May 2025: Chakras and Nyasa and Intentional Placement. Say Yes!
Happy May, Galaxy! It’s May 6th already (sorry, not sorry for the lateness…it’s busy over here at the studio). Right now, two cranes are trying to extract Deep Thought (the boat) from its resting spot on the shores of Lake Michigan. I feel like there’s some symbolism there: Deep Thought has placed itself in the earthly confines of water, rocks, sand and has aligned with the ephemeral nature of being of the physical realm. Maybe it feels like it still has things to learn here on earth, and isn’t quite ready to ascend to the space of Big Mind, as Erich Schiffman calls it.
And a mile up the road, at the studio, we’re diving into the chakras this month. I was reading a little article about some of the historical, Tantric roots of chakras, and happened across the phrase: “chakras are a form of Nyasa,” which piqued my interest. If you’re familiar with the practice style of the studio - Vinyasa - then you might already have a bit of a working knowledge of what exactly Nyasa is. Nyasa is the ritual of intentional placement or installation of mantras at various places in the body. It’s literally installing God-energy or a specific deity, in the body. Vi-nyasa adds the Sanskrit root “vi” to the equation - which means auspicious. Put together, we could define Vinyasa not just as “to place in a special way,” but actually “auspicious placement of the holy in the physical self.” I dig it.
We talked about that placement of God (or spirit) in the body two years ago during chakra month- I likened the experience to the Sarum Prayer, “God be in my head…” This time around, I find myself continuing to contemplate the phrase “intentional placement.”
I keep coming back to it, because I just was hipped to the realization (which I’m sure many of you already knew) that what we call social media is actually no longer social. Where we once used social media to connect with folks in the online space, most of our social media spaces are now geared to serve content to users, with no expectation of engagement back, aside from a “like.” I’m actually really worried that we’re losing the ability to be able to connect with others, because the predominant culture of social media is being “served” interactions. And they’re interactions that the algorithm has determined we like, or gravitate toward - so I also worry we’re losing the ability to interact with people and in places that we might not normally prefer or gravitate to on our own.
So when I hear the phrase “intentional placement,” in the yogic context, I imagine that someone who resonates with this phrase might do things like:
Actively seek out teachers who inspire and challenge them, not just physically.
Take on the responsibility of the full practice of yoga - honoring its roots and philosophy as intentionally as they can
Acknowledge that yoga is more than a physical practice, and let themselves be open to the spiritual and energetic experience of the yoga practice
Which, when we’re talking about these spiritual energetic centers of the chakras, means that we’re accepting that we’re not just a body rolling around on the floor all pretzel-y when we do yoga. We’re in a divine dance where we invite God (or whatever you want to call it) into our physical selves and notice what we become when those two things yoke to each other. That’s literally what yoga means! To yoke!
And in the context of real life, which is what we really roll out our mats and practice for, I imagine that intentional placement might look like someone who actively will:
Reach out to a friend for an IRL hangout
Ask someone they know a little bit and want to know a little better if they’d like to do an IRL hangout.
Routinely put themselves in spaces and places where they’re a little outside of their comfort zone
Parker J Palmer talks about saying “yes” to life as an antidote to depression, which he calls death in life. I like the potency of that definition and I like that as a component to intentional placement.
So although I was initially annoyed (as one might be… no shame in admitting those human moments) when an older gentleman decided to sit down DIRECTLY NEXT TO ME at the high tables over at Stone Creek on Downer, I came to realize that this, too, was an example of intentional placement.
I often work at cafes, because my home can be distracting, and I had a boat-load of things to do (see what I did there…). As I was scheduling workshops, creating flyers, answering emails, and posting to the studio’s social media, I realized that my close seat-mate was watching what I was doing - he was just drinking a coffee and eating a muffin, keeping it simple. Finally he asked me what I did for a living. He thought maybe I was a t-shirt designer, because I had all these Canva designs open (I WISH). I showed him the sticker I created for our June Galaxy 108 and explained to him what the 108 was. We talked about where the studio was, and where he lived, and where he grew up (right on the East Side, for his whole life). We didn’t have an exhaustive conversation; in fact, I don’t know his name. But we chatted when things came up to chat about, and enjoyed a comfortable, companionable silence next to each other at other times. At one point, he got up, walked across the street to Sendik’s, and came back with lunch, which he ate next to me. At the end of about an hour and a half of intentional placement, he got up, said thanks for the conversation, and was on his way.
I’ve had my share of uncomfortable public interactions. This wasn’t that. It was truly an opportunity for me to connect with another person and gently, lightly, share my life and my passions with him, and learn a little bit about him. I walked away from it wondering how those opportunities to connect are growing less and less frequent, and we’re less and less equipped to handle them.
And I also worry we’re less and less equipped to handle the practices of yoga, that really ask us to take on an active role in our liberation processes. We have to be immersed, body, mind, spirit and all. We have to be open to the idea that yoga might work in ways beyond what we can physically feel or see. We have to dive deeper than an Instagram post that tells you some slightly incorrect and surface level info about your Muladhara Chakra. We have to do things that are hard for us - whether that means actually sitting still and meditating, not just listening to Insight Timer, or trusting that you can actually go upside down in a forearm stand, or trusting that you might fall, but you’re going to be okay, or saying hello to that person who always puts their mat down next to you, but who you’ve never been brave enough to say hello to.
We have to say yes. Or Nyasa? It sort of sounds like yes.
Like Kaylin Haught writes in her poem: God Says Yes To Me
I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic
and she said yes
I asked her if it was okay to be short
and she said it sure is
I asked her if I could wear nail polish
or not wear nail polish
and she said honey
she calls me that sometimes
she said you can do just exactly
what you want to
Thanks God I said
And is it even okay if I don’t paragraph
my letters
Sweetcakes God said
who know where she picked that up
what I’m telling you is
Yes Yes Yes
Or here, let Liza tell you about it, in her all-white Halston suit.
Yes,
Say "Yes."
Life keeps happening every day,
Say "Yes."
When possibilities come your way,
You can't start wondering what to say
You never win if you never play --
Say "Yes."
Love, Light and LIZA,
Anna
What I’m Reading…
I’ll be honest, I’m reading a lot of fantasy novels right now. Erica at the studio said to me, “What is going on with you???” I think I’m really enjoying the world-building of fantasy - it’s an escapist craving that I really like. But I also know that there are only so many fantasy novel recommendations you can take (Ugh, I can’t help myself. Let me just sneak in a hearty recommendation for this second book from my new favorite series by Robert Jackson Bennett, A Drop of Corruption. It’s an alternate-reality Holmes and Watson fantasy mystery series that is JUST SO GOOD. Ignore this aside if you’re not into fantasy novels.)
What I’ll do instead is gift you an article from the New York Times about happiness research! Slight spoiler, but it’s more complex than this: good relationships keep us happier. Enjoy, and email me if you read it and have thoughts.
