A full-color guide to harnessing the healing powers of the body through visual meditation • Contains 30 beautiful full-color mandalas with accompanying healing meditations, all based on the chakras and the natural miracle of the human body • Provides mandala meditations to address specific body systems and health concerns, including the heart and circulation, brain and memory, headaches and migraines, joint stiffness, fatigue, anxiety symptoms, and chronic aches and pains • Introduces each chakra in depth along with signs of an over- or underactive chakra and a mandala meditation to strengthen the chakra • Paper with French flaps Pairing the healing and transformative power of symbolic art and focused meditations, Healing Body Meditations is a set of 30 beautiful color mandalas with accompanying healing meditations, all based on the chakras and the natural miracle of the human body. Meditating on these unique designs--which each focus on a particular chakra and an organ, body part, or system such as the heart, eyes, lungs, or skin--draws upon the endless power of the spirit as a force for physical healing, allowing us to tap into our inner springs of vitality and help restore our being to wholeness and balance. The 30 mandala meditations have been specially created to enhance the meditator’s relationship with his or her own body, ease common symptoms of imbalance and stress, and address specific health concerns, including headaches and migraines, joint stiffness, fatigue, anxiety symptoms, and chronic aches and pains. Organized around the 7-chakra system, the book introduces each chakra in depth along with signs of an over- or underactive chakra and a mandala meditation to strengthen the chakra. This is followed by specific meditations on individual physical, emotional, mind, or soul aspects the chakra regulates as well as meditations for pain relief and energy boost, supporting the skin and senses, and tuning connections within the brain to help with mind and memory. The book also illustrates how clearing the chakras with visualization and meditation can boost energy, enhance the immune system, and bring a change of perspective to everyday life. With rich symbolism and beautiful artwork, these healing body meditations provide an engaging and effective tool to balance, heal, and stimulate body, mind, and soul. Mike Annesley is the author of DK’s Practical Mindfulness and a published poet with six volumes of poetry to his credit, including a long prose poem based on the I Ching. His poetic imagination and his deep absorption in the Mind Body Spirit ethos have shaped dozens of successful illustrated MBS titles. Chapter 3: The Centre of Being THE SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA Sanskrit name: Manipura (literally meaning “jewelled city”) Colour: Yellow Element: Fire Keywords: Will power, self-esteem, awareness, self-control The solar plexus chakra is the core of who we are: our identity or personality. From this source our will power draws its strength. Seated just above the navel and below the rib cage, this energy centre brings us confidence in our being and in our effectiveness within the world. It enables us to convert passivity into action, and to meet any challenges we may encounter on that journey of transformation. This is the chakra of being proactive rather than merely reactive. Meditating on the Solar Plexus Chakra Mandala releases an awareness of empowerment in ourselves. We are confirmed in our conscious control over emotions and thoughts. We knowingly have power to choose--and this includes choosing healing rather than stagnation, actively seeking a cure for what can be cured, and living a life as full as possible, despite any condition deemed incurable. Blockage of this chakra can cause mistrust of people in our lives and too much concern about how we are seen. When the chakra is in balance, we appreciate our own qualities and the unique contribution made by others to our mental, emotional and physical well-being. IGNITING YOUR INNER SUN The solar plexus chakra meditation takes its strength from the sun - hence the yellow colouring of this mandala. By drawing solar energy into yourself, and activating the chakra, you can access creative passion and summon the will power to take transformative action and rise to any challenges. Sit comfortably with the Solar Plexus Chakra Mandala in front of you. Empty your conscious mind of worries and preoccupations and turn your attention to the rise and fall of your breathing. Inhale and exhale slowly. Be aware of yourself becoming more relaxed with each in-breath and, with each outbreath, moving deeper into awareness. Now turn your relaxed attention to the mandala. Run your gaze over the main features of the mandala image, starting with the outer frame and working inwards. Contemplate the ten lotus petals, then within them the inverted triangle with its T-shaped appendages (comprising an ancient sun symbol), and then the centra