CHAKRA FIVE : VISHUDDHA
Name: Vissudha (means “purification”)
Element: Sound
Color: Blue
Body: Shoulders, neck, throat, mouth, ears
Balanced: Clear communication, steady and receptive listening, truth, coherence, harmony
The fifth chakra is among the more complicated energy centers of the body. The neck is in the precarious role of bridging the heart and the head. Integrating thought with feeling is not an easy task. Seaking clearly what our needs are, what our wishes are, and how we are feeling, is one of the most challenging aspects of being human.
Physically, the upper palate is the roof of the throat chakra as it is where the trachea, esophagus and spinal cord all come together. In the neck, chains of lymph vessels and nodes line the tongue, jaw, pharynx, esophagus, and trachea. Tias Little says “like sentinels guarding the primary entry ports to a city, lymph vessels monitor the flow of any unwanted particulates.” The word for throat chakra, visuddha, comes from the Sanskrit root “sud” meaning to cleanse and purify. If the throat is the body’s primary barrier relating to immunity, our practices this month will be cleansing, purifying, and boosting to the immune system.
As Anodea Judith shares “the throat chakra is where the inside comes out through speech. If we learned it wasn’t safe to share our deep interior self, that we might be ridiculed, misunderstood, ignored, disbelieved, or punished in any way for sharing our truth, then we shut down our throat chakra. There may have been a good reason at the time, but later we have trouble opening it up again.”
There is a listening I’d like you to hear this month, that of your own inner dialogue.
What is the flavor of the thoughts in your mind day today?
Are any of then voices from your past, a parent, colleague, a friend?
It’s through our time on the cushion in meditation and through our yoga practice that we start to filter out those voices that are not ours and are not serving us, thus coming home to the true voice within.
Of course, this listening applies to our relationships as well.
Can you listen to somebody without planning what you’re going to say next?
Can you listen to someone you care about with your full attention? Thich Nhat Hanh says this is one of the highest expressions of love.
And, it wouldn’t be called yoga without listening to our majestic and wise physical body.
Can you “listen” with your consciousness to what’s going on in your body? This is where our mindfulness practice comes in.
When I am with this person doing this activity we’ve done for years, by stomach feels tight.
When I am doing this particular workout I’ve done for years, my body feels light and free afterwards.
There is a wisdom here. This is your inner guide, your intuition. These feelings are road signs directing you which way to go.
xoxo