Day 36
Timer on…
Well, it’s the day that is also the number of my birthday, and I am still having back pain, so…I’m still having to do the “short” version of the series…the 36 Kapalabhati breath version…and, I guess, it’s fitting, seeing as how today is Day 36. 36 is also the age my father was when I was born…there’s some symmetry here…I guess…or maybe I’m looking for it…like I’m some sort of iconographer…
So…yesterday we discovered that Uttanasana is the holy grail of poses because it includes its own benefits, the benefits of Pascimottanasa and all the inverted poses…that’s a lot of benefits…it’s like a good insurance policy…
So…that was all of the Muladhara poses because the Warrior poses shared their benefits and there were only three: Warrior I, II, and the Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana).
The next chakras all have one in the series: Sahasrara (crown chakra), Anahata (heart chakra), and Visuddha (throat chakra).
I guess we’ll start with Sahasrara (crown chakra)…that’s the top of the Chakra energy centers and then we’ll work down, so…it’ll go Sahasrara, Visuddha, and then Anahata…
“Sahasrara (crown chakra): Color: purple (violet). This chakra is associated with light or higher consciousness. Element: none. Endocrine system: pineal gland. Vital organ: the brain. General function: related to faith, enlightenment, and higher awareness.”
Pineal gland reminder (from Day 21): Pineal Gland…again, I’m not sure if I’m positive what those are, so I’m looking them up, as well…The pineal gland is also at the base of the brain near the cerebellum, but it’s across from the pituitary gland. This helps my circadian rhythm and sleep/seasonal patterns. Interesting…seasonal depression, etc. have exacerbated my condition, so…this is a good thing to know about to help relieve during seasonal transitions…and (maybe) there’s a connection to transitions…in general…
Okay, good, now there’s another pose helping with seasonal depression and sleep…I guess that’s good. It’s also associated with higher consciousness…and, I guess, I also hope that this series will help me get to a higher consciousness or understanding of death/mourning/loss/transitions…
“Chakra 5: Visuddha (throat chakra). Color: blue. Element: ether. Endocrine system: thyroid and parathyroid, related to the larynx and pharynx. General function: metabolism. Related to communication directed toward others and the self, as in the communication between the head and the heart.”
Ether reminder from Day 25: The first thing that struck me was that ether is the element…I just watched Julie Taymor’s THE TEMPEST (my favorite Shakespeare, but not really my favorite manifestation of the play) and ether always brings up the image of the character Ariel…but, really, what is it? Let’s look it up…So…Wikipedia says that it is an “are” and the “are” is…a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group – an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups – of general formula R-O-R. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether commonly referred to simply as “ether”. Ethers are common in organic chemistry and pervasive in biochemistry, as they are linkages in carbohydrates…
Well, we’ll stop there for today, but…more…of course…tomorrow…
Timer on…
Well, it’s the day that is also the number of my birthday, and I am still having back pain, so…I’m still having to do the “short” version of the series…the 36 Kapalabhati breath version…and, I guess, it’s fitting, seeing as how today is Day 36. 36 is also the age my father was when I was born…there’s some symmetry here…I guess…or maybe I’m looking for it…like I’m some sort of iconographer…
So…yesterday we discovered that Uttanasana is the holy grail of poses because it includes its own benefits, the benefits of Pascimottanasa and all the inverted poses…that’s a lot of benefits…it’s like a good insurance policy…
So…that was all of the Muladhara poses because the Warrior poses shared their benefits and there were only three: Warrior I, II, and the Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana).
The next chakras all have one in the series: Sahasrara (crown chakra), Anahata (heart chakra), and Visuddha (throat chakra).
I guess we’ll start with Sahasrara (crown chakra)…that’s the top of the Chakra energy centers and then we’ll work down, so…it’ll go Sahasrara, Visuddha, and then Anahata…
“Sahasrara (crown chakra): Color: purple (violet). This chakra is associated with light or higher consciousness. Element: none. Endocrine system: pineal gland. Vital organ: the brain. General function: related to faith, enlightenment, and higher awareness.”
Pineal gland reminder (from Day 21): Pineal Gland…again, I’m not sure if I’m positive what those are, so I’m looking them up, as well…The pineal gland is also at the base of the brain near the cerebellum, but it’s across from the pituitary gland. This helps my circadian rhythm and sleep/seasonal patterns. Interesting…seasonal depression, etc. have exacerbated my condition, so…this is a good thing to know about to help relieve during seasonal transitions…and (maybe) there’s a connection to transitions…in general…
Okay, good, now there’s another pose helping with seasonal depression and sleep…I guess that’s good. It’s also associated with higher consciousness…and, I guess, I also hope that this series will help me get to a higher consciousness or understanding of death/mourning/loss/transitions…
“Chakra 5: Visuddha (throat chakra). Color: blue. Element: ether. Endocrine system: thyroid and parathyroid, related to the larynx and pharynx. General function: metabolism. Related to communication directed toward others and the self, as in the communication between the head and the heart.”
Ether reminder from Day 25: The first thing that struck me was that ether is the element…I just watched Julie Taymor’s THE TEMPEST (my favorite Shakespeare, but not really my favorite manifestation of the play) and ether always brings up the image of the character Ariel…but, really, what is it? Let’s look it up…So…Wikipedia says that it is an “are” and the “are” is…a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group – an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups – of general formula R-O-R. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether commonly referred to simply as “ether”. Ethers are common in organic chemistry and pervasive in biochemistry, as they are linkages in carbohydrates…
Well, we’ll stop there for today, but…more…of course…tomorrow…