During my last yoga lesson we took a look at the Chakras. The Chakras have always intrigued me but I only had a vague knowledge of them before. Studying them appeals greatly to someone like me who likes structure, symbolism, and colour. So recently my yoga practice has been focused on the Chakras. I began at the bottom with the Root Chakra, Muladhara. This Chakra is about basic needs, security, and the survival instinct. Its colour is red. During the period I worked on this Chakra, I thought it would be fun to decorate my meditation altar to externalize the Muladhara Chakra. I used a red candle of course, but I also made some red and gold origami stars. In addition to being red, they seemed like little platforms, or foundations, which also echoed the characteristics of the Root Chakra.
I plan to continue this trend. In fact I have already begun working with the second Chakra and will be posting about that soon. Because yoga and creativity are both cornerstones of my life, I like to take any chance I have to intertwine them. The psychology of our bodies and minds finds its expression through art. Why else would each Chakra be represented by a physical symbol? (Muladhara's is a golden square). Carl Jung recognized the benefits of expressing our internal experiences through artistic expression, both on an individual and collective scale. For the individual Jung called this process Active Imagination. Today it is more popularly referred to as art therapy. I figure, why not incorporate yoga here?
My origami stars are certainly not "art". But they are a physical representation of an abstract idea. This unique human talent allows us to be midwives of expression. It's quite an honour, if you think about it.
I plan to continue this trend. In fact I have already begun working with the second Chakra and will be posting about that soon. Because yoga and creativity are both cornerstones of my life, I like to take any chance I have to intertwine them. The psychology of our bodies and minds finds its expression through art. Why else would each Chakra be represented by a physical symbol? (Muladhara's is a golden square). Carl Jung recognized the benefits of expressing our internal experiences through artistic expression, both on an individual and collective scale. For the individual Jung called this process Active Imagination. Today it is more popularly referred to as art therapy. I figure, why not incorporate yoga here?
My origami stars are certainly not "art". But they are a physical representation of an abstract idea. This unique human talent allows us to be midwives of expression. It's quite an honour, if you think about it.
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