*Sahasrara* Divinity Unveiled: Chakras + vagus nerve healing

Hello beautiful souls! Fall is officially here! Cooler temps and vibrant colors and yummy baked treats have arrived! This summer, in our yoga classes, we traveled to our most beloved national parks, from Yosemite and Yellowstone, to Olympic and the Arches, we found so much healing in the outdoors! I think that was my favorite series yet! Everyone seemed to enjoy each one so much! I knew another series awaited to bring much needed healing during uncertain times, or big life changes. This summer was a whirlwind of bittersweet moments as we prepared to send our daughter to college! Phew, I was not prepared for the dizzying array of emotions of letting her go, especially to a school several states away, in NY. But she is thriving, and my heart is happy! If you are feeling the same lately, with the state of the world, or closer to home, maybe job transitions, or family growth and shifts, juggling too much in this fast-paced world, you might be feeling swept away at times, like me, and desperately need to feel a deep grounding. Our society celebrates exhaustion, fast pace, constantly on the go, hurried days, full schedules. I'm the exact opposite. It's a lot, too much, and it feels like we're getting swept away, in flight, scrambling to find a safe place to perch and rest, only to get swept away again. One day our body is going to tell us when to rest either with injury or illness. Let's do what we can to prevent that!

I've always loved the chakras, and I've taught chakra classes before, but this time, we are connecting each chakra to the vagus nerve in specific ways, traveling up the chakras, from the root to the spine, to shift from our busy minds, endless to-do lists, and worries, and back into the body, where we are rooted, grounded, and at home, while releasing stored tension through vagus nerve stimulation! Join me for the next few weeks, on Fridays for a gentle flow, and Sundays for a warm, more energetic flow. Last week, we dove into the sixth chakra, our Ajna, Third Eye Chakra, and we found so much healing here, listening to our inner wisdom, and trusting our judgement! This week, we arrive at the seventh  chakra, our Sahasrara, Crown chakra! 

Our Crown Chakra is our swirling energy center at the top of our head, violet purple in color, sometimes white is linked here as well. This is where we find our spiritual growth, devotion, divine guidance, enlightenment, and connection to God or the universe.

Connected Crystals: Amethyst, Selenite, Quartz, Lepidolite, Celestite
Connected essential oils: frankincense, lemongrass, rosewood, jasmine, lavender, myrrh, neroli.
When *In Balance*:
We are aware of spiritual wisdom, have a balanced central nervous system, allow for spiritual growth, can see the bigger picture, at one with body-mind-spirit.
When *Out of Balance*: 
We may feel alone, disconnected, closed to other beliefs. Challenge others' beliefs/ethics, lack of inspiration, lack of reality.

Physical Symptoms when blocked:
Circadian rhythms are off, sensitive to light, sound. Exhausted, epilepsy, depression, confusion, dementia.

We opened in our supported fish pose, with a bolster beneath the spine, fully opened from the root chakra all the way up to the crown chakra. We closed the eyes, and moved into our Pranayama practice, 3-part breath, deep inhales through the nose, filling up to the belly, allowing the belly to take up space, into the chest, expanding the ribs, filling the lungs, all the way to the crown, adding in an extra sip of air at the top, with each round, and then long, slow exhales through the mouth, releasing all our past events, and future to do lists, letting them wash away, becoming truly present! We took time just for ourselves, present in this space, in this moment. Nowhere else to be, nothing else to do, but simply be. We slowed down the chatter of the mind. We are reminded that we are always connected to the earth,  woven throughout the tapestry of every speck of soil, plant, animal, sun, moon and stars, and every other human being.

We shift from being in the mind, to being in our body beginning our sensory scan. Even though the eyes are closed, we notice what we see beyond the lids, finding peace in the darkness, knowing light is always nearby. We notice what we hear in the room, the hum of the furnace or air conditioner keeping us comfortable, the breath of our neighbor, pinpointing an instrument in the music. We notice what we smell, notes of lavender hovering overhead, tapping further into our Crown chakra. We scanned to our taste, noticing the last thing we may have eaten, or a sip of cup of tea, coffee,  lingering in the mouth, separating the teeth, the tongue falling from the roof of the mouth. Lastly, we noticed our sense of touch, what we feel against the skin, the warmth of the air against the skin, the softness of our clothes, the stickiness of our mat, supporting us, cradling us, serving as our anchor, as we shed the layers that accumulate on the body and mind from daily life, bringing us back home to ourselves, lighter, more free.  

We found our Ujjayi breath , even lengths of inhale and exhale through the nose, our grounding, stabilizing breath. 

We lengthened long, reaching the hands overhead, toes reaching forward, full body stretch, exhaled hugging the knees into the chest, rocking side to side massaging the low back, circling through the ankles. Inhale feet reach to the sky, T-pose, rolling ankles, right leg crosses over left, reclined Cowface pose, arms cactus out, exhale arms curl in cradling the head, our crown chakra, inhale grounded down cactus arms, exhale curl in cradle the head, right leg unravels out to the right side, cradle with the right hand, left hand to left shin, pulling the knee in, opening the hips. Right leg in, over the left, Cowface, hips scooch to the right, knees fall to the left, Supine Twist. Through center, feet plant, hands plant by the hips, hips lift, Bridge pose. Inhale t-pose, cross left leg over right, Cowface, honoring the left side of this warmup. Following the left side, we found a Floating Bridge, hands float overhead as hips lift, and down as hips ground. We rock n rolled to a comfortable seat.

We formed our Anjali Mudra, hands meet in prayer. Release our mudra, and rub the palms together to create some heat, healing energy, and cupped the hands to the eyes, sending healing energy to the soul. We floated the hands up to the crown, sending healing energy to the mind, calming the chatter, the constant activity. Sometimes the mind gets stuck in the past, ruminating over things that have been, or the mind travels too far forward into the future with worry, but it is here, in this moment, that the body is always present. We bring the left hand to the forehead, and  the right hand to the base of the skull, stimulation to the vagus nerve, we tell the brain that the body is safe here. Hands float to the heart, we set an intention for our class, for our day, our week ahead. We released it, reaching the hands to the sky and to the right for a twist, peeling the right shoulder back to open the chest 5% more. We arched the right hand to the sky and toward the left knee to open the side body, and then brought it to the left knee, crossing the arms, arching the back and dripping the chin. We twisted to the other side, and then came through center, planted the fingers behind us, opened the chest, arching the spine into a backbend, gaze to the sky, shoulder blades draw toward one another, and then walked the hands forward into a fold. We unraveled the legs and melted the hips back into a child’s pose, walking the hands to the right, hips melt back and to the left, through center, hands wander to the left, hips draw back and to the right. 

We moved in yummy ways, with a yummy warm up flow of Cat-Cow, adding in organic movements, hips swaying side to side, child’s pose waves, listening to what the body needs! We could stay in Childs pose for the rest of class! Inhale right leg lifts bending at the knee, gaze lifts, exhale nose to knee we tap, inhale lift, right toes to the sky, exhale nose to knee, 3 times, left hand binds for the right foot into our Tiger. Right leg peels to the back of our mat, left knee up into the chest, curl the back, left knee down, a little pushup, nose down, elbows bend, right toes to the sky, right leg crosses over to the left of our mat, gaze follows over the left shoulder. Gaze through center, right knee tucks in behind left, hands walk to the right, hips melt back, Cross-legged Childs pose. Roll forward, hands to top of the mat, right leg unravels out to the right side, sink the hips back, 1-leg Childs Pose. Inhale we roll forward into he palms, and float up, hands reach overhead, exhale right hand to the right leg, left hand overhead, cartwheel the hands around, left hand grounds, right hand overhead, hands melt to the top of our mat, knees in through center, a round of cat cow in the forearms, and then honor the left side with our Tiger!

Our first flow spiced up our energy, kept us warm, and rooted to the earth as we flowed into our downward dog, lifted high into the toes, rolled forward into plank, creating waves as slowly as possible, into pranam, low cobra, downward dog, into our tadasana, rooting the feet into the earth, feeling that grounding energy all the way up to the crown. We moved through side bends to the right and left, thru center, inhale cactus the arms, exhale cradle the head, arch the back, forearms together, inhale one more round, exhale sit deep into our Chair, twist to the right, elbow hooks the knee, through center, to the left, thru center, to the right again, left foot steps back, Twisted Crescent Warrior, exhale we pivot to the left foot, Skandasana, inhale top of the mat, Twisted Crescent Warrior, hands plant, right foot sweeps up 3 limb Downward Dog, knee taps to the left elbow, right, and into the chest, right foot steps forward, Warrior I, cactus the arms, cradle the head, 2 times, and float forward Warrior 3, left leg floats back. Left foot lands back of the mat, Sky Archer, left hand down right hand high, straighten the right leg, right arm cradles the head, love to the crown, unravel the arms out to a T, hinge from the hips, right hand reaches forward, and down, into our Triangle, left hand high, chest open, left hand down, Twisted Lunge, right hand high as the hips melt toward the earth, right hand threads under the left arm, melt to the left foot, Skandasana, left hand plants inside the left knee, right hand high, open the heart. Hips lift through center, Wideleg fold, heavy through the head and shoulders, reach the hands toward opposite shins, Sailors Knot, crown melts toward the earth. Release the bind as we roll up to stand, 5-pointed Star, knees bend into our Goddess pose, deep plies hands lift, straighten the legs, and melt into a pile, 3 times.  In our goddess pose, left toes turn toward the back of our mat, float into the left hand, left foot into our Half Moon, right leg floats, right hand peels to the sky. Right hand grounds, square the hips toward the earth, right foot steps to back of the mat, we rise up Crescent Warrior, inhale cactus the arms, exhale curl in cradle the head, 2 times, right hand down inside the left foot, left hand high Twisted Lunge, left hand down, left foot back to meet the right into our Plank. Heels drip to the right, Sideplank, left hand high, thru center, and to the left, right hand high, thru center, right foot steps forward outside the right hand, into our Dragon, peel open to the right for a twist, bind for the back foot, thru center, open to the left side of our mat into our Wideleg fold, opening into twists to the right and left, walk to the hands to the top of our mat, right knee grounds, hands to the sky Low Lunge, palms connect, hands melt overhead, melt the hips forward gaze to the sky. Hands ground, hips lift, left shin forward, Piegon waves, hands outside the edges of our mat, tent the fingers, inhale we lift, exhale we melt down, elbows to the sky, 3 times, waving the spine, unravel the right leg up, bend the knee open the hip, flip into Wild Thing, thru center, right leg high, exhale nose to knee, thread the right foot through to the left, Fallen Star, left hand high, left hand down, right leg unravels to the sky, roll forward into our plank, moving through our flow, to meet in Tadasana, to honor the left side!

Our Somatic practice gives us tools to regulate our nervous system, to stimulate the vagus nerve that begins at the base of the brain and runs down the neck, and throughout the body touching every organ system, communicating between body and brain! 80% of these messages are from the body to the brain, so when we intentionally stimulate the vagus nerve, we're telling the brain that the body is safe, not under threat. We agitated emotions stuck in the body, to help them release, and to serve as a reset button. I usually alternate between these tools each week! We rubbed the palms together to create some healing heat, and we brought the fingertips to the crown, massaging the fingertips all over the crown and behind the ears, even the base of the skull, directly into our vagus nerve. We moved into the temples, massaging circles here, relieving migraines, we dripped the fingers to the jaw, the hinge where we open and close the jaw, the perfect release for jaw clenchers like myself, and maybe you too. We pulled down on the ear lobes, pulled the middle of the ears out to the sides, up to the top of the ears pulling toward the sky. With one hand to the base of the skull, pressing into the vagus nerve, the other hand brought the index and middle fingers to the hairline at the forehead and began rolling the fingers down the forehead, between the eyebrows, down the bridge of the nose to the tip, repeating 3 times, and switching out the hands. We brought our fingertips to the base of the skull, pressing into our vagus nerve, and melted the fingertips toward the ears, along the jawline, and down the front of the neck to the collarbone. We repeated this 2 more times, releasing tightness in the throat. We tapped into the collarbone, with slow rythmic taps, all fingers in unison, into one of our acupressure points in the body. We brought this tapping to the sternum, center of the chest. We slowly tapped here, some of us hold tension here, creating tightness in the chest, shallow or rapid breathing. The tapping sends messages to the brain that were not in danger, to slow down the heart rate, and encourage deeper, longer, slower inhales and exhales. We can continue tapping with the fingertips or Bilateral Butterfly taps using cupped hands over one another on the chest, activating both hemispheres of the brain, continuing as we inhaled, paused to bring the hands to the heart, stacked on top of one another, and as we exhaled we audibly hummed a "OM" sound connecting to our Crown Chakra, activation of our enlightenment! Our bee breath🐝! If you hold tension here in the chest, this is a nice release! Humming is a somatic release, also good for respiratory infection season to break things up in the lungs, and humming has shown to reduce anxiety better than sleep! We crossed the arms at the chest, and squeezed into opposite shoulders, down to the biceps and triceps, and into the forearms. We brought the hands to the shoulders again for a squeeze, and swiped the hands down the arms, chest, abdomen, low back, and legs, making sure anything heavy or unwanted that is still tethered to the body is fully released, we send it all out into the wind to be carried far away. On the way up, we formed fists, pounding into the body, until in Tadasana, swaying the arms left to right, ending in Tadasana. We noticed the effects, feeling heat, cool, tingling, maybe even a yawn, all signs we've moved closer toward regulation in the nervous system. The goal is not to simply feel calm, it is to use these tools off of our mat to hold larger capacity for stress, to better cope with stressors and triggers, sitting with these difficult emotions, for longer periods, allowing ourselves to FEEL, rather than run from them or mask them with unhealthy things. We can help ourselves come out of a state where we feel stuck or stagnant in a fight or flight or freeze state. We need these states at certain times of our lives, for survival, but we don't want to live there. We can pendulate in and out as needed using these important tools. We released everything from last year, last month, yesterday, that we need to let go of, swipe it away, let yourself be free of it, so we don't carry this heaviness any longer! Allow it to melt down your back! Let it drift into the breeze, the water, no longer needed in this moment! We found lightness, balance, and freedom

Our final flow began in Tadasana, inhale the hands reach overhead, exhale Swan dive forward fold, melt into the shins, sit back onto the heels into our Hero pose. Inhale hands reach up, exhale right hand down to the right of our hips, left hand overhead, thru center to the left, thru center, inhale cactus the arms, exhale cradle the head, arch the back, forearms together, and again, hand plant in front of the knees, lift the hips, press into the tops of the feet, arch the back, exhale melt down. Inhale lift the palms off the mat,Dancing Camel, right hand to right heel, left hand overhead, exhale through center, inhale left hand to left heel, right hand high, flowing back and forth, Full Camel, both hands to both heels, exhale into our Rabbit pose, crown of the head to the earth, close to the knees, arch the back, hands reach back for heels. Inhale we float up, roll onto the left hip, right knee over left, Cowface, cactus the arms, exhale curl in, cradle the head, inhale open up cactus arms, unravel the right leg out to the right, left foot into the right thigh, sidebend. Cartwheel back up, left hand behind us, hips lift, Rainbow Arch, right hand overhead, exhale we melt, right leg back over the left, Cowface, walk the hands to the left, hips lift, keep walking around as we swivel to the back, Wideleg fold, keep walking the hands around to the top of the mat, into our Cowface, left over right now, honoring our cool down on the left side!

After our Rainbow Arch on the left side, we ground the hips,  Straddle pose, V-shape, extend the legs, inhale we lift, exhale we fold forward. Inhale help the knees inhale, plant the feet, palms behind us, fingers toward the heels, inhale lift the hips, Reverse Table, rocking forward and back or side to side. Exhale lower the hips down, inhale Butterfly pose, soles of the feet together, peace fingers with our hands, hook the big toes, inhale we extend the feet out, balance in our Straddle, micro bend in the knees, and roll to the back into our Happy Baby, rocking side to side, grounding to the mat, reconnecting to the soil beneath us, back to the Earth. We lengthened long, hugged the knees into the chest, extended the arms and legs out into our Star, coiled inward into a cow face, right over left, hugged the thighs together and reached for shins gently pulling the knees toward the chest. This lengthens the IT band, and helps to soften where the sciatic nerve travels, releasing any pain we may have there. We released our shins, planted the bottom foot for a supine twist! We honored the opposite side! We lengthened long, hugged the knees in, lengthened long again, and formed our Crescent Moons once more, honoring our Sun, warm, active right side, and our Moon, cool, yin, restful, left side, coming full circle in our practice, embracing the balance. We made time to come into any final poses we needed before our final rest, such as legs up the wall, bridge, plow or wheel, or coming into Savasana early! 

🙏🏻We made it to our PEAK POSE: Savasana! Together, we completed a full body cleanse! We found meditative peace, a calming of the mind, opened our Vishuddha, found insight into ourselves, found our voice, we experienced growth, fearlessness, release, and freedom. Yoga helps us shed what we no longer need, so we may see our most purest selves! We connect to divinity! To slow down means to heal! That is why savasana is the peak pose, the most important pose, the goal, the pinnacle. To find peace. In the stillness! We surrender. We discover ourselves again without the layers, the armor, the walls. They all come down, revealing our divine self.

 I loved creating our Crown Chakra + Vagus Nerve Healing playlist! Listen here!! 

🍃Come practice with me on Fridays for a gentle flow at 11:30, and on Somatic Sundays at 10:00am!