I am a little behind on my Chakra Friday’s. Actually, a lot behind. So even though today is Sunday – I am going to post it anyway!!
So far we have covered the earth, water, fire, and air chakras. The good news is – we are more than halfway done! The bad news is we only have three more chakra posts =/ Today it’s all about the fifth chakra – the chakra of the throat! Or the sound chakra. The Sanskrit name is visuddha and it’s associated with the thyroid and parathyroid glands. The color is bright blue and the sense is hearing. Which I find interesting considering when I think of the throat chakra I think of talking. But as we all know, communication is more than just opening our mouths. It also takes a good sense of listening. And not just in the “ya I’m listening but really I am thinking of the next thing out of my mouth”. No no, to keep this chakra healthy and aligned, we have to do a lot of listening. Observation of body position, how the words are being said, the facial expression, the tone of voice. All of these are key components of balanced communication. I could bombard you with cliché quotes on the importance of listening, but instead I will quote Anodea Judith (from Wheel of Life) –
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| wunderbarart.com |
“Communication is the connecting fabric through which we can experience ourselves as a united whole, much as the body’s cells work together to form one organism. Our communication networks are a cultural nervous system, connecting us all” (pg 260).
My favorite aspect of this chakra is not the communication bit (I know that may seem like a shock considering how talkative and blogger-ific I have been). But no, the best part about this chakra is the introduction of the sound – OM. The sound of the creation of the universe. The perfect vibration to wake us up and open our hearts. Judith mentions in her book an experiment where Erns Chladni discovered that placing sand on a plate on top of a vibrating instrument creates beautiful patterns, much like snowflakes. She then asks us to imagine what the OM vibration is doing to our cells – isn’t it just wonderful to think that our cells are creating awesome patterns of love in our bodies? I get all tingly just thinking about it!
Now, I guess I jumped the gun a bit because I am not sure if you all know what on earth “OM” is! Well, OM is not just one sound but rather three distinct sounds, more like a aaaaaaaauuuuuuummmmmmmm – the “A” coming from the belly, the “U” coming from the throat, and the “M coming from the lips. It is believed to be the sound of all sounds together and I don’t know about you, but I always feel more enlightened after finishing a yoga class with some OMs.
The throat chakra is the place to look into when you are having difficulties with communication. Some great yoga poses include –
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mmm… yes, communication is more about listening than talking. thank you for that!
I do three Oms after all of my home practices too. By the third one, I definitely feel a little buzzed! One of the sweetest sounds is that of an "Om" round, when a full class just keeps Oming at their own pace. It gives me goosebumps!
"om" is one of the most beautiful sounds in the universe.