Posts In: serenity

by Monique Minahan

I sit on the Earth herself and hold a smooth rock in the palm of each hand. I dug them up when we moved into our house and I use them when I need extra grounding, like today.

Mooladhara chakra is rooted in survival and threatened by fear. It’s located at the literal “root” of our bodies; the Sanskrit word moola meaning “root” or “foundation.” Its location differs for men and women. For me, I visualize it deep in the cervix. 

“Lammmmmmm. Lammmmmm.”

I start with the beeja mantra Lam because sound has always calmed and focused me on a deep level very quickly. The mantra lets me start low. From there I travel within. Deeper than I want to go. 

I allow my thoughts to keep running, and for the moment I descend into the breath. It changes from a natural breath to ujjayi pranayam, and I focus on it like my life depends on it. Because in so many ways it does. 

Once I feel grounded here, the rocks heavy in my hands and my breath steady and full, I feel safe to explore. 

Now I can dance with fear. Now I can speak with fear directly. Now I can feel my fear without being swept away. I’ve been running from her ever since she showed her face during a recent illness.

Sitting with my fear is uncomfortable. It is sticky. It is all mud and no lotus. I want to run but I stay put. I stay present. I keep breathing, I keep observing, I keep listening.

Eventually I open my eyes for nasikagra drishti, nose-tip gazing. This is one of the traditional meditations for mooladhara and inviting my attention to hover just above the skin anchors my vision, which helps steady my mind.

Before emerging, I come back into my breath.

I visualize each successive exhale traveling down through the root of my body, into the ground beneath me, winding its way through layers of earth and liquid until it reaches the intensely hot inner core of our planet.

Then I imagine my inhale drawing all that earth energy back up, through layers of earth and liquid, up through the ground beneath me and into my root chakra.

Nothing outside me has changed, but something inside has shifted. Like the rocks I dug from the earth, I sense my fear has been unearthed, acknowledged and respected. In the pause before I move, I savor this moment of feeling both connected and free, grounded and lightened, human and being.

Part 2 of a 7 part series. You can find Part 1 here: Ajna, The Third Eye.

Monique Minahan
Contributing Writer

Mo is a writer and yoga teacher who believes in peace over happiness and love over fear. She likes to set her sights high and then take small steps to get there. You’ll find her walking the dirt path behind her house with her little fluffy dog, practicing walking her talk by keeping her head high and her heart open. Contact: moniqueminahan.com

 

Meet Heather Fenwick, a yogini who embodies her practice on and off the mat. Heather’s classes are well thought out and peppered with illuminating nuggets of wisdom. Come check out her Monday night mixed level, Flow class at 7pm. You can find the rest of our schedule here.

1. What is your favorite style of yoga? 

I don’t have one favorite style of yoga. This ancient practice is so constantly evolving and recreating, just like humans do! I have enjoyed dabbling in Iyengar and Anusara, but my favorite style is the day-to-day off-the-mat practice style.

2. What first attracted you to yoga when you began your practice?

After my first yoga class in 2002, I felt a serenity that I’d never felt before. It was lasting and deep. I first loved the “yoga buzz”, but noticed that I was becoming more agile, balanced, strong, and graceful – that’s what keeps me coming back.

3. What is your favorite yoga pose right now?

Supta Baddha Konasana (lying down bound angle pose) with props. This pose is a gentle restorative space, where a backbend is effortless. It literally lifts the heart and opens the body to the breath, and to the present moment. I feel that balance between upliftment and ease so naturally here.

4. What pose is still the most challenging?

I have an injured hamstring and wrist that have prevented me from enjoying some more advanced postures like hanumanasana (splits) and adho mukha vrksasana (handstand). I would love to get into these poses one day, but injuries are “patience testers”, and I remember over and over again that being attached to the form of a pose is as un-yogic as it can get.

5. If you were an animal, you would be:

I would be a stray dog in Costa Rica. Those dogs have the best life, just running up and down the beach all day and all night, napping in the shade, swimming in the ocean, playing with other dogs, and they have enough to eat. They are freedom and joy.

6. Describe what yoga means in your life using just 6 words: a shedding, a letting go, to let light shine

7. What might your students be surprised to learn about you?

I actually come from a family of staunch republicans.

8. Do you have any words of wisdom or advice for new students?

I think that new students are ultimately the best teacher for everyone else because they approach yoga without any expectations: an empty cup.

I let all my students know that yoga is a non-competitive venture, and to go no further than a deep breath allows you to. No pushing, no forcing, and in fact a cultivation of “what is” and trusting that that’s enough, and even perfect.