Chakra Feast Day 5: Throat Chakra

Did you all catch the gorgeous full moon tonight? We just came back from an evening walk during which we admired its glowing yellow luminescence, it was even perfectly framed by curly blue-gray clouds. It was worthy of a Chinese painting or, according to Andrew, the opening scene of Gargoyles. It seems a perfect end to my day focused on opening my throat chakra, the one which determines how I express my creativity and thoughts. The Throat Chakra, or Vishuddha, is about speaking one's truth. Obviously, Vishuddha is located at the base of our neck, and affects the proper functioning of our vocal cords and our thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is associated with hormone production that is key to physical growth and maturation. Spiritually, that growth is that of our consciousness and wisdom. The Throat Chakra incites us to live ideally, be surrounded by beauty, expressiveness, through our self-expression and ability to make our feeling and emotions our reality. It is the center of our capacity to community.

Lies, falsehoods, and half-truths imbalance our throat chakra. Actions that violate both our own spirit and those of others affect our bodies as much as our minds. However, choosing to repress our feelings through silence also manifests itself in an imbalance. Unexpressed thoughts and emotions obstruct the throat chakra. Pointing again to the mind-body connection, there's a reason why we feel a lump in our throat or our vocal cords seemingly closing off when we are uncertain or afraid.

However, any artistic expression is a huge benefit to Vishuddha. Despite the fact that as a kid I wanted to be a writer, then a painter, and then a writer again, and that I've always loved to dance and act, I've never been that aware of my throat chakra. However, now I ask myself what my inner truth actually is? I have always been very assured in my values and who I really am. I always hope that I am the person on the outside that I am on the inside. It's something I've been conscious of for a long long time and that I've worked on for years. In being true to myself and voicing it to others more and more, I have to say that I've never been more comfortable than I am with myself until the past few years. One should always be humbly proud of who they are, and what they have become.

To maintain the health of your throat chakra, always be open, receptive, and humble. Having an open throat chakra is not just our ability to express ourselves but to listen to the truths others seek to share with us. For example, an overactive throat chakra might be obvious in our desire to control the consciousness of other peoples lives. A deficient throat chakra is evident if you are overly egotistic or prejudiced, or if you perceive the world as hostile, expecting to be humiliated, used, or judged by others rather than loved and nourished.

Resonating with the color blue, the throat chakra is opened by liquids and is meant to connect water, earth, and sky. To this effect, eating seaweed (earth and water) and fruit trees (earth and sky) are great choices. To be honest (since that's today's theme), I haven't had a very good food day, so I actually won't make it the focus of this post. I started my morning very well with a fruit tree and earth fruit green monster (mango, pineapple, and spinach). My lunch was partially driven by today's feast but also to taste-test recipes for an upcoming client. Because of its water focus, I diversified my seaweed intake from spirulina and nori, and made a hijiki snap pea salad. It was yummy, not a two thumbs way up or anything, but that may be a result of the quality of the seaweed I had rather than my recipe. I also made sure to drink lots of water throughout the day and have green tea (which I've also been having every day). Later in the day, I also had some pear and kiwis, and then my food day went downhill from there so... blah.

On the upside, I've been feeling great (with tonight being a partial exception). I feel so alert and awake despite the fact that we have crazy humidity levels and it's really hot out. Something's definitely at work here and I love it! In addition, before I rave more fully about this on Sunday during my weekly workout recap, I have to say that I'm loving Gina's Summer Shape Up. I always leave the gym as an absolutely sweaty beast and it's been fabulous.

Finally:

I express my truth with respect, confidence, and grace.

I seek to make my inner truth and outer truth one and the same.

I take joy in my gift for creative expression.

I am always open to the truth of other's.

I foster greater consciousness and wisdom every day.