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Stop Apologizing! · Divas That Care Network

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: It's Divas that Care Radio Stories, strategies and ideas to inspire positive change.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Divas that Care, a network of women committed to making our world a better place for everyone.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: This is a global movement for women, by women engaged in a collaborative effort to create a better world for future generations.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: To find out more about the movement, visit divasthatcarecom.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: After the show.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Right now, though, stay tuned for another jolt of inspiration.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Namaste and welcome to the Divas that Care Network.
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: I'm your host, gia Raquel Rose, owner of Heirs Above Yoga, and you're listening to Above the Ground podcast, if this is your first time.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: Tuning in our network is going into its 15th year and is listened to in over 30 countries.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: I would like to personally thank you for giving me the gift of your time.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: As always, it is my honor to hold space with you and as we move into a new sequence, we are going to be talking about ways to empower yourself, really kind of diving deep into the feminine energy and specifically that empowering energy right, getting fired up it's summer, at least where I am right now it's hot, right and we are going to dive into I can't call it my favorite because I say everything is my favorite we're going to dive into Manipura, the solar plexus chakra.
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: For this sequence, and the reason that we're doing that is a few fold, the first of which is, if you didn't know this, because I don't know if I've actually delved into it, but it's kind of fun.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: If you were ever into, you know, quizzes in magazines.
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: Back in the day, when magazines were a thing, tangible ones, like when I was growing up, there was always like Cosmo quizzes, and you know just super fun ways to spend time, you know, on the beach, on vacation, wherever you might find time for yourself with a group of girlfriends.
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: Taking quizzes was always part of my socialization growing up.
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: Now that I am a little bit older, I am getting into the spiritual side of them.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: And as I talk about the chakras all the time in the chakra system and how they come into play for just different aspects of your life, your purpose, your well being, little, little known fact that you actually have a primary chakra and even a secondary chakra to your, your personality, to you know, your blueprint, your soul print, if you will, when you enter into this incarnation.
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: And so there are different ways.
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: There are tons of, like I said, quizzes online for you to kind of figure that out for yourself, and I encourage you to do so, right, like with your girlfriends, or just on your own, or or your guy friends, right?
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: No gender, no judgment, whomever, everyone has it.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: It's not for women specifically, uh, but I am going to talk about a little bit of the more female empowerment vibe for myself, who does identify as such, um, and also because I happen to be a primary solar plexus, third chakra, chakra type.
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: So those are typically that is, your power center.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: So those are the kind of goal oriented type A achievers, if you will.
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: So definitely someone who's always striving, kind of always pushing, always for the next thing, which can tend to lead to burnout.
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: Or for me, definitely, definitely I am guilty of overcommitment, for sure I am a yes, I can make that happen, yes, I can get that done kind of person, and I will.
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: I will put the blame for that right directly on my solar plexus chakra.
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: But basically we're going to talk about asanas to to fuel your inner fire, to get that, that, that flame stoked, and to, you know, kind of empower yourselves and do that from the literal center of your core.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: That is where the chakra is placed.
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: So when we talk about again I will go over this, I've gone over before but I think every time we talk about our different chakras, it's always good to do a quick overview so that people that may not have listened to previous episodes still have some sort of realm of what we're speaking about.
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: So chakra system traditionally I'm going to say traditionally there are seven, going from the root of your spine up through the crown of your head.
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: They are essentially the colors of the rainbow and they begin with the root chakra, which is basically at the base of the spine, the base of the pelvic bowl, and it is the color red.
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: Up from there is your sacral chakra, and that is the color color orange and that sits just below the belly button, at the well.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: For women it sits right at the seat of creation right, and for men to a certain extent as well, but it sits, you know, at that sacral area just above the root chakra.
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: Above that case in point, is our solar plexus chakra and that is the color yellow, so red orange, then yellow.
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: Moving up from there, we have our heart chakra, as I like to call the bridge between the lower embodiment chakras that really truly sit in the body, body, and then, as we move up, as I talked about last time, we start to work into the upper chakra systems, which are the throat, which is like a blue color, but you know, we start to move up through the different shades right.
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: So it's a little bit more of a someone says turquoise, but a lighter blue just generally associated with it, because above that is the sixth chakra, that is your third eye chakra, and that is more of an indigo.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: It's a darker blue, it's a deeper, richer blue and above that, obviously, is your crown chakra.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: It's above the head, it is.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: It is what I would call and, as I did last time, last sequence, I called it our kind of our above chakra, where it doesn't necessarily have an exact physical point, and that is our connection with source divine.
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: Whatever you'd like to.
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: However you'd like to phrase it, that particular chakra is usually associated with a violet, sometimes a white, even sometimes gold.
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: But that's the general theme, so that you have an idea, and I will dive into them individually or put them together as we move through our different sequences.
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: But for at least now you have some sort of thesis of relation for why we're talking about the solar plexus chakra and each chakra, as mentioned, is responsible for a certain aspect right, the divine intuition, your speech, your communication, your, sometimes you can even say you know your defense of yourself comes from the throat chakra.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: Hopefully we don't need to defend, but you know there are a lot of.
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: Their throat chakra turns out to be a rather important one.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: I'm going to save that for another time, but it is a very important one Overall for your communication and for you know your sense of self, the heart chakra.
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: Obviously I feel like it doesn't really need too much, too much diving in, because we all know the heart is our, our seat, where we, where we love from, where we receive love from our solar plexus chakra, against that power center.
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: So that's where we're going to fire ourselves up and if it's weakened, that's where our literal sense of self can feel out of balance.
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: We may not feel as strong, we may not feel as powerful, we may feel subdued, we may feel contained.
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: You know, an unbalanced or out of alignment Solar plexus chakra can really have some I'm going to use the word ego, but not in a negative way some effects on on the ego, on the it, if you will.
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: And then below that we have our sacral, that's our seat of creativity, and again, our root, which is our seat of safety.
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: The I am right, the I am is at the root chakra.
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: I belong, I am safe that those are some things that go in alignment with that.
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: But again, now that we have some kind of area from which to derive information, we have some relational idea.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: We're going to delve into the solar plexus chakra.
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: So it is the color yellow.
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: So, as I've said in the past, there are ways to support our chakras, whether it be through food, whether it be through crystal use, whether it be through Bach floral ess, it be through crystal use, whether it be through Bach floral essences tons of different ways.
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: It can be through scents, it can be through aromatherapies.
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: So there's so many different ways to support your chakras.
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: You can deep dive into any of them and again, like I said, taking a chakra quiz, I will tell you, I will share with you how I, how I was able to define my chakra.
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: You can create, and you can create kind of a chakra wheel if you will, and allow a pendulum and your own energy, if it's cleansed and purified, can show you.
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: That's one, one lovely way to kind of have fun with your friends and try that out.
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: And you can just kind of write the chakras and allow, even if you, whether you say one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, use the colors, put them in a circle and allow the pendulum to go back and forth.
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: That's one way that you can do it.
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: Otherwise, I encourage you to deep dive onto the interwebs so that you can find out which chakra type you most strongly align with and then, potentially what your secondary chakra type is.
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: Generally, um, kind of like astrology, you have your sun sign, your moon sign and your rising sign.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: With your chakras you have kind of a a top tier, the ones that are, uh, most in alignment for you.
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: Now, to that end also, the chakras kind of mirror each other, so they are connected with the heart being again at the bridge.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: So your crown chakra is related to your root chakra.
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: Your third crown chakra is related to your root chakra.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: Your third eye chakra is related to your center of creativity, intuition and creativity.
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: And your throat chakra, as I mentioned, is related to your solar plexus chakra.
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: So that's why, when we talk about, they're all interconnected, right, everything is in balance and alignment.
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: If one chakra is out or out of alignment, or overcharged or undercharged and I use that word, I use the word charged to say that you can have overdeveloped chakras, you can have imbalances and one can be kind of aggressive and taking energy from the one near it.
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: That's just one, one option.
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: It can just be underdeveloped, there can be energy not flowing properly.
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: So it's always good.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: Yoga is a wonderful way to bring balance and alignment to your chakras and I highly, highly encourage you to have a practice that kind of incorporates different postures to support each chakra, so that we are constantly re bringing ourselves back into balance because it doesn't matter, you can have a bad day, you can have, you can wake up wrong, you can have an injury, you can.
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: You know, anything can throw you out of balance and that doesn't mean it's like the end game for you, it's just something to be mindful of and something to be aware of.
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: And a physical manifestation of that in the lower chakras, even even in the upper as well, like headaches are, you know, fairly case in point, directly related, can be directly related to the upper chakras, right, if there, if there are physical symptoms that are they're coming up in your body, it can be a direct relation to a chakra imbalance.
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: Or even the inverse is true, where the potential chakra imbalance or the potential injury can affect the chakra.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: The chakra can kind of contribute to the body screaming for help.
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: Overall and comprehensive view of your wellness.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: I encourage you to do so because I do think that they play a massively important role in overall wellness and well-being.
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: And so, when we're talking about the relation between the solar plexus chakra and the throat chakra, again think of your truest sense of self.
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: They are the centers, they are above and below the bridge of your heart, they are your solar plexus, kind of is that seat of fire, but the throat is the seat of expression of it, right?
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: So when we're talking about empowerment, we're talking about feeling strong, and not coming from a space of control, not coming from a space of influence, but coming from a space of certainty, coming from a space of self-awareness, coming from a space of the ability to feel strong, safe, good and big, but in a good way.
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: Make yourself bigger, take up space, right.
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: That's what we're always saying to our females, to our girls.
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: I remember being I'm going to share a brief little anecdote.
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: I was at a grocery store and the girl behind the checkout counter had dragonfly earrings and I've always said, and I always will say, the dragonflies are my tiny little spirit guides and when I see them out and about in the world, I believe that I am on the right path.
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: And that's just me sharing a little, a little tidbit about me.
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: But when I saw her behind the counter, she, she, I think she was saying that she kept apologizing, and I just looked at her and I said you don't need to apologize to me.
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: Please don't apologize to me, stop apologizing.
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: I said you didn't do anything wrong, you did nothing to apologize for.
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: I was like, just take up the space, take up the space, just, you're all right, it's okay, it's okay.
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: And she looked at me and she kind of half smiled.
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: And there was a woman behind her and she looked at me and she smiled and I said just just stop apologizing, stop it.
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: And I said that to another friend of mine and it's inherent, I think a lot and I'm going to say for women and as women, that we feel the need to excuse our existence like we're in the way, or that we are somehow having needs, having requirements, having boundaries, having a sense of self which, let's face it is coming from that solar plexus chakra is like an affront that we should, you know, almost like children, be seen and not heard, fit into some sort of box.
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: No, that is not a thing.
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: Okay, I think we have passed that point in our existence and I am here to share the fact that I will take up that space and I encourage you to do the same safely, right?
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: I mean, this is not trying to, you know, flex for no good reason.
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: Or you know, there's an element of the feminine receptive quality to taking up space, right?
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: It doesn't mean that it's not force, it's not masculine, and when I again, we're talking about the traditional principles of masculine and feminine, we're not talking about gender or identity and nothing like that.
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: In yoga, traditionally speaking, there is the masculine and feminine aspects, the duality of the left and right hemispheres of the body.
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: This comes into Ayurveda, this comes into yoga.
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: So please don't take any offense by this.
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: This is just the traditional way that it's been taught, right?
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: So when we're talking about our, our power center, we're talking about being strong, as in our receptive energy, as women, or being strong as men, and I will touch on the yoga asana for that as well.
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: You can be soft and strong, you can take up space and still not impose.
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: You can, you can be a vessel of receptivity and you can still hold space, take space, be space and be strong and be true to yourself and and and let that be okay and not apologize for it, and that's.
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: You know, one of the main things that I think we tend to do is we don't even do anything wrong.
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: We wind up saying, oh, I'm sorry, no, no, no, you apologize if you, you know, do something terrible, or you, you know you do something unintentional, unconscious, right, but we need to break the habit of apologizing because we, unless you really need to, unless you really really messed up or you did something, you know, pardon me is fine, if you're walking past someone, you don't need to apologize for being there.
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: Stop apologizing for being you and I'm going to leave.
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: I'm going to step off my soap box and now dive into the asana.
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: So when we're talking about again, what I love about the chakra system is it can be rather literal, so it's a little point and shoot, and what I mean by that is I will get into this on the nutrition but we can align the color of the chakra with the foods that support that chakra Solar plexus think yellow, think yellow peppers, think banana.
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: That is all I'm going to say about that right now.
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: When it comes to the physicality and the yoga asana aspects of it, think core, think core strength, think core building, think empowering, think building that fire, think building heat in the body.
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: So what I will say, as I was just talking about the receptive and cooling feminine aspect, is we are with our core, with our solar plexus chakra going to tend to fall towards a little bit more of the masculine aspect of the, of the stoking of that inner flame, of that fire, right, and the reason for that is because generating heat and building up the core is is a one of the things that, frankly, as women, we need to do very, very it's.
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: It's imperative for us, as women, to have a strong core and remember the core is your back too.
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: I love everyone always kind of thinks, thinks of the core and and they, like, visualize six pack abs in their mind.
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: Our core and I've said this for many, many years, honestly it kind of begins at our inner thighs and it goes all the way up to essentially just below our armpits, right, like just add the solar plexus.
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: That's our core and it includes your back muscles, especially for women.
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: The back muscles are huge for everyone, but for women again, I've said it before, I'll say it again we have extra weight on our front.
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: It is life-giving, supportive weight on our front, but it drags us down right.
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: So we need to strengthen even more so than men who don't have that added weight, and we're talking about our core strength in men who don't have that added weight.
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: And we're talking about our core strength.
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: We have a lot of internal organs.
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: Men have external organs.
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: So when we have those internal organs, supporting them with strength and balance key between both hemispheres, right and left of the body bringing them into balance, bringing them into unison, is only going to help support our body structure.
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: And so when we talk about our core strength, it is imperative, as women, to have this in our inherent plan for a successful well-being practice.
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: I don't care if it's yoga, it can be, pilates, it can be.
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: I mean, I don't love a sit-up but I'll take it as long as it doesn't hurt your lower back.
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: It's whatever works for you.
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: Zumba is fine, but I'm going to talk about yoga because it is what I, what I love and how I practice, and how I practice self healing and overall wellness, but I anything that resonates with you.
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: The bottom line is, as females, our bodies need extra support physically because we tend to be a little bit more receptive and we don't have necessarily the same body chemistry as male counterparts.
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: It is.
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: It is imperative for us to counterbalance our repetitive motions and our different way of hormonal changes, the way that we carry weight as we go through transitions in life.
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: It's imperative for us to maintain our strength, to maintain our body structure so that we can age as gracefully as possible and with as much strength and balance as possible, because things are going to happen and life is going to happen all around us and there's no way for us to prevent that or predict that is going to happen all around us and there's no way for us to prevent that or predict that.
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: What we can do is try to again be that very strong, very centered vessel and keep it as pristine as we possibly can for ourselves and for the people that we love in the world around us.
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: So, to that end, specific yoga asanas that are going to target that core.
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: We all know it, we all love it Boat pose.
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: Now, what I'm going to say about boat pose is it can be, if done improperly.
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: It cannot be pleasant on the lower back.
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: I will, as always, I say this and I'm behind on it, so I will be the first to chastise myself on that one.
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: I will apologize for being behind on that, because it is something that I did without intent, but that needs to be rectified Now.
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: That being said, when we're talking about boat pose, it is essentially balancing on the sits bones, which is the base of the pelvis, keeping your legs, I'm going to say, parallel to the floor, from the shin parallel to the floor, and creating a V with the torso and the legs.
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: And traditionally speaking, the legs are straight up, but a lot of times you need to work up to that.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: What happens is, as the legs straighten and lift, the people that aren't properly executing the pose will start to tilt backwards and they will wind up on their sacrum.
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: They will lose the core engagement and they will dump all of that balance air quotes for those who are listening into their lower back, which is not where we want it right.
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: Think of boat pose as having a magnet between your torso and your thighs and keeping your body as upright as you extend your legs as possible.
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: So this is a heating, challenging posture.
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: It fires the core, it fires the hip flexors and it engages the quads.
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: One of the main things to think about here is to keep the legs together.
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: So, again, as I mentioned, you don't think of your thighs when you think about your core, but it does start from keeping the thighs locked together, internally rotated, so you feel as though the inner thighs are rolling behind you and squeezing.
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: You can put a block just above your knees to help to get this sensation.
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: Squeeze it, and it's hard.
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: You, when you start to practice boat pose, you'll notice that your your knees are going to want to come away from each other and in line with your hips.
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: And if you have x, you know, maybe you have wider hips.
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: I know I do.
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: It can be different for different body types, but I will say that that is one way to kind of start to create these muscle memories in a way that supports the posture and the asana.
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: When we are talking about having that upright position, we want to not think of the core crunching and rounding, but we want to think of lengthening and balancing.
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: So the way that I like to show people how to come into it is to sit on the mat, bring your knees into your chest and wrap your arms behind your thighs.
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: You can take your hands behind your thighs and you can actually grab the backs of the thighs with the fingertips below the knees, never behind, directly behind the kneecaps, and you can help to create that internal rotation as you do so.
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: Once you do that, the trick to getting the balance aspect of this is to begin to take the toes off the floor so that they're hovering.
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: And once you have the toes off the floor, you'll notice that as you start you'll start to rock back a little bit, and you want to not do that.
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: So you want to find the place as far forward as you can before your toes hit the floor, and that's where you want to balance from.
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: And once you have that, then you can begin to extend those shins so they become parallel to the floor.
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: Once you have that, you can release the hands.
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: Now you're just a V, with a plateau of shin in alignment with the floor, and once you're comfortable there, then you can begin to extend one leg at a time and eventually get to both.
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: So Navasana Boat Pose is one of the.
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: It's a challenging one, I'm not gonna lie.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: It's not an easy one.
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: If you have lower back issues and you're working on your own, potentially without a yoga instructor, then I encourage you to do some research and be very, very mindful of your lower back.
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: Another variation for this to help you lift up out of that lower back is, instead of taking the arms traditionally straight out in alignment with the legs, parallel with the shoulders and the floor, you can lift the arms up overhead.
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: This helps to keep that line of energy tracking upwards and instead of rolling backwards and rounding through the spine, it can also if done improperly it can it can contribute to you rocking back if you don't have that kind of magnetic feeling between your torso and thighs.
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: So just different variations for you to play with.
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: The other thing you can do, as you're starting to learn, is take your feet to the wall.
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: Now I will say the one thing about this is you need to know how to balance on those sitz bones before you take the feet to the wall, because having your feet on the wall will naturally press your hips back so that you end up rolling too far past where you're supposed to be and onto your sacrum and thus losing the whole point.
• 24:38
  Speaker 2: So it's a very nuanced posture, which is why I promise that I will get a video out there so that you guys can see it.
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: In addition to that, when we think about our core, we're coming from that fiery aspect, right?
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: So we're talking about that, that sun sal about our core.
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: We're coming from that fiery aspect, right?
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: So we're talking about that sun salutation, right?
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: We're talking about that masculine energy, that right side of the hemisphere, creating heat, and sun salutations are a traditional, wonderful way to not only build that heat but to strengthen your core.
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: And one of the reasons why is because two of the postures involved in a sun salute, whether traditional A or traditional B, are going to incorporate your plank, any plank up plank which is not traditionally part of your Surya Namaskar, but up plank, or regular plank, forward plank, which is going to come into that vinyasa flow very regularly.
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: I'm sure we're all familiar.
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: It's also what I love about plank, a traditional plank, not an upward plank, but a traditional plank is save your wrists and shoulders, but traditionally it's very, very safe for the lower back.
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: If you've done properly and you really have to again squeeze your inner thighs together, engage the.
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: It's very, very safe for the lower back.
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: If you've done properly and you really have to again squeeze your inner thighs together, engage the lower abdominals, draw the lower abdominals in.
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: You can almost in a plank.
• 26:01
  Speaker 2: If you have any lower back issues and you're worrying that you're hollowing the lower back and letting that belly sag towards the floor, you can kind of almost round and actually press the floor away and let your shoulders round a little bit.
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: Now, that's for a plank close traditionally not necessarily when we're talking about the flow of a sun salute so.
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: But there are different ways to do it.
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: What I like about it is that for core exercises it's generally quite safe for the lower back.
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: It's also very easy to build upon.
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: You can start with doing a plank on your knees.
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: This is another way to build Chaturanga, but we will save into that because that's getting a little bit advanced.
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: But it's a great way to begin to build up core strength safely for your lower back, and they are very much intertwined.
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: If you have a lower back, lumbar spine herniated, bulging, anything like that, you need to be very, very careful with your core work, which is why I prefaced at the beginning when I was talking about this and said I don't love sit-ups.
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: Crunches are okay.
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: I don't love sit-ups.
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: Crunches don't necessarily take into account a lot of the lower abdominals.
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: So you know they're all right and every exercise has its place and any exercise is better than no exercise, but being safe is the most, is paramount, I'm sorry.
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: It's paramount and as someone with multiple different injuries and someone who has come back from different injuries, I have to say it is very, very important that you do these exercises appropriately.
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: I'm always happy to help you to do that.
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: You can reach out to me on my website.
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: You can reach out to me on Instagram, facebook, anything, please, if you have any questions.
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: I'm always happy to work with anyone and help them achieve their goals from a place of safety and security.
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: Now, that being said, when we're talking about up plank, it is the reverse, so you can build upon that.
• 27:49
  Speaker 2: Much like forward plank can be done on the knees as a way to build strength, to get the heels extended behind you.
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: Up plank can be done as a reverse tabletop, where your knees are bent and your hands are under your shoulders and your hips and your knees and your shoulders are all in a line.
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: That's one way to do it.
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: Traditionally speaking, the legs are extended again, those inner thighs are glued together and squeezing together and as you press up the hips, I like to have my shoulders rotated a little bit outwards and my palms just beneath them or slightly behind them, with the fingertips out to the side.
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: That's what feels best for my shoulders.
• 28:27
  Speaker 2: You can have the fingertips pointed forward.
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: I don't love that for the shoulders.
• 28:30
  Speaker 2: You can have them rotated all the way back, which which, if you can support it and you have very open shoulders, will help to open up the pectoral muscles as well.
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: But when you're practicing an up plank, that can be a little bit aggressive if you have any kind of shoulder injury.
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: So just be mindful of that.
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: But that's another great way to fire up the core.
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: Way to fire up the core as we talk about stoking this inner fire.
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: Other postures when we think about our solar plexus chakra again, I love that the chakra system can be very literal, so think about postures that directly correlate to that body part.
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: Well, if it's sitting just above the belly button and let's say we want to come from a little bit more of a heating place, right, we talked about our sun salutes.
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: We've talked about our planks.
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: We talked about our boat pose.
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: Now we're going to talk about our.
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: The same pose in a couple different ways.
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: And why is that?
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: We're going to talk about camel.
• 29:29
  Speaker 2: We're going to talk about bow.
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: Essentially, camel and bow.
• 29:33
  Speaker 2: Your body is in the same position, right, you are either on your knees and camel pose, with your heart center lifting up, and it's also spoiler alert a heart chakra pose.
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: Now, why is that?
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: Because it's opening the heart, it's a heart opener, it's a chest opener, but it's also beginning to lengthen through the core as well.
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: So you can call camel and you can call bow, both solar plexus chakras as well, because they are in bow pose.
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: You're literally resting, your body, is grounding your solar plexus chakra into the earth as you lift from your chest and your your legs behind you.
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: In theory, your pelvis may or may not start to come off the ground, but in an effort to protect that lumbar spine, I am always of the mindset that the pelvis stays glued to the ground, um, and so you're beginning to again fire up and lengthen.
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: So when we talk about any area of the body, remember two things, the first of which is, in yoga.
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: A little known secret is that any aspect of the body, any muscle group you are trying to lengthen, the opposing muscle group needs to strengthen, and the reason for that is because it is going to support the motion and allow the body to be receptive and safe enough to release.
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: If it is not, that's where injury occurs.
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: So, as a basic example, we're going to use bow pose.
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: Right, we talked about our core reflecting our back as well.
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: It's not just the front, it's not just the belly button and it's not just your six pack abs.
• 31:03
  Speaker 2: When we're talking about our core in an exercise such as bow or camel, essentially the same posture you are opening and lengthening.
• 31:16
  Speaker 2: So in boat pose you're contracting and in planks you're contracting, you're engaging your core.
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: Plank, I will say, you're also engaging the back at the same time, which is one of those reasons why I love plank so much, because it's a super strength building asana.
• 31:31
  Speaker 2: When we're talking about camel or bow, we are now talking about the solar plexus.
• 31:36
  Speaker 2: Now is the receptive.
• 31:38
  Speaker 2: Now we are doing the opposite.
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: We are no longer contracting it, now we are expanding it, we are lengthening it.
• 31:43
  Speaker 2: What has to happen for that to be safe to occur?
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: Your back has to engage your.
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: The opposing muscle group for your core is essentially I mean mainly it's your lats.
• 31:56
  Speaker 2: It can go down to your quadratus lumborum, but essentially it is the middle of the back.
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: So it is so important again for us women, for posture, for our strength, to be able to open the heart center, open through the upper abdominals and engage our shoulder blades down our back, create that strength through the lats, even down through all of the muscles that support the spine.
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: Those are engaged, they are drawing in.
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: I always cue my clients with think, the bottoms of your shoulder blades reaching to your hips.
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: You are engaging down, you're creating the support for those abdominal muscles to open.
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: A tight muscle is a weak muscle, so we want to create suppleness, we want to have the same amount of give and take in in each muscle group for it to truly be in balance again, which is kind of what yoga is is all about.
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: So we've talked a little bit about the contraction, we've talked a little bit about the, you know, the extension, the opening of this muscle group and this chakra center, our solar plexus.
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: What I'd like to leave you with is essentially the postures that are going to kind of be the receptive, feminine, cooling aspect of it.
• 33:16
  Speaker 2: Right, because we've talked all about fire, all about heat, all about engagement, all about strength.
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: How do we release, stimulate and receive in this area of our body to create balance?
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: We twist.
• 33:29
  Speaker 2: Solar plexus chakra, again, similarly to the heart, is going to benefit wildly from twists.
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: The reason for that is a few fold again.
• 33:38
  Speaker 2: So think about when you twist and I've said this before, I'll say it again You're rigging out your body right, you're it's.
• 33:44
  Speaker 2: Twists are great for your organs.
• 33:45
  Speaker 2: They're great for digestion, they're great for not only suppleness through the back, because again, when we talk about twisting, we're talking about the thoracic vertebrae.
• 33:53
  Speaker 2: Well, your solar plexus still sits in that kind of thoracic cavity.
• 33:57
  Speaker 2: Now it's below it a bit, but there are floating ribs that sit below our sternum and our heart center right.
• 34:05
  Speaker 2: So below that is your solar plexus and because of that our thoracic spine, again, is not meant to really bend, it's meant to twist.
• 34:14
  Speaker 2: It's the way that it's built.
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: So when we're talking about twisting, you're stimulating your digestion, you're stimulating your the, the manipulation of the organs in such a way you're stimulating your lymphatic system.
• 34:27
  Speaker 2: You are.
• 34:28
  Speaker 2: Twists are just honestly, they're wonderful for your body.
• 34:30
  Speaker 2: 100 wonderful for your body.
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: And when it comes to the core, it's a way in the solar plexus, it's a way to again create space through contraction in a way, but also through opening, because while one side's doing one, the other side's doing the other and you're going to do both on each side and it's going to, it's going to create balance, it's going to restore and it's also going to be one of the most cooling and receptive kind of less heating, less, less strenuous ways from a reclined spinal twist before our Shavasana all the way up through some of the more heating ways.
• 35:04
  Speaker 2: For example, two of the most heating asanas that are also twists are going to be your revolved triangle and your revolved half moon.
• 35:13
  Speaker 2: Half moon is a balance aspect and it is where you have the opposing hand on the ground, generally on a block for most people with the opposing foot, the opposite foot is extended out behind you and the opposite arm is twisting away from that extended leg.
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: So it's a.
• 35:30
  Speaker 2: It's a.
• 35:30
  Speaker 2: It's a one of my challenge most challenging postures.
• 35:34
  Speaker 2: I will be very honest.
• 35:35
  Speaker 2: And then you have revolved triangle.
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: You could even do a revolved extended angle if you have any sort of you know hamstring issues or you want to be just a little more gentle, and that's going to be the same thing.
• 35:45
  Speaker 2: So it's the opposite hand and foot right.
• 35:48
  Speaker 2: So let's say you have your right foot forward, your left hand's going to be kind of just in front, your left leg is going to be back behind and you're going to twist towards the front leg Again.
• 36:00
  Speaker 2: When you're doing these standing postures, it's going to create a little bit more heat.
• 36:04
  Speaker 2: But when you're doing the reclined even even like a Lord of the Fishes which I know I've used for other, for other asanas as well, and for other even for other chakras.
• 36:17
  Speaker 2: When we were talking about a twist for the solar plexus chakra, what I love about it is I always keep my twist.
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: Very similarly, you are twisting from the belly button up, not from the belly button up, not from the belly button down.
• 36:28
  Speaker 2: Your hips and your lumbar spine are not meant to twist, so you want to keep them as stable and stationary as you can.
• 36:33
  Speaker 2: Can they give a little bit of force?
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: They can, but you don't want to twist those vertebrae.
• 36:38
  Speaker 2: It's not going to make your your the discs back there very, very happy.
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: So you want to keep it from the belly button up and that is a great way to remember that it is giving love to your solar plexus chakra as well.
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: Finally, because we talked about the sun salutes, I can't leave us without mentioning our warriors.
• 36:55
  Speaker 2: Why are our warriors important for our solar plexus chakra?
• 37:00
  Speaker 2: Your warrior one, your warrior two, your warrior three, two, your warrior three.
• 37:12
  Speaker 2: The reason is because, while warrior postures are wonderful for you know, you can arguably say that a warrior posture is, is is beneficial for almost all chakras, and I think that that's a fair thing to say.
• 37:22
  Speaker 2: What I love about it for our solar plexus chakra is that it's kind of centered around it, right.
• 37:30
  Speaker 2: So if you're in a warrior one, your feet are on those two train tracks.
• 37:34
  Speaker 2: They're in line with your hips and it can turn into a backbend, but it is a strengthening pose.
• 37:41
  Speaker 2: Your legs are in two separate places and you are lifting your heart center up to the sky.
• 37:46
  Speaker 2: And what is giving it that lift?
• 37:47
  Speaker 2: Your power center, your solar plexus.
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: It is an empowering pose.
• 37:52
  Speaker 2: If you're in a warrior two, you're facing width wise on your mat and you are in a heel to an arch alignment, but you're still supporting your trunk, your torso, that strength of your arms out.
• 38:05
  Speaker 2: That power is coming from the center and radiating out in all directions.
• 38:10
  Speaker 2: Your warrior three still radiating out in all directions, and now you're aiming your power center towards the floor.
• 38:17
  Speaker 2: So now you're incorporating balance into your core and everything is coming out from there.
• 38:25
  Speaker 2: And so what I love about warriors and their direct relation to the solar plexus chakra is that it all starts from within and comes without.
• 38:36
  Speaker 2: It starts from your core, and all limbs that leave your body are coming from that place of your inner fire.
• 38:43
  Speaker 2: They are stable because of you.
• 38:45
  Speaker 2: They are stable because of your trunk.
• 38:47
  Speaker 2: They are stable because of the strength within you.
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: They are stable because you are able to give them that life, to give them that space, to hold that space for them.
• 38:57
  Speaker 2: So I have to just show some love to the solar plexus chakra and say that anytime you are passionate about something, that's your solar plexus chakra speaking to you.
• 39:13
  Speaker 2: Anytime you feel drive, focus.
• 39:19
  Speaker 2: Anytime you set your mind to something and you follow through with it, it is thanks to your solar plexus chakra, to your own internal fire, to your own drive, to your own energy center and to again, while it might not be the bridge that the heart is coming from that receptive place, it is the fire just below your heart.
• 39:42
  Speaker 2: It is the fire that keeps you going.
• 39:45
  Speaker 2: And if it's feeling less, less in, less flame ridden, then I encourage you to practice some of those heating ass postures that we talked about.
• 39:57
  Speaker 2: If it's feeling like maybe you've got a little bit too much drive but you want to settle down a little bit, then I encourage you to practice some seated or reclined twists.
• 40:05
  Speaker 2: And if you just want to bring balance and tap into your own inherent strength male or female, it does not matter.
• 40:15
  Speaker 2: Be that warrior, be that warrior for yourself.
• 40:17
  Speaker 2: Take up that space.
• 40:18
  Speaker 2: Remember that it is directly related to your throat chakra.
• 40:22
  Speaker 2: They are connected, they're all connected, but those two have a special relationship.
• 40:25
  Speaker 2: So remember to speak your truth and to embody your truth, and I hope that this, that this conversation, helps you to do that and to know how strong you truly are.
• 40:39
  Speaker 2: And with that, I just want to say how much I appreciate each and every one of you for sharing this space with me, and I ask that you please feel free to share the same with your loved ones For more goodness.
• 40:50
  Speaker 2: Follow me on all the socials, at Above the Ground Podcast or visit my website, airsaboveyogacom.
• 40:55
  Speaker 2: As always, please don't forget to check out my other episodes and my amazing sisters on the Divas that Care Network.
• 41:02
  Speaker 2: You can find us on Spotify, odyssey, apple, amazon, iheartradio or anywhere else you may feel guided.
• 41:09
  Speaker 2: Again, my name is Gia Raquel Rose, owner of Heirs Above Yoga, and you are listening to Above the Ground podcast, where every day is a good one.
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: Thanks for listening.
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: This show was brought to you by Divas that Care.
• 41:22
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