Yoga works at many levels and from many perspectives. The Elements have become my recent favorite. The 5 Elements in Yoga are Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether. As a teacher, I like the Elements because they allow me to cover a variety of layers within a yoga practice so that the student can experience a range of practices, such as asana, meditation, pranayama, and energy work. From there, they can decide what lands for them and continues them on a path of transformation, healing, and clarity. I am excited to offer a chain of blogs that cover the Elements. The final element is Ether.

Ether might be the hardest element to explain but it is also the most gratifying. I like to explain as the thing that holds all matter and energy, including space and time. Ether is what connects us to the divine. It is the space within the space. It goes beyond the ego and deals more with matters of the soul. This is where the energy of your Higher Self resides. In yoga, ether connects us to true bliss and pure joy and love. One might become enlightened once they tap into this element. The chakra represented by Ether is the crown located at the top of the head, the highest part of the body.

The element of ether is represented in yoga through expansion and awareness. Here are some yoga poses to help connect you to your bliss body:

Seated Twists (focus on the crown)

Inversions (pressure on the crown of the head)

Savasana (deep meditation and rest)

The Ether Element can also be tapped into through meditation and pranayama practices. Here is a short version you can do at home:

–>Come to a comfortable seat–>begin to notice the natural breath–>as you inhale imagine taking the breath down to the base of the spine to the root chakra, all the way up to the crown of the head–>after a few rounds of chakra breathing imagine exhaling the breath through the crown of the head all the way up and through to the universe.

Pranayama Practice: 

Kapalabhati

This practice can also be done saying the affirmation: “I am one with the universe…”

Try using crystals such as clear quartz and amethyst.

When thinking about the Earth element, journal on the thought, “The Universe, God, Pure Energy…”

“He who binds to himself a joy

Does the winged life destroy,

He who kisses the joy as it flies

Lives in eternity’s sunrise”

-Eternity by William Blake