When I first heard the Zen proverb, “May you learn to live like the lotus, at home in the muddy water”, I equated it to being content with where you are planted, facing your challenges and endeavoring to ascend.
Since my revisit to the land of the chakras and, specifically, the muladhara or root chakra, I can bring additional meaning to this phrase.
Although each chakra is symbolized as a lotus flower, I like to visualize the entire spine as a lotus plant. Anchored deep in the nutrient-filled waters, with its base at the root or pelvis, the flexible stem runs upwards, providing nourishment all along the way until it terminates with its glorious flower – the crown at the top of the head.
We have looked at the properties of the first two chakras (the root and the pelvis) and discovered how important it is to balance at these grounding levels for a healthy body, mind and spirit. In other words, we have found that we must learn to live in the mud – receiving and emitting prana at the deepest level – in order for our lotus flower to thrive.
So, are you at home in the muddy water?
This week begins our focus on the Chakras – the vortexes of energy that vibrate within our subtle bodies. For those of us that live in Sedona, a vortex is commonplace. Energy swirls around us everywhere we go! The subtle or pranic body, however, has its own system of vortexes to contend with. As yogis, we strive to balance these internal energies by doing yoga, meditation and pranayama.
Chakras are wheels or rings of energy connected to specific areas of the body. Although they are usually depicted as colored circles that line up along an image of the spine, chakras are not physiologically evident. Instead, they are part of a complex known as the subtle body. Along with the nadis (which we will revisit later in the week), chakras are pathways for the pranic energy that is carried within the body.