Love the Life you are Living by Healing your Heart Chakra

To be physically strong, capable of giving and receiving love and to be poised to develop spiritually, our Heart Chakras must be nourished and stroked – literally paid attention to like the plaintive cry of your child or the insistent mewing of your cat.

So, just as Barry, one of the characters in The Chakra Diaries did, we can start by surrounding that person in the mirror with green light, color therapy for the Heart Chakra. Like a rags-to-riches infomercial, results may vary, but just give it a try.

Another technique to boost your feelings of self-love is to re-visit those times in your childhood when you felt most loved, appreciated and supported and transport those feelings to the present, to right now! You CAN revel in those feelings again and carry them with you regardless of which purse you are packing. Feel them pump you up when you are down. Tweak and tune them, brand them as your own.

Now that we have you started on your merry way, how about some loving first aid for the other people in your life…

When someone else in your life is sad, try this warm and fuzzy exercise. Sit next to them and caress the tips of their hands. Notice the feelings that pop into your head. Stroke the back of their hand and then the palm. Which touch does your friend or lover respond most to?

When you have reached an end, shake off any unhappy energy toward the ground and ask your friend to repeat the process with you as the recipient.

Tomorrow, we will learn about ways to feed our heart when we are alone – sorry, no chocolate involved in this one. Please visit again.
Namaste! Becca
http://amzn.to/iiD77G

Romancing the Glow – Harnessing your Sexual Urges

Dear Becca,

I suffered through the holidays with all of its gaiety and gatherings of smiling couples vibrating with love, flush with brandy, eggnog and champagne and behind-the-scenes flirtation. I too felt a glow yet mine was an emptiness, a space to be filled – in my chest, between my ears and yes, even between my legs too. True, my body pillow doesn’t snore or leave wet spots or drink milk from the carton but I am more than ready for my Shakti to rise up to meet her Shiva and to take him for a twirl, everyday hopefully. Your book, The Chakra Diaries made me so hot between the covers. At least some of your participants must have liberated their kundalini energy to surge up through their chakras to their Crown.
Can you give me some suggestions on how to transform my earthly, sexual urges into a vibration that weakens my knees as no man has?

Elusive Ecstasy

Dear E E,

Thanks so much for writing. Stay tuned for my answer.
Namaste. Becca

Peeking Under the Covers of an Undercover Romance

Dear Soho,
My instinct is that the lumpy, small mattress and cobwebs on your love life are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg that is looming dead ahead of your relationship.

Barry, one of the participants in the chakra balancing workshop that I profiled in The Chakra Diaries, told me that a lover once told him that he was “mechanical” in bed. She really nailed his feelings to the floor when she said that she was “used to” lovers who drank deeply from her well of love, who would suck on her toes, rub her neck or kiss the small curves of her neck to get her in the mood. She confessed that sometimes these means to an OMG moment would relax her into dreamland instead of firing her booster engines and that Lover Boy would have to be alright with that too.

All this to say Soho, that without knowing Rhett, I would guess that he may have deficient second chakra. Perhaps like Barry, he is unhappy with his work or was unused to affection as a child so he does not know how to give it as an adult. Barry’s mother once told him that he walked across the graduation stage like a “plowboy,” referring to a stiff, rigid loping gait that was all the rage of the country boys she grew up with. Perhaps Rhett is similarly afflicted and his chi or life energy is effectively bottled-up and severely restricted from flowing through his strong arms, broad chest and compassionate heart. So, let’s be proactive and solve this lumpy problem once and for all.

Why not encourage Rhett to make a date to take you to the zoo with a picnic basket chock-full of your favorite foods, a bunch of flowers and chocolates to nibble on? Cuddle without shame on your blanket and kiss openly and frequently like pimply teenagers. Awaken whatever passion has been hibernating or paint broad strokes of that which is yet-to-come. End your date (at least publicly) with a drop-in to a furniture store and lie down with Rhett on the smallest mattress and tell him that this size is your favorite.

Please keep in touch.
Namaste. Becca

Dreams Confused with Reality?

“The permanent temptation of life is to confuse dreams with reality. The permanent defeat of life comes when dreams are surrendered to reality.” ~ James Michener

Dreams bolster and enable our vision, imagination and insight, revealing that which has been hidden, out of focus or not understand. Just as Deborah, a wondrous character in The Chakra Diaries saw herself in a different light when an anonymous admirer wrote of her anointing his dreams and igniting his imagination, dreams can communicate to us from the inside out. Deborah was living almost entirely in the past, isolated from her spouse’s physical affections and questioning her self worth until her new friend’s verbiage and focus enabled her to reopen her heart to love and all of its many splendors.

Will Deborah end up in the arms of love? Will her husband realize his mistake at leaving her and beg for her in forgiveness? Will Deborah’s new friend enrich her life as she had hoped and dreamed?

Read the whole story in The Chakra Diaries to find out more about reigniting the sacral chakra, passion and love. Namaste.

Love is the Heart of the Matter – Step Four – Heart Chakra

In my chakra balancing workshop profiled in The Chakra Diaries, one student’s fourth chakra was profoundly closed. He was as suspicious of others as a stray cat, resentful at life for handing him not that bowl of cherries that he felt he so richly deserved, but a crate of sour grapes and buckets of ill will filled with woe-is-me. No wonder that despite his rugged good looks and stable income he was having such a “hard time” finding a lover and soul mate. His inner peace was pockmarked and fragmented, it resembled a battlefield of negative feelings littered with remnants of squandered life force. He was in every sense of the unspoken word, a mess.

I suggested that he passively meditate at every opportunity, allowing his memories of love and relationships to surface so that they could be examined and balanced. He taped ten affirmations of self acceptance on his bathroom mirror and car dashboard to guide him in becoming more grounded and open to love and compassion.

Over the course of the workshop, I saw this delightful, yet challenging man grow into a balance of his internal and external worlds. He became more open and accepting of life and less apt to sling blame, point fingers and retreat into a fortress of self-pity. He led the group in a practice of saturation blessings and appreciations of abundance, reminding the group that blessings flow where attention goes and that all power comes from within. In the final tally, he gave to the group far more than he took and I am forever thankful that he crossed my life.

Mr. Heart, I miss you and wonder what your world has become. Please take a minute away from what I imagine to be an overflowing and abundant life and write to me soon. Namaste.

Finding Love at the End of the Rainbow – Step Two – Sacral Chakra

“Sex is emotion in motion,” said Mae West and she was an expert on that subject. If stress causes blockages of energy in the body, your sex and your love life will be out of whack. Accumulated stress in the body, whether emotional or physical, erects barriers to the natural flow of our life energy. So, too much stress may equal no love or even any prospects for it. Love doctors have for centuries recognized that moving in spontaneous and free-form ways not only demands flexibility but also the ability to change focus and let go of memories, trauma and pain.

Philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin has been quoted as saying that “Love is the most powerful and still the most unknown energy in the world.” In opposition to the Base Chakra’s links to fortress-like solidity and stability, the Sacral Chakra focuses on flowing movement and filling your need to sip, bathe, luxuriate or douse in the vivacious, unpredictable and dynamic stream we call love. Practicing the hypnotic hip swivels of oriental (belly) dancing or performing wu chi exercises may help you begin to experience the world of love that seems just beyond your heart’s grasp.

An imbalance of your Sacral Chakra may also manifest as an inappropriate focus on something or somebody that is inappropriate or unrealistic. Perhaps that new guy in the office does have a killer smile, great hair and a body worth giving up chocolate for, but he comes forth anointed with a ring finger wrapped in gold. We might practice the cobbler’s pose to encourage our life energy to flow throughout our sacral chakra or unleash and focus our creative spirits through painting or making music. Our skill level at this art is not an important measure but the fact that we are “doing it” and by doing so are diverting our essence around any barriers nesting in our bodies. As an expression of our joy of living, whatever we create is beautiful, skillful, breathtaking and encouraging. In becoming more sensitive and responsive to what is going on in the world around us, we also further the grounding that we fostered in our root chakra, allowing us to go boldly after what we seek in life, even a relationship that we can grow old with.

In addition to harboring pleasurable sensations, the sacral chakra can vacuum in and hold fast to pain and its attendant stress, damming up the free flow of energy and physically manifesting as infection and illness. We may be “going through the motions” in life, seeing the dust on the table and not the wondrous roses in the crystal vase. Our reactions to the world may vacillate widely from rage and aggression to breaking into tears at the slightest problem.

To aid in stress relief, esteemed authors and teachers Sue and Simon Lilly suggest placing three clear quartz crystals, points facing outward, in a triangle just below your navel. Next, place three rose quartz stones in an arc above your pubic bone and relax for 4-5 minutes. Repeat as often as is needed for optimal energy flow.

Namaste and Keep Focused on Love!
Becca Chopra, author of The Chakra Diaries

How do I Use Crystals to Heal and Balance my Chakras?

Thanks for the question Laura.
When you’re seeking balance and a sense of well-being in your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual self, crystals can be simple, yet powerful tools.

Here is a simple Spectrum Chakra Balance you can do daily as a general balancing session, to reinforce your chakra energies and help them to return to normal functioning.

Choose a grounding stone (black, brown or dark red) to place between your feet. Then choose a stone or crystal corresponding to the different colors of the chakras, placing the red one between your knees, the orange right above your pelvic bone, the yellow right above your navel, the green over your heart center, the blue on your throat, indigo or dark blue on your forehead and a violet or clear stone on the floor just above the top of your head. Lie down with these stones in place for a period of about 5 minutes or until you feel complete, then remove the stones starting with the one above your head.
Relax for a few more minutes, still lying down, then enjoy a sense a well-being and balance, ready to face the stresses of the day ahead.

Adapted from Crystal Healing by Simon and Sue Lilly

Here is what author, Sue Lilly had to say about The Chakra Diaries:
“I just loved the book! Astonishing waves of chakra-linked emotion to each section. I became easily drawn in to the issues that each chapter dealt with, especially those most people shy away from – death, sex and pain. This is a beautiful way for people to begin to understand the emotional depth that each chakra corresponds to. I salute those brave souls who have shared their lives.”
Namaste.
Becca

How Can I Forgive When What I really Want is Revenge?

Dear Becca,

A friend of mine, or someone I used to consider to be a very close friend, was having sex in my bed with my boyfriend when I came home from work late, a few nights ago. Yes, I tossed them out on their ears (well, maybe not literally) but now I lonely, sad, frustrated and a few other things I won’t mention on here. I want to move on with my life and to put them both in my rear-view mirror, so please help me distance my heart from the hurt that is bruised and glowing there.
Signed,
Jilted Juliet

Dear Juliet,
Heart chakra balancing can help you release your anger to let love and compassion live there. First, you have to realize that forgiveness, even of something unspeakable, is necessary for you to live a healthy, loving life. You don’t have to forget or condone an action or behavior, you just have to let go of its importance in your life. As the Buddha said, “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned.”

Most of the characters in The Chakra Diaries had to deal with forgiveness, of themselves and others, to release the tension in their bodies and allow the healing power of love to flow. Put your present happiness first, and forgive past transgressions – drop the hot coal.
Namaste!

Lose Weight, Look More Youthful, Eliminate Pain-Use the 5 Tibetan Rites to Stimulate the Circulation of Your Essential Life Energy

Developed thousands of years ago by Tibetan monks to slow aging, increase energy, calm the mind and strengthen the body, the 5 Tibetan Rites are once-secret, ancient yoga-like poses .

The secret to the 5 Tibetan Rites was unveiled in the 1930’s when a retired British army officer discovered a remote Tibetan monastery where the monks were rumored to have discovered the legendary Fountain of Youth. The remarkably old, yet amazingly healthy monks claimed that the secret to reversing aging lay in the five special movements they performed daily. The officer learned these exercises from the monks and taught them to Peter Kelder, who documented them in the book “The Ancient Secrets of the Fountain of Youth.”

Practitioners reported improvements in strength, endurance, and energy, relief from joint pain and headaches, better memory and vision, weight loss and even a more youthful appearance.

According to Jo Caron, a certified Kripalu yoga instructor in Hawaii, the 5 Rites were meant to stimulate the energy centers of the body, the chakras, by speeding up and coordinating their spin. She recommends focusing on each chakra during a repetition of the exercises for increased benefits. Activating the chakras stimulates all the glands of the endocrine system, so the 5 Rites in effect, benefit the body’s overall functioning and aging process. The man who brought these 5 Rites to the West, stated that, “Performing the 5 Rites stimulates the circulation of essential life energy throughout the body.”

Write and tell us about your progress. Namaste, Becca Chopra, http://www.TheChakras.org