Self-Maintenance In Polarity Therapy
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
Toning, energy exercises, and an alkaline building diet are very effective ways to harness the limitless energy that is available to all of us. Centering, using sound, color, breathing and energy exercises are ways to click into the areas of the brain that control function and give ourselves back the power to be happy that we sometimes give away. Those who choose to incorporate the polarity diet or exercises into a health building regimen will be able to do so with a minimum amount of fuss. Simple exercises can be done anywhere, any time for a maximum amount of energy.
Chakra Toning
Chakra toning is a sound exercise. Use color visualizations with tones for balancing chakra energies. Repeat each tone aloud three times in a row using the out-breaths, while simultaneously visualizing the colors swirling through the chakra area. (You may want to close your eyes for maximum effect.)
Start by breathing in deeply through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. Use the tone Lam for the first or root chakra, the perineum. Visualize bright ruby red swirling through the perineal chakra while you tone with the out-breath three times.
Vam- for the second chakra, the genitalia to belly button, visualize bright orange.
Ram- third chakra, solar plexus to belly button, visualize bright sunshine yellow.
Yam- fourth chakra, the heart, visualize emerald green.
Ham- fifth chakra, the throat, lapis lazuli blue.
Kisham- sixth chakra, the third eye, visualize amethyst violet.
Om-seventh chakra, the crown, bright white light straight from the heavens through the crown, beaming light through all chakras down to the root. Remember, there are really three syllables, aah, ooh, and mmm.
Energy Exercises
Energy Exercises are a quick way to feel better. One does not need to be in great shape to start these exercises. They are designed to be used by anyone desiring greater flexibility and strength and more energy to get them through their day. There are eight techniques used; lengthening, pressure, activation, breathing, energy balancing, differentiation and, of course, sound. Naturally, they are all based on Dr. Stone’s work with anatomy. First and foremost, Dr. Stone believed firmly in squatting. He believed it was the best posture for elimination and regulating the body, mind and subtle energies simultaneously. If possible, all exercise sessions should begin and end with at least three minutes in the squat. If it is difficult to attain at first, try hanging on to a doorknob for support. Keep practicing until it comes easily, three to five minutes at a stretch, arms folded over bent knees, buttocks off the floor. Use a pillow or folded blanket under the heels if they do not reach the floor. Most tribal societies use this posture for elimination and eating and have no back or digestive problems. Dr. Stone started doing this exercise at age 64, so anyone can do it.
My personal favorite, a quick energizer, is the windshield wiper. Start by lying face down on the floor with the head on the hands, knees bent. Allow the feet to fall to the floor. Now raise the feet back up, crossing them back and forth. Do this for three or four minutes until you feel completely energized. Another simple exercise, the pyramid, activates all pathways of energy in the body. Stand with your feet wider than your shoulders, hands on your thighs. Your fingers will be outside, thumbs inside, right above the knees. Now try to shift your weight to your shoulders. When you can do this successfully, gently pulse up and down and/or side to side. You will feel a stretch everywhere. Some variations on this exercise include doing the exercise in a chair with a pillow underneath the bottom. This works particularly well with seniors or those with decreased mobility. When you get relaxed in the pyramid posture, you can try doing the spinal twist. Just twist easily, allowing the spine to elongate in both directions.