2020 has been a year full of surprises and changes for me and everyone I seem to know. Changes in where I live, how I work, and connect with people were some of the areas where these shifts happened. With these changes in mind, I am at a place where I am exploring what home means to me now. As well as how I can communicate my boundaries in these new type of situations and relationships, in order to support my new sense of home.
Joining an Artist Way group (based off a book by Julia Cameron on A Spiritual Path To Higher Creativity) and having a daily yoga and mediation practice has helped me adapt to my relationship with impermanence and finding home inside myself. Sangha (Artist Way group), embodied self-regulation (yoga), and spirituality (meditation) are powerful tools to use for coming home for me. May they be that way for you too.
When stressed or when I feel like boundaries are being crossed, I have a tendency to place my attention on the “monkeys” in my mind or the ones from other people’s circuses The kinder and more loving (metta) I can relate to my body, mind, and heart, the more I am able to linger with them. Being able to linger with them, allows me to witness the whispers (not just the monkeys) and messages being expressed by my body, mind, and heart. From there, I am able to become more intimate with my whole being and to “come home.”
May you come home with some of the information and practices I have described in this article.
The Sacral Chakra - the second wheel, motion, or changes within us
The second chakra in yoga is called Svadhisthana and located in the lower belly. According to A.G. Mohan, it is the second wheel, motion, or changes within us. This sacral chakra is known as the creative and sexual chakra. It is where the “self” dwells or what Caroline in Spirit of Anatomy describes as, “Her special Abode.” The second chakra corresponds with the element of liquid or water - symbolizing the flow of life.
Organs associated with this second chakra are the sexual organs, large intestine, lower vertebrae, pelvis, appendix, bladder, and hip area, according to Anatomy of the Spirit.
The mantra for the sacral chakra is Vam.
May your stay connected to your “Special Abode.”
Symptoms Associated with a Blocked Sacral Chakra
Issues with blame and guilt, money and sex, power and control, creativity, and ethics and honor in relationships are associated with imbalances in the sacral chakra. Crossing of boundaries is a huge one here. Some physical manifestations, when dysfunctional at this level, are chronic lower back pain, sciatica, obj/gyn problems, pelvic/lower back pain, sexual potency, urinary problems, according to Caroline in Spirit of Anatomy.
May you tenderly befriend your body, mind, and heart.
The Meridians Lines & Second Chakra
The kidney, urinary bladder, small intestine, triple heater, & liver meridians nourish the second chakra in Chinese medicine. For now, I will focus on the kidney and urinary bladder meridians to keep it simple. When the kidney and the urinary bladder meridians are balanced together, wisdom is more accessible; when not, the sense of fear arises more easily.
The kidney and urinary bladder meridians (along with the heart, small intestine meridians) belong to the back of the body; offering the strongest resource of potential energy and facilitating the body to being upright and alive, as I learned in my training with yin yoga teacher, Dina Amsterdam. Meaning, the yin yoga pose sequence for these meridians will stimulate these areas (ex. Sphinx, Swan, & Legs Up The Wall pose).
Both the kidney and urinary bladder meridians nourish the first chakra too. The urinary bladder meridian also supports the third, sixth and seventh chakra. Also, the Urinary Bladder meridian is one of the few (besides the Governor Vessel meridian) to run through the brain, which is important for calming and energizing, according to Sarah Powers in her book, Insight Yoga.
May your subtle body energy nourish your sacral chakra.
Yin Yoga Pose Sequence For Kidney & Urinary Bladder Meridians (Short version)
Butterfly pose or Lying Butterfly
Saddle or Sphinx
Seal or Sphinx
Child’s Pose
½ Dragonfly or Legs-Up-the Wall
Other side
Full Forward Bend or Legs-Up-the Wall if front hip bones don’t bend forward
Corpse (Savasana)
May this yin yoga practice support you to come home.
Brahmavihara For Sublime State & Balance
In my previous article, I talked about compassion and loving kindness. In case you didn’t know, these virtues are part of a larger collection of buddhist virtues, called Brahmavihara. In pali, brahma means god or divine; vihara means abode. The brahmavihara are known as the “four immeasurables” in Sanskrit or “infinite minds” in Chinese. These virtues can be found in early buddhist texts and non-buddhist literature, like the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali. Brahmavihara includes the following four virtues:
Metta - a form of loving kindness or good will towards others and oneself.
Karuna - a form of compassion; the desire to relieve the suffering of others and oneself too.
Mudita - empathetic joy that is based on being happy due to other’s joy, even if one is not part of its creation.
Upekkha - equanimity that is based on insight. Basically, it offers discernment associated with “non-attachment, balanced, and calm mind. “ Ultimately, it allows where to offer appropriate amount of attention from a place of serenity.
I want to share a little bit about my experience with the practice of Upekkha (equanimity). Before attending an online metta retreat with Jeff Haozous at Spirit Rock, my loving kindness practices would meet a lot of resistance in my body, mind, and heart. After Jeff explained that equanimity is also a practice of discernment, I realized that I could use the messages of resistance I was receiving from my body, mind, and heart as a way to adjust my practice. For example, instead of offering compassion to someone else, maybe I could adjust being compassionate first to myself - which ended up working. Supposedly this harder for a lot of folks in western cultures to do, but was easier for due to different life experiences. Learning to discern where to place my attention through my personal insight helped me make my practice more appropriate for me - leading to a more easeful, mindful, and nurturing experience. May you use your insight to help guide you to do less harm to yourself and others. With consistent practice, my Brahmavihara practice have deepen and expanded my divine sense of home; may practicing these virtues do that for you too.
To start practicing, you may want to begin with a form of loving kindness practice towards a benefactor, dear friend, pet, or yourself. May you find what works best for you with equanimity. Below are some common phrases of loving kindness that you may use that I sourced from Jack Kornfield’s book, A Path With Heart.
As a Spanish speaker, I included a Spanish version of the loving kindness meditation, since Spanish is my heart language and resonates more warmth and loving kindness in me. than English.
Loving Kindness Meditation
May I be filled with loving-kindness.
May I be well.
May I be peaceful and at ease.
May I be happy.
Meditación de Bondad Amorosa
Que me llene de.
Que esté bien.
Que esté tranquilo y a gusto.
Que yo sea feliz.
After practicing some form of loving kindness, compassion, empathetic joy or equanimity meditation, you may start to notice some changes in your relationship with your body, mind, and heart responses. You can practice any of these brahmavihara practices with your hand on your heart too. Practicing some form of metta practice for 20 minutes a day and for a couple of months has has definitely shifted my relationships. May it shift your relationship too.
May you be more kind and loving with discernment.
Prānāyamā - Expanding Your Vital Life Force for Balance and Better Relationships
Another way to connect to feeling of coming home is to practice prānāyamā. According to T.K.V. Desikichar, Prānāyamā is the practice of stretching or extending vital force from inside of us or the expression of consciousness (p. 54-55, The Heart of Yoga). If Prāna is having a tough time expanding in the body, there is something blocking it that T.K.V. Desikachar calls “rubbish”. Whatever prānāyamā technique you end up deciding to use, it is important to practice in a way that does not add what I call more strain in the body or what T.KV. Desikachar call “rubbish” in the body. Prānayāmā is about reducing such blocks or “rubbish,” so more Prãna can enter inside the body, instead of being lost outside of the body.
A nice way to begin prānayāmā is by practicing mindful breathing. According to T.K.V Desikachar, you can begin by paying attention to a part of your body (ex. nose, chest, belly) that feels comfortable for hearing or feeling the breath. You can also pay attention to the movement of the breath in the body, by noticing how your body moves (ex. collarbone, ribs, belly, back) during your inhalation and exhalation. Another way is to notice where your breath enters and leaves the body (ex. nostrils). Additionally, you can listen to the breath by practicing ujjāyī breathing. Basically, the techniques of prānayāmā is to help the mind follow the breath and prepare us for the “stillness of meditation” (The Heart of Yoga, p.54).
At first, do whatever amount of breaths that feel comfortable to you. Allow yourself to focus on sensing (hearing or feeling) verses thinking about your breath. At first, you may want to practice for a couple of breaths. After a couple of weeks or months, a couple of minutes may feel more appropriate. You can practice mindful breathing in your yin yoga poses too.
Two precautions to take when doing prānayāmā, according to Gary Kraftsow, is to not make the inhale longer than the exhale. Lastly, don’t make retention of the breath longer than the exhale. As with all exercises, please check in with your doctor before starting any new exercise program, like this one.
May you breath easy.
Jing, Fear, & Bone Health
In chinese medicine, the kidneys impact bone marrow production through essence energy (Jing); when jing is deficient, soft bones happen in children and “skeleton or poor immune functions” happen in adults (Powers, p.32).
Interestingly, in 2019, scientific research (https://go.nature.com/3jAp8uW) showed how calcitonin from bone marrow is released into the blood due to a fear. It seems like the ancients in chinese medicine may have observed this relationship too, somehow. The connection of fear, low jing, and soft bones (calcitonin keeps calcium in your bones) seems to show that. Makes me think how medicine in different systems is in constant refinement with the tools each society has at its disposal to observe and measure.
May this information serve you.
About that Root Chakra Post on Yin Yoga For Meh
The pose sequences for the kidney and urinary bladder meridians are considered some of the most impactful in yin yoga. So much, I probably should have talked about these specific meridians when I wrote about the first chakra. At the time I was writing about the root chakra, I was recovering from the smokey airs and fires in California. During this time, I sensed that not only my place of refuge was literally on fire, but feelings of unresolved anger (what is associated with the liver and gallbladder meridians) were arising in my body. As a spiritual teacher, I can only teach from where I am and what I have experienced, so my article on first chakra did that.
Link for Yin Yoga For Meh
May you trust your relationship to experiences and practices.
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About The Author
Hi! My name is Angeles Rios. I am a healer and embodied movement trainer who works with both emotions and the body to help active people move better, be healthier, and stronger.
If you want more personalized help, I currently offer 1:1 sessions online, in Santa Cruz, and the Bay Area. You can book a 20-minute consultation if you would like to learn more. As a small business owner, I depend on referrals. If you think you know of someone who might benefit from my work, please forward them this link to contact me. I appreciate your support!
References
Powers, S. Insight Yoga - An innovative synthesis of traditional yoga, meditation, and Eastern approaches to healing and well-being. Shambala Publications. 2008
Amsterdam, D. Yin Yoga Teacher Training Manual (72 hour Intensive). Yoga Tree. August 17-25, 2013
Myss, C.M. Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing. Penguin Random House. 1996
Mohan, A.G. Yoga for Body, Breath, and Mind. Shambala. Boston. 2002
Kraftsow, G. Pranayama Unlocked: A Practiced Based Intensive. Yoga International & American Viniyoga Institute. https://yogainternational.com/ecourse/player/pranayama-unlocked-a-practice-based-intensive/
Desikachar, T.K.V. The Heart of Yoga - Developing A Personal Practice. Inner Traditions International. Rochester. 1995
Kornfield, J. A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life. A Bantam Book. New York.1993.