“Intuition is the whisper of the soul.”
– Jiddu Krishnamurrti
Weekly Focus: Ajna Chakra (third eye chakra)
Ajna Chakra is the sixth chakra located at the third eye center or the space between the brows. It is associated with the color indigo and helps us tap into our inner-knowing, our intuition, or that “sixth-sense” capability. Tapping into Ajna Chakra requires a trust and confidence in ourselves, the ability to sit in harmony with our own knowledge.
How often do we ignore an instinct due to an underlying anxiety or mistrust in our own knowledge? By forming a deeper relationship with the Self we build that foundation of self-trust. Eventually, we might tap into our inner vision to see our place within the universe with greater awareness and clarity. We hope to allow our deep inner wisdom to illuminate your path forward.
This week, how can we practice listening to the knowledge from within and reminding ourselves that we are full of wisdom?
Here is a simple practice in building your intuition:
- Set aside 10 min for quiet reflection — Come to a comfortable seat or reclined position somewhere quiet and removed from distraction. Start by closing your eyes and focusing in on your breath. Notice the length of the inhale and the exhale.
- Repeat a mantra — Silently or aloud, repeat the phrases: “I am confident in who I am. I trust myself and my intuition. I am full of wisdom.” Use the inhale to say “I am…” and the exhale to finish the phrases. Repeat [8] times.
- Seek your deepest desire — Now focus on your heart space. You might even place both hands across the heart. Let your awareness drop deeper and begin to think solely on your heart’s deepest desire. What is it that you most want? Focus and reflect for several minutes or as long as you can hold a gentle attention.
- Write it down — Pull yourself from your meditation. Take a moment to let yourself settle. Then find a paper or journal and write down what came to mind. Repeat this practice weekly to see how your answers align or adjust. They may become more refined or more affirming with time.
Passive Pose of the Week: Gomukasana (cowface pose)
Look into the passageway of your mind’s eye with this deep full body posture.
- Begin sitting on the floor with the legs straight out in front of you.
- Bend your right knee and cross your leg over your left. You may stack the knees on top of each other or come close(ish) to stacking.
- Lean onto your left side and bend your left knee so that the foot comes back towards the body.
- Reach your right arm overhead, bend your elbow and tap your upper back with the hand.
- Bend your left elbow behind the lower back and reach your hand up the back. Your hands might touch, but if not, you can grab your shirt or hold a strap between the hands.
- Hold for about 5 – 7 breaths. If you like, you may fold forward over the legs.
Gomukasana is a quite the twisty turny pose! For some folks, knotting your legs up may not be very comfortable. There are a couple of options to make this pose more accessible. First option is to keep that bottom leg (in our example the left leg) straight. This will change the stretch slightly, and if you decide to fold, it will add a little hamstring lengthening as well. Your second option is to cross one leg over the other without worrying about stacking up the knees. If you find one or both knees hanging out in space, you place a block or folded blanket underneath to add some extra support.
Active Pose of the Week: Garudasana (eagle pose)
Pull everything into your center to connect with your third eye. Drawing your energy inwards aids in the balance.
- Begin in a standing Mountain pose (tadasana).
- Lift your right knee for pillar pose. Cross your right knee over your left. As you do, begin to bend the left light slightly, almost like chair pose.
- If the balance feels steady take your arms wide like wings. Inhale and as you exhale cross the arms with the left arm on top of the right. From here, you may give yourself a “hug” by grabbing opposite shoulders, or you can wrap your hands around one another for a garudasana bind.
- No matter which bind you take for the arms, push the elbows forward and up slightly. Breathe into the back heart space, behind the shoulders.
- Take 5 – 7 breaths and then switch sides. Don’t forget to remember which arm was on top when you switch – brain work!
A key feature to balancing and finding the leg wrap in Garudasana is allowing the standing leg to bend. We often see students try to keep that leg rigid. Rigidity makes it more challenging to balance and more likely to break the pose. Think about a dry stick that snaps immediately upon bending versus a fresh branch from a tree. The fresh branch with more moisture will be softer and more maleable, more difficult to break. Bending the knee not only allows your to find more balance in your balance 🙂, but it also create more room for a tighter wrap of the legs, if desired.
Join us in class this week to practice building your intuition! See the full schedule HERE.
