Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

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Posts Tagged ‘fourth chakra’

Heart Chakra Associations

Posted by terrepruitt on November 15, 2011

Yesterday after my Nia class I was looking for something to post about today.  I often look at my blog to see how many articles I have posted in each category.  I am sort of surprised that my “Misc” is surpassing my “Nia”, but I bet a lot of the post categorized under Misc mention Nia in some way.  I noticed Chakra only has two post and I know I said I was going to post more on that so I googled Chakra and lungs.  I have been sensing my lungs lately.  If you’ve read my blog for a bit you might know that I think that most of the time we don’t sense our body parts.  We don’t think about them and we don’t sense them.  When we sense them is it usually because something is up.  I don’t think about my back until it hurts.  I never sense my elbow until it is sore.  My toes are pretty much on their own until I hurt one.  So that is what I mean.  You don’t think about your heart or your lungs unless they are bothering you.  I don’t always like to assign the word PAIN to a sensation because it is not always pain.  I could just be an itch or a discomfort, either way, I am sensing them.  So I did a Chakra lung search.  I don’t know why I was surprised.  The chakra that affects the lungs is the heart chakra.

The heart chakra is the fourth chakra.  It located in the middle of your chest.  The color associated with it is green.  In the body the associations to the heart chakra are the heart, the circulatory system, the entire chest area, lungs, breasts, the diaphragm, the thymus gland, the immune system, and some say the endocrine system. One website states:  “Possible Physical Symptoms: Heart Issues, Lung & Breathing Problems, Upper Back Pain, Breast Cancer, Compromised Immune System, Blood Diseases.”

The fourth chakra is where feelings and emotions of love originate.   Joy, honesty, happiness, generosity, compassion, respect, and understanding are associated with the heart chakra.

The heart chakra is affected by grief.  I was just thinking that my itchy lungs could be a result of a less than happy heart chakra.  I was reminded by this one site that the middle of the chest would be right behind the sternum.  The sternum and rib cage protect the actual heart and organs.  This information made me lean even more towards those thoughts.

Several sites stated an exercise that could be performed to help balance the heart chakra is to vigorously rub your hands together.  This opens the energy in the hands which are connected to the heart’s energy.

So interesting.  I still do not understand all the energies in the body and in the world, but I see how it can all be connected and how sometimes certain energies can become block or unbalanced.  It amazes me to see how it all connects.  But if you believe that it DOES all connect, then it might be that you can understand how a sad heart could have itchy lungs.

Have a day full of light!

Posted in Chakras | Tagged: , , , , , , | 12 Comments »

The Fourth Chakra

Posted by terrepruitt on February 17, 2011

The focuses of my Nia classes this week were connected to love.  Since is was Valentine’s Day this week.  Monday’s Nia class the focus was Love with the intent of allowing what was needed.  Whether it was to give love to the community, the world, or oneself or to receive love from the community, the world, or for oneself.  The playlist was LOVEly.  Wednesday the focus was peace.  With somewhat the same intent but with the addition of the peace inviting in calm.  The playlist was the same . . . love, kisses, and hearts.  Tomorrow’s class in Los Gatos the focus will be the fourth chakra, the heart chakra.

The routine I’ve put together allows for the many opportunities to move the upper back, chest and the ribs.  Our intent will be move the physical area where the heart chakra is located in order to open the heart chakra.  Opening this chakra invites feelings of joy.  Joy shares company with calm.  With joy and calmness as companions additional positive feelings, sensations, and states of being are experienced such as compassion, prosperity, and abundance.  This also allows for connections to peace and harmony.

Also with moving our heart chakra we are enhancing our circulation.  Concentration and focus is a powerful tool.  While we might move our upper back, chest, and ribs it will undoubtedly affect our circulation but with the additional focus on the fourth chakra we can bring extra attention to it.  Bringing whatever healing to our heart chakra that might be needed.  This will round out the week of love quite well, I believe.

Posted in Chakras, Nia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Same ol’ Nia Routine – NOT!

Posted by terrepruitt on February 23, 2010

When we do a Nia routine we set a focus and an intent.  In my classes I set a class focus and intent but participants are always welcome to set their own.  To focus on whatever they need at that moment.  I am not sure if I have mentioned it before on my blog, but a focus and an intent can greatly alter the Nia routine.  Recently I subbed a Nia class for another Nia teacher, in a different part of San Jose.  I had planned and practiced the routine I wanted to teach.  I had a feeling that the teacher had taught it because it is a new routine and a lot of teachers tend to start teaching those right away.  When I arrived I announced to the class that I would be teaching Sexi.  A few of the women, voiced some concerns.  They mentioned that their shoulders hurt.  They said that it was the routine that made their shoulders hurt. 

Well, there is so much to be said about that.  Nia is designed specifically NOT to hurt.  So it could be that their shoulders had been pushed too hard, but not by the routine.  🙂  It could be that their shoulders weren’t injured but were just sore.  Sometimes soreness, because it is a form of “pain”, is perceived as pain that one needs to be concerned about because there is an injury instead of just the “pain” that comes with moving a body part that has not been moved in a long time or has been moved in a way it is not accustomed to.  And that is just a FEW things that can be said.  At the beginning of a class where there is other classes that follow and a group of people to be attended it is not always possible to give each individual personal attention required—as they would get from a personal training session.  So what I suggested was for them to NOT move so vigorously. 

Before we started, I gave them the option of changing the routine.  I would have gladly done a different Nia routine in order for them to have a good time in their workout and to not be doing a routine they were tired of or a routine they felt injured them. But they said that it was ok, I could do Sexi.  And I was so happy, because I knew it would be different.  I advised them that even though we were going to do the same routine, we were going to use a different focus.

The original focus of Sexi is the spine.  When the spine is mentioned one thing people might think of is the back.  Even though this routine employs many movements to move the spine, with the focus being the spine one might be thinking “back”. 

Well, I changed the focus to the front.  The focus I set forth was actually the Fourth Chakra, the Heart Chakra. And I read out of the Nia Technique Book, as Debbie Rosas is always encouraging us to do.  The book states that this energy center is affected most by the motions of your rib cage and chest.  With that information it moved the physical focus to the front.

So we danced Sexi.  We danced Sexi sexy.  Oh yeah.  With our focus being the heart chakra and the intention being to allow a connection with love, compassion, joy, and sorrow–we danced.

While we danced I reminded the group to be aware of their shoulders and to try NOT to move them in the way that caused the pain.  Afterwards, the ones that had voiced concerns said they were glad that we did it.  They were able to do the same routine, but change the focus and therefore changing the routine.  I love that about Nia.  Because the focus is different the same routine is different.  Because I am different the routine is different.  Because the moves are basically the same, but the focus is different they were able to get an entirely different workout.  Just another wonderful aspect of Nia.

Posted in Nia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »