24-25 Oct: connecting chakras to postures - the half moon pose

the last weekend workshop for '09 before spring '10 covers the anatomy of the 7 major energy centers and Ardha chandrasana.

the 7 major Chakras, as described in my last entry, are energy centers along the spine located at major branchings of the human nervous system, beginning at the base of the spinal column and moving upward to the top of the skull. Chakras are considered to be a point of biophysical energy or prana of the human body. the following seven primary chakras are commonly described:

Muladhara (Sanskrit: मूलाधार, Mūlādhāra) Base or Root Chakra (last bone in spinal cord 'coccyx')
Swadhisthana (Sanskrit: स्वाधिष्ठान, Svādhiṣṭhāna) Sacral Chakra (ovaries/prostate)
Manipura (Sanskrit: मणिपूर, Maṇipūra) Solar Plexus Chakra (navel area)
Anahata (Sanskrit: अनाहत, Anāhata) Heart Chakra (heart area)
Vishuddha (Sanskrit: विशुद्ध, Viśuddha) Throat Chakra (throat and neck area)
Ajna (Sanskrit: आज्ञा, Ājñā) Brow or Third Eye Chakra (pineal gland or third eye)
Sahasrara (Sanskrit: सहस्रार, Sahasrāra) Crown Chakra (top of the head; 'soft spot' of a newborn)

during the sunday workshop, we focused on teaching, correcting and cueing the Ardha chandrasana posture which turned out to be a fitting choice following our discussion of the 7 chakras the evening before.

Ardha chandrasana challenges the alignment of all 7 energy centers whilst working on a frontal plane and is also known as the Half Moon Pose.  The Yoga Journal notes that  "The moon has a rich symbolic significance in yoga mythology. In hatha yoga, for example, the sun and the moon represent the two polar energies of the human body. "  for me, this corresponds with the posture's representation of the 7 major chakras which run along the human body from one polar energy center to the other.