Yin Asanas to balance the Chakras

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YinYogi
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Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2015 1:05 am

Yin Asanas to balance the Chakras

Post by YinYogi »

Are there specific yin asanas that are recommended to balance each of the 7 chakras?

Namaste'

YinYogi
YinYogi
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2015 1:05 am

Sequence for each Chakra

Post by YinYogi »

I'm basically looking for the best 6 or 7 yin asanas for each of the 7 Chakras to create a sequence for each Chakra to help balance them.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Namaste,

YinYogi
Bernie
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

Yin Yoga and the Chakras?

Post by Bernie »

Dear YinYogi (great handle by the way!)

Paul Grilley has a wonderful resource that you may want to invest in if this is a topic of great interest to you. It is his DVD called Chakra Theory and Meditation. He also offers a 16-day training on Chakra Theory, which you can review on his web site.

Normally, to balance the chakra the emphasis is on meditation and breathwork. (See Paul’s book Yin Yoga – 10th anniversary edition, where he says, “In the physical dimension, purification [of the chakras] is achieved by sitting still and slowly restricting the breath”. – page 105). You are asking for yin yoga asanas, and I am not aware of any direct correlation to only yin yoga postures and balancing the chakras.

However, Paul’s teacher – Dr Hiroshi Motoyama, has written often and extensively on the chakras. He too suggests guided meditation, bandhas, mudras and breathwork to work these areas. In his 2003 book, Awakening of the chakras and emancipation, he suggests for training of the muladhara chakra sitting in Siddhasana or Japanese Seiza (sitting on the heels) while meditating and focusing on the tip of the nose. Again this is a meditation, not an asana. For the svadhisthana, he suggests the pranayama practice of Nadi Shodhana, Nauli, Shusten (the Microcosmic Orbit), but he is suggests Locust pose, which is very yang. To learn his recommendations for all the other chakras, I refer you to his book.

In his earlier book, Theories of the Chakras, he does make more recommendations for asanas to stimulate the chakras, but again these are mostly yang postures. He groups the asanas into 3: the first for promoting prana circulation (which includes the pawanmuktasanas); the second for regulating the shusumna nadi (these include tadasana, hasta uttanasana, pada hastasana, yoga mudra, caterpillar, straddle, sphinx/seal, dhanurasana, snail, fish, triangle, seated twists, neck movements); the third meditation. Again to learn these in detail, I suggest you acquire his book.

As you just saw, most of these postures were yang-like: muscular or dynamic movements. The meditations are done in yin-like postures, however. I suppose another approach is to equate the Daoist map to the Indian map: Kidney/Urinary Bladder is similar to the Svadhisthana chakra; Stomach/Spleen is similar to the Manipura chakra; Heart/Lung meridians could be equated to the Anahata chakra. I don’t know if we can equate the other meridian/organs to the other chakras, but fore these three, anything you do in Yin Yoga to stimulate the Kidneys, Stomach, Heart meridians could be helping balance the Svadhisthana, Manipura and Anahata chakras. But that is a pure speculation on my part.

Good luck! I hope this helps a little.
Bernie
RobinC
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Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2015 11:56 am

Post by RobinC »

Kym Cocco has a youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu36boG3XIU

– 90 minutes yin yoga to balance the chakras
Annelise Piers
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Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 10:16 pm
Location: Bangalore, India

Yin and the chakras

Post by Annelise Piers »

Bernie, referring to the thread on the question on the chakras.

Would you say you'd map the yin meridians with how the element ties in with the chakra or from the emotional aspects as well?

For example, if I were doing root chakra work, I might be inclined to do kidney and meridian (for fear) and the earth element for relief from worry, and being in the now/grounding. I know the water element is more sacral, but with the K1 acu point and all that it does for the emotional body, I often use it for root.

I was wondering if there's a formal yin and chakra map or would my rationale work?
Bernie
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

Post by Bernie »

I don't know of any formal, proven “yin and chakra map, so can't help you with that.

It is tricky to try to combine two very different maps: the chakras are an Indian map describing an inner psycho-spiritual world while the meridians are a Daoist map describing physical energy flows to and from the organs. Of course our emotions are affected by our physical body as well as by our spirit, so there may be some correlations between these two maps, but I would be hesitant to combine them too closely.

The way to create a map is through experience. Theory is great, but the theory must be applied to have any value. So, through your own experience, work out what serves you. Note that down. That becomes the basis for your map.

Cheers!
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