Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:11] Welcome to Deep in your yoga practice. I am Lauren Leduc, the owner and founder of True Love Yoga in Kansas City, Missouri. And we are continuing our chakra series today with the theme of the third eye.
[00:00:24] So you certainly don't have to, but do know that I have an intro episode on the chakra system and then an episode on all of the lower chakras leading up to the third eye. So if you'd like to catch up, go back and do that. Come revisit when you're ready. But have you ever known something without fully being able to explain it? Have you ever felt a sense of clarity that didn't come from logic? Maybe. Have you experienced moments of deep insight or perspective? Maybe you were in tune with your third eye?
[00:00:58] This is the chakra of intuition.
[00:01:00] It's the center of inner wisdom, and it is the seat of discernment and perception. So today we'll talk about what the third eye chakra is, its historical and philosophical roots, its symbolism and meaning, signs of balance and imbalance, practices to support clarity and intuition, modern interpretations of this chakra, and how to integrate insight into your everyday life. So what is the third eye chakra? Its Sanskrit name is Ajna, and it is located at the center of the forehead between the eyebrows. Its associated element is ether, but in particular, the light waves that move through space, that move through the ethers. Its color is indigo, and its theme is perception, insight, awareness, and intuition. The word ajna means to perceive or to command.
[00:01:57] And this chakra represents the ability to see beyond surface reality. It's the integration of intellect and intuition.
[00:02:06] And it's also the bridge between the rational mind and inner knowing. In my original chakra episode, I talk about, are these real? Are they maps? Are they metaphors? And I go into a lot of depth on that. So if you're listening to this and wondering, like, is this a real part of my body? I recommend going back and listening to this.
[00:02:28] But I will talk about some of the history now, which will help provide some context as well. So the third eye appears in Tantric traditions. This is a thousand to fifteen hundred years ago. Also in Hatha Yoga texts, which appear in the medieval period, there are also later chakra systems through Hatha Yoga and blended with more Western traditions, and they also show up as meditation and concentration practices.
[00:02:56] Typically, when we're looking at the Tantric traditions and the Hatha Yoga text, we're looking at chakras as a symbol for meditation. So it's something to bring focus and awareness to. It's also a Visualization practice and in later systems and in modern systems, we start to see these a little bit differently.
[00:03:22] They're almost psychological. We'll get into that in a little bit. But know that originally they weren't seen as something that, like you would open up the body and find, or even really that exists in the ethers. It's something instead to visualize upon and to draw upon the qualities within the visualization. Ajna is often associated with the meeting place of either Ida in Pingala Nadi. So this is the masculine energy channel and the feminine energy channel, intersecting and meeting. It's also this perceived gateway to higher consciousness. And it's the point of focused awareness and meditation. So there are a lot of meditations where the drishti, or focal point, comes to the third eye. We can relate the third eye to different aspects of yogic philosophy, one being vivica, which means discernment. So we can explore discernment in, in this area also through swadhyaya, or self study. This is studying the text, also studying the self. It is a space of introspection and learning, of using the higher mind. It also correlates with Diana, which means meditation. So it's melding with a point of focus.
[00:04:41] And we can also correlate the third eye with Jnana J N A N A, which is the yoga of knowledge, it's the yoga of wisdom. So the third eye is really, in our context, we'll be talking about it less about, like mystical powers and more about clear seeing. It's about using discernment, using focus, drawing upon wisdom and being able to clear away some of the clutter so that we find clarity and insight. So the third eye has associated symbolism.
[00:05:18] You'll see a two petaled lotus, and it's this symbol of duality merging into unity. So this duality of masculine and feminine, of sun and moon, of structure and flow, of left brain and right brain, logic and intuition, maybe inner and outer perception. So it's this meeting and merging of dualities.
[00:05:42] And it has this symbolic meaning of awareness beyond illusion, of seeing the truth beneath appearances, and of finding clarity without distortion. In early modern yoga, spiritualists really resonated with this idea of the chakras and even made additions to the chakras, like the rainbow colors, for instance. And in later modern yoga today, we often associate the third eye and the chakras with the nervous system and neuroscience. We might associate the third eye with the prefrontal cortex. This is the area of the awareness and decision making in the brain. We also can associate it with nervous system regulation and with interoception and awareness. So awareness of what's happening inside the third eye is a metaphor for awareness. It's not a literal physical eye. We can't open up the body and see it. Instead, it's something that we can visualize, it's something we can meditate on. It's something we might be able to feel into the energy of. But it's not really something that we can measure or see or smell or taste. The third eye represents pattern recognition, insight, self awareness, perspective taking and emotional intelligence. So let's talk about some signs of balance and imbalance of the third eye. A balanced third eye might feel or look like clear thinking, a strong intuition without ego, emotional awareness, the ability to see patterns, maybe an open mindedness, a sense of inner trust and perspective and discernment as well as being very perceptive. In an imbalanced third eye, we can look at it in a couple ways. One overactive, one underactive. Although these can exist simultaneously.
[00:07:33] For overactive, you might overthink, you might feel mental overwhelm, maybe obsessive thoughts, maybe spiritual bypassing, like bypassing the lower chakras and the more human aspects of the self and going straight to the spiritual. Maybe it's living in the head and ignoring the body. An underactive third eye chakra might look like a difficulty trusting one's intuition.
[00:07:58] Maybe it's a feeling of like cloudiness or confusion, this lack of clarity. Maybe it's feeling disconnected from purpose. Maybe it's thinking in a way that's really rigid and logical without allowing for some flexibility. And because of that there's this difficulty seeing options and opportunities in life. So as we talk about the third eye in this way of balanced, overactive, underactive, do note that the goal here isn't mystical ability. It's simply wisdom, clear perception, discernment and awareness. So we can support all of these qualities in our third eye through different practices.
[00:08:40] Let's talk about some that are on the mat. We might associate some yoga postures with awareness of the third eye and inner awareness. That could be a child's pose. And placing the forehead on the mat. Or block. Maybe it's forward folds, dolphin pose, downward facing dog, eagle pose, maybe where the thumbs come to third eye. Perhaps through standing balances, where you're using a strong drishti or focal point with your eyes. Maybe through gentle inversions as well. Maybe sometimes it looks like doing your yoga practice with your eyes closed, if that feels safe for you. So you can really inwardly Listen. So any of these poses could be associated with the third eye, as long as they're drawing your attention inward and helping to calm the nervous system. There are different forms of pranayama or breath work that we can use as well. Nadi Shodhana is a great one of alternate nostril breathing. It's meant to stimulate the ida and pingala nadis and help balance them as well. We could use ujjayi breath as a focal point. We can also use slow nasal breathing. And all of these things can help downregulate the nervous system and promote this sense of peace and clarity within. We can also explore third eye connection and balancing through meditation. So maybe that' focusing on the space between the eyebrows. Maybe it's visualization practices.
[00:10:02] Perhaps it's observing thoughts without attachment. So imagining thoughts, impressions, visualizations like clouds just floating through the sky and passing us by.
[00:10:13] Maybe it's through trataka or candle gazing. So staring at a flame and then closing the eyes and seeing the flame in your after image. All of these meditation practices help strengthen awareness and concentration, which are both great for the third eye. There are also lots of practices you can do off of the mat. I'll just name a few. One might be journaling. So really brain dumping to help find clarity. Perhaps it's creating digital boundaries because the digital communication that you're receiving might be creating chitta vritti or this like mind chatter that happens in yoga. Maybe it is having boundaries around quiet time. Maybe you're taking time in nature.
[00:10:58] Maybe you're finding some reflective questioning through journaling or through guided practices.
[00:11:05] And maybe it's mindful decision making. So taking a pause before making a decision, taking a deep breath and then deciding from a place of clarity. Know that your clarity grows in stillness. So it's such a wonderful thing for your third eye to go inward to find reprieve from overstimulation and to really get back in touch with the self. I do want to talk a little bit about discernment versus intuition because we often overemphasize intuition for the third eye. And I think intuition is super important, but I want to kind of balance it out with discernment. When we're talking about intuition, know that it is not impulsivity. It's also not always instinct, although I think the two can be linked. It's really this clarity and calmness and often it's this quiet voice. But sometimes we can mistake this quiet voice and our ego. And sometimes we can over identify with being intuitive as well. And I Think that can oftentimes lead to bypassing. So, okay, I use my intuition to make this decision.
[00:12:12] It didn't go well. There must be a higher purpose. And then spiraling on and on like that. And not that that necessarily is always a bad thing, but it can perpetuate cycles of harm, especially those who claim some kind of special ability or power.
[00:12:29] So know that intuition is more quiet. It's not ego driven, it's something that's clear.
[00:12:35] So it's really important to exercise discernment when dealing with intuition. So this means listening inwardly, it's questioning gently, it's reflecting before acting, and it's balancing feeling and reason. Am I mistaking maybe a flood of emotions for my intuition?
[00:12:56] Am I mistaking, like my logic for intuition? Only Vivica or discernment is going to be able to tell you that. So no, the third eye is not about escaping reality. It's really about seeing it more clearly and handling it skillfully is about living with awareness. So you might consider what helps me feel clear, what clouds my perception? Do I trust my inner knowing? And where can I create more quiet? Know that small, consistent moments of reflection really add up and help create the space and clarity that we need. So I'll invite you, before we close, to reflect with me. So if you are in a safe position to do so, you might soften your gaze or close your eyes and notice the space behind your forehead. You're not trying to see any thing, but just feeling into your awareness. Ask yourself gently what truth is quietly waiting for my attention. And then take a moment to pause and listen. And you may or may not hear an answer, but do know that clarity is not something that we force. It's something that we allow, that we make space for and that we listen to. So thank you so much for joining me for this third Eye episode. We have one more to go for, Crown Chakra or Sahasrara, and I'll be back in a few weeks with that. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this series and are able to move through your week with discernment, with clarity and with purpose. Thanks so much for joining me today. Om Shanti Om. Peace.
