Archive for December, 2009
Introduction To The 7 Chakras
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Growing up an unusually sensitive child, I was particularly affected by energies transmitted from other people through their thoughts and emotions.
My family environment was considerably tumultuous, judgmental and unloving and I would find myself retreating into my own world, for comfort.
Soon I found little comfort there after spending years absorbing negativity from those around me. I transformed into a fragmented, confused and overall unhappy person.
Fortunately, I had one thing going for me and that was that I was absolutely determined to change the nature of my circumstances by changing how I felt. I began to read books, attend seminars, therapy and even take medication.But nothing really seemed to help me find balance and harmony in my life, until I learned about the energetic system of the body called Chakras.
What Are Chakras?
Before we talk about the chakras, take a minute to just think about the magnificence of your body and its functions. Take the complexity of your digestive system. Food is received via the mouth, where it then enters the stomach is digested and finally eliminated.
This same principle also applies to our energetic body. There is a system of energetic absorption and elimination that have similar functions to those that we are aware of on a physical level. There are 7 major energy centers in the body called the Chakras, meaning “wheel” or “spinning wheel” in Sanskrit.
The 7 Chakras and their function…
Root Chakra is the first chakra, located off the base of the spine, specifically at the perineum (between the genitals and anus). It is symbolized by the color red and it governs survival, primal instincts and self-preservation. When this chakra is out of balance, we sometimes experience fearful emotions and trust-related issues.
Second Or Sacral Chakra is located just below the navel. It is associated with the color orange and is the root of our sexual, emotional and creative nature. When the sacral chakra is out of balance, we may feel overly emotional, anxious and overactive or inactive sexual drive.
Solar Plexus Chakra is the largest of the energy centers. Located between the sternum and the navel, it is yellow in color and is responsible for our feelings of power and our will. It is the force that drives us to act. Feeling like a bit of a control freak? Your solar plexus may need some cleansing.
Heart Chakra is located in the middle of the chest and associated with the color of forest green. Our ability to give and receive love, as well as show compassion is dominated by this area.
Throat Chakra, is located at the centre of the throat. It is bright blue in color and is the seat of our ability to openly communicate, assert ourselves and express our emotions.
Third Eye Chakra, located in the centre of the forehead is indigo in color and is the base of our intuition, perceptiveness, psychic abilities and openness to spirituality.
Crown Chakra is located at the top of the head. Some sources say that it is purple in color, while others claim that it is white, like virgin snow. The crown chakra is the ultimate seat of our wisdom and our direct connection to God or creator. This chakra generally doesn’t need cleansing as it tends to open up when the lower chakras are cleared.
In my next couple of posts, I’m going to go into more detail about the chakras and share with you some chakra cleansing exercises that have proven to be extremely effective in clearing up emotional baggage.
Breathing Your Way to Well-Being
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“What is essential is invisible to the eye” –Antoine De Saint-Exupery.
Sometimes, we get so caught up in the hustle of our daily lives that we forget to really stop and pay attention to the things that really matter, like the depth and quality of your breath. Breath that’s filled with vitality and energy is what sustains us not only physically, but also on a spiritual level.
However, many people will discover that their breathing tends to be restricted to their upper chests. Babies on the other hand breathe very naturally and deeply in their lower bellies. They are uninhibited and free of emotional blockages that restrict the life force energy from flowing freely through them.
Breathing deeply and rhythmically in the belly may appear to be an easy task, but it actually takes a conscious effort, particularly if you have never practiced any form of basic meditation. By practicing rhythmic breathing we begin to release built up tensions that prevent the free of life force energy within us.
A simple rhythmic breathing exercise described in Israel Regardie’s book, The art of true healing
Tantric practitioners also stress the importance of breath, to prolong sexual intercourse and to raise one’s spiritual and sexual energy. Also, learning tantric breathing exercises or meditation encourage the release of endorphins in the body like (serotonin and dopamine) that keep is in a more happy and content state.
There are many techniques that can help increase the depth of your breath. I guess you have to sort of go with whatever methods work for you, whether you practice meditation, yoga or tantra. The result will speak for itself…
Recommended Book:
Reclaiming Your Sexual Energy
Posted by: | CommentsTo experience optimal levels of health and vitality, I believe that we need to ensure that our sexual energy flows abundantly through us. Unfortunately, as we grow older and life’s stressors begin to take their toll, our sexual interest may begin to dampen down. Here are some of my thoughts about why this happens and what can be done to reverse the effects.
Every experience and person that you’ve encountered in your life, particularly those that you are close to, have left some kind of energetic imprint on you, whether the encounters were positive or negative.
If you are not in the habit of regularly cleansing your chakras, you run the risk of accumulating energy from other people in your auric field, creating blockages and decreasing the flow of your sexual and vital energy. Our energetic body naturally absorbs thought forms, emotions and beliefs throughout life. By learning to run our own energy, we can gradually peel away the layers of negativity that restrict sexual energy from flowing freely through us.
Our thoughts can also dull our sexual energy, particularly unresolved conflicts or repressed anger. When we hold onto negative thoughts, long enough we experience emotional upsets that not only affect our levels of energy, but those around us. Just think about how many times you’ve made yourself feel bad, by replaying all the most negative events of your life, until everything was colored in light of those thoughts.
I believe that every thought has an emotional component and emotions affect the physical body. All you have to do is think about a time when you were really upset and almost automatically, you may feel a tension in your solar plexus or heart. Women who have a lot of hang ups about sex often have a stiff pelvis, which constrict blood flow to the genital region and stifle the sexual response.
One way I’ve found very useful to reverse this effect is to learn some form of tantra. There are many tantric techniques that can help assist one in cultivating sexual energy in the body for healing purposes, such as White Tiger Tantra Heart Meditation. Also regularly practicing the White Tiger Tantra Massage with my partner has given me tremendous benefits in releasing trapped emotions and tension in the body, leading to a surge of sexual energy and overall vitality.
How She Walks Reveals How She Comes…
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A study at the University of Scotland found a relationship between a woman’s walk and her ability to have orgasms. Women who had more fluid pelvic movements, were reported to be more readily orgasmic than those with rigid and tight pelvic muscles. While this research delves into the symptoms, little has been offered in terms of causes or solutions. Here are some thoughts.
The system of White Tiger Tantra takes a mind-body connection in that all thoughts and emotions create a physical response in the body. So if you hold on to a lot of stress and tension, overtime, your physical body becomes a manifestation of your inner world. You can see it in people’s postures or facial expressions. It’s what the psychiatrist Wilhelm Reich referred to as “body armoring” or a form of neuromuscular tension, that stifles the free flow of sexual energy in the body called “orgone energy”.
Women are often shamed about their sexuality from a very early age. I remember when I first began to attract male sexual attention and often felt the need to protect myself from harm’s way. My body would slump over and I would go rigid from head to toe. Little did I know then that my fears and shame about sexuality would later prevent me from experiencing the pleasure, that was my universal feminine right.
While yoga and dancing can be very beneficial to freeing up the pelvis, none have created a more powerful transformation in me than the pelvic stretching exercise described in the White Tiger Tantra. Prior to the tantric massage, the receiver has her pelvis stretched to increase blood flow into the genital region, which facilitates orgasms. While you can see the change in gait almost instantly, the real change is felt physically. You can have the most uptight duck-walk and in a matter of minutes have hips that sway sensuously, as though God himself commands them…
Abstinence & Tantra
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Recently I stumbled upon an article in Psychology Today titled “sexual energy and the single woman.” The author challenges women to remain orgasm-free for three weeks, as an energetic experiment in centering themselves and achieving a state of well-being. We hear a lot about meditation and prayer as way to achieve mindfulness and balance, while cultivating sexual energy is often times overlooked.
While the women in the experiment were abstaining from orgasm for x amount of time, none were reported to be practicing specific meditations to cultivate and spread sexual energy throughout their bodies like, in various forms of Tantra and Taoist sexual practices. They were simply told to record their thoughts in a journal.
One woman reported, that she I viewed this experiment as “an opportunity to explore the channeling of sexual energy”, by allowing herself to enjoy the journey of pleasure and arousal without focusing on the end result. Her sexual frustration diminished after about two weeks and she was able to sustain higher-energy states, rather than trying to escape them. Another woman began to channel her sexual energy into more creative pursuits, while the final participant felt more loving and open-hearted towards people.
So what makes sexual energy such a powerful force? As a practitioner of White Tiger Tantra, I’m constantly learning to refine my energy for personal and spiritual development. Sexual energy is a means by which we can transform our body and emotions, to empower ourselves in magnificent ways. After years of practicing of White Tiger Tantra, I gained a tremendous amount of responsibility from being able to direct my sexual and emotional energy and it was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done.
Which is why I wouldn’t recommend someone with no prior knowledge of Tantra, Tantric Massage, Taoist sexual practices or meditation, to just abstain from orgasm for a prolonged period of time. The reason being, and I speak from personal experience, is that women will often experience a powerful build up of sexual energy in their lower chakras, if it isn’t properly cycled through the body. This energy is so powerful, it can create intense feelings of anxiety and overwhelming emotional states. However, when sexual energy is spread through the body, negative emotions can be recycled into a higher and purer energy, leading to more blissful and ecstatic states…
Read full article here
Recommended Books:
