Chakra Class: Crown Chakra...

Crown Chakra
Sanskrit Name: Sahasrara
Location: Top of Head
Color: Violet 
Element: Information

The seventh chakra is the energy center for higher spiritual information. This chakra allows you, as spirit, to know things beyond what your body could know.  When stimulated and clear, it enables one to see the truth concerning illusionary ideals, materialistic pursuits and self-limiting concepts.  It further allows one to experience continuous self-awareness and conscious detachment from personal emotions.

I was really excited for tonight's class because I knew it was the last one and I was really curious as to how


she was going to wrap up all the chakras.  As tonight was Crown, top of the head, I had a sneaking suspitition that we were going to be attempting headstands. My third eye must really have been opened from last week to see that one coming!

We started with our hands on our heads in a lotus or Yoga Mudra position...to represent purity of the mind.

Our hands were to represent a chalice to allow all knowledge and light to channel into our body openly and freely.  Trish kept on saying that all that is above is available to you inside your entire body. All the things we dream of and all  our possibilities can be made a reality just from within. All you have to do is open yourself to let it all in.

I have never done headstands before.  With my back injury, I can be a bit of a chicken when it comes to trying knew poses. I really need to trust the teacher and listen to what my body is telling me. My shoulders and neck are really tender today for some reason, so I knew it was really important to really activate my shoulders to make this pose safe. I took the time and got myself positioned on the wall and really tucked my shoulder blades to my spine and activated my core.  This is what prep looks like. 

I got one leg up in the air and then I felt a little stuck. I knew I was going to need Trish to guide me the rest of the way. I thought she was going to have to lug my legs up the wall but surprisingly she just needed to guide them a little ways, then I took care of the rest.  I was in headstand! I had a stupid grin on my face the entire time I am sure. It was really cool to pull away from the wall a little and really test out how much core engagement it takes to keep the low back protected. Another thing I noticed is that if you really engaged the shoulders, it was almost like you grew a little and seemed to grow taller.  I cant wait to try it out on my own and see if  I can do it again.

In regards to the Crown chakra, as well as spirituality, I am more of a 'feel the earth' rather than a 'look to the sky' kind of girl. I feel the power of Mother Nature resides with me much more powerfully then I do a higher being. I am open to all aspects of spirituality but I am just talking about what speaks to me more than other forms of personal beliefs. My favorite Chakra class was defiantly the Root Chakra. The Root was all about soaking up the abundant energy in the earth that is available to you, without question, at all times.  What I realized in headstand, was that all that energy and knowledge seemed to be flowing through me direct from the source right into my Crown Chakra.  The earth is ancient and by opening my Crown to the earth, I had the ability to take in a tiny bit of knowledge and energy from what the planet could possibly offer me. When I engaged my shoulders and grew taller, it was like I was soaking up energy and it was helping me grow...just like a plant grows from the nutrients from the earth. I didn't find it odd that I found this spiritual  meaning from the earth rather than the sky.

Once we came out of headstand, my body felt like it was buzzing. All the energy and information I allowed myself to take in was now making it's way through my body energizing me. I had a headache all day and now it's totally gone.  It's also past my usual bedtime, and I feel wide awake and I could write for hours! 

Each Chakra class was different and I think I took a different lesson from each one. I may not have taken the proper lesson or purpose of each Chakra by the book but I think I took home what sat with me the most.  The Crown is about connecting to one’s spirituality and finding your pure bliss. What I took away from this class is; does it matter where each person finds their pure bliss? Some bliss comes from the sky and some bliss comes from the earth. Bliss is perfect happiness or pure joy and I think where people find their own bliss is what is most meaningful. You should strive for bliss in everything you do. Your believes, your family, your job, your yoga practice, your life and many more should have the attached question of will this bring me happiness? This should be an honest question and you should give yourself the respect by giving yourself an honest answer. Respect others peoples quest for bliss and don't push your quest onto others.  This is a journey we have to ourselves and when we find pure happiness there is nothing more blissful than that.

Namaste xo.