Chakraspiration-last week's Workshop at Ramapo College of NJ

Twisted 1/2 Moon Pose/Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana variation

     Last weekend I led the Chakras teaching for Ramapo College of NJ's 200hr Yoga Teacher Training. This teaching was open to drop in students and we dove deep into our understanding of the chakras. I've posted this blog so you could have a little insight into chakra wisdom and so the attendees would have some basic online notes. Before I get to the chakras, I have 2 more teachings scheduled this October at the Krame Center at Ramapo College of NJ.


Vinyasa Yoga Workshop-How to Create a Class   Saturday Oct. 19th   from 2pm-6pm


Bandhas-Our Energetic Locks   Friday Oct. 25th   from 6pm-9pm


Please read my previous blog post for workshop descriptions.

$35 drop in fee
$10 College students

Please bring a yoga mat and wear comfortable clothing to move in.

Visit www.ramapo.edu for more information.



                                                               
 CHAKRAspiration


     Chakras is a Sanskrit word which means wheels of light. We have many energy centers within our body yet there are 7 major energy centers you may find interesting to know about. These centers allow for a smooth flow of energy to move through you. When a chakra is blocked disease follows. When your chakras are open you experience good health.

     Muladhara means root support. It is the 1st chakra found at the base of the pelvis. It is red in color and its mantra is LAM. It is associated with our feelings about our home, family and money. To open this survival chakra you must ground yourself. Take off your shoes and socks, stand barefoot on the earth and take 3 deep breaths. Notice how you feel.

     Svadhisthana means the sweet abode of self. It is the 2nd chakra found within the reproductive body. It is orange in color and its mantra is VAM. This chakra deals with sensuality and creativity. You need to have a healthy attitude towards yourself to balance this center. Once you love your body the 2nd chakra opens up. Here you will feel confident. This confidence will deepen your relationships and encourage you to share whatever it is you create.

     Manipura means the city of the shining jewel. It is the 3rd chakra found around your navel. It is yellow in color and its mantra is RAM. This chakra governs your identity. Where you say "I am this" and "I am that." It's your power center. How to open it is to meditate and pay attention to your gut. You have a mini brain in there called your intuition. Does it say yes or no?

     Anahata means the sound of two things not hitting each other. It is the 4th chakra found within the center of your chest and in-between your shoulder blades. It is green in color and its mantra is YAM. This is the "I love" chakra. To open your heart to love you must first love yourself. Plenty of self care like eating well, exercising, sleep and doing what you love are acts of self love. Once you have self love as a regular practice you can then have a full well to give love and serve others.

     Vishuddha means pure. It is the 5th chakra found within your throat. It is blue in color and its mantra is HAM. This chakra is associated with communication. To open this chakra you must be impeccable with your words. Say no when you feel no and yes when you feel yes. Say positive affirmations like "I can do this!" "I can do that!" Also there's a time to listen and not speak. All of this will help you heal and balance your throat chakra.



   

  



     Ajna means to know or to perceive. It is the 6th chakra and is found within the center of our eyebrows. It is purple in color and its mantra is OM. Also known as our 3rd eye, this chakra is associated with our intuition and imagination. This chakra opens when you question your reality. When you open your 3rd eye you see the many illusions of this world that trick you to buy this or do that. A good mantra to repeat to keep this center open is "Know Thyself" This will remind you to feel out everything and use your discernment when it comes to decision making. 

     Sahasrara means a 1,000 petaled lotus. It is the 7th chakra found at the crown of the head. It is white in color and its mantra is OM. This chakra connects us to the spiritual realm. Connecting to this center means detaching from this 3D realm and going 5D. A good way to do this is to retreat to the mountains, jump in the ocean or something closer to home like take a salt bath. When you open this center you are all about discovering the truth about everything. A sense of interconnection to everything in the universe moves through you.


     I hope you enjoyed these notes! See you on the mat!

   

3 Opportunities in October to Dive Deeper into your Yoga Studies with me at Ramapo College of New Jersey

Compass Pose/Parivrtta Surya Yantrasana

   Yoga is so much more than taking your leg and putting it over your shoulder like I'm pictured here in compass pose. I almost didn't post this picture because I thought it would intimidate. However I remembered how good I felt when I took this selfie. I took this picture after practicing yoga alone and creating my October choreography for my classes. At this moment my heart was wide open while I felt equally grounded and content. This reminds me of a beloved teacher, Dharma Mittra who shared that he took selfies of himself in postures long before there were iPhones. He only shared the pictures where he remembers connecting to his highest self while in the poses. A moment where judgment doesn't exist, just love. Dharma Mittra created the famous poster called the Master Chart of 908 Asanas which hangs in countless yoga school walls.

   Practicing yoga is a multilayered experience where so much is processed and it's never the same practice. If you are looking to go deeper in your study, this month I am teaching 3 special workshop classes at Ramapo College of New Jersey. These 3 workshops are part of Ramapo College's 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training. Since the topics I'm leading are popular my teachings are available for you to drop into at the Krame Center on campus for $35 a workshop. Below are the workshops, their dates and times with descriptions. Please bring a yoga mat and wear comfortable clothing to move in. Also please visit www.ramapo.edu for more information.


   Friday   October 11th   from 6pm-9pm   Chakras


   Chakras means energetic wheels of light. In ancient India it was realized that there are energy centers within the body. These energy centers are responsible for letting a smooth flow of energy to move throughout your body. When they are blocked you can experience disease. When they are open and balanced good health ensues. In this workshop you will learn how to open the 7 chakras, how to balance them and the science of the chakras. This workshop is 1/2 lecture and 1/2 easy to follow yoga and meditation practice. Please bring a yoga mat and wear comfortable clothes to move in.



   Saturday   October 19th   from 2pm-6pm   Vinyasa Yoga Workshop- How to Create a Class


   Vinyasa is a style of yoga characterized by stringing postures together so that you move from one pose to another seamlessly using breath. It is commonly referred to as flow yoga. Vinyasa flow style classes offers a variety of postures and no two classes are ever exactly alike. As yoga has grown in popularity, Vinyasa yoga has been successful because it reaches a wide variety of levels who can benefit from either a slow, medium or a fast flow. The challenge is being the teacher who continuously comes up with safe and innovative flows, that stay true to classical yoga and keep people coming back for more.


 
    In this workshop:


    I will share and we will create sequences that have purpose.


    Examine the nature of the postures selected in the sequence.


    Understand why the postures in the sequence work well together.


     Refine and balance our sequences.


     Discuss how to notice the tempo that's best for your students.


     Please bring a yoga mat and wear comfortable clothes to move in.




     Friday   October 25th   from 6pm-9pm   Bandhas-Our Energetic Locks


     Bandhas means locks. More specifically the energetic locks that can be found within our body by controlling our breath. According to yoga we have several locks within our body we can contract to not let our energy spill out while we hold a pose and breathe in it. The benefit of having bandhas wisdom is that you will be able to hold poses and breathe in them longer, jump to the top of your mat from downward facing dog with little to no sound as well as be supported by your hands on the floor in downward facing dog and in arm balances without having your wrists and hands hurt. In this workshop you will learn how and when to use your bandhas while practicing yoga and meditation. This workshop is 1/2 lecture and 1/2 easy to follow yoga and meditation practice. Please bring a yoga mat and wear comfortable clothes to move in.

Remembrance Day at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center- Remembering the Pregnancy/Infant that Left Us

     Sunday October 6th from 2pm-4pm at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Englewood, New Jersey there is a very special event called Remembrance Day. Remembrance Day honors the memory of a miscarriage, a stillborn, the baby that did not stay with us. If you or someone you know needs a dose of healing and community regarding this topic please consider joining us this coming Sunday. The Remembrance Day event consists of music, art, meditation, sharing your experience if you wish and lighting a candle to memorialize your pregnancy/infant loss.

     I will be leading the meditation and mudra making (hand yoga) portion of this event. I have been a part of this event for the past two years. Although I feel like I've accepted the loss of my last child, I find that when I'm at the Remembrance Day event and leave the event a great sense of love, understanding and another layer of healing moves through me.

    If you can't make Sunday's event please know there are ongoing meetings at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center regarding pregnancy/infant loss.

Open Your 3rd Eye notes from last week's Yoga Study Circle at Birchwood Center

Sunning my 3rd Eye in Tip Toe Pose during the golden hour.

      Last week I led the Yoga Study Circle at Birchwood Center in Nyack, New York. Here we focused on Opening Our 3rd Eyes. During the circle I shared plenty but I felt to share a few online notes so you could have a couple of lifestyle tips to refer to that will encourage that purple 3rd eye light of yours to shine bright and stay open.


      Find the sun. The 3rd eye is light sensitive. Go into the sun and gaze into it. A good time to do that so you don't harm your eyes is during the golden hour right before the sun sets. Even if it's cold outside, find the sun. The sun is life and will energetically move through all the layers you wear during those cold winter days.


      Question everything before accepting. You need to question everything you see, everything you read and hear. So much of what we are told is to limit us, to slow us down and get us to buy this and do that. Be inquisitive and use your discernment. Ask yourself "Does it feel right or wrong?"


       Read to expand your mind. Read articles and books that don't trash talk but are written to expand your consciousness. When you sit in a state of not knowing everything and approach things with curiosity your 3rd eye is opens.


       Surround yourself with people who you believe are high conscious beings. That's how you learn and grow. When you are around people with high level consciousness you start to open up. Find and hang out with free thinkers that can guide you to the next level of consciousness.


       Meditation and Yoga will open your 3rd eye. Meditation and Yoga is the art of absorbing yourself in the present moment. It gives you increased foresight. You will develop clairvoyance, the ability to see things before they happen. clairaudience, the ability to hear things deeper than before and possibly clairsentience, the ability to feel deeply.


        There's so much more to opening your 3rd eye but I hope this helps you feel inspired to go deeper down your path to learning and healing with yoga's wisdom.


        Please visit www.birchwoodcenter.com for their next Yoga Study Circle offering and much more!
     

Open Your 3rd Eye-Yoga Study Circle at Birchwood Center

   The 3rd Eye also known as Ajna Chakra is the 6th Chakra. It is located in between the eyebrows. It is an energetic center that can be made more powerful through yoga, meditation and other spiritual practices just as a muscle is. While a person's two eyes sees the physical world, the 3rd eye is believed to connect you to your intuition, give you the ability to communicate with the world with greater understanding and reveal insights about the past and future.

    Friday September 20th at 7pm-8:30pm I will be leading the Yoga Study Circle at Birchwood Center.  Here we will learn more about the 3rd eye from both an energetic and scientific perspective. We will do a few meditative exercises to strengthen and open it. If you are interested in this special teaching about opening your 3rd eye please visit www.birchwoodcenter.com for more information and to register.

Let Your Breath Guide You- September's Class Schedule

    When I sit down on my mat I immediately follow my breath. I imagine it as a guide who is leading me to go deeper. A teacher that encourages me to experience parts of me I never knew existed. Parts of me that are usually tuned at a lower frequency say "Hello Allison, we were waiting for you to notice!" I sense with every single breath there's an internal celebration of every cell as they receive my breath. I feel a wave of peace and healing wash over me. Eventually this use of my imagination seeing my breath as a guide activates a heightened state of observation where mindfulness is fully experienced.

     If you are looking to experience mindfulness, heal and whole yourself please join me for class where I will guide you to notice your breath and so much more.

    

     Here's my Weekly Class Schedule-



Mondays 10am Level 1 Creative Core Conditioning 1hr

An upbeat barefoot body sculpting class which focuses on strengthening your abdomen and lower back as well as toning your buttocks, chest and arms.

www.birchwoodcenter.com Nyack, NY



11:45am Easy Flow 1hr 15min

A step up from gentle yoga with easy to follow yoga flow sequences and meditative moments. 

www.birchwoodcenter.com Nyack, NY




Tuesdays 9:15am Level 2/3 Vinyasa Yoga 1hr 30min

Alignment Based Vinyasa Flow style yoga with Iyengar Yoga style peak pose breakdowns. 

www.birchwoodcenter.com Nyack, NY




12noon Gentle Warrior 1hr 30min 

Like a level 1 posture class with Sun Salute variations, restorative yoga, meditation, breath work and no inversions. 

www.bamboomovesenglewood.com Englewood, NJ




Wednesdays 11:45am Easy Flow 1hr 15min 

www.birchwoodcenter.com Nyack, NY




Thursdays 9:15am Level 2/3 Creative Core Conditioning 1hr 

www.birchwoodcenter.com Nyack, NY




12noon Gentle Warrior 1hr 30min 

www.bamboomovesenglewood.com Englewood, NJ




Fridays 9:30am Level 2/3 Vinyasa Yoga 1hr 30min 

www.birchwoodcenter.com Nyack, NY

Yoga Playlists

Vasisthasana/One Arm Plank Variation

   We miss a lot of the details of life because we have a tendency to go fast. To run through everything . Our yoga practice trains us to go slower and notice what is normally tuned at a lower frequency. Going slowly helps us to cultivate a sensitivity which makes our life experiences much more rich and meaningful.

   If you need some ambient music to slow down to, my class playlists are available on 
Apple Music. Search my name Allison Egan Datwani or @allisonegandatwani