Some Ideas for Working with Sahasrara Chakra

Contents:

• Introduction
• Posture Work
• Tonal Words
• Breathing / Pranayama
• Visualizations
• Other Ideas

Introduction

It is not uncommon for books or yoga teachers to suggest particular practices for working with an individual chakra. What I am attempting to offer here is something a bit more general: a flavour of my personal view of the sort of practices, and approaches to practice, to use when wishing to work with Sahasrara Chakra. I have also attempted to distinguish between practices and approaches that will tend to stimulate (make more active) this chakra and those that will tend to stabilize (strengthen) the chakra. Inevitably, there is significant overlap in this and you may well find that, for you personally, something that I suggest as stimulating is more stabilizing and vice versa. In any case, what is offered here is very much a personal view (rather than a consensual view of experienced experts), so my strong recommendation is that you play and experiment with these ideas, both to find what works for you and to help you form your own views (as opposed to absorbing and trusting these ideas as given).

I should perhaps mention here that the idea of attempting to doing anything with a view to stabilize (let alone stimulate) the Sahasrara is at least somewhat paradoxical. It is in part because of this that many say one should only attempt to work with Sahasrara chakra under “expert” guidance – such as an Enlightened being or Guru. But this is also difficult to achieve, for how does one recognize an Enlightened being – when in some senses they are quite literally nothing special? One view is that when one is ready to work with this chakra, one will be sufficiently in tune with the Universe that one will happen to meet and recognize one’s Guru. Another view is that when one is ready – the Universe (or Divinity through its Divine grace or something) will develop and open this chakra and the main thing to do is to avoid getting in the way. My view is that wonder and mystery is there and available to all – but not necessarily where one thinks it is – so attempting or working to find it one is as likely to turn away from it as turn towards it.

Posture Work

Stimulate	Stabilize
No particular direction or aim, no form, no thought, no style, no particular direction or stillness and yet breath or movement or stillness may spontaneously occur as if of its own accord.	Being receptive to the possibility of and allowing breath or movement or stillness to occur as if of its own accord.
No practice – just being – or not even that.	With awareness drawn to the space above the crown of the head or “heaven”.
Trusting natural spontaneous actions & reactions will be “divinely” without conscious or deliberate effort / attention.	With a feeling of the sacred / infinite / divine (etc) within, all around or all pervading.
Enjoying posture and movement in everyday living.	With a feeling of Earth (below) and Heaven (above) being connected by or through one.

Tonal Words

Stimulate	Stabilize
SILENCE, if one wants words then . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nothing Empty Emptiness Timeless God Divinity Void Blank Formless Ineffable Without Seedless No - nothing . . . . . . . . . .	Endless Bliss Blissfulness Pervade Suspend Profound Merge Emerge Sacred Holy Joy Immortal Transcend Beyond Undivided Transcendental Freedom Liberation Synchronicity Unified Existence Absence Limitless Everything Oneness Wholeness Eternal Soul Spirit Infinite Potential Non-manifest Absolute All Spontaneous No - thing . . Totality Entire Moment Momentarily Being Merging Silence Attribute-less

Breathing / Pranayama

Stimulate	Stabilize
Spontaneous (unseeded) breath suspension.	Being receptive to the possibility of and allowing breath and breath suspension to occur as if of its own accord.
No practice – just being – or not even that.	Imagining the breath occurs because it is breathed into / out of one by the Universe or Divine (or …).
Enjoying normal breathing in everyday activities.	Being a “witnesser” – the breath occurs but not by one’s own actions.

Visualizations

Stimulate	Stabilize
Seedless – allowing thoughts to come and go or not to exist at all.	Based on concepts like Divinity, God, Soul, Oneness, Infinity, Eternal …
No particular direction or aim, no form, no thought, no style, no structure – nothing – and yet the possibility of anything.	With a sense of merging or dissolving so one loses existence separate to anything else – or in other words becoming one with everything. (Do follow up emerging as a separate individual!) .
Based on a void, spaciousness of no self, no one, no thing – no nothing.	Based on a void , spaciousness of no self, no one, no thing.
SILENCE !	Word-based : Infinity , Wholeness …..

Other Ideas

Stimulate	Stabilize
Seedless meditation – natural spontaneous suspension of thought.	Brainstorming-type activities e.g. staring at a blank piece of paper waiting for ideas / thoughts to come.
Samadhi (last of Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga).	Dharana & Dhyana (concentration & meditation – 6th and 7th of Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga).
Trusting natural spontaneous actions and reactions will be “divinely” guided – without deliberate or conscious effort / attention.	Being & acting with a sense of the “Divine” (or …) acting in and through one.
Getting the other six chakras in balance and harmony with each other.	Being a “witnesser” – actions occur as if of their own accord – without any action or involvement from oneself.