“Karma is the record of services. Karma is the term used in Buddhist teaching. Taoists use the term ‘te’, Christians use the term “deed.” Many other spiritual beings use the term “virtue.” Karma, te, deed, and virtue are the same thing but in different words. To understand karma is to understand all of these words.” ~ ZHI GANG SHA, The Power of Soul
People often think that doing good deeds will bring them good karma, and bad karma is something that has to be avoided at all cost. Karma works on the simple rule that every action generates a force of energy that returns to us in like kind. If you contribute to the cause, you will feel the effect and experience the consequences of your actions.
While Karmic debts are believed to be accumulating from a past life and is yet to be settled in this life. During the course of life, karmic debt can be created in ignorance, knowledge, accident or deliberately. This debt is consequential and would have to be redeemed sooner or later.
Sometimes, our actions receive a reaction immediately, that is instant Karma. This implies that the energies have balanced themselves. But at other times, the reaction for the action is missing. This implies that the repercussions of this action would reflect later in the same lifetime or in the next or after death.
This understanding gives rise to the theory of reincarnation. As the residual karma or karmic debt of the previous lifetime needs to be met in our current life, or there will be rebirth. Escaping the birth and death cycle is Moksha or Nirvana. Our birth, as described, is a consequence of our karma in previous lifetimes and we have a new chance to balance out our karmic baggage.
The work of psychiatrist Dr Ian Stevenson, provided scientific proof that reincarnation is real. He said that memories and physical injuries can be transferred from one lifetime to another, and that emotions, thoughts, injuries in the form of birth marks, phobias, are all a consequence of past lives.
Stevenson’s work called, ‘Reincarnation and Biology’ contained 225 case reports of children who remembered previous lives and who also had physical anomalies that matched those previous lives, details that could in some cases be confirmed by the dead person’s autopsy record and photos.
Human being in his desire to acquire a clean slate, tries to balance out the bad karma by performing good karma. But in his ignorance, he forgets to acknowledge the ‘repayable’ nature of Karma. Whether good or bad, it would have to be paid eventually. Furthermore, when a deed is carried out with an intention or expectation to create good karma and get rewards, the benefit of the same is decreased automatically.
Expectation of repayment is a dangerous emotion, as when the expectation is not fulfilled it would create dissatisfaction, unhappiness and greed. Like for example, a lover might feel s/he has been a higher contributor in a relationship and the other person is not acknowledging it. This only leaves them dissatisfied and unhappy. If we come to closure with our relationships, we do not create additional karma. When we forgive ourselves, we actually erase karma.
Karmic Healing
Karmic Healing is the knife that breaks the ties of the previous karma and frees the soul from the cycle of life and death. When we become fully aware of our actions, behaviors, thoughts and perceptions, we can then use our free will to consciously create a different path of karma.
By aligning our heart, mind and body, we make decisions with our whole being, thereby avoiding residual karma. One can use Reiki, Crystal Healing, Shamanic Healing, Karma Quotient healing to empower oneself spiritually.
The healing power will cut the ropes of binding karma that plants the seeds for the next life. Negative karma on the other hand is either removed or converted to positive. A constant effort of channeling the light can lead to a positive change in present life and gradual reduction of karmic debt.
An important thing to remember is that each one of us is responsible for our actions, and the best way to use karmic law is to become aware of the choices we are making in every moment. Although often, our choices are a result of our conditioning, people and our surroundings.
But once we become more aware of our choices, we will make choices that are spontaneously correct — both for you and the people around you.
You are our Wisdom Dakini,
Effortlessly guiding us with your magic dance,
From ordinary beings to sublime beings,
Into desire less qualities. ~Thinley Norbu’s Magic Dance: The Display of the Self-Nature of the Five Wisdom Dakinis
Dancing, naked and exuberant; the trickster spirits of of the Dakinis herald the sacred feminine in Tibetan mythology and Eastern mysticism. Similar to the raw female energy that can be evoked from the base of the spine in the form of kundalini, the Dakini represents the goddess-like element of intuition and the clarity of true perception.
She is a playful and often mischievous energy, requiring intense acts of humility for mortals to gain permission to enter her chambers, she can appear incredibly fierce and frightening to those who misunderstand her; drumming and dancing in her palace of human skulls.
The genie and the sky dancer, the Dakini can be confused with being highly sexual. Once you look past the initial layer of the Dakini, she appears to be anything but, and is actually merely a metaphor for the body, for corporeality, and the body’s capacity to hold knowledge. Unlike her male counterpart; sitting and gaining heady knowledge from the skies, the Dakini uses energy and action, constantly on the move in order to provoke the tribal knowledge from the depths of the root chakra.
In Tibetan mysticism the Dakini is a symbol of humility, and the feminine art of being humble, not believing oneself to be higher than any other and bowing so low that ones’ forehead touches the ground grants the practitioner passageway over the threshold of knowledge in order to gain access to the nature of existence.
Much like the misunderstood quantifying and glorification of the crown chakra and the mind in modern society in comparison to the root chakra, its forces of intuition and celebration of the power of the body, the raw female energy of the Dakini is often taken for granted or overlooked.
Giving and consuming overtakes true receptivity which enriches and balances us with compassion, self love and the ability to acknowledge that we have everything we need; both in our natural surroundings and in our own bodies. The sacred feminine requires nothing but the realization of her own potential, fed and nurtured by nature, and the satisfaction of her loved ones. The Dakini is true contentment; stillness, silence and the emptiness of the great void in all its potentiality.
Here are the various ways the Sacred Feminine and her army of Dakini deities may be expressing themselves in you:
The White Dakini of the East
White Dakinis are earth abiding and concerned with the cycles of karma. In the Dakinis of the Five Families White Dakinis are trustworthy, generous, and down to earth, granting worldly success to those who ‘compliment’ or please her.
The White Dakini is a little like a Bodhisattva in that she is interested in what it is to be human and will willingly be reborn as a human in order to connect with the earth and alleviate human suffering.
White Dakinis herald new beginnings and the act of being reborn; they are the most human being willingly drawn to the cycle of karma and have an active lust for life and its peaks and troughs.
The downside to them, if any, is that they can appear too innocent and sensitive; unable to overcome the pain of empathy for very long to help others rather than simply share their suffering.
The Yellow Dakini of the South
The life-sustaining thunderbolt Dakini of the South is radiant and flushed, pure and virtuous, she radiates compassion and is the most virgin and child-like of the Five. She will not let you be reborn into any lower realm and has a thirst for learning and life, though is known to become a trickster if displeased.
Unlike the more receptive forms of Dakini, the Yellow Dakini is more concerned with eating up life, and her naked form dances fervently in exultation of the highest reaches of bliss.
She desires and enjoys to the fullest, and is like any empress or indulgent queen; enjoying the riches of life without taking more than she needs, she lifts others up with her exuberant energy.
The Red Dakini of the West
The more knowledgeable Red Dakini of the West sings and dances, though she does so with more wisdom than the first two.
She is entirely wise and more giving; seeing humans as her children she is a mother to all. In more negative portrayals she can be associated with the flow of human blood and is perhaps the most misunderstood of the Five, she holds the deepest knowledge of the body and its life-giving properties.
The Green Dakini of the North
The Dakini of the evolved self is the most stern of the Five but is placid and symbolizes longevity and rebirth in paradise. Her stage represents pure wisdom, the time of enlightenment and the realization of Nirvana when the ego is transcended and the great void looks in on itself. Green Dakinis are lone warriors, often entirely fulfilled by their own purpose and unafraid to tread their own path.
They are revolutionaries, leaders and visionaries; the purest expressions of experience, able to give and receive in perfect balance.
The Pink Lotus Dakini
The final Dakini is the embodiment of the Sacred Feminine and the purest expression of compassion and sacrifice. She lovingly desires humility and compassion from all her followers and her hand can turn to control Gods, demons and men if she so desires.
She is the fragrance of the flower; the highest expression of beauty and loving kindness with no self motivation she is there only to serve and to heal.
‘You are our undemanding slave,
Tirelessly serving us,
From ordinary beings to sublime beings
To fulfill our worldly wishes.’
“You want weapons? Go to a library. Books are the best weapons in the world.” ~ Doctor Who
We all know about the big spiritual doctrines: The Bible, The Koran, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, The Tao Te Ching, but there are other books that have the spiritual substance to split your heart wide open and cut your previously held perceptions to shreds with their sacred ruthlessness and transcendent magnanimity.
Keep in mind that the books chosen are just the opinion of the author. You should in no way be limited by this short selection. There are just as many books that I could have switched out for the following that are just as deserving.
Look at them like stepping stones or springboards toward higher reading, if you will.
Either way, please enjoy the soulful nourishment of the following eight books every spiritual seeker should read.
1) Nature and the Human Soul by Bill Plotkin
“The caterpillar is to the butterfly as an uninitiated ego is to an initiated one. The imaginal buds are to the caterpillar as the soul is to the uninitiated ego.” ~ Bill Plotkin
Nature and the Human Soul is a spiritual blueprint for the healthy advancement of the human soul. In it, Bill Plotkin takes us on a heroic journey through the Eight Soul-centric/Eco-centric Stages of Human Development. It begins with The Innocent in the Nest, followed by The Explorer in the Garden, and then The Thespian at the Oasis.
These three stages round out the lower ego-centered stages of human development. The majority of people in Western society never get beyond these stages, and so authentic psychological and spiritual maturity has become an uncommon achievement, and genuine, venerated elder-hood is nearly nonexistent.
Arguably the most critical stage is the fourth: The Wanderer in the Cocoon, where the ego is deconstructed (ego death), and we learn how to stretch comfort zones, break mental paradigms, and pass through existential thresholds.
Upon exiting the cocoon, our ego becomes fully formed (individuated), and we become a creature with the capacity to experience “soul initiation” (self-actualization). The stages continue with The Soul Apprentice at the Wellspring, The Artisan in the Wild Orchard, The Master in the Grove of Elders, and end with The Sage in the Mountain Cave.
2) The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman
“You haven’t yet opened your heart fully, to life, to each moment. The peaceful warrior’s way is not about invulnerability, but absolute vulnerability–to the world, to life, and to the Presence you felt. All along I’ve shown you by example that a warrior’s life is not about imagined perfection or victory; it is about love. Love is a warrior’s sword; wherever it cuts, it gives life, not death.” ~ Dan Millman
If you want to learn about the Zen of fearlessness then the way of the peaceful warrior is for you. Based on a true story about Dan Millman’s youth, The Way of the Peaceful Warrior is a teacher-student story pitting the naïve and passionate student, Dan, with the wise and resolute teacher, Socrates. Socrates teaches Dan how the peaceful warrior’s way is a spiritual path of absolute vulnerability in the moment.
Socrates: “Where are you?” Dan: “Here.” Socrates: “What time is it?” Dan: “Now.” Socrates: “What are you?” Dan: “This moment.”
He teaches how courage, strength, and discipline are the foundation of love. He teaches Dan how courage is not being invulnerable. It is a soft plasticity. He reveals how there is strength in absolute vulnerability that those with invulnerable power can never know.
We are all ordinary human beings having an extraordinary experience. There are no ordinary moments, only ordinary precepts and perceptions. This book is the spiritual seeker’s Rocky.
The inspiration gained will leave your heart bursting with courageous love.
3) The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker
“Man cannot endure his own littleness unless he can translate it into meaningfulness on the largest possible level.” ~ Ernest Becker
Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction in 1974, The Denial of Death builds on the works of Søren Kierkegaard, Sigmund Freud, and Otto Rank, among others. This is a tour de force of existential anxiety meets higher reasoning.
Becker grabs us by the ankles, chops off the makeshift wings given to us by cultural conditioning, and brings us back down to earth, where he exposes our hypocrisy and how we are nothing more than insecure, fallible creatures “who need continued affirmation of our powers.”
But then he reveals the more authentic path to enlightenment and spirituality: making our own wings through the discovery of the “symbolic self.” It is through this continued artistic affirmation that we discover our symbolic self, which we use to transcend the limits of our insignificance through art and higher creativity.
This leads to our embarking on an “immortality project,” in which we become part of something we feel will last forever, beyond death. It is at this point that we transcend the dilemma of mortality through cosmic heroism. Becker speaks like his own tongue was the tongue of a Hero of a Thousand Faces itself, lashing like existential whips at the heart of the human condition.
He forces our head over the edge of the abyss, challenging us to trump small-mindedness by being heroically creative and responsible for bringing meaning, purpose, and significance to the bigger picture of our lives.
4) Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola-Estes
“As with any descent into the unconscious, there comes a time when one simply hopes for the best, pinches one’s nose, and jumps into the abyss. If this were not so, we would not have needed to create the words heroine, hero, or courage.” ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Women Who Run With the Wolves is a masterpiece of mythological insight and should be read by all people, but especially women. It takes the reader through wise fables, parables, legends, and myths while interpreting it through a feminine, eco-conscious lens of “deep knowing” that mystically reveals how all things can be connected through the power of human stories.
Particularly poignant is the following wise alliteration of spiritual advice – forego: leave it alone; forebear: abstain from punishment; forget: refuse to dwell; and forgive: abandon the debt.
Pinkola-Estes strikes the heart of the female condition, while also tapping the cornerstone of the human condition, by revealing the elusive philosopher’s stone of deep Truth in balance with the human soul.
Through wild knowing and sacred mythmaking, this book is a salve for the many wounds inherent within the human condition, and a spiritual boon for the religiously perplexed. Wild woman (La Loba, Wolf Woman) has much to teach women, let alone men.
As Clarissa Pinkola-Estes advises in the book, “Be homesick for wild knowing.”
5) Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse
“This ceaseless change does not mean discontinuity as a person; rather change is itself the very basis of our continuity as a person. It is because I cannot see what you see that I can see at all.” ~ James P. Carse
Finite and Infinite Games is a succinct and gripping exploration of the human condition seen through the lens of a unique flavor of game theory. Carse introduces two contrasting game players: the Finite Player and the Infinite Player. He explains how “a boundary is a phenomenon of opposition (finite). A horizon is a phenomenon of vision (infinite).”
The spiritual undertones are exemplary, and a kind of sacred humor is felt throughout. The Finite Player plays within boundaries, while the Infinite Player plays with boundaries. The Finite Player plays in all seriousness, while the Infinite Player plays in jest. The Finite Player plays for power, while the Infinite Player plays with power.
The Finite Player consumes time, while the Infinite Player generates time. The Finite Player aims for eternal life, while the Infinite Player aims for eternal rebirth. For the Finite Player, the rules of the game always stay the same; while for the Infinite Player, the rules of the game must change in order to continue play.
For the Finite Player the game inevitably ends, while for the Infinite Player the game phenomenally continues. The only true infinite game is the game of life.
6) PHI: A Voyage from the Brain to the Soul by Giulio Tononi
“Murky thoughts, like murky waters, can serve two purposes only: to hide what lies beneath, which is our ignorance, or to make the shallow seem deep” ~ Giulio Tononi
Phi takes the reader on a mind-altering journey through the nature of consciousness. It interweaves science, art, and the imagination with golden ratios, Fibonacci sequences, and fractal cosmology.
The reader has the joy of perceiving the world through such masters as Galileo, Alan Turing, Darwin and Francis Crick, among others. From neuroscience to pseudoscience, from deep introspection to mindful meditation, Tononi elucidates on how consciousness is an evolving, ever-deepening awareness of ourselves as finite, spiritual beings in an infinite universe.
We learn how consciousness is integrated information and how the power of that integration requires the utmost responsibility and credulity.
It teaches how the brain is the seat of our perceptions, and is a creative force par excellence, and can even create new shapes and new qualia and how, by growing consciousness, the universe comes more and more into being, and synthesizes the one and the many, the ego and eco, the individual and interdependence of all things.
7) A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle
“When the creative power of the universe becomes conscious of itself, it manifests as joy. You don’t have to wait for something “meaningful” to come into your life so that you can finally enjoy what you do. There is more meaning in joy than you will ever need.
The “waiting to start living” is one of the most common delusions of the unconscious state. Expansion and positive change is more likely to come into your life if you can enjoy what you are doing already, instead of waiting for some change so you can start enjoying what you do.” ~ Eckhart Tolle
This is the self-improvement book to end all self-improvement books. Capitalizing on the monumental success of his book The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle takes the reader on a spiritual journey on how to create happiness without material possession in the present moment.
According to Tolle, the book’s singular purpose is “not to add new information or beliefs to your mind or to try to convince you of anything, but to bring about a shift in consciousness.”
He is intent upon instilling a mindset of honest self-evaluation and puts forth a concept of “evolutionary transformation of human consciousness” in order to change the way human being’s perceive reality. He proceeds to vivisect the ego, and from the carnage rises the unvanquishable soul of the human condition, which is eternally present and thus forever joyful in the moment.
A New Earth teaches, above all else, how important it is for human beings to create and to cultivate meaning in the here and now.
8) Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
“Belief in truth begins with doubts of all truths in which one has previously believed.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
Thus Spoke Zarathustra is arguably Nietzsche’s magnum opus. It is incredibly well-crafted, and turning the human soul inside out seems to be its main objective. If the reader is open enough to receive it, the message of self-overcoming is well-received. Otherwise it loses readers in a sea of mystical but entertaining highfalutin.
It has everything from the death of God to the rise of the primordial Übermensch to themes of “eternal recurrence.” It possesses a unique experimental style, sang in poetic dithyrambs narrated by the books protagonist and instigator, Zarathustra.
It’s neither prose nor poetry, neither non-fiction nor fiction, but subsumes it all, somehow, rising above the typical. It breaks all the literary rules but comes out smelling like a bouquet of roses someone laid on God’s grave.
Nietzsche’s elegant and far-reaching conclusion is that while autonomy and self-overcoming are not easily attained, their absence proves catastrophic to both the individual, culture, and the world, as interdependence (self-overcoming in communion with cosmos) cannot be achieved without the freedom of independence (individuation) from codependency (dogmatism).
As Nietzsche pleaded, “I beseech you, my brothers, remain faithful to the earth, and do not believe those who speak to you of otherworldly hopes.”
Honorable mentions
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig Ishmael by Daniel Quinn Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter Siddhartha by Herman Hesse The Teachings of Don Juan by Carlos Castaneda.
“There is only one way to avoid criticism: Do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” ~ Aristotle
For anyone who has undertaken an inner transformation journey, grown or evolved they know all too well that personal transformation often goes hand-in-hand with criticism or judgment from the people in their lives.
When people in our lives become accustomed to us being a certain way they may feel uncomfortable and even threatened by our new self. Since they are used to relating to us from the person we used to be, it can feel slightly unfamiliar for them to interact with the new person who has emerged.
For the most part the self-explorer gets used to this. Since they are still becoming accustomed to navigating their way through life and relationships from a perspective that is not like the one they used to operate from, it begins to become a learning experience for everyone involved.
But, no one is perfect. There’s always going to be that time where they find themselves defending their new beliefs and perhaps even trying to desperately convince others of their new discoveries about life.
If you have found yourself letting another person’s questioning of your new transformation journey get the best of you, don’t worry, you are hardly alone.
In order to not only survive the criticism by the people in our lives but also use it as a very important tool in our personal development journey, we must do probably the hardest thing to do when one feels attacked… say thank you.
“If you are really aware every soul is a mirror and a teacher.” ~ Unknown
It’s not going to be easy. Actually, it’s probably one of the toughest pills to swallow in this whole self-awareness process. But the fact of the matter is, if someone’s judgment of us has the power to bring about a strong emotional reaction such as anger or defensiveness there is a part of us that feels threatened by it.
There’s a part of us that is still clinging to an idea about ourselves that it needs to defend its position against said judgment. Our ego feels that it has been challenged therefore it needs to bring out the guns and get prepared for war.
What we are truly trying to hide from the other person and most likely ourselves as well, is that we fear that what they are saying may actually be true. Think about it. Suppose someone has criticized you for something you are completely confident about and know for a fact is not true about yourself, would you be mad?
No, because there is not one single ounce of you that is buying into its validity. Or suppose a small child challenges you to a fist fight. Is there any part of you that would consider for the tiniest second to fight back? Absolutely not.
You wouldn’t because there is no part of you that would feel threatened by a child. When we look at things from this perspective we can see that anytime we find ourselves “fighting back”, or defending ourselves it can only be because either we fear that what another person is saying could actually be right, or our sense of self (ego) has been challenged.
Now before we start to feel really ashamed of ourselves because let’s face it, each and every person who has undertaken this path has gone through this at one time or another, we must focus on how we can actually use this to our advantage.
In a study in the Review of General Psychology, 2001, researchers find that perceived “bad” or “negative” events or emotions can actually be more beneficial to us because they not only are more motivating than perceived “good” emotions but also, people that are able to overcome such things evolve quicker and are easily able to adapt to change and new circumstances.
Instead of looking at ourselves as a “victim” of another’s behavior, we can instead take their judgment of us from the perspective that it has happened FOR us. It is trying to show us where we may still need work. For example, let’s say our goal is to become more patient.
Instead of expecting that we just are going to magically become patient, we are instead given opportunities to practice being patient. So every traffic jam, every conversation with our co-worker that just never seems to get to the point, are gifts given to us to help us achieve our goal.
Finding the “lesson” inside all our interactions can become something that we embrace completely because we soon find that every fight or argument we find ourselves in is actually a chance for us to drop another limited belief about life or ourselves.
Soon it becomes automatic, we find ourselves getting upset or threatened and our automatic reaction begins to turn our attention inward and identify where our ego is attached. We actually become…. gasp… thankful for criticism!
“Love is the absence of judgment.” ~ Dalai Lama
The final judgment to overcome is the judgment of the one who judges. For the person on the spirituality/ self-awareness journey we know this one all too well. We have become so enamored with the idea that we shouldn’t judge others, that we begin judging those who judge.
However, at some point this concept of judging a judgmental person is one that must be overcome as well. Unconditional love cannot exist side by side with judgment. The only thing to be done at this point is to love all of it.
Love every judgment you receive from another because it is only meant to unveil another part of the illusory self/ego that you were clinging to. Love the judgment you made on the person who judged you because to love is to be aware of it.
When we simply observe the judgment in our heads without identifying with it, we find that we no longer cling to our judgments nor to the judgments about us made by others. Just like our thoughts are not OUR thoughts, but just merely thoughts, so are theirs. Everything is calling us back to acceptance and love.
It is only when we become completely grateful for all criticism that we are able to rise above them and an inner confidence begins to shine. We are confident and grateful because we realize that each situation in our life is only happening to teach us something about ourselves that will ultimately help us find unconditional love for ourselves which eventually spills over to others.
“I am a sensory being full of creative potential. I embrace life with passion & enjoy plunging in joy and happiness. My senses are alive, aware and connected.” ~ an affirmation reads
Sacral chakra or Swadhisthana chakra is the sensuality center of the body, a hub of creativity, emotions, passion, pleasure and giving & receiving acts. It is responsible for the existence of our individual consciousness, as it acts like a magnet to attract the reality, that mirrors the thoughts and feelings stored in this chakra. All your unconscious desires, especially sexual desire, is stored here.
It is associated with the element of water, the sense of taste, and the act of procreation. Sacral chakra is the seat of the self, where Swa means ‘I’ and dhisthana means ‘seat’. Symbolised by an orange lotus flower, the six petals are significant for our emotional connect, affection, delusion, destructiveness and feelings of contempt.
An imbalance in the sacral chakra can lead to sexual difficulties, confusion, purposelessness, jealousy, the desire to possess, overindulgence in food or sex, and problems in the genital area, bladder, spleen, etc.
The person with a balanced sacral chakra has energy, compassion, grounded, a higher level of intuition, emotional stability and a zest for life.
Here is a quick guide to the Sacral Plexus Chakra: Location: Lower abdomen to the navel area Colour: Orange/Red Element: Water Glands/Organs: Ovaries, testicles, prostate, genitals, spleen, womb, bladder Gems/Minerals affecting it: Carnelian, Coral, Gold Calcite, Amber, Citrine, Peach aventurine, and Gold Topaz Foods: Liquids and orange fruits & vegetables
Here are 6 Yoga poses to open your Sacral Chakra –
Many hip-opening postures directly connects to your sacral chakra. When our emotions get blocked and held in our bodies, it takes the form of tight hips, low back issues and injury and blockages in sexual energy and our ability to release emotionally and physically. Here are some of the asanas to help you open and bring greater wellness to your sacral chakra.
Thread the needle & Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Bala Asana)
How to: These two beginner’s postures are great to open up the hips, sacrum, and lower back area. Simply lie down on your back and bend your legs. Now, raise the left leg and hold the leg with the feet facing forward. Bring both your hands behind the left thigh and interlace the fingers.
Lift the right leg and place the left leg on the thigh, forming a 90-degree angle. Start pulling the left leg towards you. (Refer to the Image above). Stay here for 5 to 10 breaths and then repeat on the other side.
Ananda Balasana, or Happy pose, is an easy and effective technique for opening and stretching the hips. Lie down on your back with your knees drawn in towards your chest. Hold the outside edges of the feet with your hands while you open the knees a little more than the width of your torso.
The beginners may use a belt to hold the feet if they are unable to reach their feet. Make sure the knees are perpendicular to the floor and you keep pushing your legs towards the floors. Lengthen your lower back down to the ground, trying to touch the tip of your tailbone to the floor. Stay here for 1 minute. (Refer to right image above)
Why to: The Swadhisthana chakra opens up with any kind of hip opener postures. These easy postures can be practiced easily by beginners & experts alike. Apart from opening tight hips, they work on inner groins, calms the spine, relaxes the brain and removes fatigue too.
Baddha Konasana (Bounded Angle Pose) and Butterfly Pose
How to: Start by joining the soles of your feet together and forming a diamond shape with the legs and flap your legs 100 counts in butterfly pose.
Moving forward in a forward bend, while holding the joined feet with your hands from outside, try and touch your forehead/nose/chin on your feet. Beginner’s can stay in the middle, if they cannot touch their feet immediately. Poses are a gradual movement, stay where you are for a few breaths and try to go further. Make sure the neck in not hanging and the back is not hunched.
Why to: Stimulating the abdominal organs, it removes the energy blocks from the second chakra. Also, it will stretch the inner thighs, groin and open up the uterus. This is one of the reasons this asana is recommended highly for women.
Virbhadrasana (Warrior Pose-I)
How to: Standing straight with feet in alignment, gently take the left leg back three to four feet. Align your left heel behind your right heel and then turn you left foot out 45 degrees keeping your right foot forward.
Now bend your right leg and form a 90 degree angle. Make sure the right knee does not cross the right toes. Keeping the torso straight, i.e. facing forward, gently raise your arms and form a Namaste mudra. Stay here for 5-7 breaths.
Why to: As the name suggests the warrior pose is all about strength. It strengthens the legs, arms and lower back. Working on the hip joints, it opens the pelvic area and improves balance, concentration, and core awareness.
Ek Pada Rajkapotasana – One Legged Pigeon Pose
How to: A variation of the complete pose, it helps to work on the pelvic region & hip area. After a warm up sequence, come in a downward dog position. Gently lift your right leg and place in a 60 degree angle in front of your body, making a proud pigeon pose (as given in the image on the left below).
Make sure the stretched left leg’s knee is facing the floor and not sideways. Beginners might find space between the pelvis and the floor, for that they can place a yoga block/blanket/bolster to fill the gap. Press your pelvis down.
Moving forward, follow the Sleepy pigeon variation (shown above) in the same position. We will do a forward bend – first, place your elbows on the floor and straighten your back, and check if you can go further. If this feels comfortable, then gradually move forward by flattening your chest on the floor in a lying face down position. Stretch the forearms straight and press to the floor.
How to: This pose will remove all the blockages of the second chakra, it also stretches the chest, shoulders, legs, arms, and the core. Creating a harmonious environment for all organs, this variation regulates the energy by directing it from thighs to deep abdomen centre.
Further, it activates the navel centre and helps us bear higher energy levels, illuminates & heals the abdominal organs, and maintains good health of the ovaries & testes.
Upavistha Konasana – Wide Angle Seated Forward Bend
How to: Sit in Dandasana or Staff Pose with the legs stretched straight in front of you, just open the legs as wide as possible. The knees can slightly bend, if you face difficulty in keeping the legs straight. With a deep inhale and exhale, go forward and place your arms as far as possible in front. Advanced practitioner can touch their forehead on the floor, while beginners can slowly work their way into the complete pose.
Why to: The wide angle of the leg, opens up and stretches the hip joint, inner thighs and places the sacroiliac joints back to their position. The forward bending position of the torso, stimulates the muscles and organs of the abdomen and further increases the stretch on the legs.
Apart from the above mentioned postures, here is list of advance poses, which can be tried by the intermediate to advanced level practitioners: Hunamanasana or monkey pose, King Pigeon Pose, Kurmasana or tortoise pose, Natarajasana or Dance Pose, Padamasana or Lotus pose, Suppta Virasana or Reclining hero pose, etc.
Seed Mantra Meditation to Open Your Sacral Chakra
How to: VAM is the seed or beej mantra of the Sacral Plexus Chakra. Sit cross legged or lotus pose away from any support and take deep breaths. Now, bring all your attention to the pelvic region focus on the root and start chanting ‘VAM’. Imagine the chakra opening with the energy flowing in a horizontal movement.
Chant VAM three times, then chant ‘OM’ three times and feel the flow of the energy vibrating vertically from head to toe, going inside Earth. Now repeat the chant mentally beginning with VAM then for OM, three times. This is one set. Continue to chant VAM and OM, till you wish to.
Why to: The seed invocation is a form of a charged mantra. The sound, when chanted, resonates and reaches directly to the center of the respected chakra and immediately activates it. Bid farewell to feelings like shyness, guilt, blame, sexual obsession, lack of power, sensuality issues, problems in the reproductive organs or genitals, menstrual problems, and hormonal imbalances.
“Karma is the record of services. Karma is the term used in Buddhist teaching. Taoists use the term ‘te’, Christians use the term “deed.” Many other spiritual beings use the term “virtue.” Karma, te, deed, and virtue are the same thing but in different words. To understand karma is to understand all of these words.” ~ ZHI GANG SHA, The Power of Soul
hey are revolutionaries, leaders and visionaries; the purest expressions of experience, able to give and receive in perfect balance.
