The Hara: A Fire in the Belly

"Without the activity of the third chakra, a person lives as if in a dungeon.  Life means nothing." - Yogi Bhajan

As a mother, realizing, accepting, and endeavoring to reconnect with and rebuild the power of my navel center is no small thing.  In pregnancy, we are asked by Creator to completely devote the power of our third chakra to expand physically and mentally as we grow another human being.  Our power is then pushed to the limits in birth until we relinquish control and become otherworldly in our ability to bring forth this life.  
For months, perhaps years, our navel center is devoted to the development of another person.  I remember my first postpartum experience, feeling the jelly like texture of my middle and understanding just how vulnerable my body had become.  I hadn't grasped how completely my body would be changed.  I hadn't imagined the impact on every cell of my being.

Balance is found when this center is active, because when life is dull and meaningless, we tend to substitute emotions, traumas, and problems to "spice things up".  We tend to let things happen to us, rather than direct our choices in life, manifesting our own desires and will." -Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, The 8 Human Talents

My history with my navel center has been repeatedly tough since memory.  Then, when I was set to give birth for the first time, I delivered my baby through a traumatic, unnecessary cesarean.  I spent years working on healing myself from the deep ache that the surgery left.  I researched and poured myself into helping other women avoid what I experienced.  I worked from a place of profound compassion and intense anger.  What I understand now is that the anger dominated my motivation.  My second birth was a homebirth turned into a hospital transfer which ended in a necessary cesarean.  I know now that I was approaching this birth with my fighting gloves on, and that was a mistake.  No woman should prepare for birth by preparing to fight for the right to do so, or to try to prove a point.  In 2012, I gave birth for the third time vaginally, at home.  It was a triumphant moment for me, and the preparation I did for that birth helped me to rediscover my body and my capabilities.  Yet, the very next day a dear person to me experienced a tragedy of her own and is still suffering.  It was like a gray cloud hovered just above my glee, and again, I began to protect the space of my family and my friend.
It is no wonder that the third chakra is connected to commitment.  When you become a mother you are immediately committed to the task.  You will forever be someone's mother.  When you chose to be a birth professional, you are committed to your clients, receiving their calls all hours of the night and showing up no matter what you must leave to attend them.  In the two years since giving birth the last time, I have developed a reluctance to continue in the traditional way with my work as a doula.  This is despite the fact that my business has never been better.  I have felt too much stress surrounding my work, and sometimes felt it intensely even when things magically worked out.  I have not, up until a few weeks ago, understood why.

The shadow emotion of the third chakra is anger. -Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa

I have been living very consistently in a state of fight or flight, and a large part of the manifestation of that state has been the result of choosing to be present in the current climate of birth that strips women of the innate power they have to know when, where, with whom, and how they should give birth.  I have become tired of being present there again and again.  I am ready to move forward with my own desires and will.  
This knowing rests in the face of my belief that I have been called to be present for women in birth.  I know I'm not going to leave birth all together, but I am opening myself up to a broader perspective.  I'm opening myself up to the possibility of releasing the feeling of anger at the obstacles faced by the women I serve and have served.  Releasing my frustrations around the obstacles I confront as a rural living woman.  As Ana Brett says, "turn obstacles into opportunities".  I don't know what those might be, but I'm endeavoring to find out.
In my Kundalini yoga practice, I am daily engaging my third chakra and feeling its power and gifts.  I'm opening my heart to new opportunities and stepping more fully into myself as Creator designed.  It is hard work, and some days I feel the anger so heavily, but I'm working to let it go.  It no longer serves me.  I'm excited to learn what a strong third chakra can bring to a life, and how I can be a blessing to others as a result.  I'm learning to love the will.  I'm learning to say "I can" and use it as a guide in my mothering, work, and relationships.  I'm healing every moment of every day and will be doing so perpetually.

Artist: Deladis Rose Haywood, Age 8