The Medicine Wheel of Yoga

Native Americans, Celts, Druids, African and South American Shamans, and Tibetan monks all acknowledge and make use of some version of the Medicine Wheel. In a yoga practice aligned with Earthly energies, the Medicine Wheel is a means of framing connections between directions, chakras, elements, ayurveda, and, of course, asana.

The Earth element corresponds to North, the color red, the winter season, and the full moon; it is the dimension of manifestation and grounding. Earth is embodied in the root chakra and root bandha.  

The Water element lives in the West, corresponds to vibrant orange, the season of autumn, and the waxing moon. Water is creativity, flexibility, and spontaneity concentrated in the sacral chakra.

Fire is the Southern, yellow element that is most pronounced during the summer months. Corresponding to the new moon and solar plexus, fire is uddiyana bandha and surya namaskar in yoga.

Air is emerald green and hails from the East. In the spring season, air is created by the space between winter's heaviness and summer's fire. Air is breath and heart-opening asana, fueled by lightness and intangibility.

Finally, ether exists above, below, and all around. It is in all seasons, and corresponds to blues and violets. In yoga practice, ether is throat-opening chants, third-eye opening visualization, and crown-opening meditation.

Similar to Ayurvedic philosophy's contention that a complete meal contains all flavors, a complete, universe-aligned yoga practice contains all five elements. The practitioner seeks and finds elemental balance on and off the mat by engaging in the Living Mandala [of] Yoga.

Yoga for the Dying Fire

Lughnassadh is August 1st, marking the Celtic celebration of harvest's bounty. The days are still boiling and belong to winged, bitey things.

But change is riding the summer wind!

The end of the month will bring subtly cooler nights, earlier sunsets, and the promise of fall.

The dying fire of summer is autumn's welcome, however, and we move away from the heat of the flame and toward the purification of water. The changes that come with fall mark the most drastic of seasonal shifts; one week in early September it's 75 degrees, and the next it's 50. From shorts and flippies to jeans and Uggs in seven days.

Honoring the dying fire early in August eases the transition from fire to water, summer to fall. Moving along the chakral path of manifestation, downward on the solar nadi, the movement from the fire chakra to the water chakra is a movement from rigid, ego-driven action to fluid, creative movement.

Yoga for the dying fire aligns closely with the elements of fire and water, bidding farewell to summer and welcoming the creative changes fall brings. Honor the fire through core-energizing kriyas and heated pranayama. Move from plank to down-dog and back again. Join archer with some kapalabhati!

Bring balance to the fire element with fluid vinyasas and spinal liberation. Wave the spine in down-dog and table. Roll the neck in a low cobra.

Acknowledge the turning of the wheel by practicing outside while you still can!

Playlist recommendations for a dying fire practice: Jai Uttal's "Night on the Ganges;" Jimi's "Red House;"

Happy Lughnassadh!