EARTH September 
The Map Of The Chakras.
Friday 11:30am - 1:00pm
Date: 9.20.23
WEEK 2

Call Flow
11-11:15 am (15 min) Opening
11:15am-12 pm (30 min min) Talk: Intention of level one, overwhelm, agreements and enoughness, chakra overview,
12-12:45pm (45 min) Forum: Your Why
12:45-1pm (15) Questions and Closing

Intention of Level ONE: Studentship 

The intention of the first two months, level one is Studentship. You/we are cultivating the ability to be a student. 

Elena Brower taught me that the best teachers are the best students. She instilled in me the importance of developing the quality of being teachable. This is the ability to study consistently, learn, receive feedback, to handle criticism (from self and others) as well as praise, and to manage expectations. 

Being teachable is also about creating structure and mapping what you want to do, what you desire to do or be and overlaying that on to reality. So in other words, setting yourself up to achieve. There is no better way, in my opinion, to build confidence than to do what you say you are going to do.

Also, know that the blueprint is not the house. The house is not the home. Eventually you’ll take the blueprint off the page and make it your own. Keep that in mind as you continue to refine your self-care practices, your personal practice, your schedule, your and purpose.

Do you feel clear on the different avenues of information? Any questions?

Overwhelm
Let’s address overwhelm. 

A feeling of too much, drowning, even defeat. Oh my, what did I get myself into? 

Desmond Tutu is one of South Africa's most well-known human rights activists. He won the Nobel Peace Prize (1984) for his efforts towards ending apartheid. He said, “Until all of us are free, none of us are free.”

He also famously asked the question .. How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time.

It might help to have a look at the overall topography of this training. 

We have three levels. 

Level one and two are both 8 weeks and level three is 12 weeks. 

Level 1 Studentship is about setting yourself up to succeed as a yoga student - this is where you organize, prioritize, deepen your relationship with yourself and deal, by using the chakras as a map. There is a lot of personal work these first two months; personal work can be heavy. Eastern Body Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System as a Path to Self is a lot.

Level 2 it’s more technical. 

In Level 3 we take it to the next level - this is where you start to own your voice and your teaching capabilities. 

This is a process. Remind yourself to take it one task at a time, resist the urge to skip assignments or try to get ahead. Take one bite at a time.

Agreements
I would like to clarify assumptions, or agreements. Assumptions I am operating under …

• I assume you want to be here.

• I assume that you will do the work because you want to be here. 

• I assume you have a full life and you had to make sacrifices to commit to be here.

• I assume you are doing your best.

• I assume that you will do what you can to take care of yourself.

• I assume you will reach out for support when you are struggling or feeling challenged - I WILL NOT infantilize you or spoon feed you. That doesn’t mean I wont nurture you or our student-teacher relationship.

Here is what you can assume from me

• You can assume that each session of this program was intentionally thought out and designed to fulfill certain promises. My big promise is that you will be able to teach yoga classes of substance and you will be equipped to step onto your teaching path - if that is what you want. You will teach during this program because there are lessons in that experience. 

• You can assume that this program will be executed with compassion, kindness, honesty and love for you as well as myself.

• You can assume that I'm refining content based on the needs of the group and the directions this experience takes us.

• To be clear, YTT is one step on a long journey of self discovery, magic and service. This program is the work to get to the gateway to step onto the path of teaching. At the end, you will receive a YA certification you can then register with YA as an RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher). We will talk more about that at the end of the program.

Side note:

I think that it’s important to see the “us” in this experience. 

• My big promise is a life changing, transformative experience. My job is to not to tell you what to do but create opportunities for you to learn and experience your own growth and transformation. I will give you my recipes and I will ask you to learn those recipes because they are my recipes. But, eventually, you will be able to do it without a recipe. 

• You can also assume that I’m giving my best effort and I am tempering that with the responsibilities I have to my family and myself. I’m not going to overwork, but I will give all I can during my dedicated YTT time.

Expectations

See the single sheet on the inside of your manual and draw your attention to the YTT requirements.

• Attending sessions 

• completing coursework as outlined in your workbook

• Final Exam* due Mar 22, you get the final exam a week before so you’ll have a week to complete and we will go over it together after Sat class on the 22nd 

• 1 page "report" on each of the required texts*

• Workbook*

• Progress Tracker* - which includes your practice log and coursework log

• Class Design*

• Practicum: Community Class Friday and Saturday April 4 and 5

• Graduation Celebration April 5 at Beckets time tbd

*you will turn this in (you’ll get it back)

Enoughness

You are enough - as you are - right now - you have everything you need and you have resources. In the case of resistance or hesitancy with any of the material. This is not memorization but felt sense. There are profound teachings that I can only touch upon in this training. 

I can quickly move past any doubts or criticisms I have about myself because I know how profound yoga is. I care more about you and what you think of yourself and how this practice is actively transforming you even in this moment, than I do about what you might think of me. It's none of my business what you think of me - you can tell me and I'll happily receive it, but that's only because you trusted me enough with your truth and I am going to receive it with grace - and - curiosity. That's the invitation: Get curious and EXPERIENCE.

We're studying how amazing you are.

We're learning about being more powerful - a more powerful owner of our nervous systems, self, body, and boundaries.

When I initially began writing this program, I mused with Nate .. How am I going to condense 20 years of experience into a zoom call. There are just some things you can't skip. But, knowing who you are and what you want will save you a lot of time. 

The practice is to be yoked to the present moment; to be aware of where you are, what you're feeling, what's going on and then from there you can start to make choices. Yoga is the light of self-knowledge. You can use technique to bring about form and function and different states in your own physiology and consciousness.

To quote Kristin Leal you are "becoming a more powerful creator; rather than being just kind of dictated by life, you actually get to choose." That is our sovereignty. 

The depth to which you've journeyed within yourself is how deep you're able to go with or take others. So go deep. Get on in there.

Chakra System
We are exploring the chakra system. Before we get back into that, I'd like you to take a moment to calm yourself. Find your seat. Find your ground, I'm going to light a candle, get some oil  - a tiny ritual that signals that it's time for yoga.

The chakras are about connecting to sacred space within and getting in touch with that sacred space that's already within you. So I have sandalwood - the oil of spiritual practice. Close your eyes and feel yourself connected strongly to the earth. Feel the s shape curve of your spine. Attune your hearing to your breathing. Let’s take three deep breaths. 

This week and next, we are looking at the chakra system through Angelus. I love Angelus because it is visually stunning which gives your mind a way of connecting your imagination to these ideas - creating a  landscape for your experience within your body and with each chakras. We are using  the seven classical yoga chakras - there are many different systems of chakras throughout the world but we are going to use seven.

My hope is that through the resources, through Angelus,  Eastern body Western Mind, and through the conversations we are going to have with Erica and in Geneva, it'll really flesh out what each one of these chakras means individually for you.

covered in clinic —- below

What are they? 

“Chakras are energy centers along the spine that form a subtle system of channels to generate and receive spiritual energy. Each chakra houses a world of lessons and gifts and with all seven of these sources combined you have an entire ecosystem of support inside you. (from Angelus)

So we're learning how to source our strength from within, exploring the state of your chakras helps you trust your internal compass, embrace change and find the energy source needed to propel out of mediocrity.  

Chakra translates as a wheel or a disc that holds information. For those of you that were alive in the 1900s you may remember a floppy disk, or a flash drive, right.

from Eastern Body
It's a spinning sphere of bio-energetic activity that emanates from the major nerve ganglia branching forward from the spinal column. 

The major nerve ganglia is basically a group of nerves and neurons that gives and receives information - you may have heard of the parasympathetic nervous system.  

Among vertebrates there are three major groups of ganglia:

• Dorsal root ganglia (also known as the spinal ganglia) contain the cell bodies of sensory (afferent) neurons.

• Cranial nerve ganglia contain the cell bodies of cranial nerve neurons.

• Autonomic ganglia contain the cell bodies of autonomic nerves
  

Chakras are considered centers of organization that receive and express life energy. 

They're not physical entities but like feelings or ideas they have a strong effect on the body, though you can’t really pinpoint a location in the physical plane. 

The chakra system is a 7-level philosophical model of the universe right, we have the Earth, we have the waters, we have the fire, we have the air, we have ether, we have senses and thought, and we have consciousness. These seven levels are associated with states of consciousness, archetypal elements, philosophical constructs, human psychological health, evolutionary programs (what you have inherited), and basic rights. 

We have all this information within our body. We have all this information spinning. We have the past, we have the possibility that comes in the future. We have the experience of what's happening to us right now, in this moment - and instead of being confused or not knowing what to do or looking all around for answers and ideas, we can tune our attention inward to the chakras. 

Because of this, knowing and working with the chakras is very empowering. 

Chakra One 
Muladhara chakra is located actually below the base of your spine so you can, from your spine connecting all the way to the center of the earth. Also your legs, your feet as well as anything that roots you to the earth.

Chakra two 
Svadisitanana, the sacral chakra that's right below the navel, it includes the belly, the hips, the sexual organs, the womb space, as well as the kidneys - the waters of your body and the universe.

Chakra three 
Manipura, it means lustrous gem, its house within your ribs, it's your solar plexus and your core, the seat of will and intensity, your internal fire.

Chakra four 
Anahata is located around your heart, chest, shoulders as well as your arms and your hands. It is how we reach out and touch, make contact, and be in relationship. 

Chakra five 
Vishudha the throat, ears and mouth, our ability to communicate, and our capability of listening.

Chakra six 
Ajna is the third eye center, it's right in the very center of the brain, the pineal gland. It also includes your sense of smell and your connection to memory and ideas, as well as your intuition. 

Chakra seven
Sahasrara the crown of your head, it's your Aura of light, it's the way in which you connect to the Divine.

So you could work with one each one, say so you don't feel grounded - What could you do physically to allow yourself to feel grounded? What could you do, psychologically, to get yourself in a state of stability? What archetype or what element could you make an image of in your mind to create a feeling, of that balance, that you may be after.

So we're not always sure what is coming up for other people and often we are not sure what's coming up for us. So when we use the chakra system for healing, we're able to tune our attention into these energy centers - we're able to source information from these energy centers and then we can make choices because we have options.

Covered in clinic —— above

The coursework for this and next week
Take the chakra quiz that's on pg. 15 Angelus. Then I'd like to choose one of the programs on page 18 to work with. You want to pick a sequence, read through the intro to set the intention, study the emotional talking points on the asanaglyph pages, study the anatomical cues in the glossary. Dedicate to your self-led study, physically feel how the postures encourage your chakras to align - be less concerned about perfection and more with finding your unique expression. And then practice the same sequence multiple times  - to build a fire. 

In Eastern Body Western Mind, the author, Anodea Judith really goes into depth on so many levels.  And I'd like for you to journal your quiz results and really in your journaling, think about why understanding the chakras is important in your practice and in your life. 

Questions and closing

Next week is more Chakras and we welcome Erica Jago

Closing
Quote from Mark Whitwell “Yoga is both the relaxation and participation in your own life.”

Please find your seat, organize your shoulders over your hips, ground to crown of your. Close your eyes and please take 3 breaths with me. Thank you for your practice.

Week 2: Session 1: Chakras - An overview
*working with Angelus

This week + next we will be looking at the Chakra System through Angelus
We look at the 7 classical yoga chakras

• Chakra 1: Muladhara Root - base of your spine, legs + feet

• Chakra 2: Svadhisthana Sacral - below the navel, belly, hips, womb

• Chakra 3: Manipura Naval - ribs, solar plexus, core

• Chakra 4: Anahata Heart - heart, chest, shoulders, arms, hands

• Chakra 5: Visshudha Throat - throat, ears, mouth

• Chakra 6: Ajna Third Eye - center of your brain, pineal gland

• Chakra 7: Sahasrara Crown - crown of your head, aura of light

What are the chakras?

“Chakras are energy centers along your spine that form a subtle system of channels to generate and receive spiritual energy. Each chakra houses a world of lessons and gifts, and with all seven of these sources combined, you have an entire ecosystem of support inside you.”

“Exploring the state of your chakras helps you trust your internal compass, embrace change, and find the energy source needed to propel out of mediocrity.”

A Chakra:

• Translates as “wheel” or “disc”

• Spinning sphere of bioenergetic activity emanations the the major nerve ganglia branding forward from the spinal column

• Center of organization the receives, assimilates, and expresses life for energy

• Not physical entities - like feelings or ideas, they have a strong effect upon the body; they have a location, though they don't exist in the physical sense. 

The Chakra system

• A 7-level philosophical model of the universe

• Associated with states of consciousness, archetypal elements, philosophical constructs, human psychological health, evolutionary “programs”, and basic rights

1:44 Chakra ONE
6:38 Chakra TWO
10:38 Chakra THREE
15:30 Chakra FOUR
18:49 Chakra FIVE
23:34 Chakra SIX
26:56 Chakra SEVEN

EARTH - Week 2: Session 2: Chakra I

Discussion
Get grounded in the 1st Chakra: Muladhara

• Located below the base of the spine

• Associated with the Earth element

• Helps you ground 

• By the force of gravity it pulls your body in the here and now

• Provides you with the stability needed to endure physical and emotional experiences

• Anytime you feel: settled, calm and secure - this center is in balance

• It governs your right to BE

• Survival

• Basic needs

• Security

• Stability

• Safety

• Financial

• Home

• Family

• Heritage

• Ancestry

• Form

• Solidarity

• Body

Part of your coursework is to:

• Read pg. 52-102 Eastern Body

• Review Chapter 1 Angelus

Self-reflection + Journal

• What gifts and wisdom does a balanced first chakra provide?

• Do you really feel safe deep down in the core of your being? 

• How could you bring a feeling of safety in for yourself when you practice?

EARTH - Week 2: Session 3: Chakra 2

Discussion
Feel into the 2nd Chakra Svadhisthana

• Located below the navel and above your sexual organs and womb

• Associated with the Water element

• It is the source of your intuition and brings depth to your ever-changing meditation practice

• Past emotions are held and release here

• It helps the blood circulate through your hips, awakening a free flow of sensations, desires, and pleasures

• Anytime you feel: motivated, passionate and graceful - this center is in balance

• It manages you right to FEEL

• Accepting others

• New experiences

• Change

• Sensuality

• Sexuality

• Please - pursue + receive

• Playful

• Pelvic bowl

• Creativity - solution, problem solving

• Mage magic

• Alchemy

• Flow

• Alignments

• Movement

• Emotions

• Senses

• What we feel

Part of your coursework is to:

• Read pg. 104-163 Eastern Body

• Review Chapter 2 Angelus

Self-reflection + Journal

• What gifts and wisdom does a balanced second chakra provide?

• What longing or desire lives deep within you?

EARTH - Week 2: Session 4: Chakra 3

Discussion
Experience the 3rd Chakra Manipura

• Located at your core where your ribs emerge around your solar plexus

• Associated with the Fire element

• It is the seat of your power, in which you find self-esteem, sense of purpose, personal identity, and individual will

• It gives you the empowerment to transform, grow, and act in your life.

• Anytime you feel: proud, reliable, and confident - this center is in balance

• It rules you right to DARE

• Self-confidence

• Control in life

• Power

• Energy

• The “how”

• Self-esteems

• Self-trust

• Follow through

• Execution

• Holding yourself to a high standard to get what matters done

• Priorities - working smart

• Fire

• Effective

Part of your coursework is to:

• Read pg. 166-219 Eastern Body

• Review Chapter 3 Angelus

Self-reflection + Journal

• What gifts and wisdom does a balanced third chakra provide?

• How often do you connect to and ignite your own uniqueness? 

• What is your purpose now - in this stage of your life, and in the broader scheme?

• How can you bring your unique self + purpose to life through your daily actions and future plans?