Namaste from Boulder, Colorado! Today Erin and Sasha continue the exploration of the chakras with Manipura - the third of the seven chakras - which translates as “the shining sacred jewel.” It is associated with the Fire element, the planet Mars, the color Yellow, and the “Ishta Devata” Hanuman. It is located just above the navel and below the sternum, at our solar plexus — also called the celiac plexus — which is a complex system of radiating nerves and ganglia. It is found in the pit of the stomach in front of the aorta. It is part of the sympathetic nervous system and plays an important role in the functioning of the stomach, kidneys, liver, and adrenal glands.

This chakra brings Prana to the digestive system, also known as our second brain. From a Western perspective, this is known and expressed as the gut-brain axis (or GBA) - the network of nerves and biochemical signals that connect the brain and the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. It's a two-way communication system that helps maintain homeostasis. The vagus nerve is one of the main nerves that connects the brain and gut, sending signals in both directions.

From a clinical perspective, the GBA can impact disorders like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), mood disorders, anxiety, depression, and memory loss. The GBA can also be linked to conditions like autism, obesity, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.

The Manipura chakra is directly linked to our sense of self, self-esteem, sense of purpose, the seat of clear decisive action, vision, dynamic action, assertiveness, discipline, determination, passion, deepest willingness to go beyond, strong will power, courage, resilience, and vitality. When balanced, there is energy and insight, will power and and follow-through, self-reliance, vitality and health. It can only be as balanced as the first 2 chakras. When imbalanced, there is a state of self-doubt, fear, insecurity, wanting, anger, blame, victimhood, depression, and lethargy.

Positive affirmations, yoga postures that engage the core such as bow pose, cobra pose, or revolved triangle pose, and kapalabhati pranayama (or breath of fire) help strengthen Manipura when it is weak. We also get into ways of balancing an overactive Manipura, as Pitta-type individuals are prone to over exercising, overworking, and burnout. We hope today’s conversation illuminates the ways in which we can reclaim and maintain our personal power, and that it is not as much a process of creating it, as it is discovering that which has always been there and removing what blocks us from experiencing it.

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Live from New York, it’s Ojas Oasis. Today, Sasha and Erin got to chat in-person to deep dive into the second chakra, Svadhistana, located at the sacrum above the Muladhara, which abides in the tail bone or coccyx. The sacrum is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine that connects to the pelvis and is made up of five fused vertebrae, numbered S-1 to S-5.

Now that we know where it lives, lets talk about what it means. Svadhistana translates as “the seat of taste/desire.” “Swa means taste, and “Stana” means abode or seat. It represents the Water element, relates to the physical reproductive organs and brings Prana to the reproductive system. This is where our desire comes from - for enjoyment, pleasure, sexuality, creativity and flow.

Desire is a fascinating thing. And an important thing at that, as far our basic evolution and survival go. But craving and aversion, become a relentless assault on the present moment if we fail to understand and master the nature of it. Aversion is essentially Anxiety, Resentment, Regret, All Addiction, Self-Hatred, all sense of Lack, the gap between who you are and who you want to be, what you have and what you want to have.

Desire is not the actual problem. Because we aren’t actually looking for a “thing.” We are looking for “the experience of the thing, the feeling of the thing.” That is the first level of balancing this chakra, or subtle energy center: Distinguishing what it is we ultimately truly Desire.

In Ayurveda, it is important to not suppress Desire. In Yoga, it is important to refine the experiencer, or the one experiencing Desire, so that the Desire becomes refined. As our Ayurvedic habits and Yoga practice deepens, toxic habits fall away, including toxic desires. And this is because as our human system becomes balanced, the tendencies of imbalance heal into harmonious tendencies. This is a whole nother level of healing.

When our Svadhistana is balanced, there is an energy of abundance, and understanding of timing. When imbalanced, there is guilt, self-hatred, a state of wanting or lack, self-harming, drama, holding of childhood issues, traumas, and sexual scarring, and a tamasic level of desire to relate but an inability to relate to anyone. Since our present relationships are all informed by our past, we must free ourselves from incorrect, unrefined information in our system. We must clean this chakra by learning how to activate it. Otherwise, Fear will show up to sabotage what it is we truly want.

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Today, we spend more time on the fourth kosha, Vigyanamaya Kosha. The word “Vigyana” means “knowing.” This layer is true intellect, intuition, wisdom, and higher awareness. Within this layer, one experiences union of Spirit, realizing they are a spiritual being having a human experience.

We also delve into the fifth layer, the Anandamaya Kosha. “Ananda” means “bliss,” so this is our Bliss Body. Love, peace, joy, connection, and bliss are all a constant experience here, without any reason, and it’s beyond just an emotion. Bliss is the experience we gain from connecting to the Atman (true self) without masks, opinions, ideas, or identities.

We begin exploring another part of the subtle anatomy, known as Chakras. Chakras are energy vortexes in the subtle/energetic body, located along the sushumna nadi, starting from the base of the spine, or tail bone, all the way up through the crown of the head. The first is Muladhara, which we felt required its own episode, as the strength of the rest of the chakras rest upon this foundation.

Muladhara translates as the root, whose energy flows to the rest of the chakras and sets the tone for our sense of self. Herein lies infinite potential but also fear, since all Fear is essentially about the Unknown, and the Unknown is also the Infinite Potential. A lot of our limitations are self-imposed, acquired through conditioning, so the muladhara represents the possibility of liberation when we realize we have the choice to change and evolve.

Daily practices and routines, often the simple ones we mention in today's conversation, help strengthen our inner stability. Disciplines, like yoga asana, anchor us so that experiences don’t lead us off path and away from our true self. A huge part of our inner work is with this chakra. Cultivating a base experience of Trust over Fear. This chakra represents the Earth element, and we hope you feel its grounding energy through this teaching.

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