Teacher Training
Tonight’s 5:30 Hot Power Fusion By Candlelight class with Jill was a special HPF class. In addition to practicing the HPF sequence by candlelight, we also did some chakra balancing. I didn’t know much about chakras, let alone had ever done anything with them in a yoga class before so I really wanted to check this class out. I had a vague idea what chakras were and was super interested in learning more about them.
It was pouring down rain on my way to class tonight and there was so much traffic. I had left my office in plenty of time to get to the studio, but with all of the excessive traffic, I worried if I would make it to class on time. As I sat in the traffic, I kept telling myself to breathe. Deep breaths in and deep breaths out. I was on my way to yoga so I figured this would be a great way to prepare myself for class.
I ended up making it to the studio with five minutes to spare before class started. There was one space left open in the front row, front, right-hand corner. It was a nice and dark spot so I snagged it. The room felt a bit warmer than usual, but that could have been because I was on the opposite side of the room as the studio door.
So what are chakras? Chakras are subtle energy centers located along the spine where energy flows through. They affect our emotional and physical health, as well as our behavior through their connection with the body’s endocrine glands and lymphatic system. There are seven chakras throughout the body:
- Root Chakra (red) located at the base of the spine, in the tailbone area
- Sacral Chakra (orange) located in the lower abdomen, two inches below the navel and two inches inside
- Solar Plexus Chakra (yellow) located in the upper abdomen, in the stomach area
- Heart Chakra (green) located in the center of the chest, just above the heart
- Throat Chakra (turquoise blue) located in the throat
- Third Eye Chakra (royal blue) located in the forehead, between the eyes
- Crown Chakra (violet) located at the very top of the head
During class, we still practiced the same Hot Power Fusion sequence, but Jill walked us through each of the chakras during class, starting with the Root Chakra. Each time Jill introduced a chakra, she told us to close our eyes and visualize the color of the chakra as she described what the chakra represented and how it affected our life, either emotionally or physically or both.
My favorite chakra was the Solar Plexus Chakra. We visualized the color yellow for this one. It’s located in the upper abdomen, in the stomach area. The reason why I loved this chakra so much was because Jill said this is where all of our power comes from. If we ever wondered where all of the energy to manifest and pursue our dreams came from, this was the place. I wanted to tap into this chakra as much as possible because right now, I’m right smack in the middle of manifesting a long time dream of mine – to teach yoga and to incorporate yoga with my favorite sports like snowboarding, wakeboarding and hiking. This chakra happened to come up during the core portion of class tonight. It’s funny because core is usually my least favorite part of class, but I also need this part of class the most. My core is so weak! Tonight during the core workout, I truly gave it all I had and I saw a lot of yellow while doing it. I ended up getting a boost of energy that I was able to carry with me for the rest of class.
The music in class tonight was very different than what I’ve heard in any of the Hot Power Fusion classes I’ve taken at CorePower Yoga so far. I heard some light drums and sitar floating in the background. It was very mellow. I don’t even think any of the songs had lyrics. I thought the music fit the theme of class perfectly. The music definitely helped set the mood for learning about chakras while doing hot yoga by candlelight.
We ended class with three rounds of Oms. An Om is the sound you make when you release a deep and long breath of air from the body. It’s a little weird, but surprisingly was a nice release. We all got a laugh at the very end of class when Jill announced that this would probably be the only HPF class we’d ever Om in.
Class #8, Chakra Balancing Hot Power Fusion by Candlelight at CorePower Yoga Greenwood with Jill (HPF-6)