Welcome to Day 34 of our 40 Day Retreat 2009.
Stepping Above Worldliness To Energy, Vitality, Dynamism & Radiance
Today we deal with the Manipura Chakra. Now we are stepping above the worldliness that Swadhisthana (sacral chakra) and Muladhara (base chakra) draw us into. This is the first of the celestial planes. It is related to the Swaha Loka. It is the plane of energy, vitality, dynamism and radiance. It is sometimes called the sun chakra of the body and when we focus on this chakra we bring dynamic energy, vitality and radiant energy to the entire body. It is a very powerful and interesting chakra. When you come to this chakra you get the first set of tools to begin to manage the lower chakras. You begin to experience a new dimension of consciousness. I have said that every chakra takes you to a higher consciousness and to a different quality of power or energy in the space.
In the Western cultures the Manipura chakra is not well known but in Eastern cultures of India, China and Japan the Manipura chakra is well known and its power is tapped into in these cultures. In India it is called the Manipura chakra in the yogic science. Manipura means the city of jewels so you can just understand when you tap into this a lot of radiance and beautiful energy comes. In the Chinese system of Qigong and Tai Chi they focus on the dan tien just below the navel area. It is a place of storage of energy or vitality. It can store vitality that you can hold in reserve. In the Japanese culture this area at the navel is called the Hara center. It is a very powerful center for balance and power. They have many exercises to stimulate these areas and to use that power in different activities. It is a science that is worth studying. It brings you to such a level of mastery of the physical using the power of vital energy that it is a useful science to understand and to learn.
Manipura chakra stimulates the body in a very powerful way and I want to bring to your attention that when we tap into Manipura, we are tapping into that infinite source of energy within us. Remember every chakra is a doorway to infinite power whether it is Muladhara (base), Swadhishthana (sacral), Manipura (navel), Anahata (heart), Vishuddha (throat), or Ajna (brow). They are all doorways to infinite power. Through them we can channel power into our world. Through them we can achieve a higher level of consciousness and self-mastery and we can bring power into the world.
Take Time to Become More Energy Sensitive
It is important to note that the physical body has a separate existence to your energy body and to your energy existence; though it works with your energy being, it is separate. It was created by nature and at birth the soul enters into the body. The soul with its energy being comes into the body. We see at the first breath how this body comes alive in a different way. The child becomes different with the first breath. Then a soul is expressed in and through the body. It is important to make that distinction within you. That is why I am so insistent in you beginning to develop energy awareness. Not just physical awareness but energy awareness. There is an energy body inside of you and if you do not take the time to become more sensitive to it, you will not be able to feel this energy body. You will use it but not feel it.
The alignment of the energy body in the physical is so exact, so precise, that you are not even aware that there is a difference between the energy body and your physical body. It is aligned through the nervous system and brain. The chakra system is aligned so powerfully with it, that you begin to think that you are the body but you are not. The first real step in spiritual awareness is to be able to be aware of your energy existence as being separate from the body.
Moving Beyond Body Consciousness into a New Realm
Manipura chakra begins a new stage of the journey. As I said to you before there are three granthis, the Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra Granthis, and they are energy knots so they bring you into different stages of the journey. Muladhara begins the first signs of the spiritual journey, developing a spiritual consciousness and when you come to Manipura there is another dimension to the energy existence. We begin to feel that you are in a new dimension because you are moving beyond body consciousness now into a new realm. You become so much more aware of your energy existence when you come into Manipura. You feel this strange vitality supporting the body that you can tap into.
Now when you begin to feel your energy body and you begin to observe Manipura and be able to tap into Manipura, you will find that you can bring into the body a new kind of energy and you can make the body radiant simply by tapping into the Manipura. You can make the body stronger and more confident simply by tapping into the Manipura. That is why we say when people are very strong that they are powerful in the gut. When we say to gird one’s loins, it is to make that area below stronger. It is a place where we can tap into power. That power is coming from a different place. It is coming from the energy body. The source of the energy body is infinite. Now I can say this to you for years and years and you may not understand this unless you give attention to energy awareness. You can begin by the simple exercises of energy. Move the breath and begin to see what it does. Of course with the energy exercises of Qigong or Tai Chi you become more aware of that and also the energies of Reiki, ki (energy) in the Japanese system so that you can be more in touch with energy. It is very important that you learn to become energy aware, how to feel the ki, chi or prana which are the names given to the subtle energy in the Eastern cultures.
Taping IntoManipura Prevents Burn Out
It can boost the body and help you in burn out. How many people experience burn out from overworking and abusing the body’s system and compromising the immune system and we feel burn out. When we tap into Manipura, it begins to work against burn out, it begins to bring a new level of energy to you, it boosts the immune system, it fires up the digestive system and it brings a renewed vitality through your nervous system and the whole body feels tremendously energized. If we want to tap into vitality as martial artists or yogis do, we need to understand the navel, the Manipura, dan tien or the Hara power to understand it.
Focusing on this area at the navel during the breathing practices I have been teaching you using the ujjai breath and learning how to do abdominal breathing powerfully. Focusing on belly or abdominal breathing begins to give you a sense of the Manipura. All the abdominal exercises whilst you are doing them if you focus on the breathing, you will actually begin to feel a new sense of power. Abdominal exercises really give us a different sense of power. We should not take these lightly.
All exercises that relate to the abdominal area and the breathing practices that relate to the abdominal area should be given attention to and should be practiced. How many are you doing? Do you give attention to this area? It is an area that can really boost you differently, that can bring the power over the lower chakras and it can help you to go higher and to manifest energy in every thing that you do.
In my own life Manipura is what I need to live in the world with, it is vital to my existence, and continuously I am aware of the power in the Manipura. I am always tapping into that power with my breathing, attention and the techniques of holding the energy. In the yoga there are techniques for holding the energy, there are locks, bandhas, and when you practice these, they really give you a great sense of power but these should be practiced under proper guidance. You need to learn this from someone who knows it. These locks are very, very powerful.
Manipura Fires Up and Supports the Body In Every Thing You Do
Manipura helps you to become more in touch with your body, Muladhara grounds you in the body and gives a feeling of grounded strength, Manipura fires up your body and gives it radiance and supports it in every thing you do. Those of you who have a lot of mental confidence but your body does not support it, whenever you begin to do something the body just retaliates like a spoiled child, you need to understand Manipura.That is how you can whip up the body in a nice way by using the Manipura. Of course, you can say very confidently, “I am going to do this, this month I will do this” and you start new exercise plans, you start new physical ventures and they just do not get done, because there is some kind of lethargy and inertia. Then when you bring Manipura into it you whip up a different kind of energy.
Ajna Working with Manipura Stimulate Thinking & Intuition
Manipura begins an exciting journey. It helps you to go higher to the anahata (heart) chakra and the Vishuddha chakra of the throat. It is the beginning of the Vishnu Granthi stage of the journey. When Ajna chakra is open and used together with Manipura, Ajna chakra brings concentration and thought power. When it is used in conjunction with Manipura the power is tremendous. You have often heard how we have a gut feeling about something that is when your Ajna chakra is in touch with the navel area and you can actually feel within your being, your entire body senses this; that this or that is going to happen. When Ajna works with Manipura it can be very powerful for stimulating your thinking and your intuition. It is really important that you begin to use this center. It will help you to go further along in your journey. It will support the body’s vitality and it will help you to manage the lower chakras. It is worth the experience to come into Manipura. It is the power center of the body. It is the sun center of the body.
When you breathe in with the abdominal breathing and be conscious of this center you begin to empower it. I have demonstrated the abdominal breathing already. When you do the abdominal breathing you keep the (navel) area a little tense, not flabby as you do it and not loose, keep it under a little tension as you breathe in and out, do so using the ujjai focusing on the navel area. This will help you initially to open up the center or to guide you further along the journey.
Remember, I said that you need to work with the energy. When the energy is awakened within you it begins to guide you. When you begin to work with the Manipura follow closely what is this energy doing to me, where is it carrying me and you will feel that you are guided in doing the exercises. When I am doing these exercises I feel absolutely guided by this power inside that knows how to do everything. The teacher is inside of us, all we need to do is to stimulate that power inside that teaches us. This is an exciting subject.
I wish that I could excite you about it. It gives me the power to want to do any and every thing in the world and yet be detached from everything. That is the power of Manipura. It makes a difference; it lights up your body, makes your body radiant and brings that extra motivation to do things in your physical world and that extra motivation to go higher.
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