yoga mat reflections and a smoothie for balance

I’ve been focusing on the sacral chakra lately.  Some of you will probably be aware of the chakra system, others maybe not so much. If you aren’t too familar with the concept, I adore this post from one of my favourite bloggers (and fellow hippie/pig lover,  Raechel).

The sacral chakra is a pretty important point of energy flow for my prenatal yoga ladies – obviously, they are busy creating new life within, and need a little work on balancing.  Whether you have experienced it or not, let me tell you – pregnancy makes you feel more than a little loopy at times.  Yes, we tend to blame hormones a lot, and I agree – hormones can cause a lot of crazy-lady syndrome, but I truly believe that it is the increased creative energy within a women’s sacral chakra during pregnancy that causes a lot of the emotionally “off-balance” feelings that one tends to get.  You’re not just dealing with your own self – you are a vessel for the creation of a whole new life force within you – no wonder there are occasions of extreme overwhelm during pregnancy!

Anyway, what I love about focusing on the sacral chakra is it’s ultimate lesson – to let go.  Pregnancy is a time of uncertainty, anxiety, overwhelm, excitement, nerves – extreme highs and extreme lows. “Is my baby OK?”  ”Will it hurt?” “How will I cope?”  Meditating on the sacral chakra and being open to the idea of letting go of unnecessary emotions is really important to regain a bit of balance.  Fear of the unknown is wasted energy in my opinion, but such an easy fear to get sucked in by, do you agree?

From someone that suffers from anxiety (and who is NOT pregnant!) working on balancing the sacral chakra can be really beneficial – ever wonder why we feel fear and anxiety in the gut?  I can’t stand that sick feeling in my stomach when I am upset or anxious.  I tend to get worked up over things that haven’t even happened yet – fear of the unknown – so learning to let go is a really important lesson for me.  I like to envision a warm, amber coloured light (the colour of the sacral chakra) starting from just under my belly button, slowly spreading through my entire body.  Deep yogic-breathing (long exhalations in & out of the nose) while doing so really helps me work towards a feeling of calm.

Although I started focusing on the sacral chakra for the benefit of my yoga students, I think I needed to work on balancing myself.  That’s the true beauty of the awareness that yoga inspires – being aware of ones’ body AND mind, and working on balancing the two – yoga teaches me SO much, even when my motivation is to teach others.

There are even different foods and spices that can fuel and help balance the chakras.  Sweet  mangoes, oranges, passion fruit, almonds, walnuts, sesame  seeds, cinnamon, vanilla & paprika are all foods of the sacral area.  I got a bit inspired by all the chakra-meditating after a yoga session today, and made my kind of chakra-smoothie….appropriately for the topic at hand, I have an abundance of beautiful passion fruit at my disposal. “Chakra-Fuel,” or not, that is still undecided – but I sure felt happy after this smoothie, which is a a good result in my book.

Summer Chakra Smoothie

(Vegan, gluten/wheat/dairy/refined sugar free)

• 4 passion fruit 
• Handfull of ice cubes
• 2T almond butter
• 1/2 a whole vanilla pod (or 2t pure vanilla extract) – I don’t bother scraping out the seeds, as the pod itself has a TON of flavour.
• 2C coconut milk (or almond if you prefer)
• 3 large (pitted) medjool dates

1. Whizz all ingredients together in a blender until smooth.
2. Serves 2.

I’ve also started a new Face Book page for my yoga…. check out Fern Yoga & Holistic Birth Services if that kind of thing floats your boat.