The new year is a good time to do an emotional-baggage check, to clear out what no longer serves you and make room for what will. And your chakras—the seven energy centers that run along your central channel—are a tool to help you repack. Here, yoga teacher Giselle Mari shows you how to use your chakras to resolve any negativity holding you back so you become a lighter, brighter version of you.
WHEN GISELLE MARI graduated college with a degree in clinical and counseling psychology, she thought she’d done the work to resolve issues from her childhood. “It was just me and my mom—my dad wasn’t really in my life—money was tight, and life felt unstable,” says Mari. “I was convinced I had processed how growing up in that kind of challenging environment impacted my beliefs about myself and the world.”
Then, Mari started doing chakra work and realized how deeply rooted some of those beliefs were—and how that old anger and resentment were keeping her from the ultimate goal of yoga: a feeling of oneness (versus otherness). “Working with the chakras using asana, mantra, and observation is an efficient way to eliminate old hurt and bad patterns,” she says. “When I looked at—and let go of—my inner turmoil and pain, my life shifted for the better. I don’t carry around that emotional baggage, and as a result, that old karma isn’t driving how I operate in the world.”
It’s a bold promise, and working with your chakras is no easy task, says Mari, but the results are worth the effort. Read on as Mari shows you how to look at the karmic relationships associated with each chakra so you can examine any issues that surface and start to rewrite your old stories into new ones that serve you on your yogic path.
YOUR INNER LIGHT, BRIGHT
Meet the seven chakras. By looking at how these energy centers relate to our physical and emotional selves, we can shine a light on our deep, dark subconscious, bring any unresolved issues to the surface, and take the first steps toward healing ourselves.
SAHASRARA CHAKRA
Translation: “Thousand-petaled lotus”
Location: Hovering above your head
This story is from the December 2016 edition of Yoga Journal.
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This story is from the December 2016 edition of Yoga Journal.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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