Fire is passion and destruction, creation and death, desire and danger. It is the energy of change and ego within the third chakra. It lives in the direction of the sun. It is where we as yogis ignite our practice from and honor facing towards when we rise to move for Surya Namaskar.
Jennifer Vafakos
Are you starting to see – and feel – a correlation between the physic world and the body?
A connection of energy, or chakras, running from what’s around us to what’s within us?
In this very moment, I’m contemplating fire as an intermediary element between heaven and earth. It is perhaps the most powerful of all the elements; the one with a direct relationship to the energy of joy, the one that has the energy of ascension and the bridge between the physical world and that not seen. Fire can mesmerize us for meditation and yet blind us if we gaze too long. It may be seen as the Shiva of the elements – the attractive great meditator and also the destroyer – all rolled into one. Shiva captivates and attracts just to gaze upon him.
Fire has a great many polarities. Fire is passion and destruction, creation and death, desire and danger. It is the energy of change and ego within the third chakra (energy wheel) it lives in the direction of the sun. It is where we as yogis ignite our practice from and honor facing towards when we rise to move for Surya Namaskar. When we realign ourselves to change our lives, our habits, our relationships, our practice we call on tapas and a fire to transform us in the direction hopefully with clarity and air for the ascension.
Anything seen as light represents this element in nature not only the Sun but the stars, deserts, and volcanoes. Fire is the element of transition and change it easily associates itself with illumination, stamina, strength, and vigor. Always in motion, even when rooted in one spot, it is the most active and animated of the great five elements. As a contribution to the natural order of the Earth, Fire keeps forests healthy through cycles of burning and regeneration. Thus nourishing the earth even in destruction and clearing. To feel a driving force in oneself, to feel the sun piercing on one’s face is the external to the internal. We process the energy of the sun and the moon differently. Whereas the moon is elemental waters shifting in the tides as well as emotions in oneself. This element literally is absorbed from the sun through us (B12 deficiency? seasonal disorders usually rely on this element). The physical symptoms of imbalance (either too much or too little) of this element may include increased sleepiness, fatigue, loss of interest in activities, and weight gain.
The difference between a good life and a bad life is how well you walk through the fire.
The alchemy of us is fire at certain points of our life and this element is needed at certain points more than others. We must able to balance fire so that we are neither burned out from and maintain the energy of inspired, dynamic, animated, engaged, alive, and motivated. Too little fire and we are sluggish, heavy, redundant and superficial.
Whatever you think you can do, or believe you can do, begin in; for action has magic and grace in it.
Goethe
To live inside the elements and to know the closeness of the magic of life this element has us rise towards our spirit and the energy of oneness. It is the last of the earthly elements and perhaps the most powerful of all if used reverently and skillfully.
Jennifer Vafakos began practicing yoga regularly in 2008 in NYC.
Though Jennifer started years earlier it wasn’t until she met a a group of yoga instructors that changed her life and where she become a serious yoga practitioner and student. Registered with Yoga Alliance at the ERYT500 level and YACEP, Jennifer currently runs a yoga studio, leads weekly classes, yoga teacher trainings, workshops and international retreats. In 2016 Jennifer left a 20 year career in Fashion Design and purchased Inlet Yoga from Emma Clagett in Manasquan, NJ. In 2019 Jennifer founded a podcast with New Jersey Yoga Collective’s Bridget Riepl called “Here for Savasana.”
In her weekly classes you will notice a strong influence of Jennifer’s Laughing Lotus training (Dana Trixie Flynn), with layers and influence of Katonah Yoga (as taught by Nevine Michaan) and Seasonal Yoga. Jennifer will reference and inform on alignment, healthy transitioning between shapes, themes of seasons, cycles discovering and uncovering human existence and of layering in music, poetry and laughter in her classes, trainings, and workshops.
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