In 2010 I was introduced to the Chakra system during one of my yoga trainings. Chakra, pronounced chuh-kra as opposed to sha-kra, is a Sanskrit work that translates to wheel or disk; and we all know the primary function of wheels: to spin. I’m going to give you an analogy to translate this to our life: wheels on a vehicle. In order to have a smooth ride in our vehicle our wheels need to be balanced and there are several ways to do that. How does the idea of a balanced wheel correspond to our life? There are numerous chakras located throughout our body; there are many minor chakras located in the limbs, hands and feet, but there are seven major chakras located at various points through the spine and head all connected by a straight line. I’m sure you’re thinking, “If I have an MRI or X-ray taken of my body, I won’t see any little wheels in that picture.” You’re correct. Instead, what you would see are nerve bundle endings, this is where the chakras are located. These nerve endings originate from different areas of the body. There is a lot of communication that goes along these nerves within our body. To be basic, the five senses talk to the brain through our nerves allowing us to see, hear, taste, smell and touch. To be complex, the autonomic nervous system does many things that we are often not aware or even in control of, i.e., breathing, digesting food, the release of adrenaline during fight or flight, but the brain still receives that info via the nerves. There is some fantastic literature available that goes into the deeper science of the chakra system. My favorite author is licensed clinical psychologist Anodea Judith, Ph.D. So, if you’re looking to develop your understanding of the chakras, check out her books Wheels of Life and Eastern Body, Western Mind, among other publications of hers. 
What does this have to do with Thousandfold Yoga? This is a hint or bowing to the top chakra; the seventh chakra known as Sahasrara सहस्रार. Sahasrara translates to thousand-petaled. If you look at the purple image above, you will start to see a lotus that has 1,000 petals. The location of this chakra is the cerebral cortex; therefore, this chakra is associated with knowledge, learning and wisdom. But it is even more associated with spirituality, bliss and nirvana. To have our balanced wheel, we need to be spirituality connected, open minded, mindful of our self and others, continue to learn and be aligned with our inner wisdom. For many people, enlightenment is their life goal. Some people go to great lengths to try to attain enlightenment but can certainly drive themselves mad and create discord in their life for this mission. For me, Sahasrara, or thousandfold, is my reminder to not seek out enlightenment. Yes, I meditate, pray and constantly read to learn but not for enlightenment. I make myself an open vessel, I shine my internal light, so that bliss may find me. I believe moments of enlightenment can reach us throughout our life, not only through one experience. I have received these moments of bliss very randomly and usually only for a second at a time. But I have no attachment to the feeling, nor of trying to capture it again. Our life is free, the air we breathe, and the act of breathing is free, our peace is free. Eckhart Tolle made this great claim, and I’m paraphrasing, if we acknowledge the moment of non-peace we are experiencing, then peace seeps in at that time. We can recognize when our wheels are out of balance and move ourselves down the path to find our balance; and all of this happens within us, nothing external can bring us there.
Thousandfold is also a reminder to myself to connect to the Divine within me. For many people this means connecting with God, the Goddesses, the Universe, nature, whatever you seek that fills your spiritual cup. When I am more in tuned to the Divine within me, I am more even with my mood and emotions, rest and activity, I’m more creative with my writing, cooking and teaching. I’m able to have a better relationship with my daughter; I find I have more patience available. Have you ever noticed any of these things about yourself? Here’s the idea: this goodness is found within you! Many of us believe that we are not good or perhaps we linger on the shortcomings we think we have. The truth is that we are all good, it’s at our core center. We can tune into it, connect with it and remember that good is always inside of us. That is thousandfold for me.
