Day 13 - Energy

Spending so much time in yoga classes and meditating and breathing has really got me thinking about Chakras and the energy that flows through the body. I have had a plethora of emotions, feelings, urges, instincts, and overall thoughts this week that have been all over the map, it is very clear that things are stirring and moving, but I am still unclear on what these “things” are.

The 7 main Chakras, also known as energy centers along the spine, are located at major branchings of the human nervous system, beginning at the base of the spinal column and moving upward to the top of the skull and believed to influence or even govern bodily functions near its region of the spine. Chakras are considered to be a nexus of biophysical energy or prana of the human body.

Prana is Sanskrit for breath. In yoga we refer to it as the life force and we work with Ujjayi breathing in our practice. Often called the Ocean Breath, Ujjayi breathing, is a diaphragmatic breath, which first fills the lower belly (activating the first and second chakras), rises to the lower rib cage (the third and fourth chakras), and finally moves into the upper chest and throat. Inhalation and exhalation are both done through the nose. We call it the ocean breath because of the "ocean sound" created in the back of our throats. The breath is used in yoga to flow through our poses. Riding the breath, and synchronizing the breath with movement, creates the moving meditation that is the true practice of yoga.

Because autopsies do not reveal chakras, most people think of all of these notions as “eastern mumbo jumbo,” yet their existence is well documented and the surrounding philosophies of yoga have been utilized for thousands of years. Some people choose to believe in God and read the bible, others resonate with Judaism. It has been almost 10 years since I read my first book on Buddhism, and after growing up Catholic, Eastern Philosophy has always had a more profound effect on me. Now if only we can get the Pope to do some yoga...