Yoga

By Lisa Greenbaum E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, YACEP

The ability to go with the flow is a required attribute these days. Life happens so quickly around us that getting stuck behind resistance or conflict can easily cause road blocks to our overall emotional health. However, the ability to go with the flow is a practice. We can’t simply snap our fingers and be okay with everything, life is just not that easy. This is also not about just accepting what is without questioning or challenging, rather being able to focus on what matters without getting caught up in what doesn’t.

Yoga can help us find more ease through life’s challenges by asking us to step back and view our practice as the witness, or objectively. To allow us to observe where we are adding undue stress or tension in our poses, such as setting our jaw in a balance pose or hiking our shoulders in a hip release. It is also our attention to a practice based on the second chakra or svadisthana chakra. Located between our pubic bone and navel, the second chakra governs our emotions, our creativity, our sexuality and of course our ability to go with the flow. The element is water, reminding us that everything is change. As they say, you can’t see the same river twice.

The following tips can help us bring more balance to our second/sacral chakra, helping us find more ease physically, energetically and emotionally:

  1. Hip Openers.Yoga based stretches that open up the hips such as pigeon, frog and lunges all help us find more mobility through the lower part of our body. When this area starts to soften, our whole body feels better, releasing rigidity and allowing ourselves to relax.
  2. Be Near Water.The simple act of watching water flow has immense power on our psyche, bringing us back to natural elements and reminding us of what is truly important. Go down to the beach, get out on a boat or maybe purchase a small decorative fountain for your home.
  3. Release Guilt.Guilt is the demon of the second chakra and a certain roadblock to emotional ease. If you have done something wrong, then own that and make amends. If the guilt is self-created over time, self-care, personal thoughts, I could go on… you must find a way to make peace with yourself. Affirmations or mantras can be powerful here, “I am enough” or “I deserve my happiness” in particular if used during a physical practice or meditation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, YACEP