written by: Christina Leon

Mindful Exercise at the End of the Rainbow

Picture your next exercise session this way: You are in a quiet, darkened studio. One candle illuminates the center of the room. Gentle, melodious chanting resonates through the speakers, barely audible. You feel a profound sense of peace and tranquility as you focus on the rhythm of your own breath. Red, the first of the seven chakra colors, filters throughout the room. It permeates not only your eyes, but the pores of your skin, and you feel as though your entire body is responding to the vibration of the color waves. You flow into Warrior One Pose (Virabhadrasana I) and you hold your body there as you take a deep, cleansing breath. You affirm to yourself, “I have honor; I have beauty; I have power.” You stand strong and repeat these affirmations with passion, conviction, and belief.

This is the essence of a Chakra-clearing yoga and meditation session. It is a truly unique, multisensory mind-body experience that fuses together the holistic benefits of yoga, meditation, color therapy, and positive affirmations. And it just might be the best mindful exercise around today.

Fitness Revisited

Until recently, the majority of fitness enthusiasts spent a great deal of their efforts focusing on achieving what they believed to be physical “fitness.” Many people viewed this “fitness” as merely an ability to participate in sports or to engage in intense physical workouts; they believed that this was all an exercise regimen entailed. But by focusing on fitness alone they addressed only part of the picture when it comes to a person’s overall health and well-being.

The missing part of the picture involves achieving a state of “wellness” in addition to fitness. By wellness we mean that in order to achieve a state of good health, a person must strive to have all the body parts (i.e. bones, muscles, joints, tissues, organs, hormones, nerves, and glands) in balance. Moreover, to achieve a true state of wellness a person must also make efforts to gain emotional and spiritual harmony. Fitness and wellness are inextricably linked and must necessarily tie together the mind and the body. Both are essential in achieving good health and preventing disease.

As more and more people reevaluate their misconceptions about fitness and health, more and more fitness professionals, health professionals, and athletes are recognizing the value of the mind-body connection. Consequently, the zeitgeist of today seems to be an acceptance of programs that incorporate the two.

This is where a Chakra Clearing Yoga and Meditation session becomes invaluable. It combines practices that have been around for hundreds of years and presents them in a way that can benefit people of all ages and of all fitness levels.

Yoga and the Chakras

In Yogic tradition there are seven major chakras, or energy centers, within the body. Each of these energy centers corresponds to a specific zone of nerve crossings within the spinal column. Moreover, each of these energy centers corresponds to an element of the earth and, more importantly, connects us with a particular set of emotions, traits, and/or thoughts.

Although the yogis of ancient times generated the idea of chakras thousands of years ago, and without any medical technology to corroborate their theory, they may have been closer to science than they realized. For we now know that each of these seven chakras to which they referred actually corresponds to the major plexuses, or aggregations of nerves and ganglia, in the central nervous system. According to yogic thought, by connecting with and “clearing” these chakras, a person can become more balanced and eventually reach higher levels of consciousness. For example, the first chakra, called muladhara, corresponds with the sacral plexus and is considered to be our “root” or foundation that supports our structure. When we balance this particular chakra, we gain a sense of stability and support, and we feel a connection with the earth.

Yoga asanas, or postures, can be beneficial to the opening and balancing of these chakras, as each posture brings attention to each region or energy center in the body. For example, Revolving Triangle Pose is a solar plexus pose because its rotation occurs just above the naval, at the location of the solar plexus. By assuming this pose, an individual can focus on that chakra, or center, and work towards bringing energy and balance to that area.

The Role of Affirmations

To further enhance the mind-body connection during this type of exercise, the instructor and participants engage in repetitions of positive affirmations. As a result, not only are they reaping the physical benefits of toning and stretching, they are experiencing the mental benefits of slowing down the breath and incorporating yogic meditation techniques. While yoga is known for its ability to heal and bring peace of mind, many yoga students have difficulty making the connection between their thoughts and their bodies. By focusing on the breath and a single, positive affirmation that corresponds with a particular pose and chakra, individuals can achieve a more poignant experience as they maintain their focus throughout each pose. For example, when a participant works in a pose designed to balance the heart chakra, he or she can repeat the affirmation, “I love without judgments.”

The Role of Light

Thus far we have seen how the poses and affirmations work in conjunction to create continuity and focus. We will now examine the final ingredient in this truly unique mind-body workout-colored light.

Many believe that light and color vibrations can actually have a profound effect on a person’s emotional and physical body, and people have known this for thousands of years. For example, in 300 BC Hippocrates used color salves, crystals, and dyes for healing purposes. Also, Leonardo DaVinci strongly believed that violet light could magnify the power of meditation. And in more recent times, blue light has been used to treat sleep disorders associated with jetlag, as it can reset a person’s biological clock. Today it is widely accepted that colored lights can each have different effects on human beings. For example, many believe that red energizes, blue soothes, green heals, yellow lifts selfesteem, orange inspires creativity, indigo regulates the pituitary gland, and violet promotes bone growth.

What’s more, there may be a very special connection between the chakras and the colored light of the rainbow. Yoga teaches that the chakras, or energy centers, actually create energy fields, or “circles of light.” It follows that color healing, or the use of colored lights during yoga and meditation, can enhance a person’s ability to connect with each chakra. Because these chakras are thought to be “circles of light”, each one is said to vibrate at a different speed and frequency. Consequently, each one can also be paired with the color of light that vibrates at the corresponding frequency. During a chakra clearing yoga and meditation class, a lighting system illuminates the studio with a color that is linked to the chakra and pose on which the participants focus. The idea is that the light actually aids the participants in tuning into their chakras. For example, to help balance the heart chakra, as mentioned above, a person would assume the Fish Pose to open the heart, and repeat the positive affirmation “I love without judgments”; but during this time, the entire studio would be illuminated by soft green lights.

This spectacular combination of yoga, meditation, color, and affirmations take the mind-body workout to a whole new level. This is more than just a yoga class; it makes the physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits of yoga more tangible for everyone. By embarking on this holistic journey, in time, any individual can discover his or her true inner self at the end of the rainbow