New Year's Sun Chakra's Inspirations & Standing Yoga Posture Transitions

As I sit writing this post on the longest night of the year, the Winter Solstice December 22nd, I can say I feel what I see in this photo I took in early December running through my consciousness. Like this forest scene I'm also releasing layers of last year's bloom that no longer serves me and I too am moving into winter's stillness.

If my emotional baggage that I'm consciously working towards shedding could manifest into form it just may look like burnt brown leaves trailing from my feet. What's exciting is that above there's hope of new life to come in the New Year radiating from the sun's soon to be reborn light. Although we will not notice days lengthening in light until February we can at least know it is on the horizon.

The year's end holiday season for me is spotted with lights of joy such as when I went pre Christmas shopping with my 1 year old son Krishna and he requested by way of pointing his finger that I take the Santa hat off the shelf and put it on him. Here he smiled from ear to ear. I've also enjoyed fulfilling my teenage son's request to go perfume shopping with him for the girl he has his heart on. I have also been adoring my husband's companionship who although he loves to have a good time and encourages me to receive more than I do, he from my perspective can be very annoying in a loving sort of way as he tirelessly coaches me day after day to burn the bad memories, judgments and resentments I carry within my consciousness. You see my husband is super connected. What I mean by this is he can see through my ego and all the mind patterns I have that hold me back from living in the moment. I know you maybe thinking that this is lovely and where can I find a partner like this as well however let me share with you that it ain't easy having your ego called out several times a day yet spiritually well worth it to be living with Deepak Chopra times 10.

I'm grateful for these great holiday gifts I have that don't come wrapped up however the Christmas season always has an under current of being bittersweet for me because I miss my Dad. If he were still in his body he would be humming along with me to Bing Crosby's Christmas carols as I patiently wait along side the bar at Starbucks for my freshly brewed coffee. This memory is a delight although Bing's voice without fail makes my eyes leak and my smile shine.

In addition to experiencing my holiday highs and lows, feelings of what has inspired me most in the past year fill my consciousness. What I dream for in the coming year is to take a bath everyday in my inspiration. Like a great perfume I want my inspiring moments to last throughout the day and most of all out smell the uninspiring moments within my consciousness.

Having had the great pleasure to sit at the lotus feet of beloved Buddhists Masters like the Dali Lama, Geshe Michael Roach, Lama Christie McNally, Robert Thurman and Sharon Salzberg I've learned that setting goals is never a good idea. Therefore I encourage you to throw out your 2012 New Year's resolutions list like the lists I used to make because as you may have already experienced year after year everything in life changes into something other than what you have planned. You can't control your life. What's the old saying "Man rows, God steers." I'm referring to what the Buddhists call impermanence. The teaching that nothing, including a thought lasts forever. Instead everything evolves and transmutes into something else. From my personal experience the great part of understanding impermanence is that if you let go to the natural process of your life with a dash of feeling and healing along with handfuls of high vibe thoughts, words and actions everything in life turns out better than expected. You may get upset over being denied a job, not getting pregnant, having lost a partner or a friend yet when you understand impermanence you will see the lose of a connection as protection. Never, ever be attached to a result and you'll see life will be better than your wildest dreams.

Because of the divine law of Impermanence I suggest you reflect deeply on your dreams. Similar to the dream I shared of being bathed in daily inspiration. When you sit with your dreams and feel them you'll notice there's a big difference between goal setting and dreaming. Goals are practical, knowledgeable and made up of fixed mind stuff while dreams uncover your truth and morph over time. Dreams are a feeling that comes from your belly, your 3rd chakra. Your center of knowing who you are, your sense of belonging and your power is born in this center. I'm sure you've experienced saying a "Yes!" from your gut or felt a deep thud in your low belly when you were feeling "Absolutely not!" My suggestion is to not be shy, feel your truth coming from your belly and dream big.

My present life experience is all about shedding wasted thoughts and burnt out relationships, believing in myself and fully receiving my childhood dreams. Since this is a period of deep healing and transformation for me, daily I'm actively working on holding onto the vibration of growth and expanding it by repeating the mantra "I don't know how? I don't know when? But I do know, what I want is coming to me." Repeating this attraction mantra works because it erases the ego part of our consciousness. You are left being open hearted, hopeful and in the moment at hand. This is a key component to understanding impermanence.

There's one catch, in order for this attraction technique to work, you must genuinely believe in these words and not have a smidgen of doubt within you to trip you up. A bit later in this post I'll show you some 3rd chakra specific standing yoga postures to practice where you can put this intention into your body. Also the word WHEN in this recitation is big. You never know when your dreams will arrive. Maybe this year, the next or in a decade or two. Do remember that everything changes, sometimes in a snails pace or like the speed of receiving an email that was just sent to your inbox. Regardless, if you're looking for change in your life it starts with you. You can begin the process now. Don't go wasting your time waiting for others to change. If any of this resonates with you I suggest you start attracting what you want by repeating the mantra "I don't know how? I don't know when? But I do know what I want is coming to me."

As Mother Earth continues to shed, she anticipates sitting in winter's chill where she can rest and reflect. Perhaps she's manifesting as her New Year's dream that we can serve her as well as she has served us for ions of time. She's singing within the whistle of the brisk wind "I don't know how? I don't know when? But I do know what I want is coming to me."

By week's end my family and I make sure to take a nature trail walk. Here we connect with the Great Goddess, Mother Earth. During our walks I always notice how my boys race ahead of me while I watch them disappear into the distance. Here the whisperers on my path speak with a fiercer tone in addition to throwing me a few crumbs to chew on.

Here is one crumb.

During an early December walk this tree's steel color in comparison to the other tree's in the forest spoke to me. As I looked into it and absorbed this tree's energy I noticed the color combination of this forest scene and I felt how receptive these tones are together. Grey, deep brown, burnt orange and gold.

Grey like black and white always sets a neutral tone for me while the burnt orange brown and the sun's golden amber streaks warms up the scene.

This forest photograph is my pre Christmas holiday closet color inspiration. During Christmas week I'll drop my neutral nature splashed with golden tones and add a little bit of red and green into the mix. I do this because Christmas is about red and green yet if anyone asked me "Why the red and green?"I would say "I wear red and green to celebrate the ripening of the Holly Tree." More specifically to honor the Holly King. Legend states the ripe red berries from the Holly tree's branches represent great health and vitality. By New Year's day the berries start falling and bleeding on the earth. This is a sign that the Holly King's death is very near on the horizon. To take his place the spirit of the Oak tree will grow until his ripening, June's Summer Solstice. The Holly and Oak tree are said to be twin souls. When one reigns the other rests.

The Oak & Holly Kings

If you look closely into any nature scene in the Northern Hemisphere at this time you will see ripe Holly trees and plenty of red berries on various types of bushes. Be sure not to eat them.

A ripe Holly tree.

Forest berries

Here I'm wearing my early December inspired forest colored threads. Fortunately I was able to go coat less on this week's trail walk since it was an unusually warm December day.

I found a nice sun lit open space in the forest where Amit, my husband took a few snap shots of my current standing yoga posture flow.

Breathing in lunge allows the sun I saluted at moment ago to move into my lower body.

Shoes http://www.forever21.com/

Open your back knee.

All jewelry, shades, woven belt and tights from http://www.forever21.com/

Soften your eyes, jaw and forehead as you inhale and lengthen your neck spine. Exhale and soften your eyes as you look forward and down.

Grey poncho gifted from my Mom when I was nursing Krishna.

Gently place your right hand on your right thigh as you exhale and press your thigh down and back. Inhale as you pull your chin away from your chest and drink in the winter sun.

Cream colored turtleneck http://www.zara.com/

Allow the sun to move down your throat, into your heart and be absorbed by your digestive body. Your third chakra.

Inhale as you create space in your left ribcage. Here you can deepen your ability to absorb the sun's sweetness.

As you stand in Warrior 2 feel your knowing of who you are and what you want to grow. 

Our 3rd chakra is golden in color. Ancient yogis say this is where the sun's energy enters us and ignites our inner light to do anything. The element of fire is associated with this chakra.

Deepen your inhale as you open the accordion of your ribs and let the sun shine in.

Feel then visualize your New Year's dreams.

In this transition pose find air in your chest and space within your throat cooling your fire. When our fire, our 3rd chakra, is out of balance our ego is blazing through the roof. 

Our mind, our practical side is the part of our consciousness that will get us back into goal setting and not dreaming and manifesting our truth. Breathe into this neutral pose and continue to cool your fire. Feel equal parts of heaven and earth within your consciousness.

When you feel balanced...

throw some more wood, a poor thought or bad memory, into your fire as you breathe, feel and burn it in this deep twist.

Wow! I love this shot because the orbs and rainbows are exactly what I'm feeling are entering me as I soak in the sun and squeeze old toxins and non serving mind patterns out of me.

Exhale as you lengthen your legs. Breathe and let go into this cooling forward bend.

In search of more sun inhale yourself up halfway. Exhale into standing.

Inhale as you throw a few more wasted thoughts and non serving baggage into your fire center.

Exhale as you mindfully let it go.

Continuing the cycle like the wheel or Yule of the year, return to a lunge.

Rather than immediately practicing on the left side let's make a little more space in our back body by shedding a bit more in a deep exhaling posture.

You can call this pose an inversion because your head is lower than your heart. Let whatever it is in the moment that's blocking you go.

It could be a thought infused with jealousy, lust or anger that lasted for only 3 seconds within your consciousness.

Burn it. These 3 second thoughts count as obstacles in manifesting our dreams. 

Breathe, feel what comes with these thoughts and once you let them go you can move into a life worth writing about.

Happy New Year!