Improvising With the Buddha - Leading with your chakra

In a previous Improvising With the Buddha post, I wrote about shoshin, “beginner’s mind.” In this post I’m writing about energy work. If you’ve studied or read about improvisation, you know the rule about making strong choices. One of the strong choices we make in scene work is choosing an emotion. In class I’ve used the Emotion or Feeling Wheel to help students understand the depth and range of emotions. In the center of wheel are six to ten core emotions depending on which wheel you use. The most common has seven core emotions. Those emotions fan out to four to eight secondary emotions that then fan out to four or more tertiary emotions. Through the wheel you can see that a feeling of numbness stems from a feeling of distance with comes from the primary emotion of anger. 

In a scene knowing where our emotions come from helps with sub-text and in real life it helps us better understand our motivations and relationships. In scene work just knowing where an emotion comes from may not help us manifest that emotion on stage. Sure, I may decide to play numbness rooted in anger, but what does that look like in my body? Here is where improvising with the Buddha comes in. One of the tenets of Buddhism, as well as Hinduism, is the belief in Chakras. Chakras are energy centers in the body that has energy flowing around them, but also through their center. Chakras are linked to our physical body as well as our spiritual or emotional being. In Buddhism there are four main Chakras, navel, heart, throat, and crown. In Hinduism there are three more Chakras, the Base or Root, Sacral, and Brow Chakras. 

 The Base Chakra is located at the base of the spine and is concerned with our basic needs. It is an instinctive Chakra because it is concerned with survival. The animal associated with the Base Chakra is the elephant. The Sacral Chakra is in the lower abdomen. Its main role controls creation and emotions and rules the pelvis and reproductive system. The color associated with this Chakra is orange and the animal is a crocodile. The Solar Plexus or Navel Chakra is just above the navel and is the first of the emotional chakras. Its main role concerns energy, control and belief. This chakra’s animal is the ram. The Heart Chakra is in the chest and controls love, creativity, and relationships. The animal for this chakra is the wolf. The Throat Chakra controls communication and voice. This is an intellectual chakra, it is associated with logic, reason, and common sense. Its animal is the eagle. The Brow Chakra, also known as The Third Eye, is in the forehead. This chakra rules over knowledge and clarity. This chakra is the sign of the visionary. Rather than an animal, it’s one’s ancestors that provide the visual representation of this chakra. On top of the head is the Crown Chakra. This is the center of spirituality, brotherhood, and faith. Altruism and the love of people come from this source of energy. The physical manifestation is that of an angel or heavenly being. 

 When you think of an emotion or a character, take a quick moment to think from where it draws its energy. Is this emotion or character about love? Or is it about power and strength? Which chakra would rule this person or feeling? Then focus on that specific chakra. If a scene is frightening and involves life or death consequences, then you would focus on your root chakra. Feel the power and energy coming from the lower part of your body. Think of the elephant, grounded and strong. If you want to portray a strong character with high status, you may focus on the Throat Chakra. Lead with your throat. What would the voice sound like? How would it feel to have a powerful voice that commands attention? You get the idea. Are the feelings sexual or flirtatious, are you the straightman in the scene, are you portraying sweetness and light? When you walk into a scene, lead with a chakra. It also works the other way. If you don’t know or can’t come up with an emotion, just pick a chakra and run with it. Focus your energy on that part of your body. Think of the animal associated with that chakra and let those choices determine how you will act. Before you walk on let’s say you pick your gut. Lead with your belly. Feel the strength. Imagine yourself as a powerful ram and then let it happen. You don’t have to be a Buddhist or believe in chakras, it’s a tool for connecting to your body and tapping into emotions. It all comes down to using your body to make strong choices.