First chakra/meridian questions

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam Gian Kaur!

 

> As a KY teacher, I use a bladder-kidney meridian kriya to wake up

>the first chakra. I use a meridian approach because Chinese

>medicine is my background through Shiatsu and herbs. I have no idea

>if my approach is "Kosher."

>

> In , the Kidney and Bladder are the "lower"

>meridians along with the large intestines. Bladder is strongly

>located on the sacrum and along the sides of the backbone. going up

>and over the head (with another meridian in the center of the line

>that goes up the head from the backbone).

> I also associate large intestines with the downward motion of the

>bladder meridian and with the lower back pain that is typical of

>first chakra problems. (The Chinese don't talk about the grounded

>sense of being that goes with the Indian first Chakra, rather purity

>is the issue with bladder and getting rid of wasted energy is the

>issue with the large intestines.)

>

> Do you think all of this is confusing the sense of the first

>chakra? The

 

I don't truly feel qualifed to comment on the Chinese medicine

aspects of your questions, except to say that meridians are what yoga

refers to as nadis, or pathways for prana. They may be related to

chakras, but it seems clear to me that there is more to chakras and

the development and balancing of them than working on nadis/meridians

might imply, so I do think that this approach might confuse the

sense of the first chakra.

 

For one thing, I'll note that the bladder is associated with the 2nd

chakra, kidneys are associated with the 3rd chakra, and large

intestines with the 1st, so it sounds as if this approach is working

on the whole lower triangle. Which is great, but perhaps not as

focused as you were trying for.

 

> kidney and small intestine meridians (not necessarily the organs)

>feel closer to the second chakra energy along with the sex organs.

>So, it is a bit confusing to use a bladder kidney kriya. But when I

>am teaching, students don't analyze, they feel. Clearly

>differentiating between first and second chakra does not arise as a

>question.

>

> From Gurrattan Kaur's response, I was not sure which meditation

>would be appropriate. I personally have an off balance first chakra

>that is strong enough. I know this because the right side of my

>body is strong. I exhibit left brained behavior: I am a circular,

>wholistic thinker. The left side of my body hurts and is weaker,

>gets injured etc. I presume the nerves cross at the brain).

 

Yes, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body,

but left-brained thinking is typically logic/rational/male, while

right-brain thinking is typically holistic and pattern oriented

(female), and in any case I'm not sure I see how this relates to the

first chakra.

 

> Can pranayama serve as a meditation? I know Sodarshan Chakra

 

Actually, Sodarshan Chakra Kriya is to open and balance all the

chakras, not just the lower triangle.

 

There is a series of meditations designed for each chakra, so you can

focus directly on each one. This series can be found in the

Teacher's Guide, as well as the books "Physical Wisdom"

and "Meditation as Medicine". If you don't have one of these, let me

know and I'll post the 1st chakra meditation.

 

There are many meditations which are pranayam-oriented, but typically

also include asana, mudra, drishti, etc. - that is, there is

typically more to a meditation than just pranayama.

 

> I need to get Gururattan's book and maybe need to stay within a more

> narrowly defined limits so I don't confuse other people in the

>group. I'll get the other book in New Mexico. Please give me

>guidance, if my response is inappropriate. I feel it is, but these

>are my real questions.

 

Certainly when teaching KY we are (very strongly) encouraged to work

within the purity of the system as it has been given to us. This is

to help maintain the purity of the system, as well as avoid confusion

in students who might be moving between teachers, maintain a common

base of understanding, etc.

 

There are people who work to integrate other teachings with KY (such

as Gurnam and the Kabbalah), thereby strengthening our understanding

of both systems. Surely, given the strong correlation of (at least

some of) the aspects of the two systems, this would be an area ripe

for integration. Perhaps you, Gian Kaur, will be the one to create

this integration...

 

Much love & many blessings,

Sadhant