Practice with Rachel (Sat Siri) on Wanderlust TV: her new series, Root to Rise: Journey Through the Chakras also includes a companion series of free 10-minute self-reflection & journaling classes. The 7-part Kundalini Yoga series, as well as sample the thousands of yoga, meditation and movement classes on WLTV, is available to you with a free 14-day WLTV trial, granting access to a vast library which includes dozens of Kundalini classes from Rachel Dougherty.
This Chakra is the center of our fire, which represents our personal power. Manipura, as this chakra is also known, is considered to house the energy of the sun. This element of fire ignites the light of consciousness that motivates us to strive towards success and good health in our lives.
A Balanced Third Chakra (Manipura)
Spending too much time in the third chakra can cause us to burn right out. However, not developing it can leave us feeling weak, fearful, and frozen. The feelings of love and happiness that we feel in our hearts actually originate in the Solar Plexus/Navel Chakra and rise from there to the Heart Chakra. This third chakra is so very important to understand, and one of my favorites to work on.
I was coaching a beautiful woman a couple of years back, who had lost connection with this center. She had gone through many losses, the death of her best friend, the loss of her job, and having to move from where she had lived for 10 years, all in the space of 8-9 months. She literally lost her center, physically and energetically. This manifested in massive amounts of self-doubt and insecurity. She lost her trust in herself, and so, it was hard for her to make decisions, she was listless and numb.
I put a plan in place with her, where she did a yoga practice of navel work every morning, then some breath of fire for 11 minutes, and chanted a mantra powerfully from her navel center. After that, I suggested she go outside in the sun (or at least the daylight), and walk 30 minutes each day. She committed. She was desperate to feel better.
After only 7 days on this practice, I saw her come back to life. First just a little spark in her eye and her spirit, then I heard an enthusiasm in her voice that I hadn’t heard from her for months. It was the most beautiful transformation to witness: she came to life again. I told her, she was like a sunflower, rising up and greeting the sun! And the beauty was that it didn’t take too long to ignite..she was very different after just 10 days of this practice. After 40 days of it, she continued, but she felt like she got her power back completely.
That is the power of reconnecting with this solar plexus chakra: re-connecting with your inner sun, you can reignite the fire within, even when you sense it’s gone out completely. The radiance is yours to re-kindle.
Tools for Balancing the Third Chakra
A well balanced Solar Plexus Chakra enables us to effectively plan and achieve success. Cleaning and opening this chakra can make a person a better leader, and support them in creating an inspiring life.
Navel Work: Work on exercises that are commonly thought of for strengthening the core: single leg lifts, double leg lifts, bicycling the legs. You can look for single classes on Wanderlust TV that target the core, or try a 10-Day Challenge designed to bring awareness to developing your core.
Bow Pose: This back-bending asana generates an enormous amount of intra-abdominal massage to the various organs of the digestive system particularly the liver and pancreas. The stimulation of the solar plexus in this pose contributes to digestive efficiency and the effective elimination of wastes and toxins from the body. The extension of the neck stimulates the thyroid glands prompting the healthy secretions of hormones, which improves metabolism for ideal body weight management.
Don’t forget you can also practice along with me on Wanderlust TV, balancing the solar plexus chakra in my manipura class, and then follow up your practice with this 10-minute journaling exercise:
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Rachel Dougherty (Sat Siri) is a trailblazing, next generation, Kundalini Yoga teacher and trainer. She travels the world teaching Kundalini Yoga in places like Bali, Maui, Mexico and India. She has been practicing Yoga and Meditation for over twenty years and teaching Kundalini Yoga for fourteen. She practiced Iyengar Yoga, Vipassana Meditation, and many other modalities before finding Kundalini Yoga. A former ballet dancer with the Australian Ballet, Rachel found ballet meditation in motion, a creative expression that renewed her perspective with each step, turn or jump.
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