On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, I was able to indulge in the morning classes that I am not usually able to take during the school year. Fridays have been pretty much home practice, and now that I've figured out my Yoga app on the iPad, it's a little more organized (and I don't forget to hit postures on both sides!)
On Tuesdays, I have been doing an evening class with an instructor that I quite like, and I'm glad that I can potentially continue to practice with her throughout the Fall. It's a good thing I like her approach, however, because for the past 3 weeks, she's been focusing her classes on the "Heart Chakra", and I haven't been enjoying them as much. They've been extra challenging for me, and that's the last thing you want as the hustle and bustle of your day winds down in time for evening. Nevertheless, the class is good, and I'm motivated to attend, even knowing that I might not enjoy it as much as the invigorating Wednesday morning sessions I get with Josh.
I started questioning this feeling of discomfort with the "Heart-Opening practice"...I mean, what's wrong with me? Who wouldn't want to open their heart, enhancing one's ability to Love, Understand, Empathize, and Forgive? Kinda makes me seem a bit cold-hearted (excuse the pun) to feel uncomfortable with this practice...perhaps it's just what I need.
I did a little (like 3 minutes - it is Summer, afterall) more research into this Heart Chakra to find out where the root of my problems lie. There are 7 Chakras, or power centers, in your body, and each is associated with a color and state of being. The Sanskrit name for the Heart Chakra is Anahata, and it lies exactly in the center of the other 6 Chakras. It is a 12 petaled Lotus flower, and associated with the color green. It is the source of your soul/heart consciousness, hence it's focus on love, understanding, empathy, and forgiveness. It is associated with the "Air Element" - ah, there's the rub. My dosha is Pitta - associated with the "Fire Element". Maybe the Air is blowing out my flame!
So, what's your Dosha? How does it affect the way you carry yourself and interact with the world? Are you, like me, a Pitta? Someone who is muscular, with a smart, determined character (does that describe me? not really) If this dosha is balanced, a Pitta can be a good leader (how flattering!). If unbalanced, a Pitta is critical, irritable, and aggressive (oh boy! Sadly, my friends, that does sound a bit familiar). Maybe you're a Kapha: Methodical, calm, caring, patient, stocky, with an excellent memory. Perhaps you're a Vata: a light sleeper, thin, airy, tending towards anxiety, creative, and "busy". There's a simple "dosha quiz" you can take online, if you like: click here When you get your (free) results, it will also explain what happens when your Dosha is balanced and not balanced...you can also find all sorts of products to help you re-balance things.
So, rather than be defeated with Tuesday evenings' Heart Opening, it's time to regroup, and refocus. Instead of letting a heart-opening practice dampen my spirit, I should let the Air element be the wind in the bellows, let it fan the flames of my Fire element, and invigorate my practice!
Spiritual intelligence is a matter not of learning skills but of finding who you are at the soul level. -Deepak Chopra
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