“If you do not know to balance the third chakra, you may have all the degrees, all the knowledge, all the money, all the beauty, but you shall be unhappy. ” Yogi Bhajan
Do you feel full of energy, a sense of control in your life, and confident that you can do what you set out to do? Or do you feel buffeted around by life, full of ideas that never come to fruition, and leaning on stimulants to keep you going? If it’s more of the later, it could be worth doing some navel work along with any navel gazing you may already be doing :).
For the past month or so, I’ve been working on the the 3rd (Navel) Chakra in my own practice and have fallen in love with Nabhi Kriya (see below). It is also one of the first areas that Kundalini Yoga trainee teachers work on, and I couldn’t do it at the time due to a hip injury and felt SO upset and frustrated with my body. This turned in to a valuable lesson in patience and acceptance. But now it is the right time, for me at least, to pick this one up and see what happens.
The Navel Chakra is the centre of energy, of will power, of a sense of control. It’s associated with the Navel Point, the Element of Fire, and with the adrenals, kidneys, liver, gall bladder, spleen, digestive organs, and pancreas. With a strong 3rd Chakra we know how to initiate and complete an action and there is a deep confidence that we can shape and direct our lives, rather than feeling like a Victim ( why me? it’s not fair..I have to do x, y, z, I’ve got no choice, I don’t have enough money, I’m not good enough etc).
And you know, we really could do with more people being in their true power on this planet, rather than Victim consciousness.
An unbalanced 3rd Chakra can be expressed as anger, greed, shame, despair, seeing obstacles everywhere, conforming, denying your own wishes and emotions, and problems with any of the associated organs. We can also turn to other sources of energy like stimulants, drugs and food if we feel depleted.
Yogi Bhajan taught that a strong Navel Chakra was key to raising Kundalini energy, and awakening to who we really are. The lower triangle of chakras are usually the ones we humans have trouble balancing, and working on the Navel generally works on this whole area all at the same time. The Navel is also the seat of the subconscious – so a chance to bring into the light some of our old outdated patterns of behaving and thinking and releasing them through yoga and meditation.
“Meditating with a balanced navel point or 3rd chakra, may achieve the same results in five minutes, as will occur meditating all day with a disconnected 3rd chakra.”
breath of fire
Breath of Fire is one powerful way to stimulate the Navel Chakra – here is a very good video link if you want to go over it in more detail, particularly if you are new to the breath or find it a struggle.
Nabhi Kriya , or even just posture 4 (start with a minute or 2 and build up) is a great one to start with regardless of what is going on in your life – it will sort a lot of problems out! Do it in the morning before you start the day and notice the massive changes that will take place in your life. Keep a journal to notice what changes.
We did this kriya a few weeks ago in class. Remember to start at the minimum times and work your way up and put the hands under your buttocks for more support if you have weak tummy muscles – tune in with Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo x 3, and close with the Long Time Sun (see last line), AND KEEP YOUR LOWER BACK PRESSED DOWN SO YOU ARE USING YOUR ABS!
Then try a meditation – because that’s the icing on the cake! Here’s a link to Meditation for a Calm Heart. You will be transformed in 3-5 minutes!
Remember to keep your face and throat relaxed when holding the breathing in or out.
May the Long Time Sun Shine Upon You, All Love Surround You and The Pure Light Within You Guide Your Way On