In this week's installment of Yoga Living Project, we kick off June's theme of Subtle Body with some reflection of the Throat Chakra (Vishuddha) from Erika de la Cuadra. Read about her experience and let us know yours! If you have something you'd like to contribute, contact Austin at
There once came a time in my life when my voice was shut down. Partly by control and manipulation at the hands of another and partly by myself because I could not bare to vocalize what was happening to my body and in my body. I learned to lie to protect my situation as best I could and those lies became ingrained in me. As these patterns continued to grow, the authenticity, integrity and power of my voice disintegrated like sand falling through mesh fabric. I stopped singing, writing, photographing, dancing. The flow of my creativity was stilled and I was left feeling dense and stiff.
Fast forward ten years and here I am, finally re-learning to communicate in a healthy, efficient(ish) way. During my first yoga teacher training in 2017, things were relatively easy and enjoyable until we started learning about our throat chakra and that's when life as I knew it began to fall apart...it felt like it disintegrated actually, much like my voice had all those years ago. Something inside of me was trying to get out, but I had spent so many moments trying to quiet the voice inside me that it didn't know how to gain it's volume again. I didn't know what my truth was or how to speak it. I avoided interaction with most people at any cost because even a casual conversation was painful for me to navigate. On a larger level, I didn't feel pure in and of myself. I didn't feel right with who I was because I was so lost that I didn't know who I was. Even if I could express myself, I wouldn't have known what to express...
Once I began to learn about the way that energy travels through our bodies I wasn't surprised at the correlation between my recurring throat-related ailments and the throbbing wimper that I felt when I tuned in to my throat chakra. Bronchitis, pneumonia, strep, endless colds that took too long to recover from...they were trying to direct my awareness to a part of me I had long forgotten.
I recognize the strides I've made in the past 2 years. With a lot of attention, reflection and patience from my support group, I'm starting to communicate with a little more ease. But that's not to say that it's not still really hard, painful and terrifying for me to self-express... And that, my friends, is why you're reading these words that I will no longer leave dormant inside my head. I am beyond grateful to you for listening and holding space for my words. I believe all of our expressions contribute to the societal conversation, so what do you have to communicate?
