Longing For More Space in Your Life? Tune Into the Space Element
We all need to feel spaciousness in our lives, but with the efficiency and production oriented culture we live in it can be hard to find moments of subtlety and emptiness. Akasha, the element of space can provide help with it’s inherent clear, soft and unbounded nature. In it’s lack of dimension and structure, freedom, playfulness and expansion are more present. The 5 elements, called Mahabhutas in sanskrit and pali languages, are the colors that the Grand Artist paints with. Out of all of the elements, space is the most voluminous, all-pervading and immeasurable.
This voluminous, immeasurable and all-pervading essence of akasha makes it the element of our bliss body, the Anandamaya kosha. This is the closest dimension of us to our true identity, which is unbounded and free. To move closer to your essential self, and a sense of spaciousness in your life, use subtle meditations on non-duality and impermanence. We can also practice being present to this part of ourselves with laughter and acts of compassion. A daily practice of Metta meditation, using words, images, and feelings to evoke loving-kindness and friendliness toward oneself and others is a beautiful way to do find more compassion. Here is a metta meditation you can follow along with.
The throat chakra, Vishuddha, is the most connected to space, since sound, vibration and communication are only possible inside space. This is even true whether the communication is verbal or non-verbal, external or internal. Vishuddha is all about our desire to speak and hear the truth and for the ability to be self-expressed. It this chakras is over active you may be acting willful and controlling; being judgmental and speaking hurtfully. If it is deficient you may feel a lack of faith, and an inability to creatively and honestly express yourself.
Vata is the dosha of space. People who are vata dominant are known to be spacey and ungrounded compared to the people of other doshas. They are also more sensitive to subtle energies, spiritually inclined and have strong communication skills. Gentle exercise, like yoga, is a great way to balance an unbalanced vata dosha.
Embody Balance
Prone Spinal Twist (Jathara Parivartanasana) - Jathara = stomach; Parivartana = turning
Lay flat on your back with your feet on the floor. Bend the knees into the chest. Breath into the back body allowing it to be broad and soft into the earth. Drop the shoulders towards the floor.
Lengthen the legs straight up toward the sky. Stretch both arms out onto thefloor shoulders height in a T position.
Exhaling, bring both legs together down to one side. Move the toes towards the fingers. Allow the entire leg to rest on the floor.
After the legs are resting on the floor move the abdomen away from the direction of the legs. Keep the length in the legs by stretching through the balls of the feet and the inner and outer heels. Do not lock the knees.
Exhale and release the shoulders towards the floor further. Breath into the twist from the low back out the crown of the head. Drop the head away from the direction of the legs. The gaze follows the placement of the head.
Bridge Pose with a block (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) - Setu = a bridge; Bandha = bound: a pose where parts of the body are regulated and controlled; Sarvanga = the whole body
This is a great posture for clearing the mind and centering the body. It supports the observation of the in-breath. It is a nice way to prepare for inversions, especially shoulder stand.
Lay with the back flat on the floor and the legs long onto the floor. The arms are along side the body. Walk the feet toward the sit bones, hips width apart. Lift the pelvis upward, creating a diagonal line from the shoulders to the knees.
Place a block under your pelvis, on the sacrum, at a comfortable height and rest your body weight down unto the block. Rest the back.
Soften and broaden the shoulders and neck. Roll the shoulder blades down the back, opening the chest. Relax the back.
Allow the thighs to roll towards each other slightly to open the sacral area. Lengthen trough the tailbone. Ground the feet into the earth. Soften the face. Observe the breath moving through the body.
Breathe Balance
Nadi Sodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing)
Nadis are energy pathways in our bodies. The main one runs through the central channel of our body weaving around the chakras. The nadis of Ida and Pingala move up the spine along the sides of the central nadi called the Sushumna. Ida is feminine, lunar, cooling, and relaxing. Pingala is masculine, solar, warming and stimulating. Typically prana will be more actively flowing through one or the other nadi, and this can be determined by noticing what nostril is allowing more breath flow through it. Ideally, the nadis are in balance with an equal amount of prana moving through both. Using Alternate Nostril Breathing can assist in finding this balance.
For more on the elements check out my other articles: Water, Air, Fire, Earth