietly. As B.K.S. Iyengar says, quietude is “space created between thoughtful and thoughtless.”

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Koshas The are a map of the energy body, described by the great around 3,000 years ago in The Taittiriya . They are five “sheaths” or “casings” that can be used to express and experience plains of our human existence. The sheaths, sometimes described as like a Russian nesting doll, move from a gross exterior to an ever more subtle interior, each one fitting inside the previous shell. In truth of fact, they all influence each other and often co-arise. There is no real separation between these layers. They are a conceptual framework that helps us to understand our experience. Annamaya – the physical body, sometimes called the food body is the only sheath made of matter as we know it. Pranamaya Kosha – the breath body or the energy body Manomaya Kosha – the emotional body Vijnanamaya Kosha – the intuitive or wisdom body – the bliss body In , a 6th “section” was added, contending that the Absolute transcends all these five sheaths. Asmitamaya Kosha – pure The Annamaya Kosha, the physical body, is quite familiar to us all. This kosha is concerned with the body’s physical experiences and sensations. The Pranamaya Kosha, the sheath composed of life-force (breath + energy), cannot be seen, but it can be felt. Prana is the vital life force that pervades your whole organism, and its physical manifestation is the breath. It is associated with the nadis and chakras and regulates the movement of physical and mental energies through these energy conduits. The Manomaya Kosha, or emotional body. This is the sheath of emotions. The Vijnanamaya Kosha, or wisdom body, refers to the reflective aspects of consciousness. This level is associated with wisdom, intuition, and witness consciousness. The Anandamaya Kosha, or bliss body, is beyond the mind, independent of a stimulus or reason for happiness. “Ananda” or “bliss” is not merely a feeling, but a state of consciousness that has always existed but is obscured by focus on the other koshas. Some writers describe it as unconditional love and communion with life. The first four levels—the physical body, breath body, emotional body and cognitive body—we visit regularly, and in large part, they are how we define ourselves. The bliss body is that rarified state we have all experienced—unconditional joy and happiness. Asmitamaya kosha begins with our sense of witnessing awareness, experienced in yoga asana and meditation practices and extends through open, spacious, ungrasping pure consciousness. With knowledge of the koshic system we can shift our attention among these layers and explore self-inquiry practices that will ultimately lead us to freedom.

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Finding Your Teaching Voice

Annamaya Kosha: List 5 different ways you might choose to organize a body scan.

Make a list of 25 sensation words.

Pranamaya Kosha: What are some words that you might use to describe breath moving in and out of the body?

What does the inhalation feel like?

What does the exhalation feel like?

What are some words that you might use to describe or point to the felt sense of energy in and around the body? (e.g. shimmering)

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Manomaya Kosha: What are 5 emotions that might be interesting to bring into a meditation practice?

For each, what is a more intense version and what is a less intense version of that emotion? (e.g. Anxiety, more intense panic, less intense, restlessness.)

Vijnanamaya Kosha: What is some language of allowing that will let students know that having thoughts is normal?

What are some words/phrases you might use to invite a student to witness their thoughts?

Anandamaya Kosha:

What are some other words for bliss?

List some words that describe and evoke the felt sense of bliss…

Asmitamaya Kosha:

List some words that describe or evoke the sense of Being or Awareness.

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CHAKRAS

What are words that might evoke the sense of the root chakra: (e.g. ground, density)

Sacral Chakra? (e.g. flow)

Solar Plexus Chakra?

Heart Chakra?

Throat Chakra?

Third Eye Chakra?

Crown Chakra?

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Kosha Script (Short) by Michele Vinbury Find a comfortable seat. A position where your body can feel supported. For the next 3 or 4 rounds of breath, simply notice spontaneous sensations that are present in your body. Warmth, coolness, tension, ease…

Take 3 or 4 rounds of breath to notice how the breath is showing up for your today. Pace, rhythm, texture.

Spend 3 or 4 rounds of breath acknowledging any emotions that may be present today.

And 3 or 4 breaths to explore thoughts that are passing through.

Spending the next few rounds of breath noticing if there are any sparks of happiness, pleasure, joy present. And there may or may not be.

And now, let go into just being. Everything just as it is. Thoughts, sounds, breath coming and going. Nothing you need to do. All of these perceptions moving through an open receptivity. Just being. Open. Spacious. Receptive.

Gently deepen the breath. With an exhale, allow the chin to release any amount to the chest. And as you inhale, lift it back up again. Perhaps doing this a few times, growing the movements in whatever ways feel just right. At some point allowing the eyes to open and returning to the “outside” experience of the room.

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Kosha Script (Long) by Michele Vinbury

Allow the first few minutes here to be a transition…from the movement of your day into this quieter, more still space… As we go into the practice Knowing that there’s nothing to fix No problems we’re seeking to solve Nothing to force Nothing to accomplish.

Notice your body feeling supported by the surface it’s resting on. Supported by the floor beneath that And the earth beneath that. Allowing your body to feel heavy, to rest down into the supports beneath it…

[Anamaya kosha] Allow my words to be your words as you take a journey through the physical body just noticing whatever sensations are present You may feel something, or very little at all.

Feel your mouth. Perhaps noticing any sense of taste here… Welcome sensation in the whole mouth just as it is.

Sense your ears. Any amount of feeling here. Ear canals, folds and lobes of the outer ear. Nothing to force, Nothing to imagine. Perhaps noticing sound here – the way the sound vibration of my voice can just come to you…nothing to refuse, nothing you need to reach out for…Just sound sailing into your relaxed, open ears as vibration.

Feel your nostrils. Cool air flowing in Warmer air gliding out Open to any lingering aroma in the room…

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Attention moves to your eyes. Even with your eyes closed, might you notice what you’re seeing?... And then just feel – both eyes, vibrant sensation.

Weight of the head on the blanket or pillow Feel the curve of the neck And sensation in the throat.

Let go of thinking, let go of imagining, just feel. Feel your whole face, head and neck.

Feeling sensation in both arms, from the top of the shoulders, down through palms and fingers…arms and hands vibrant, shimmering.

Attend to sensation in the whole torso, front and back, inside and outside just as it is.

As you’re ready, feel your legs. Sensation of upper legs, down through the feet and toes. Feel the legs.

Let go of thinking, just feeling, just sensing, feel the whole front of the body. The whole back of the body. Inside the body. Outside the body. Feeling the whole body alive with vibrant sensation.

[Pranamaya kosha] Begin to notice the breath. Just your natural breath. Nothing to fix or change here. No way it’s supposed to be. Just the breath coming and going all on its own. You may notice that it shifts some under the gaze, and that’s okay. Allowing the breath to unfold just as it does.

Bring attention to sensation of the breath in the nostrils. Sense of air flowing in and out.

Perhaps let attention move to any sensation of the breath in the throat.

Notice any sensation of the breath in the chest. Very little effort here, the breath coming and going on its own, just your attention moving.

Notice how the breath is constantly moving and changing.

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[Manomaya kosha] Allow attention to wander through your experience and notice if there might be an emotion present. You could bring to mind an emotion if that is interesting. No need to fix or change or analyze, just noticing what’s here today. And if nothing’s coming, no biggie, just be with whatever is most calling your attention…but if there is an emotion, maybe getting curious dive in. Where do you feel this emotion as sensation in the body? Where is it located? Does it have a shape? A color? A temperature? Curious and friendly. Nothing you need to make happen, embodying this emotion and letting the sensation come to you…

Notice how these sensations come and go.

[Vijnanamaya Kosha] And set your mind free to wander through your experience and notice thoughts or images that may be present. What thoughts or beliefs want to be seen? No need to analyze, just noticing what’s here today.

Curious and friendly toward whatever is arising. Thoughts coming and going, no need to reach out and grasp for them, no need to push them away. Just noticing, just watching…

[Anandamaya Kosha] Let your mind scan through your body and notice if there are any sensations of happiness, pleasure or joy present. And there may or may not be. If it seems useful, might you bring to mind a memory of a time when you felt happy. Could be as simple as imagining you have sweet watermelon or a piece of chocolate in your mouth right now. And allow any sensations of sweetness, joy, pleasure begin to grow. Feel joy begin to sweetly vibrate or glow through your body. As if you could take a bath in liquid joy and let it saturate every cell in your body.

At some point let this fade away.

[Asmitamaya Kosha] Notice breath coming and going. Notice sounds coming and going And then shift your perspective just slightly, and notice the noticing. Aware of all these changing perceptions…

Feel back into any sense of being this awareness in which sounds, sensations, breath, are arising…abiding…dissolving.

Long silence.

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And at first, there’s nothing to do…just let the sound of my voice come to you… As you’re ready, begin to move small things in small ways…perhaps deepening your breath, or moving fingers and toes.

Allowing the movements to grow larger, as you slowly bring your fully waking body back on line. Taking all the time you need to come back to eyes open, seated position….

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