Tuesday 4th August, Tanaya Ti’en from Mind Body Collective rejoins us at Myall for 1 hour of yogic power at 1pm for her Rock Your Chakras Flow, a 7-week series. We asked Tanaya to share a few words with us about her Rock Your Chakras, Roll Your Yamas class series and card deck (the card deck of which is available at all good bookstores and also right here at the Myall studio!!), and we were lucky enough to get this wee snippet from her upcoming book on the Yamas, Niyamas and the correlating chakras…

“Since the dawn of humankind, a profound system of subtle energy has shaped the life force within us, and coloured our experience of the world around. In 1500 BCE or thereabouts, in ancient Indian texts known as The Vedas, this intricate energy network within the human body was documented, and coined the Chakras; Sanskrit for wheel or vortex. Offering a detailed map of how the mind, body and spirit connect, the Chakras can be thought of as our spiritual nervous system. The further we delve into this metaphysical framework, the more we can start to comprehend the immense power and relevance of the subtle and intangible.

Chakras are both transmitters and receivers of energy. In discovering and working with the mechanics of the chakras, we can tap into our most subtle self and guide our mindset, bodies, and lives in the direction of wellbeing. Opening and balancing these vortices of vital life-force allows us to move into higher states of consciousness and ultimately, into the awareness of the highest self…

My work over the past two decades has been centred around the mind-body connection, and the mind’s role in illness, wellness, dis-ease, and the healing process. Understanding the energetic body and its connection with the tangible self, provides us with powerful insights into self-healing. As we get to know the seven chakras and what each one represents – Muladhara (the root/red/earth), Svadhisthana (sacral/orange/water), Manipura (solar plexus/yellow/fire), Anahata (the heart/green/air), Vishuddha (the throat/turquoise/ether/sound), Ajna (third-eye/indigo/ether/light), Sahasrara (the crown/violet/ether/consciousness) – we can begin to understand, down to the most microcosmic detail, the inner and outer workings of our nature. And, in turn, more light is shed on the effect our nature has on everything that is unfolding around us.

In the Rock Your Chakras, Roll Your Yamas class series and card deck, we dive deep into the Yamas and Niyamas, and explore how these age-old yogic virtues express in the body. The more work we do with the yamas & niyamas, both on and off our mats, the more we can start to experience a correlation each one has with the chakras; where each one sits in the body, at the most subtle level. Our on-the-mat practice takes on a whole new dimension of possibilities the more we apply these principles to the postures. The postures begin to make more sense.

But don’t take my word for it… as Swami Vivekananda – one of the great yogis of the 19th century – said, “It is wrong to believe blindly. You must exercise your own reason and judgment; you must practice, and see whether these things happen or not. Just as you would take up any other science.”