This week we moved into the upper chakras by exploring the throat chakra. Where expression comes from, why we hold it back, and how to let your voice come through.

Loving-kindness meditation, also known as metta, is a traditional meditation practice rooted in Buddhist teachings. It is a practice designed to cultivate a deeper sense of: Compassion, Connection, Softness, and Openness.

There are certain teachers who don’t just share ideas. They change the way you see the world. For me, Ram Dass is one of those teachers. He is someone I return to again and again. Not just for what he taught, but for how he lived.

This week in class we arrived at the heart chakra, the fourth chakra in our journey. The heart chakra is associated with the color green and the element of air. It lives at the center of the chest, and it relates to what you might expect: Love, Kindness, Compassion, Connection.

This week we moved into the solar plexus chakra, the center of personal power. Our practice this week was designed to gradually build heat and strength in the body. The Solar Plexus lives between your belly button and chest and relates to Confidence, Identity, Self-trust, and Inner Strength.

This week in class we continued our chakra journey to the sacral chakra - which is associated with the color orange and the element of water. The themes we explored were Creativity and Sensuality, expanding our definitions of both beyond their traditional respective relations to art and sexuality.

Over the next seven weeks in class, we are exploring the chakras not as something mystical or abstract, but as a way of understanding the body more clearly. We began our journey this week with the root chakra - which relates to Safety, Stability, and Grounding.