Recover, recharge, renew—your essential yoga guide to balancing chakras.
Achieving physical and mental balance is beautiful and healing. But the journey to harmony can be challenging. Essential Chakra Yoga is an easy way for beginners, trained teachers, and everyone in between, to unblock and align their chakras, find balance, and heal both body and mind—one pose and one pranayama ("controlled breath") at a time.
From simple Siddhasana ("accomplished pose") to the more advanced Salamba Sirsasana ("supported headstand"), Essential Chakra Yoga is a masterclass in breathing techniques, stretching, and sequencing various poses that can enhance your quality of life every day while boosting strength and flexibility. Take a deep, cleansing breath. It's time to body-bend your way toward bliss.
This complete chakra yoga guide
Bring balance to your mind, body, and spirit with this healing chakra yoga guide.
The first time I did a chakra yoga sequence I could FEEL SOMETHING different shifting in my body. I felt lighter, happier, empowered; it wasn't the usual stretching exercise I had been taught in gym class, this was a whole new concept. Having control over my own emotions by doing this type of work was something I didn't know existed until a few years ago. Not only does it benefit me emotionally, but physically and spiritually as well. Modern times have taken the spirit out of yoga and I'm so thankful I sought answers as to why for my own personal healing journey. ESSENTIAL CHAKRA YOGA is exactly as stated, essential.
This book is beautiful and therapeutic! I highly enjoyed studying this. The pages and illustrations are easy to understand, as well are the written out directions. The tips included at the end of each yoga pose were very handy. I found myself looking forward to these tips because I had been away from my yoga practice for some time, having to make necessary adjustments for my body occasionally. I was guided safely using this material.
The watercolor pages and design are gorgeous. The yoga poses are labeled first by Sanskrit name; modern names are presented underneath the ancient text. The colors of the illustrations connected with the correlating chakra colors, making learning easier. I love the break down of the chakras and the information the author shares.
Christina D'Arrigo includes the following info on each of the 7 major Chakras: Location, Sanskrit Name, Element, Affirmation, Mantra, Positive and Negative Archetypes (Balanced and Unbalanced), Physical Dysfunctions, and the Emotional Issues
This book was extremely thorough on discussing various topics but one that really stood out to me personally was finding one's edge, what that means, and how to go further without injury. I laughed at the idea of Kegels helping to ground and root energy down through the lower chakras but it dings true; when I have anxiety I'm weak and super tense in the areas where my lower chakras reside, when I'm open and more flexible in those areas, my symptoms and emotional disturbances are gone. The more you know! Haha. This yoga book's primary focus is on the 56 yoga poses and their correlations to the chakras. Only 8 cleansing yoga sequences are shared in the last 2 chapters, putting all the knowledge from the previous chapters to action, don't be discouraged though, because they are POWERFUL sequences that activate, heal and balance multiple chakras at once! I also practiced the poses individually as they were being learned about in the beginning but combining them helped me within minutes on days I was struggling really bad and put some work in, on the mat.
ESSENTIAL CHAKRA YOGA has given me insight to cultivate my own yoga practice and do what feels right. I used to only practice yoga through guided yoga videos or stretching on my own, now I enjoy doing a mind-body-soul practice, referencing books and curating it to my needs without comparing myself to a yoga teacher on screen. KEEPING THE FULL BODY GROUNDED AND CENTERED is the yoga sequence in this book that I most often refer to. I look forward to checking out her YouTube channel- Yoga With Christina, and ChriskaYoga.
(TIP: Practicing yoga sequences and poses in front of a mirror has made it easier to keep my alignment straight and boosts the power of the affirmations via eye contact.) I am Healing Happy!
Much gratitude to publisher Rockridge Press, compliments of Callisto Media, for the early copy I received. I was under no obligation to write a review, my honest opinion is freely given.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher with no requirement for review.
I have practiced yoga on and off for more years than I can count. Most of it has been with tv/dvd programs with some in class practice. I feel it is important to realize that this reviewer has some experience in the subject, but I do not consider myself an expert.
The first chapters cover yoga and chakra basics then there are chapters about yoga poses for each chakra followed by a section with series of poses for forming a practice. The authors guidance through the book is good for any level of practice although someone who has NEVER done yoga should probably begin with a least a few classes so that they could ask questions and have someone help them. Otherwise the instructions are good for walking someone through the poses.
There is one major error in the book. Images for cow and cat poses became switched so someone not familiar with them could become confused. The words describing the poses are correct the images are not. This could create some serious confusion for someone brand new to yoga.
This book guides the reader through an incredible journey using yoga to balance the energy in the body known as chakras. The first chapters give an overview of the seven main chakras, and how they affect your physical, mental, and emotional health. Each chakra overview includes positive affirmations about the area of life that corresponds to that chakra, such as emotions for the heart chakra, or expressing yourself with the throat chakra. Then there are yoga poses, illustrated with simple drawings, that activate and clear each chakra for a smooth flow of energy throughout the body.
The yoga poses have clear instructions, and helpful modifications to make the pose easier if needed. There are also precautions for anyone that might have injuries or health concerns. The poses are divided into chapters for each chakra, and the pages are color-coded with the traditional colors that apply to each chakra.
I really like how the information is organized, and the overall design of the book is lovely. The illustrations have pleasant pastel colors and clean lines. I like that the illustrations of people doing yoga shows a wide group of people, both men and women of all races, none of whom are skinny blonde models.
I appreciated how the author encourages people to be patient, to trust the process, and be gentle with themselves on this journey. There are breathing exercises and meditations to calm your mind and help you to become more aware of your body's energy. I love the hopeful message in this book!
This is the perfect place to start with beginning yoga poses that focus on chakra energy!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are not influenced by anyone.
This is a lovely book all around! I appreciate the pretty illustrations and colors. The writing style is positive and easy to understand. The poses are explained clearly and it's an overall encouraging tone. I highly recommend this book for people interested in learning about the chakras and yoga for self care.
Many thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Essential Chakra Yoga: Poses to Balance, Heal, and Energize the Body and Mind by Christina D'Arrigo. I am someone interested in doing this to help with my day to day stress. I enjoyed the first chapters going on the practice giving me in site to help me understand more. I felt the instructions where easy to follow. I found this book very helpful and looking forward to using and learning more each day.
good wee book - i just would have liked more info on how the poses affected the chakras. also the cat and cow poses pictures were mixed up. enjoyed it though.
I received this book for free from the publisher’s in exchange for a non-mandatory review on the platform of my choosing.
I am an amateur yoga practitioner, not a yogi. I’ve been doing yoga on and off since I was 11 years old. I didn’t start practicing more consistently until about five-ish years ago. I try to maintain a home practice and I attend somewhat regular classes at a local studio.
That being said, I had a few issues with this book - the pronunciation of the Sanskrit names is not given anywhere in the text. I find it frustrating as someone who does not know how all of the asanas should be properly pronounced. I also noticed (as another reviewer has already pointed out) that the illustrations for the cat and cow poses are inverted, but the descriptions of the poses are correct. I wasn’t thrilled with the lack of description on how each pose affects the chakras either. I wanted more from this, but given the size of the book I guess I shouldn’t complain too much. It’s not labeled as a spiritual book. It’s labeled as a health & wellness book. I was reading it from a spiritual perspective since that is how I view the chakras.
I wouldn’t recommend this book to someone that has no yoga experience at all. I think this book is a little too advanced for anyone who has never done yoga at all. The sequences at the back of the book are decent though.?
I will admit I don't know a lot about yoga but I decided to give this book a go. I find it very interesting how this book ties everything into different parts of the body. The book has 7 sections:
Root Chakra Sacral Chakra Solar Plexus Chakra Heart Chakra Throat Chakra Third-eye Chakra Crown Chakra
There seems to be an almost spiritual aspect to this book. Personally I don't care for it, but that doesn't mean it isn't good. This book is also very colorful with lots of beautiful designs. Each pose tells you if you need any props, such as a mat or blocks. It tells if there are any precautions you need to be aware about while doing the poses along with the benefits of each one. Some of the poses have a small tip to follow too. They give you instructions on how to do each pose as well as easy to follow illustrations to go along with them. Overall I think if you are someone who enjoys yoga then you will enjoy this book.
I received a free copy of this product from Callisto Publishers in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
I enjoyed "Essential Chakra Yoga". This is a wonderful book to introduce you to using yoga to open and enhance your chakras. I think this would be a good book to improve one's yoga practice.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.
Excellent overview of chakras and how yoga can balance them. I especially liked the flows included toward the end—they combined poses that really are impactful without over complicating the flows. Looking forward to incorporating some of these sequences in my practice.