Element: Helium
Chakra: Heart
Sign: Libra
Mantra: I Balance Helium. I Balance the temperature of my being between fire and ice.
Activation: Bring the palms together in front of the chest and breathe deeply.
Helium’s ability to remain in its stable form in both extreme heat and bitter cold reminds me of a particular siddhi. Siddhis are spiritual powers that a person can attain through their spiritual discipline. They are signposts on the path to complete liberation from this mortal coil. This one in particular is known as Advandvam; to be able to tolerate heat, cold, and other dualities. It is one’s ability to keep their mind still regardless of the temperature.
I’ve had the privalige of meeting these powerful yogis who have attained such powers. Their stories were amazing. One of these yogis was known for being able to sit naked on glaciers. He met his Guru this way. He told us that the training consisted of his naked bum sitting on the ice until his skin cracked open. The blood from the wounds would freeze, and he would have to sit there even then. One of my teachers invited him to sing at one of our gatherings. As he positioned himself on his asana, my teacher motioned to one of the other sadhakas to turn the fans on. Suddenly, I could feel this man’s presence expand. The air seemed thick as he opened his mouth to sing, reaching his arms to the heavens. Then, heat. Powerful heat began to radiate from his body as he sang forth the vibrations of divinity.
My teacher was another such yogi who had attained this siddhi. There are videos of him singing on glaciers, and chanting while standing in boiling hot springs. The kind of heat that would make your skin sizzle. I asked him about it once, and he told me that back in his glacier sitting days, the yogis would all sit around and compete for who could melt the widest circumference of ice from around them. When I first met him he was already in his 70’s and had put those days behind him. “These days,” he said. “I only do long asana sadhana.” This is when you sit still and chant for hours at a time. “These days,” he said. “I’m full of sit.” We all laughed 🙂
I Balance Helium. I Balance the temperature of my being between fire and ice.