Discover Your Inner Strengths

Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.
Lao Tzu

I often hear yoga teachers say when the class is supposed to hold a difficult pose; “don’t give up, you can do it,  you are a lot stronger than you think.”  I wonder to myself as I continue to hold the pose: are they sure, I don’t want to hurt myself, how do they know, I am tired . . .

What these teachers are talking about is our inner strength. Inner strength is the strong personal belief that you CAN accomplish a task or master a situation.  It is  expressed through will power, positive attitude, belief, and confidence in yourself. A healthy amount of Inner strength makes us feel good about ourselves, capable and courageous.The key to inner strength is the phrase “I can.”  When we start to stumble into the area of I can’t we let go of or ignore our inner strength.  There is a wonderful quote by Henry Ford that is often repeated so please forgive me as I repeat it again:

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”

Before I was born, my mother showed an incredible amount of inner strength when she decided to get her master’s degree as a single mom recently divorced.  She went up to New York City from Philadelphia for three days a week for two years to study at NYU while my aunt took care of my sister. My mom shared an apartment and went to classes in a different city in order to get the degree she felt was necessary to provide the life she wanted for herself and her daughter.  She didn’t say I can’t go because I am a mom, or recently divorced, or live in Philadelphia, or don’t have any money.  Mom said I can and she did. She also had the support systems that made this possible: a wonderful and dedicated sister.

My mother successfully got her master’s degree from NYU and became a much respected professor of nursing at Temple University where she developed many programs.  She got married for the second time, this time to my father and had two more kids:  my brother and me.

My mother’s story is one of many stories about people tapping into their inner strength, believing in themselves and doing what they think is necessary to make their lives better.

One way to tap into your own inner strength is to be positive.  This may be easy to say but difficult to do.  Start by listening to your language.  Is it positive? Do you give up too easily? Do you put yourself down?  How do you talk about others?  Are you positive?  If you find your words are negative and harsh start to shift them.  If this seems impossible, take baby steps and do this gradually. Remember, don’t beat yourself up if  you stumble and get off the path, just brush yourself off and start all over again.  Remember, we all have incredible inner strength. Our inner strength is already present within us.  It’s there just waiting for us to tap into it. We must believe, learn to say I can and stay positive.

Excavation 1:

Journal about time in your life that you showed a great amount of inner strength.

 Excavation Question 2:

Journal about a person you admire that shows great inner strength.

Discover Your Limitations

“I admire how she protects her energy and understands her limitations.” 
~ Terry Tempest Williams, Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place

All Artwork is by Kathe Kollwitz

Since I came back from Europe this summer, my body has been very different. I attribute the change  to the nine days I spent sick in bed with a bladder infection that I thought was heat exhaustion. During my illness, I went from being freezing cold with uncontrollable chills to being excruciatingly hot with fever and sweats so intense that my sheets would be soaked.  In a strange bed in an unfamiliar country, I felt alone, helpless, exhausted and scared.

Now back in Los Angeles, in my yoga practice I am less flexible and not as strong. My ego is distressed because it wants to always improve, go forward.  But my body is not willing.  Many yoga poses that came easy to me before my trip I can no longer perform.

Holding standing postures like warrior two is not something I can not do in the same way as I did before. My balance is off in tree pose and warrior three.  I am weak in plank and sun salutations.

I have lost a lot of flexibility in my hamstrings and hips. I realize I have to start again building my strength, flexibility and balance. I have to accept where I am now, not where I was or where I think I should be. This is humbling. This is frustrating. I took so much pleasure my progress and now I am not there anymore.

In my frustration, I keep coming back to why I began yoga: to heal pain, to de-stress, to feel relaxed, to be healthy. . .  All those things are still there.  I just have to honor my body and my limitations and be in the present moment: not the past - how I use to do the pose, or the future: how I want to do the pose, but where my body is right now.  I need to find out where my limitations are and honor the edge, and remember that everyday and every moment our limitations change.

Excavation Question for Discovering your Limitation:

Explore through Journaling, Art or music what are your limitations.  You can also explore why you meditate and/or practice yoga.

Discover Your Boundaries

Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others. – Brene Brown

Ansel Adams

Once in a intuitive reading I was told that I was Personality Type Number 9.

 Type 9 is called the Peacemaker but what was more interesting to me was that number 9s meld  very easily. 9s have a rather diffuse sense of their own identities. They often merge with their loved ones and through a process of identification take on the characteristics of those closest to them. Or in simple speech, we don’t have good boundaries.

What exactly is boundary?  One definition is a boundary is a limit or space between you another person; a clear place where you begin and the other person ends.  It is like a wall around a castle with one entry and you are the gatekeeper.  As the gatekeeper, you decide who you let in and who goes out.

Ansel Adams

We need to set boundaries in order to protect ourselves. Creating healthy boundaries does not always come naturally. As children, boundaries were put on us and we watched and learned as other people in our lives created boundaries. If you grew up in a dysfunctional family, you may have not learned about setting healthy boundaries.

Ansel Adams

Learning to set our own healthy boundaries means getting to know ourselves, deciding what and who is important, who and what we want in our lives, and acting on these decisions. It may mean letting go of the unhealthy people in our lives so that we can grow into the healthy person that we want to become.

Ansel Adams

The decision to set healthy boundaries can be seen as an empowerment exercise in the journey towards self-realization.   When we create boundaries, we are taking a stand for ourselves, and declaring we are worthy of all the good things life has to offer.

Ansel Adams

Excavation Questions for Setting Boundaries: 
Write five boundaries for yourself. Begin with five of your most painful behaviors. You can always add more later.

Ansel Adams

Discover Your Identity

“Identity cannot be found or fabricated but emerges from within when one has the courage to let go.”
― Doug Cooper, Outside In

Van Gogh - Self Portrait

We all have beliefs about who we are and what we can do.  But as humans we also have enormous capabilities and capacities beyond what we think is possible.  Growing up in the 80s one of my favorite TV shows was the Incredible Hulk.  In this show Dr. Banner was consumed by the idea that we can tap into a superhuman strength when we need it. He was also extremely distressed that he could not tap in this strength when it was needed to save his wife.  He creates the Hulk in an experiment to understand this primal super human strength. The Hulk becomes a curse for him and it was the product of an accident during his experimentation.

Incredible Hulk TV show of my youth

The power to tap into our tremendous potential comes from our identity.  Our identity is where we ask the questions: how do we define ourselves and what do we believe we can achieve? Often we have all kinds of ideas about what we can’t do and why we can’t do it and they are simply not true.  When I practice yoga, sometimes I come up with elaborate stories about why I can’t do a pose: my thighs are too big, my arms are too short, etc. And then months or years later, I may get to that expression of the pose (that I had previously deemed impossible) and I realize my story just wasn’t true; it was in fact just a story.

Self Portrait - Artemisia Gentilischi

Identity is the most powerful aspect of the human personality. Once we define our identity we are determined to remain consistent with our definition no matter how limiting the definition may be. If we want to transform ourselves we have to be ready and willing to expand our identity.  We can expand our identities by building new, empowering sets of beliefs, letting go of our stories and being open to all possibilities.  A great way to do this is by doing yoga, meditation, reading, journaling and exposing ourselves to new ideas and experiences.

Self Portrait - Artemisia Gentilischi

The Key Principles of Identity
1.  Identity determines our actions. We act according to our views of who we are—sometimes these views are accurate and sometimes they are not.

2. Once we know who we are, we must try to accept ourselves. If we attempt to live our lives in a way that’s inconsistent with who we are we will live from a place of frustration, stress and disappointment. We need to embrace our  needs, desires, strengths, fears, values and beliefs in order to tap into our tremendous potential.
3. Don’t maintain the illusion that a single behavior decides who they really are.
Sometimes we experience moments of anger, anxiety and/or defeat, and that result in saying or doing things that are inconsistent with who we are.  These Inconsistent behaviors are not parts of our overall identity but instead momentary lapses. We should investigate these behaviors, forgive ourselves and move on.
4. When you take responsibility, you restore your identity. When we create unfavorable or hostile situations, we should take action to repair any harm that we may have caused and again forgive ourselves and move on.
5. Expand your identity by doing something that is out of character.
We grow when we try things we might find strange or out of the ordinary. It is the because  these activities are uncomfortable to us that we have the possibility to learn more about ourselves.  It is by doing these new things that we can expand our identity and grow.
6. Our personal identities are always evolving. We have the power to reinvent ourselves at any moment. We can create new, empowered, expansive identities that are consistent with our beliefs and desires if we want to.

Frida Kahlo - Self Portrait

EXCAVATION QUESTIONS
Write of list of your likes and dislikes.  Write a list of things that are “out of character” that you might consider doing to shake yourself up a little and help to expand your identity.

Cindy Sherman - Self Portrait

Chakra Series - Yoga Nidra for Self-Esteem - Solar Plexus Chakra - Manipura

INTERNALIZATION

Prepare for the practice of yoga nidra by lying on your back in Savasana.  If Savasana is not appropriate . . .

Close your eyes and take a deep breath in and on the exhale think mentally CONFIDENCE

Place your hands on your solar plexus and feel the warmth radiating from your center.

Say to yourself mentally “I am practicing Yoga Nidra”

Say to yourself mentally “I will stay awake for Yoga Nidra

From below, sense the stillness of the earth at the base of your spine, and the movement and fluidity of the water in your abdomen. The earth and water energy coalesce, rising up, turning into a warming fire in your solar plexus.

Your solar plexus is glowing and expanding with its vibrant, yellow light.

This fire keeps you warm, helps you burn food, and gives you energy.

Visualize a mid day sun.  Imagine its rays shining on you giving you visions, ideas, and confidence

The 3rd Chakra is your center, the seat of your personal power.

It is here that you become your own person – an individual ready to leave your own unique impression on the world.

It is here where you integrate your feelings, ideas, thoughts and intelligence, where you exercise your willpower and take actions, where you turn challenges into opportunities, and turn your visions and dreams into reality.

In the past, you may have turned your power over to someone else so you could be accepted and loved.

Or perhaps you sought out power over others in order to feel respected and admired.

Right now you are in touch with your true power.

Honor and respect yourself and your power

Take complete responsibility for your words and actions.

No longer need approval from others.

No longer need to have power over others.

Know that true power doesn’t  shout or cry.

True power is quiet, firm, steady, and effortless.

Know who you are, why you are here, and what you are here to do.

Being yourself is a powerful act

Do what feels necessary

Do what feels right.

Stand up for yourself.

Act with confidence and inner conviction.

Create things that are beautiful and meaningful

Make the world a better place

Summon you inner fire that dwells in the abdomen.

Use your personal power to give you courage, discipline, strength, patience and perseverance to walk confidently in the direction of your dreams

Perhaps taking baby steps, one at a time, to fulfill your purpose in life.  Perhaps walking at whatever speed feels appropriate

Feel the warm fire radiating from your solar plexus, penetrating into every cell of your being.

Watch the fire burning away any doubt, shame, guilt, insecurities and jealousies that were lodged there.

Watch the fire leaving behind strength, confidence and belief in yourself.

Slowly, the fire is winding down. But its warmth stays at your center.

Feel it every time you put your hands on your solar plexus.

Ignite it anytime you need to

Come back to the breath

Notice the rise and fall of the breath at the abdomen

Listen in all directions for sounds

Listen for sounds  (continue as normal . . .)


SANKALPA
(Do normal introduction to Sankalpa)

I am confident and courageous

BODY ROTATION
(Do normal body rotation but with Yellow Healing Sun Light touching each part of the body)

BREATH AWARENESS
(use normal dialogue)
Breath at the Abdomen/Solar Plexus
Counting from 18 to 0

MANTRA WORK
Work with the mantra RAM

OPPOSITES
Remember a time in you life when you felt CONFIDENT

Recollect an experience of confidence. It can be physical or mental confidence.  Everyone has had a moment where the feel confidence.  Remember the feeling of confidence. Feel the confidence. Make it as clear as possible.. Deep your awareness to the feeling of confidence,  Continue to concentrate on the feeling of confidence

Remember a time in your life that you felt INSECURE.  Try to experience the feeling of insecurity.

Concentrate and remember feeling insecure.  Recall that insecurity and try to develop it . . .

Go back to Confidence

Go back to Insecurity

Now feel both confident and insecure at the same time

Let go of confidence and let go of insecurity and come back to the breath

VISUALIZATION

Self-esteem is how people value themselves. Low self-esteem can hold people back from being the best they can be. In consistently reaffirming yourself to be worthy, capable, and competent over time, you gradually build positive self-esteem.

Bring your awareness to the chiddakasha, the mind space in front of the closed eyes.  Notice in colors, patterns or imagery there.

Now you are going to travel into your past.  Retraving the steps of your memory and consciousness backwards from this time.  The past is part of time and time is part of your mind.  By remembering your past you are going into the deeper recesses of your consciousness.

Think of a time you were really, really confident. Imagine every detail, as if you were looking through your own eyes. See, hear and feel those great feelings.

Think of a specific situation in relation to your confidence. For example, if you’d like more confidence in a social situation, imagine yourself there. See it as if it was a movie, seeing yourself laughing and talking easily and effortlessly with others.

Think of someone you know who is really confident. Vividly imagine how their posture looks, how they carry themselves, how they walk and talk, how loud they speak, how they sit, how they greet people. Imagine  yourself into consciously training your body to act in the same way.
Imagine yourself standing with confidence, walking with confidence, speaking confidently.

2nd Visualization

Visualize a bright yellow chakra spinning between the navel and the base of the sternum, like a radiant internal sun

Imagine this internal sun nourishing your digestive organs by soaking them with yellow, energizing light just like the external sun nourishes all life on earth.

Connect the two outside suns with your internal sun at the Solar Plexus.

Connect the two suns energies through the crown of your head

Visualize the energy transfer between the two making your chakra spin faster.

Meditate on this 'exchange of fire' and feel a sense of benevolent power and confidence

Let go of the visualization practice

Like go on the chiddakasha

And come back to the breath

Feel the warmth of the breath

SANKALPA

In the breath hear the Sankalpa

The same one you used in the beginning of practice

Or come back to the statement “I am confident and courageous”
. . .
EXTERNALIZATION

Come back to the solar plexus

Place the hands on the solar plexus on top of the navel

Feel the warmth radiating from your center.

From below, sense the stillness of the earth at the base of your spine, and the movement and fluidity of the water in your abdomen.

Feel the earth and water energy coalesce, rising up, turning into a warming fire in your solar plexus.

Listen for the sound Ram

Listen for the sound of the heart beat

Listen for the sound of the breath

Listen for sounds in the room , . . .

Listen for sounds outside of the room

Listen for the farthest sound that you can hear

Come back to the breath

Take deep belly breaths with awareness of the solar plexus

Inhaling deeply and exhaling fully

Say to yourself “the practice of yoga nidra is now complete”

(Close as normal)

NAMASTE

Chakra Series - Yin Yoga - Solar Plexus - Manipura Chakra

Start the Yin practice with the eyes closed and the palms at belly to connect with the Solar Plexus. Lie your back and relax completely. Breathe. Begin to focus on your solar plexus and use your intention to inhale extra prana directly to this area. Feel the warmth moving around between your navel and your solar plexus. Imagine there is a sun streaming warmth and energy into this entire area. When you exhale, imagine that the sun spreads its rays from the center of your body out to all parts of your body. Now, imagine that the warmth of the sun's rays in your center reaches out to touch every muscle, every cell, every fiber, every part of your entire body.Visualize energy  moving everywhere inside of you to calm you and strengthen your entire system.

SAVASANA palms on belly - 2 to 5 minutes
The Solar Plexus or located at the center of the physical body and balance lies on the spine directly behind the navel. It is the seat of our strength and will, our determination and ability to manifest, as well as our source of spiritual vitality.  The third chakra is all about our sense of worthiness and empowerment, courage. The negative attributes of the chakra  are insecurity, ego, and pridefulness.

Breathwork: Normal Breathing

SUPINE HALF MOON POSE aka BANANASANA - Both Sides - 2 to 5 minutes
The related organs are the central/solar plexus-based nerve plexus, digestive organs and system, muscles and immune and nervous systems. The solar plexus chakra represents how we present ourselves in the world.  The chakra influences how we conduct ourselves particularly in our career and our relationships.

Benefits: Stretches the whole side of the body.  Lateral flexes the spin. Stretches oblique stomache muscles and side intercostal muscles between the ribs.

Contra-indications: if you experience tingling in the hands place a bolster under the arms or bring the hands down,  If you have lower back issues be mindful and careful with this pose.

Breathwork: Ujjayi

Symbolism:The First Quarter Moon appears approximately a week after the New Moon.  We might call the First  Quarter Moon, as well as the Last Quarter Moon, “the half Moon,” because the Moon appears cut in half.  It is not a quarter of a Moon at all in appearance.At the First Quarter Moon, we might meet challenges we had not prepared for.  We may need to make on-the-spot decisions about how to proceed and then do what needs to be done in order for our intentions to 
manifest.  It is a time for action. Last quarter moon is the time to let go, release, and forgive anything and everyone that you may feel has hurt you in any way.  It is a time of emptying self and allowing the universe to take over or whomever you trust in your faith.  It is out of your hands and no more action is needed from you



SUPPORTED BRIDGE POSE- 3 to 5 minutes
The Solar Plexus also controls the health of our digestive system on a physical, mental, and emotional level, and helps us create and maintain healthy boundaries.  Literal and figurative indigestion and diseases of the stomach, gallbladder, or adrenals alert us to a need to strengthen our naval and tap into the infinite wellspring of energy available there.  Blocks in the third chakra are often expressed in the lymphatic and digestive systems.

Benefits: Stretches the chest, neck, and spine. Calms the brain and helps alleviate stress and mild depression. Stimulates abdominal organs, lungs, and thyroid. Rejuvenates tired legs
Improves digestion. Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause. Relieves menstrual discomfort when done supported. Reduces anxiety, fatigue, backache, headache, and insomnia. Therapeutic for asthma, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and sinus issues

Contra-indications:People with neck injuries should avoid this pose

Breathwork: Inhale and Exhale RAM

Symbolism: progress, connections, stability, overcoming obstacles, transtions


SUPINE SPINAL TWIST - 2 to 5 minutes each side
The third chakra can be manipulated more subtly through long twists.

Benefits: Twists rotate the spine and stretch the muscles of the back. This helps to restore and retain the spine’s natural range of motion. If we don’t employ our natural range of motion we run the risk of our joints hardening and fusing. The surrounding supportive soft tissue can also become short and dysfunctional. In twists you work with the spine and the action of ‘lengthening’ is to create space between the vertebrae. When there's a lack of space our spine tends to slump or get stuck and our energy levels drop. Through twisting we lengthen the spine and get space between the bones. Then our energy can flow better. Twists give us an instant energy lift and decompress the vertebrae in a safe healthy way. Twists are commonly known to aid digestion. It is important to realize what that actually means! Twists are great for creating movement in and around our organs (mobility and motility). So in terms of helping our food being moved along.. twists are great. 

Contra-indications: Shoulder issues

Visualization: Visualize the color of the sun, bright yellow at noon, streaming into your solar plexus and radiating out to your entire body with warmth and light.

MODIFIED BOAT POSE - 1 minute plus
Solar plexuses are activated by having a strong core. A strong third chakra and a strong core reflect the ability to move forward in life with confidence and power. It reflects the ability to make conscious choices to choose and to act.The message of the third chakra is: You have the power to choose.You can choose to achieve your life purpose or you can live out your karma or past experiences.What do you choose?Do you choose love, light and healing?Do you accept that you have the power to choose?Do you feel a sense of freedom when you make a choice?The best solar plexus chakra yoga poses are those that strengthen your core and help you to feel more powerful and confident

Benefits: Strengthens the abdomen, hip flexors, and spine. Stimulates the kidneys, thyroid and prostate glands, and intestines. Helps relieve stress. Improves digestion

Contra-indications:Asthma. Diarrhea. Headache. Heart Problems. Insomnia
Low blood pressure. Menstruation. Pregnancy. Neck injury: Sit with your back near a wall to perform this pose. As you tilt your torso back rest the back of your head on the wall.

Breathwork: In through nose out through mouth. Activate Uddiya Bandha.

Symbolism:  About navigation our lives: Where am I going?What do I consider my "True North" - my ultimate guide? Am I prepared for my journeying (spiritual and otherwise)?How am I navigating through life?How am I maneuvering through adverse conditions?

BOW POSE - One Leg at a Time - 1 + minutes
Manipura is the sanskrit name for the chakra and  is translated as “City of Gems.” Mani means jewel or gem and pura means Dwelling place.

BOW POSE Both Legs -  30 secs +

The symbol of the chakra is a ten petaled lotus surrounding a circle with a downward-pointing triangle with the word Ram written inside. The color of the chakra is yellow and the element associated with the chakra is fire. The animal that is associated with the chakra is the ram.  The ram represents strength, wisdom and bravery and carriers the seed sound.

Benefits: Stretches the entire front of the body, ankles, thighs and groins, abdomen and chest, and throat, and deep hip flexors (psoas). Strengthens the back muscles. Improves posture
Stimulates the organs of the abdomen and neck

Contra-indications:High or low blood pressure. Migraine. Insomnia. Serious lower-back or neck injury

Breathwork: Inhale and Exhale Ram

Symbolism:Doctrine of Truth. Kingship. Virility

SUPERIOR POSE - 3 + minutes
The ruling goddess of the chakra is Lakini Shakti. She provides inspiration and compassion.  She encourages us to set and achieve our goals. The ruling god is Rudra who represents destructive forces. He is the chariot rider of the sun whose arrow causes destruction and disease reminding us that some parts of us need to be “burned away.”

Benefits: It is a good relaxation pose for all spinal complaints, especially cervical spondylitis and stiff neck or upper back.

Visualization:Visualize a golden sunflower or lotus, whichever is easiest for you. Watch it rise to the sun and feel that same sensation with your solar plexus as it rises to the sun and stretches your spine and torso up as high as possible. Inhale as you do this. Exhale and relax, and repeat.

SPHINX POSE or SEAL
Interestingly, the message of this chakra is often one of paradoxes: through humility, we find our power; through discipline, we find liberation; by cleansing the physical body, we become more mentally clear and attuned.

Benefits:  Deep compression and stimulation of sacral lumbar arch. Stimulates the door of lide. Tones the spine. In Seal stomache gets a great stretch.

Contra-indications: Bad back or tight sacrum problems. Pregnant use bolsters and don't put belly on floor

Breathwork: Ujjayi

Symbolism:Sphinx - Power, Watching Over. Seal - Being Comfortable in your own skin


PRONE TWIST - 2 to 5 minutes
Beings with excessive third chakra energy react to life circumstances, they have emotional outbursts and are often stressed out. Beings with blocked or deficient third chakra are passive and inactive - allowing life to pass by while they do nothing.

Benefits: Twists incorporate the center of our body, working the abdominal, obliques, the muscles that support the movement of our spine, our shoulders, pelvis, neck etc.

Breathwork: Ujjayi

Contra-indications: Pregnant Women

FLAPPING FISH - Both Sides - 1 + minutes
The third chakra is the center of your self-esteem. Every time you judge or criticize yourself, you deplete this chakra and weaken your willpower. Self love, self acceptance, and acknowledgement of your own worth are the building blocks of the third chakra.

Benefits: Stretches the spine, shoulders, and hips. Massages the abdominal organs. Relieves lower backache, neck pain, and sciatica. Helps relieve stress. Improves digestion. Especially good in the second trimester of pregnancy for strengthening the lower back. Therapeutic for carpal tunnel syndrome

Visualization: Visualize a candle flame. Now visualize that flame  in your solar plexus down to your navel and up again through the trunk of your body.

RECLINING TWIST WITH A BOLSTER - 2 to 5 minutes
A person with an open and balanced Manipura Chakra values herself and her work, is confident in her ability to do something well, loves and accepts herself, is willing to express herself in a powerful way, knows that she has the freedom to choose to be herself and direct her own life.

Benefits: BKS Iyengar said that twists are detoxifying because of the squeeze and soak action. The organs of detoxification and elimination are compressed pushing out old blood and so then when we release the twist fresh blood can flow in.

Breathwork: Ujjayi

CAMEL POSE - 30 plus seconds
The ruling planet is the Sun. The solar plexus chakra is like having a bright sun in the middle of our bodies.

Benefits: Deeply arches the sacral/lumbar spine and opens the top of the things.  Opens the ankles.  Stretches hip flexors and opens the shoulders.  Great for dropping shoulder or hunched backs

Contr-indications:  Those with weak backs should do gentle variation.  If you have neck issues don't drop the head back keep chin to chest.

Visualize: The sun at the middle of your body

Symbolism:Endurance.Transport. Protection. Survival. Conservation. Journeying. Stamina.

TWISTING DRAGON POSE - 2 to 5 minutes
Fire is the element of the Manipura; fire purifies the past and energizes progress towards mental awareness and spiritual development. This chakra is where we get our "gut instincts" that signal us what to do when we need guidance.

Benefits: Hip and Groin Opener. 

Contra-indications: Can be uncomfortable for kneecap or ankle

Symbolism:The most common message a Dragon totem carry to us is a need for strength, courage, and fortitude. Dragons are also messengers of balance, and magic - encouraging us to tap into our psychic nature and see the world through the eyes of mystery and wonder.More specifically, Dragons are the embodiment of primordial power - the ultimate ruler of all the elements. This is because the Dragon is the master of all the elements: Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind.

Breathwork: Start with an Upright Dragon and Do Breath of fire Before Completely getting in pose.
Ujjayi while in the twisting version.

DEER POSE - 2 to 5 minutes
SIGNS OF A BALANCED SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA: Feeling secure, Flexibility, Well Nourished, Healthy Weight, Feeling at ease, Strong Will Power, Discernment

Benefits: A balanced way to rotate hips. Improves digestion and eliminates gas. Helps with symptoms of menopause. Reduces swelling of legs during end of second trimester of pregnancy. good for high blood pressure and asthma.

Contra-indications: Knee  issues.

Affirmations: I make choices that benefit me.  Inhale: Beneficial  Exhale: Choices

Symbolism: Beauty, Delicacy and Grace. The deer is linked to the arts, specifically poetry and music. 


MODIFIED SIDE PLANK - 1 plus minutes
SYMPTOMS OF AN IMBALANCED SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA: Control issues,

Stomach ulcers, Diabetes, Pancreatitis, Indigestion, Anorexia, Bulimia, Colon diseases, Anger, Lack of self esteem, Insecurity, Lethargy, Feeling Threatened, Jaundice

Benefits: Strengthens the arms, abdomen and legs. Strengthens the wrists
Improves sense of balance. Tones and stregthens the core, with a focus on the oblique muscles

Affirmation: I am strong and courageous

Breathwork: Inhale Strength, Exhale Courage


HALF LORD OF THE FISHES or MARICHI ASANA - 2 to 5 minutes each side
Balance your Solar Plexus Chakra: Ways to strengthen your yellow energy: Awaken lost curiosities; develop your photographic memory, do puzzles, pick up an old hobby. Regenerate your sense of smell, use aromatherapic extract oils like rosemary, grapefruit and orange. Wear a gold bracelet or necklace, or carry with you yellow gemstones like Amber or Topaz.. Find the time to be outdoors and bask in the yellow energy of the sun.

Benefits: Stimulates the liver and kidneys. Stretches the shoulders, hips, and neck. Energizes the spine
Stimulates the digestive fire in the belly. Relieves menstrual discomfort, fatigue, sciatica, and backache
Therapeutic for asthma and infertility. Traditional texts say that Ardha Matsyendrasana increases appetite, destroys most deadly diseases, and awakens kundalini.

Contra-indications: Back or Spine Injury

Breathwork: Ujjayi

Symbolism: Being a great student and a great listener

Story:
"Shiva, the destroyer, came out of a ten thousand year meditation and decided to descend Mount Kailish to visit his beloved Parvati. Parvati had a way of knowing such things and knew that he would come on this day and put together a picnic lunch and started toward the river. Shiva arrived just after she set out.

Shiva began to tell Parvati about the miraculous discovery he’d made during his many years of meditation – yoga! He explained that this was the ultimate path to union between the individual self and the Divine. While he went on and on about yoga, Parvati fretted about lunch. Shiva was confused by her apparently flippant attitude and asked her why she wasn’t listening. He felt he’d made the discovery of a lifetime and that she was not interested in hearing about it. Parvati told him that of course she was interested and asked that he carry on. Shiva kept on with his discovery. What he didn’t know was that Parvati already knew about yoga and in fact had been practicing for as long as she could remember. She just assumed that Shiva knew about yoga as well. She was humble, though, and let him have his moment and listened to him describe the glories of yoga.

Meanwhile, in the river, Matsya, (sanskrit for fish) was swimming by and heard Shiva speaking. Having never heard Shiva lecture on the nature of life and the universe before, he decided to listen in. Shiva continued to speak and Matsya continued to listen. As he listened, he felt the techniques and theory of yoga take hold of his body and begin to live through him. Through his perfect listening Matsya became enlightened. It was at that moment that Shiva became the first Guru (teacher) and Matsya became the first chela (student). This is a relationship that has lived on throughout the years."

FINAL SAVASANA - as long as you wish
palms on abdomen
normal breathing