There are many teachings from numerous lineages about this subtle body and its functions, and countless practices to develop its positive qualities and powers. By studying and applying these teachings we will discover a rich vein of exploration that leads to greater self-knowledge and many practical benefits, including stronger concentration, enhanced intuition, reduced stress, higher awareness of body messages, greater centeredness and many others.

Our exploration of the inner landscape begins with an in-depth study of what has been taught about the Prana Body in different lineages, the differences and similarities of these descriptions, and the common agreement about why and how this body is to be used as a vehicle to higher knowledge and awareness. The primary objective of the meditation practices in this class is to develop awareness of the Prana Body, which can be enhanced using herbs and aromatics. With this preliminary training we will then progress to studies and practices of the Sushmna, the central channel, which is the primary energy conduit of the Prana Body.

In class 1 lecture we will study:

• The Prana Body according to the Vedanta system of the five koshas

• The Prana Body in Chinese medicine and Taoist alchemy
  The Prana Body in Ayurvedic medicine and yoga

• The Prana Body in classical Tantric meditation

• The Prana Body as the interface of mind and matter

• The Prana Body as the container of the chakras

• The relationship between breath and the Prana Body

• Benefits of Prana Body meditations

In class 1 meditations we will practice:

• Cultivating awareness of the Prana Body through perception of subtle body sensations
• Activating, clarifying and stabilizing the Prana Body with visualization
• Energizing the Prana Body with breath
• Nourishing the Prana Body with herbs and aromatics

The Sushumna is the mother of all the body’s channels, and inseparable from the mind. The primary objective of Tantric practice is to dissolve the coarse energy currents of unenlightened mind into the Sushumna, which gives rise to the stillness of non-conceptual thought, a state of luminous emptiness that is the pinnacle of meditation. This is body-based enlightenment, and Tantra’s unique and revolutionary contribution to human spiritual evolution: the revelation that the body is the path of practice, and the body is the location of enlightenment.

Our exploration of the inner landscape continues with an in-depth study of what has been taught about the Sushumna in different lineages, the differences and similarities of these descriptions, and the common agreement about why and how this channel is to be used as a vehicle to higher knowledge and awareness. The primary objective of the meditation practices in this class is to develop awareness of the Sushumna, which can be enhanced using herbs and aromatics. With this preliminary training we will then progress to studies and practices of the Body Deities, the forms cosmological power, intelligence and enlightenment that are expressed by the different chakras.

In class 2 lecture we will study:

• The function and role of the central channel in Taoism, Buddhism and Hinduism
• Appearances and locations of the central channel according to different lineages
• Kundalini rising and nectar falling: different methods and manifestations of peak activation of the central channel
• Classifications of channel “winds,” from coarse to extremely subtle, and their physical, energetic and spiritual qualities
• Chakras as “knots” in the central channel
• Comparisons between classical depictions of the central channel and modern neurological science

In class 2 meditations we will practice:

• Visualizing the Sushmuna as a calming and centering meditation
• Strengthening concentration and opening energy circulation by moving the prana and Qi of attention through the Sushumna 
• Using herbs and aromatics to enhance awareness of the Sushumna
• Gentle yogic methods used to activate and focus on the Sushumna 

What is the symbolic meaning of divinities living in the energy centers of the body?

What we experience as ordinary physiological functions are actually the manifestations of nature’s profound intelligence, mingling with our own mental and emotional states. These forces, both biological and spiritual, are depicted as gods, goddesses and deities: the activities of Creation in form, and representations of our spiritual potential. At this level, the chakra system reveals the powers of nature and psyche operating inside the body, powers that are simultaneously physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, depicted as archetypes in the iconography of each culture.

Mystical traditions developed various methods of concentration, visualization, invocation and devotion to study, cultivate, worship and activate these inner powers, with the transcendent and wonderous goal of sacralizing the physical body and reidentifying with our inherent divinity.

Our exploration of the inner landscape continues with an in-depth study of what has been taught about Body Deities in different lineages, as the foundation for understanding the symbolism and functions of the individual chakras. The primary objective of the meditation practices in this class is to develop awareness of the Body Deities and the transformation of consciousness they represent, which can be enhanced using herbs and aromatics. With this preliminary training we will then progress to studies and practices of the Root Chakra.

In class 3 lecture we will study:

• How and why Body Deities were used in yogic, alchemical and Tantric traditions for self-transformation
• How and why the Body Deities are associated with the chakras
• How modern meditators can use ancient teachings of Body Deities in contemporary culture to transform ordinary perceptions of the body and its functions into spiritual awareness
• The transformative powers of meditating on spiritual symbols
• Understanding the Body Deities as powers of the elements, forces of nature and archetypes of the psyche

In class 3 meditations we will practice:

• Exploring the physical and pranic dimensions of the body as realms of deities
• Simple mindfulness methods to recognize the miraculous activities of cosmological Body Deities operating in normal physiological processes
• Using herbs and aromatics to deepen our relationship and communication with the biological and spiritual intelligence represented by the Body Deities.

The unique advantage for modern meditators is that we can synthesize teachings not only from ancient and contemporary lineages, but also incorporate scientific and medical knowledge as well, thereby gaining a broad and deep understanding of what this chakra is, how it functions and its modern relevance to our individual and unique spiritual journey.

The first chakra, therefore, is the doorway into our relationship with the earth and its powers; it is the physical and metaphysical gravity that holds consciousness in matter; it is the foundation of our powers of manifestation; it is the stability of the body and mind; it is the nourishment of the soil.  These aspects of this chakra, and many others, are rich sources of self-knowledge, self-awareness, increased wellbeing and deeper meditation.

Our exploration of the inner landscape continues with an in-depth multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary study of what has been taught about the first chakra. The primary objective of the meditation practices in this class is to develop awareness of this center, how it functions in both the outer and inner dimensions of the body, how we can develop its benefits with meditations, and how to enhance those meditations with herbs and aromatics. With this preliminary training we will then progress to studies and practices of the second chakra.

In class 4 lecture we will study:

•  The functions and uses of the root chakra according to ancient and contemporary teachings

•  Mula Bandha and pelvic floor exercises used for prana control

•  The Body Deities of the root chakra, their symbolism, functions and relationship to archetypes of the earth element

•  Contemporary biopsychology of the 1st chakra and its therapeutic applications

•  Relationship between the root chakra, musculoskeletal system, and earth element

•  The functioning of Apana Vata, the “downward moving current” in Ayurveda and its relationship to the root chakra

In class 4 meditations we will practice:

• Gentle pelvic floor exercises that support meditation and relaxation, increase awareness of the root chakra, and direct prana to the Sushumna
• Using herbs and aromatics that enhance the mentally and emotionally stabilizing effects of the root chakra
• Exploring the unity of the root chakra Body Deities and powers of the earth

Knowing these major tributaries, we can explore each chakra from all three perspectives: modern psychological, Tantric symbolism and ancient yogic. The second chakra, therefore, is many things: it is the realm of human sexuality; it is the repository of the red and white essences of reproduction; it is the mandala of gods and goddesses of fertility, childbirth and abundance; it is the microcosm of water element in the body and the nutrient fluids that give longevity, creativity and manifestation; it is the “lower field of qi” where the transmutation of consciousness into spirit begins; it is the “bliss center” at the base of the Sushumna.

Understanding and working with the second chakra on all these levels can help us gain self-knowledge and wisdom, rejuvenate our health, experience intimacy with the powers of nature inside the body, and improve the flow of positive life force by gently removing inner energetic blockages.

In class 5 lecture we will study:

•   Sexual health and vitality from the perspective of contemporary 2nd chakra biopsychology

•  Correspondences between contemporary biopsychology and the ancient system of coarse and subtle mind and body

• The lower Dan Tien and transmutation of sexual essences into spirit in Taoist alchemy

•  How the 2nd chakra is a microcosm of cosmological deities of fertility, water, reproduction and abundance

•  How to use herbs, aromatics and meditation to rejuvenate the sexual essences and their powers of vitality, longevity, creativity and manifestation

In class 5 meditations we will practice: 

•   Transforming herbs and aromatics into offerings to nourish and activate the Body Deities of the 2nd chakra
• Gently guiding the upward moving prana and qi through the region of the lower Dan Tien and 2nd chakra for deepening relaxation and uplifting the mind

All these metabolic fires in the body and mind are manifestations of sunlight, and the “city of jewels,” therefore, is the doorway into the realm of solar deities. Gods, goddesses, symbols and mythologies of the sun and fire are some of the most powerful and universal of all the archetypes in the human psyche. Every ancient culture used fire for worship and purification in ceremonies and rituals, both inwardly and outwardly. In Tantric rituals physical offerings are made to the flames in the fireplace, and mental offerings to the fire in the lotus of Manipura. In Tibetan yoga fire is ignited in the Sushumna with breath and visualization, causing drops of nectar-bliss to melt in the 7th chakra.  In Taoist alchemy the Jing essence of sexual fluids are transformed into upward rising Qi by the fire of the lower “cinnabar field”. For everyone, hunger is the activity of Agni in the hearth of digestion, and eating is making offerings to the deity that consumes the nutrients.

Understanding and working with the third chakra on all these levels can help us become more aware of the digestive fire and how to balance it; to metabolize past memories more effectively; to understand the activity of fire or lack of it in our biopsychology; to recognize our spiritual luminosity; and many other benefits.

In class 6 lecture we will study:

• Descriptions of the third chakra and its functions in Tantra, yoga and Taoism

• Gods, goddesses and deities of fire and the sun that are related to the third chakra

• Contemporary biopsychology of the 3rd chakra

• How to transform ordinary perception of metabolic processes into awareness of solar energy in the body and mind

• How to consecrate food and medicine into offerings to Agni, the deity inner metabolic fire

• Principles and practices of outer and inner Vedic and Tantric fire rituals 

In class 6 meditations we will practice: 

• Using the third chakra to increase mental clarity
• Contemplating biological and spiritual unity with the sun
• Emotional metabolism using herbs, aromatics and meditation
• Simple visualizations of inner fire from Tantric lineages

Here we discover one of the most important uses of the chakras: they are altars, shrines and temples for conducting inner rituals. Of all the various lineages, this is most apparent in Tibetan Buddhism, where countless meditation practices are done inside the heart’s mystic chambers. Over and over we visualize ourselves as luminous Buddhas, both male and female, then dissolve again into the emptiness of tranquil meditation. In this chakra we practice “apotheosis”: the ability to transform ourselves into divinity, starting in the imaginal realm and culminating in the self-recognition of our true nature.

Understanding and working with the heart chakra can help us develop selflove and self-nurturing, which is the basis of healthy relationships; it can deepen our emotional intelligence and heighten our intuition; it can reveal the inherent spiritual wisdom we already have, which helps us understand and relate to the complex conditions of the world; it can help us process grief and sadness through empathic awareness of the suffering of others; it can help us dissolve the boundaries of separateness by revealing the biorhythmic pulsations of life taking place inside and around us.

In class 7 lecture we will study:

•  Principles of heart chakra meditations in Tantric, Vedic and Taoist lineages

• How to meditate on the heart chakra to increase receptivity to its wisdom and guidance

• Practices that open the heart but strengthen energetic and emotional boundaries

• The contemporary biopsychology of the heart chakra

• Listening to the heartbeat as supreme self-nurturing

• Taoist teachings on the heart as the residence of Shen, luminous spirit

• Herbs, herbal formulas, nutraceuticals and natural treatments for supporting tranquility and clarity in the heart
  

In class 7 meditations we will practice:

• Listening to the heartbeat to cultivate deeper presence and greater self-love
• Harmonizing the heart and breath to balance circadian biorhythms for improved health
• Transform foods, herbs and aromatics into inner offerings to the physical and and spiritual heart
   
 

Speech gives us the powers of expression and communication, which are the basis of relationships, karmas, manifestation and accomplishments both beneficent and destructive. The powers of speech are linked in profound and mysterious ways to the powers of the breath, the powers of the brain, and the powers of the heart, and knowing these connections gives us greater insight and control over our speech and its effects in both the inner world of our consciousness and the outer world.

The powers of speech have long been deified: mantras are the manifestation of specific deities in acoustic and vibratory form, and qualities of magnetism, enchantment and healing are attributed to those whose voices have unique qualities, whether inborn or cultivated. Simply by focusing our attention on the throat chakra we influence its functions; when we focus on it using the combined powers of breath, visualization, mantra and intention, we begin to activate and purify the entire mandala of its functions, which include inner speech, though patterns, intelligence that can discriminate between right and wrong, and countless other qualities of spiritual growth and evolution.

In class 8 lecture we will study:

•  The vibratory deities of the throat chakra, and their use in purifying speech and thought

• The relationships between the powers of the voice, breath, brain and heart

• The contemporary biopsychology of the throat chakra
  · Speech and the power of manifestation

• The trinity of body, speech and mind and Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, and the connection with the three upper chakras

• The tongue and speech as the outer flowers of the heart and spiritual consciousness.

• Herbs, formulas, nutraceuticals and natural therapies for strengthening and empowering the voice.
  

In class 8 meditations we will practice:

•  Herbs for potentizing intentions and affirmations, intentions and affirmations for potentizing herbs.
• Meditation for harmonizing the mandala of the throat chakra: speech, breath, awareness and heart

As with all our explorations of the highly subjective inner landscape, it is important to ask questions about what has come to us across cultures and centuries, and to compare what was known 1,000 years ago with what we know now about the body and mind. We have the good fortune to explore this chakra from numerous perspectives, and gain a more holistic understanding of what this part of the mind, brain and subtle body has meant to different people, and how it might be relevant in our own meditation practice and spiritual journey.

What is our current medical understanding of the pineal gland, compared to ancient Greek concepts and more recent teachings of Theosophy? What do Hindu and Buddhist Tantra share in common about this chakra, and what is different? How does the Taoist description of the “upper Dantian” compare to the Indian yogic descriptions of the “Ajna” chakra, especially its purpose? Is there any universal agreement about what this chakra does, or why it might be important? How do various spiritual practices affect this chakra, such as mindfulness meditation, qigong, or entheogens, or conversely, how is it affected by stress, anxiety and depression?

The more we explore the more we are able to see the chakra’s many faceted mandala, and that itself is one of its functions: the ability of the mind to perceive itself, which is the basis of Self Realization. This chakra is the intuitive powers of the mind, and receptivity to subtle and obvious information; it is the stability of concentration and focus, and discriminating intelligence; it is the visionary capacity of the imagination, and therefore linked to the brain’s visual centers. What we now know about neurology tells us it is also related to the functions of melatonin, sleep, dreams and circadian rhythms; we can also include modern knowledge of the brain’s frontal lobe, and its control of emotional intelligence.

In class 9 lecture we will study:

•   The principles and goals of 6th chakra meditation practices from Tantra and Taoism

• The neurological and cognitive mandala of the 6th chakra and its relevance to mental and spiritual wellbeing

• Activating the 6th chakra with self-reflection and self-awareness

• Contemporary biopsychology of the 6th chakra

• The role of the 6th chakra for increasing visualization and lucid dreaming abilities

• The role of the 6th chakra in modern brain health

• Nootropic herbs and formulas that support the cognitive powers of the 6th chakra
  

In class 9 meditations we will practice:

•  Aromatic anointing to focus mind and breath into the 6th chakra
• Using brain nourishing herbs as offerings to the deities of the 6th chakra and “upper Dantian”

To a Taoist mystic it could mean that the fluid essence of the body has been transformed into Qi and then into spirit, which has then merged into the timeless flow of the Tao; this might also be described as “ascending to heaven in broad daylight,” to join the Immortals. To a Dzog Chen practitioner it could mean obtaining the unsurpassed enlightenment which liberates the psycho-spiritual components in the body of light. To a Himalayan snow-dwelling yogi it could mean entering the profoundly blissful state of luminous awareness as the inner fire melts the nectar of the crown chakra. To a Tibetan Powa practitioner, it could mean consciousness leaving the body through the mystic aperture at the crown to rise into transcendent Buddha realms.

Whatever the opening of the crown chakra means, it is probably both a universal and a uniquely personal experience. It is probably an experience that is so profound that the ordinary consciousness subsides, and the cares of the world with it. It is probably synonymous with deep and prolonged meditative absorption, samadhi. It is probably so deeply transformative that the meditator is forever changed, and probably has direct experiential insights into the nature of reality, mind, life and death, and Self Realization. Although it is romantically and mythologically described as a dramatic event, such as the full force of kundalini blazing to its final union with God and cosmic consciousness, it is probably more often a long, gradual and repetitive process. Probably, as described in Zen, after the full force of awakening subsides, we return to doing ordinary chores rather than performing miracles.

Once again, as with each of the chakras we have met, it is the exploration, the questioning process, the self-inquiry into what is personally relevant and realistic, and the integration of the medical and scientific knowledge that we now have, that makes this study and practice rich and meaningful. Simply by studying, contemplating and focusing inwardly on this mystical center we are using our mind for spiritual purposes, which is one of the most meaningful and enriching purposes of this human life.

In class 10 lecture we will study:

• The crown chakra as our highest cognitive functions of self-reflection, self-awareness and self-liberation
• Satori, Samadhi, Moksha and Jhanas: diverse enlightenment experiences associated with the crown chakra described by different yogic and meditative traditions
• The principles of yogic practices using the crown chakra
• Correlations between modern neuroscience, brain wave activity, and
  meditative states
• Taoist practices for cultivating the Qi of the brain, activating the Body Deities of the “cranial palace,” and the connection between the crown chakra and celestial constellations
• The crown chakra’s most subtle prana and the process of incarnation and death according to Tibetan embryology and the Kalachakra Tantra
• The Hindu and Buddhist Tantric deities of the crown chakra and their relevance for the contemporary mind
  

In class 10 meditations we will practice:

• Becoming aware of the crown chakra by focusing the brain’s ability to perceive itself
• Using herbs that deepen meditation practice by enhancing brain function
• Self-anointing with aromatics combined with visualization to increase the prana of the 7th chakra