Bhakti, Divine Devotion

Our igniting of and careful tending to Manipura (third chakra) we journey upwards to Anahata (fourth chakra); connecting our individual Self with the rest of the world. This is where we find devotional love, sacrifice, self-less service. When we live from the heart our actions become more fluid, less controlled, without hesitation, and from the reservoir of faith cultivated, in Manipura, by our own will power.

The pose Natarajasana, the cosmic dance of Shiva embodies so much strength and grace together and brings these two points of the physical and pranic bodies together beautifully.

"Riding on the golden flames of our power center, we now arrive at the very heart of the chakra system...Like the green growing plants which push toward the heavens from their roots in the earth, we, too, reach outward in two directions-anchoring the manifesting current deep in our bodies and expanding the liberating current as we reach beyond ourselves. In the heart chakra, these currents come to perfect balance in the center of our being. From that sacred center-the heart fo the system-we enter the mystery of love."
Eastern Body, Western Mind by Anodea Judith

"Be wildly devoted to someone, or something.
Cherish every perception.
At the same time, forget about control.
Allow the Beloved to be itself and to change.
Passion and compassion, holding and letting go,
This ache in your heart is holy,
Accept it as the rise of intimacy with life's secret ways.

Devotion is the Divine streaming through you
From that place in you before time.
Love's energy flows through your body,
Toward a body, and into eternity again.
Surrender to this current of devotion
and become one with the body of love."

The Radiance Sutras by Lorin Roche

Manipura, the Lustrous Gem

I've been tending to the fire of my third chakra lately; because its spring and because I need to. Tending this fire means building core strength to support my physical self and more importantly to support my emotional and mental health. The Manipura chakra, meaning lustrous gem, located at the very center of our being, the solar plexus, right at the base of where our ribs come together in the front body. The purpose of the third chakra, is transformation of energy into action and the power of will. Instinctual energy rising from below (lower chakras) meets the descending energy (consciousness) from above and thus transforming impulse into willed activity. This is where we find our will power by exercising our right to choose. We have the choice to continue to feed instinctual desires that temporarily satisfy the senses or the choice to meet challenges and move forward and deepen our understanding of our True Self. The choices we make shape who we are, and create our individual self. As Anodea Judith explains in Eastern Body, Western Mind, the ego is the one making all the executive decisions, becoming the operating system of our Self.

In the spiritual community, the word "ego" can sometimes sound like a bad word. As spiritual aspirants or yogis we are so hard on ourselves because we have not transcended the egoic self; as if we need to satisfy some spiritual expection based on tradition or a certain belief system. Unless we choose renunciation, the ego is necessary. It is like consciousness within consciousness. Goals, intentions, living affirmations would be meaningless without the help of our ego. When in balance, the ego helps us to transmit our interior Self with the outer world.

How does this relate with my personal practice as I tend to that fire? Discipline, discipline, discipline. Instead of collapsing (physically and energetically) I might say to myself, "I CAN do it". This is will power. This is transformation.

I am no where near the point of letting go of ego. I am actually nurturing my ego so that it can become stronger, more clear, ...however, being careful to inflate only enough to build confidence but not so much that it is overbearing.

Poses that help to build confidence: warrior one and two, most all arm balances including handstand, bakasana, vasithasana,